hidden

Found some extra photos on a memory card today, from
Istanbul, maybe the last day there. Top left is beside the
oldest church, which is being restored I think, amazing to
think how its been hidden, partly below ground level.
The others also around Topkapi palace, including the model.

katemccguire

light

Did this after last trip to Thailand. There
are often large trees around the temples etc,
which lend a lovely dappled light, that's what
I was aiming for.
thailandlife it's a moving story

subblue .. mindblowing

shingle

Loved this beach on Maui, near Lahaina as I recall,
zillions of wonderful stones, making music with each
wave.

Akram Khan etc

gods

Right is a shrine in India, the door was in a museum,
& the Kalighat painting was in the British Museum when
I photographed it.

interesting craft exhibition
I like the tiny hand made plants!

echoes 2

The sandcastle is at Byron Bay, didn't see it's maker.
Other shots are from Hasankeyf, in Turkey; it's hard to
separate how I feel about it from the fact that it will be
fully underwater when the proposed dam is completed.
It is a beautiful & ancient & sad place.

Totally futuristic, clever, gorgeous:
computational architecture by Michael Hansmeyer

echoes

Left are sand patterns at Tallows beach, here in Byron Bay
~ quite reminiscent of these formations in Cappadocia. It was
supposedly under an ocean, eons ago.

On the generation of the previously unseen WOW

despots

2 of my old paint sketches from photos. It's easy to think that all
the worst abuse of power was/is by men, but China had
some women (right) who were in the finals.
I heard that Tibet is closed to tourists at present.
Watched some old footage from late '40's>50's, in Tibet,
it looked so marvellous, partly because it could have been
from long before photography happened.

devotion in Tibet

disturbance

It seems as if the world's energy is disturbed just now,
wouldn't you say? There's the battle between the forces
of light & dark, as above (In Angkor Wat) as well as
where we have zero control - in nature.
Really though, do we have any control over any thing?

I find this surface detail uplifting, it reminds me of long ago..

brush drawings

Further pages photographed from one of my old
drawing books.
Am puzzling over where my next holiday will
take me: how to get to see new places, old friends,
at the best time of year, all in one package.
Of course I'm following the awful news from Japan,
it must be so hard for everyone there, & their loved ones
elsewhere.

I admire his photos & approach very much:
Phil Borges

sit,stretch

These were loose pages in another old drawing book

Maybe I was doing some meditation courses then.
If you are an artist, let me encourage you to use good paper
& materials. Trouble is, those scribbles get done
on whatever is near. (What am I saving them for anyway?)

Feldenkrais method

exercises

It's possible I just filled a couple of drawing books with
'reference' material, but maybe I wasn't really organised
at all, because I'd get to the new town/country, & start
drawings like these..

Some great holidays at wildfrontiers

drawings

Another of my old concertina drawing books,
inconvenient to scan, so I photographed pages quickly.
As I explained earlier, I took these books with me on long
trips, full of reference for painting I might do.

I stayed in Mexico for 2 years that time, never
know so far ahead, even now ~ do you?
In some ways the web makes it much easier,
though I still prefer books, museums etc.

terrific lettering: Alex Trochut

birds, dogs

Also the designs of birds: some are amusing, others elegant,
not to mention most can fly..

If you had to design a dog's appearance, (as far as I know
no-one can make a whole life form from scratch?)
you just would never be as original as they have become.

endangered earth

seeds

How nature designs is awe-inspiring, isn't it?
She has many ways to get seeds to fly away from the
parent plant, this is a favourite: so delicate, though it grows
into an enormous tree.

art propelled

webs

I know that spider web photos are supposed to be corny,
but I really like seeing them in rain especially;
with a breeze, they are quite difficult subjects, too.

The tree is in flower at present, its a Tibouchina,
originally from Brazil, it's my neighbour's tree, & is about
5 metres tall.

amazing artist Mario Hugo

sending flowers

Sending flowers to a friend/sometime relative of 50 years,
who is no longer with us.

May she enjoy whatever comes next. She had 94 or so
years of enjoyment practice in this life!

Valentines from Marian Bantjes