Echostains Blog

Art I LOVE Maggi Hambling (A W.A.R. Post)

W.A.R.? What is it good for? – absolutely nothing.

W.A.R. what does it stand for? – Worth A Reblog!

I’ve always loved the art of Maggie Hambling. I’m a big fan of painterly, expressionistic art – words which aptly describe this artists work.

_47010742_maggihambling203 — Maggie Hambling

Hambling studied East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing from 1960, under the tutelage of Cedric Morris and then at the Ipswich school of Art (1962 – 64). She then went to Camberwell (1964 -1967) graduating at the Slade School of Art in 1969.

Though known mainly for her portraiture – a lot were in the National Gallery where she became the first artist in residence in 1980 and did a series of portraits of the comedienne Max Wall.

She has also created sculpture including : Memorial to Oscar Wilde London and Scallop, an interlocking steel sculpture on Alderburgh beach, dedicated to the composer Benjamin Britten The sculpture itself was made by a local foundry and copied from a 4 inch model supplied by the artist. The sculpture has created a lot of controversy – some say it enhances the view of the sea, others say it blocks the sea out. The sculpture has been vandalised a few times too. Hambling herself calls it a conversation piece – a conversation with the sea;-

“An important part of my concept is that at the centre of the sculpture, where the sound of the waves and the winds are focused, a visitor may sit and contemplate the mysterious power of the sea,”

The_Scallop,_Maggi_Hambling,_Aldeburgh — The Scallop by Maggi Hambling

Hambling’s subjects include a lot of Gay people including George Melly, Stephen Fry and Quentin Crisp.

liv__1232639091_melly-insert- — George Melly drawing

From the 1980s Hambling turned mainly to landscapes and recently seascapes. Her work has become a lot more abstract and in 1995 she received an OBE for her services to painting and appointed a CBE in the new years Honours list in 2010.

george_always_hambling — George Hambling

Quote from here

Information about the artist – start here

Wonderful interview which really reveals the personality of the artist here What a character 🙂

Hambling_Ghost_of_George_Singing — Ghost of George Singing

Max Wall image from here Scallop image here Melly drawing from here George Always here, Ghost of George singing here, Archie MacDonald here Francis Bacon image from here Hambling photo here

Hambling’s website http://www.maggihambling.com/

The short video shows extracts of her work in her studio. Video by shabboleth Thanks!

Happy Birthday Clarice Cliff!

Today is the birthday of ceramicist artist Clarice Cliff (b. 1899 Tunstall, Stoke on Trent -1972). Her family came from a long line of potters. Cliff followed in their footprints but went on to became famous for her unique stylised patterns which became very popular during the Late 20s -40s , encapsulating the spirit of the age.

330px-ClariceCliffBizarreJug2

Starting work as a 13 years old gilder in the Potteries,Cliff then moved on to work in A.J. Wilkinsons pottery factory in 1916. In 1924 she was given another apprenticeship, and acquired a large range of skills. When she was given her own studio in 1927, her career really took off. In 1928 she designed a range of brightly coloured geometric patterned tableware called ‘Bizarre’.

crocus

The ‘Bizarre’ range was closely followed by the massively popular ‘Crocus’ design, which was entirely hand painted with upward brushstrokes depicting each flower. This pattern is said to be her signature. The design became so popular, that owing to demand, Cliff had to employ a large team (mostly of women) to hand paint the design Art Deco style was to prove so popular that Cliff and her team were producing colourful tableware that was both cheerful and affordable in the recession of the late 1920s. In 1940 Cliff married Colley Shorter (her then boss). Following his death in 1963, Cliff sold the factory to Midwinters and retired to Chetwynd House, Staffordshire. She died in 1972 but is still much celebrated to this day, her designs much admired and now very collectable.

Much has been written about Clarice Cliff’s life and there are some very informative links below for a more in depth look at this very individual, innovative ceramicist artist.

Thanks to

Art Deco video

The Original Clarice Cliff Website

Clarice Cliff – Wikipedia

The V & A Art Deco

The Art of Alice through the Looking Glass

I love the illustrations of Alice in Wonderland and Alice’s adventures through the looking Glass. The original Tenniel ones have a charm all of their own and are the ones I remember the most from childhood. There is such a lot of information contained in these small drawings and Sir John Tenniel’s style once seen, is unmistakable.

Alice entering the looking glass world by Sir John Tenniel

Tenniel also illustrated for Punch magazine for a while and did some political sketches like the example below. Amazingly this fine illustrator was blind in one eye.

Punch magazine William Gladstone and the irish land question

Another illustrator that I quite like is Ralph Steadman (b. Wallasey 196O). Of course these two artists are from different era’s, but I quite like the clear lines of Steadman’s work, it’s so very stylish. He has tried to add something new to these well-loved characters – yet he has still made them recognisable.

There is yet another Alice illustrator that I like – one of my favourite authors and who I am re reading at the moment, and that’s Mervyn Peake (b. China 1911-1968). It’s interesting to see the styles of these artists, and how they differ in their original approach to the same subject matter though each working in different eras.

Ralph Steadman’s website HERE

Other Alice illustrator’s HERE

A Collection of Time Travel experiences and ‘atmospheres’

I have always had a yearning to travel back in time. I’ve had four of these experiences – well not actually going back in time physically, but pretty near. The first event was years ago at the Jorvic Viking centre in York, where you travel in a car backwards in ‘time’ and come out into a recreated Viking village, complete with all the sounds, sights and even the smells (including urine). This has now changed and there is a different way to travel now, which I find disappointing – they should have left the experience alone in my opinion. I think the provocation of the senses played a major part in the transportation.

the-house-in-the-rock-knaresborough-uk-bddyde

The second adventure was also in Yorkshire. It was in a place called ‘House in the Rock’ in Knaresborough. The owner Miss Nancy Buckle’s ancestor carved this house from a rock surface in 1770. Generation after generation have lived in it. Now that was like stepping back in time! At the time we were shown around, the National Trust were doing their utmost to get their hands on the house, clean it up a bit and probably take the character away from what was/is a family home. The place had a charm all of its own and I still can’t seem to find out if the Trust managed to get it. (I have since found out via the link since this post was originally written, that the owner was forced to vacate to enable renovations. I have no information about what happened to it since).

The third time I went back in time was when I read Daphne Du Maurier’s ‘House on the Strand’. This is a strange book even for Du Maurier. In brief: a man rents a remote house in Cornwall (of course) and agrees to be the guinea pig for a drug his biochemist friend has invented. With its aid he goes back in time to the 14th Century where he has lots of adventures. But each time he comes back reality blurs between the two worlds…. the book has intrigue and a very strange ending.

The fourth time that I climbed into that time machine was last week when we visited Dennis Severs house, Folgate Street, Spitalfields, London. I have always wanted to go to this house for years and have never quite got around to it – until last week. We made an appointment and just went. Dennis Severs, an American artist (b. 1948 -1999). Severs moved to London and bought the run down house in 1979. Folgate Street is very close to the Spitalfields market and at the time of purchase the area was more run down than it is now but attracting Bohemians and artists.

Severs renovated and decorated each of the 10 rooms in a different historical style, mostly from the 18th and 19th century creating ‘atmospheres’ and vignettes. He did this on a budget of £500! I first encountered this man, years ago in a Period Living magazine and was flabbergasted at how clever, innovative and resourceful he was and longed to see his house. Though he lived there himself, Severs invented an imaginary family to people his house, and he based this family upon the Huguenot silk weavers who would have lived in the area at that time. He called them the Jarvis family – and they are still alive in the house. Whenever you enter a room you feel they have been there before you and just left, leaving clues like a half eaten piece of buttered toast and an upset teacup behind them. the rooms are like living paintings. in fact one room is actually based on a Hogarth painting!

The house is crammed full of Sever’s collections of memorabilia, plus china, vintage clothing, ephemera. But these are not dry museum type collections, these ‘props’ are scattered everywhere, as if it’s been casually left that way, nothing is ‘posed’. Clay pipes lay broken in a fireplace, valentines are wedged into the frames of mirrors, cobwebs hang from the torn and damp velvet four-poster hangings in the poorest room in the house – the attic, where no fire burns. To get a better idea of the experience (though I urge you to go if you possibly can) Here is a short video starring the house – and the late Dennis Severs himself:-

Thanks

History of House in the Rock

house in the Rock image

Jorvic Viking Centre

Denis Severs House

Read all about Thomas Hill, a linen weaver who built the House in the Rock by his great great grand-daughter Nancy Buckle here. We have quite a few pics of this house somewhere which I shall have to find. This pic came from here though

Dennis Severs House website recommended and read what people who have visited say here Severs video from here

Unfortunately we were not allowed photographs in the house, so these images come from here, here and here

Jorvik Viking centre image here

New Random Art An A-Z ‘A’

Random art – An A-Z

Alphabetical Random Artists. The aim is to feature one for each letter of the alphabet. This is not only to expand my knowledge – but to get me back into blogging more regularly.

My method will be to choose alphabetically 3 at random, look at them all and pick the one that inspires or intrigues me the most.

The artists chosen randomly today are

Werner Andermatt (Swiss)

Marie Angel British Illustrator

Michael Andrews British London

Preference: Michael Andrews

Born 30th October 1928 Norwich, UK

Died 19th July 1995 London Uk

1958 – 1963 Slade School of fine art

From 1958 he taught at the Slade and Chelsea school of Art. His style is Post War Modernist, combining figuration and abstraction. His brushwork, thick and dense. His artist contemporaries include London School Bacon, Freud and Auerbach. His subject matter flits from decadent party scenes to landscapes and water.

1958 ‘A Man Who Suddenly Fell Over‘ was acquired by The Tate Gallery

This painting (oils on hardboard) was painted at a time when the artist himself was facing a period of uncertainty. The piece was painted for his Diploma Examination, shortly before he left The Slade

According to Andrews, the cheerful expression on the face of the man, hides his embarrassment of falling down. The upsetting of the man’s equilibrium and his quick attempt at recovery of dignity is seen as he tries to conceal his hurt/upset.

Who hasn’t slipped on ice and tried to incorporate it into their walking gait through embarrassment … I know that I have😄

There is a lot more to this fascinating artist:

Image Here

More Here

More information about Micheal Andrews here

Google Doodles Do – Art

NEW POST ON BOOKSTAINS HERE

Google Doodles began in 1998 and were unanimated and unhyperlinked until 2010, when Sir Isaac Newton was honoured with the very first animation.

Over 2000 international and regional Doodles have appeared through its homepages, featuring artists, personalities, musicians etc and by 2019, over 4000 Doodles had been created for Google Doodles.

Interactive Doodles made their debut with the 1980s arcade game Pac-Man. Live action video doodles, interactive keyboard doodles, synthesiser doodles, interactive virtual Rubik cubes and games abound.

New Google Doodles are being engineered all the time, always topical always innovative.

On the 8th of December, 2011, Google commemorated Mexican artist Diego Rivera’s 125th birthday. Rivera, who was also an active communist, painted political Murals that helped establish Mexico Mural Movement in the 1920s. He was also the husband of fellow artist Frida Kahlo, also commemorated by a Google Doodle.

It’s quite an honour for an artist to be celebrated by Google and there have been some very special and unusual logos in this series. Though the art is computerised, the artist’s work is still easily identifiable.

Notable artists who have been celebrated by Google including…. which speaks for itself.

On June 6, 2008, the logo incorporated details from Diego Velázquez’s masterpiece Las Meninas to celebrate the Spanish painter’s birthday (June 6, 1599 – August 6, 1660) here

In 2006, Edvard Munch (born December 12, 1863) was commemorated with a logo incorporating his most famous painting, The Scream here

Vincent Van Gogh received this tribute on his birthday in March 2005 with an immediately recognisable logo here.

Please check out all the logos from the Google gallery Here

Google Doodles more info

Something to crow about?

Crow by Arthur Rackham

The other day, feeling a bit miserable looking at the battering rain and dark skies, I began to add some gothic pins to my Pinterest. I came across some crow related items and thought that it would make a good blog theme.

I was struck by the number of Crow pictures I came across.

A murder of crows

A ‘murder of crows’ is a medieval collective term for these birds. Poor people believed that the birds were sent by the devil and were really witches in disguise.

What is it about crows that makes them look so sinister? Traditionally the colour black is associated with mystery, though technically black is not an actual colour, as it completely absorbs colours. That is indeed a mystery in itself, though only one of them.

Black – the ‘colour’ of mystery

The Norse God Odin is sometimes depicted with a another black bird – a raven as his companion. As well as being a carrion loving bird (therefore associated with life and death), the black bird’s croaking voice has become associated with the ability to prophetcise the future and reveal that which is hidden.

But back to crows, who are part of the same Corvidae family of ravens. The black bird like mask worn by the Plague Doctor in the 1600s, brought a sense of not relief but more of fear and loathing whenever he was sighted.

Although sinister, the mask actually had a practical purpose. An eye was made of glass for the doctor to see out of and the hollow beak was filled with medicinal herbs, as well as providing two holes in the ‘nostrils’ for breathing .

From a crow being a bird, to a man dressing up as a crow, the association with death, medicine and the future is becoming more black than orange, especially with our political climate and global issues.

Enter The Crowman. The Crowman was also a travelling medicine man who offered ‘little brighteners’ for the ailing from his medicine bag as he went along his way. He may have disappeared but his ‘little brightener has remained in the form of Gin😄

The crowman as featured in the TV series ‘Worzel Gummidge’ was a sinister figure who created scarecrow Worzel. The Crowman makes Worzel many different inter changeable heads to suit different occasions and situations.

Worzel’s ‘Handsome’ head

Amongst these heads, Worzel had a ‘thinking’ head , a handsome head to court the ladies, a Riddle me Ree head and a posh head.

Worzel and Crowman

In Rock band Jethro Tull’s ‘Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow’ the association between death, cold and Christmas warns the listener to be charitable to others who have little and remember the true spirit of the Christmas message:

Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow. (1982)

Through long December nights we talk in words of rain or snow,
while you, through chattering teeth, reply and curse us as you go.
Why not spare a thought this day for those who have no flame
to warm their bones at Christmas time?
Say Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow.

Now as the last broad oak leaf falls, we beg: consider this:
there’s some who have no coin to save for turkey, wine or gifts.
No children’s laughter round the fire, no family left to know.
So lend a warm and a helping hand:
say Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow.
As holly pricks and ivy clings, your fate is none too clear.
The Lord may find you wanting, let your good fortune disappear.
All homely comforts blown away and all that’s left to show
is to share your joy at Christmas time
with Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow.

By Ian Anderson

Thanks also to;

Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow lyric Here

Arthur Rackham ‘Crow’ Here

History of the Plague Doctor

Crowman legend

Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow video Here

Reasons to be Chairful 1…2…3

Brightening up this dreary lockdown with quirky chairs seems the way to drum the way out of the dols at the moment, so here’s some artistic sitting imaginative images. Are you sitting comfortably?

It started with a Kiss, according to Austrian painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). This beautiful upcycled, hand painted chair from FendosArt will engulf you in a romantic golden aura of opulence.

The top of bottom of this chair is an anatomical matter as this French designer Jeane Prouve proves. The strength of its back legs is its famous design feature. This decorative version will make you fall head over heels and cheer you with its unique quirkiness here

A double helping of artist Todd Fendos designs. American Regionalist artist, Grant Wood (1891-1942) iconic American Gothic is transformed into two prim and proper chairs – so sit up straight now. Don’t be worrying about that old pitchfork though… the dentist masquerading as a farmer has got your back👍

Sit back and watch a horror or psychological thriller, Scream, scream and scream again. Norwegian painter Edvard Munch famous painting ‘The Scream’ (1893) gets an update by Todd Foden again.

Having had four chairful’s – and there’s more where this came from🤔🙄 here’s the inspiration behind this post.

The Ian Dury Memorial Bench (2002) is situated in Poets Corner of Richmond Park, which is within the grounds of Pembroke Lodge, London.

The bench commemorates punk rock/ new wave singer, songwriter, actor Ian Dury (1942-2000) who along with his band The Blockheads rose to fame in the late 1970s.

The bench was designed by Mil Stricevic and was designed to let people listen to Ian’s music by interacting with the ‘talking’ park bench via headphones to real sound tracks. The headphones are plugged into MP3 players which are actually embedded in the arms.

If you would like to sit back, enjoy the views and count your reasons to be cheerful whilst listening to Ian’s music, you can visit Here

More about Ian and the talking bench Here

Ian Dury image

Tenniel also illustrated for Punch magazine for a while and did some political sketches like the example below. Amazingly this fine illustrator was blind in one eye.

Ralph Steadman’s website HERE

More Alice Posts;