The Mysterious Traveller

It has been a long summer, but one that seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. Many things have happened, but I also feel like I have absolutely nothing to blog about. An age has past since the Annecy festival, and I sit here contemplating my 2024 thus far in regards to my life and career. But unfortunately, at the moment my writing currently goes hand in hand with my emotions (an interesting transition from the days of old, where my frivolously upbeat writing about how I built a pirate ship that one time , also seems so long ago) and I find it hard to focus on just the artwork.     Perhaps my sensitive side is getting the better of me. But I do actually have an explanation for this (I think) and it coincides with one of the many personal projects I have begun, now that I am utterly free of everything. My decision to leave Sardinha em Lata (the Lisbon based animation studio) remains steadfast in my resolve, although I do have moments where I miss the studio life. But thi...

The exhibition 'evening event' has now come and gone, leaving me in a state of utter exhaustion both physically and mentally. But what a success! I was very happy with the turn out of wonderful folk who braved the bad weather to attend, and I even sold some postcards packs! The art work will remain upon the walls of the Little Yoga Space  for the foreseeable future, so hopefully they will generate some more interest amongst the yoga classes and workshops.  There is an upcoming art market at the Selina Secret Garden hostel in Lisbon and the CCC (Curious Creative Club) have decided to take part. I am hoping to stay involved with these events, not just to sell my work as a side hustle (I've always enjoyed that expression hehe) but to meet more artists and possibly collaborate on bigger projects. The CCC have become a very important part of my creative experience/process at the moment. They have been so supportive of my work, especially on the lead up to the exhibition and have...

When I look back on my artwork over the decades (good grief I'm old) sometimes I find it difficult to identify what I was trying to say, or express. Perhaps naivety blinded my true emotions because I would hide behind illustrations of quirky animals and picturesque landscapes, and not addressing what was really going on in my head. But why should art express everything? It is perfectly viable that an illustration can be created without a deeper meaning, other than sheer enjoyment. I admit, there have been pieces that I have painted that truly depict what I am going through, or a longing for something that is just out of reach. Many of my pieces portray a tranquil scene of the ocean, a small cosy cottage and a distant sunset; my romantic idea of retirement perhaps?! Art is a very personal, complex, subjective and sometimes controversial platform for anybody to get involved in. Whether you like it or not, your artwork is getting judged or questioned by everyone including yourself....

Sod off, I've been on holiday. And now, as I very gradually slouch a little lower in my lazy stupor, I have almost succumbed to day time television; and I'll tell you why. I have just returned from a beautiful and glorious jaunt around parts of Europe, but now realise that I need to jump start my creative mojo. I mean, do you know how long it takes for me to write these bloody things or paint a picture? A day! (this is, however, calculated by adding up all the twenty minute sessions from the past three months). Either way, it's just bananas. Although, today I did find an inspiring saviour and I'm baffled to why I hadn't listened to it before: the Skwigly Podcast (above). Why am I only discovering it now? Tell me that! I've got 29 episodes to catch up on now, so Come Dine With Me can go f**k itself (no wait! I'll still have it on in the background). The Skwigly website  is something that I was aware of but hadn't fully explored, mainly due to ...