QoL: Island Causeway under a mackerel... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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QoL: Island Causeway under a mackerel sky

BrentW profile image
16 Replies

Hi All.

I am hoping I have not posted this before -- I am quite losing track.

On Wednesday my wife took me to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Machynlleth, West Wales. It was gorgeous and invigorating and inspiring. I saw rooms in which my own artwork would not look out of place, So, I came away clutching details of their competitions next year, which I will be sure to enter if I am able.

Regarding the attached, I continue to explore the use of gesso and spilt acrylic ink in my paintings. I have used a little gouache to provide highlights. I hope you enjoy it.

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BrentW profile image
BrentW
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16 Replies
SCreader profile image
SCreader

I don't know the first thing about art, but I can see there's something fishy with that piece. Positive thoughts - you will enter it your own works next year.

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber

another interesting work Brent …. a little more abstract than some of your others ( maybe ) … very absorbing letting your mind go wild. The star here IMHO is your application skill in multimedia with those amazing tones / hues you get by mixing your media.

I definitely think your work is suitable for exhibition and competition.

❤️❤️❤️

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber

or …. Turn it upside down and call it : abstract metallic sculpture by the water, cherubs in the skies. Just say’in yayayayay yayay.

❤️❤️❤️

BrentW profile image
BrentW in reply to Kaliber

The good news, Kaliber, is that this painting has already sold. I seem to be getting something of a following. To sell, however, is not why I share my artwork here; it is to give a window to fellow members of the PCa Club onto how I am feeling (angry to crap) at this very challenging time in my life.

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber in reply to BrentW

I’m not surprised that your work sold … art is fickle, people like this…people like that …the “ trend is “ etc. … your work is desirable for sure. Not whistler’s mother and I like that.

Now you can fly to Paris , nyc or any of the west coast piers and sell your work in your starving artist phase . ( never mind the elephant in the room yayayay ) Before long it’s a show at the Guggenheim …oh yea, on your way.

👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️

ChuckBandChar profile image
ChuckBandChar

Always follow your passion. For my husband, it’s jazz guitar. Though he no longer has the energy to play out, he still plays beautifully. It gives him a purpose to be able to pick up the guitar and play an old jazz great.

I like the colors in your painting. For me it’s peaceful, looking at the hillside with a lake in front. Beautiful.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Sorry, but it looks like a tuna fish salad to me......

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 09/09/2023 1:02 PM DST

Kaliber profile image
Kaliber in reply to j-o-h-n

Lol 👏👏👏

BrentW profile image
BrentW in reply to j-o-h-n

😄

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to BrentW

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...........As child I suffered with facial Bell's Palsy, so that's why today I think I'm handsome.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 09/09/2023 7:30 PM DST

BrentW profile image
BrentW in reply to j-o-h-n

To me, J-o-h-n, the beauty is in the close up details of the painting as shown above. They in no way capture the reality of nature, but they do capture how I seek to present them.

As I child, I was hit by a car -- the car won, of course. I had to learn pretty much everything all over again at age five: talking, using a knife and fork, simple motor skills. My eye-limb coordination sucked majorly. I have very early memories of being re-taught how to walk by two nurses, standing maybe 4 yards apart and cheering every step. Of being taught how to talk -- even now I struggle with some letters, even when contrast from a CT scan is not playing silly buggers with my tongue. Of a primary school teacher spending hour after hour teaching me how to tie a bow at the front of class, on full view, while my class mates made papier mache snakes or wove coasters for their mums.

In sport, when teams were being picked, I was inevitably last, or next to last.

I don't know where I am going with this except to say that life has sometimes remained a fight, an uphill battle. I could have given in, but instead I have thrown myself into self-expressive activities such as music, science and , most recently, art. The last of these is fun, whether it is realism captured or not. As part of my Art Therapy for Cancer Course, I was recently introduced to a book that is new to me: Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: A Course in Enhancing Creativity and Artistic Confidence. I think that is what I am doing -- using, at last, that more damaged right side of my brain. That is tremendously fulfilling, whether the results are realistic or not.

I don't know anything about facial Bell's Palsy, but I know that some, if not many, of us carry trauma through our lives. I am happy to have found a way to express myself after many decades and in a way that I need right here, right now. Forget all my scientific papers -- some worthwhile, some indifferent. Right now, as I type this using inadequate words in the depth of night, I know that painting watercolours has become the medium that I find best able to express how I feel about my situation. I hope you understand.

A close up of the foreground in my watercolour and ink painting.
j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to BrentW

Sorry but my reply got lost somehow (and it was a good one)....

Meanwhile just to let you know I remembered how I ended it.....

i.e. psssst I'm still handsome....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Sunday 09/10/2023 4:38 PM DST

Carlosbach profile image
Carlosbach

Another hit Brent. What a wonderful outlet for this time in your life. Never been to Wales, but may have to make a trip next Sept to see your show.

Carlosbach profile image
Carlosbach

Brent:

Our local library host some small shows throughout the year. I was there today feeding my reading habit and I checked out the latest displays. I loved the work by a local artist named Julia Martin.

This painting reminded me of some of your work and I thought you might find the artist's work interesting. You can see more of her work at joulespaints.com/

Autumn Falls by Julia Martin
BrentW profile image
BrentW in reply to Carlosbach

Wow. How wonderful. Thank you for sharing. What an arresting style she has. I love it when a painting causes me to stop and not only admire, but also to ponder. This certainly does.

What a rush of water! Where has it come from? Where is it going? One can sense the cold, but also a sense of hope, perhaps. It seems like spring, when the world is renewing itself.

I could ramble on. As comments regarding my own paintings have shown, we each have our own interpretation. But this is simply marvellous, and very individual.

Carlosbach profile image
Carlosbach

I'm glad you liked the painting. I was pretty sure that you would. I really admire how the artist has experimented with and mastered her techniques. I much prefer her landscapes, but it was an enjoyable show in its entirety.

This painting was arresting. It was one of the largest works in the show and I would love to own it

Sky View by Julia Martin

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