Maybe it's a memory of Nativity plays at primary school, all bound up with the excitement of Christmas. Maybe it's simply the visual magic of sparkly things in the vast blackness of night. Maybe it's the allegorical power of the Search: the quest for Truth; the single-minded focus on the distant and beyond-grasp. Perhaps it's having been born on the Winter Solstice (!). Anyway, I've always loved midwinter, which, to me, is a festival-of-light, sparkly-things-in-darkness metaphor for a sublime experiential truth: the all-and-nothing of existence; magnitude of import and insignificance at once; a bright light, tiny in the void. So I'm still working on this theme, which I began with 'Searching for Light'. There has to be three of them, I think. It is, after all, a magic number. This is a study for another 'wise man'. It's Richard Hayward, who is, as I've suggested before, a first-rate sculptor. Here's a link to some of his work. It's worth looking at.
http://www.craftsguild.co.uk/sculpture/richard-hayward/
I am blown away by your work. It makes me think why should I continue to try my hand at portraits when there are artists like yourself who are so far ahead of me. But that's my nasty competitive nature speaking while I'm in a slump over not getting the right angle on a head after three passes. Your blog is very inspirational and I'm in need of that. It's my pleasure to be your lucky thirteenth follower James.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind comments. :) It really is encouraging to know that my work is appreciated. Keep at it, and keep true to your own vision. That is, I think, the only measure you can really judge yourself by in the end.
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