३ देस ३ नाइट्स

3 Days ... 3 Nights....in my studio.
Opening the new series about "Ganga".. searching for the right colour scheme... but red keeps re-appearing everywhere. RED is MAA .. but I will try to focus on a palette of jade and ochre.
I spent some time also drawing stone lingams from the Narmada river.... turning them at times into the Cosmic egg, then back to their shapes.. very meditative..

Hommage to Lord Shiva with this little painting!

Now back at home.... back in front of the computer finalizing my partner Alessandro's website, in order for people to start booking trekkings with him in October. I hope one day to discover also the Himalayas, this region is calling me but I am not sure that I have the stamina for high altitude! Shankara will decide for me....

What an artist is or is not

Today I was "scanning" the bookshelves in my studio when I spotted a book that I had forgotten I had: "Dance - from Magic to Art" by Lois Ellfeld.

Opening a page at random I came accross a list of characteristics of an artist. It made me laugh, some true and others not so true.. anyway if you are an artist read through and see if you recognize yourself;

Excerpt:

.. resume of fairly well-documented evidence of the behaviour of many creative people.

1. High perceptive acuity
2. sustained curiosity
3. independent and assertive
4. dedicated and involved
5. bold and courageous
6. spontaneous and enthusiastic
7. adventurous and original
8. adaptable and resourceful
9. honest and persistent
10. egocentric as well as introspective
11. emotionally responsive and excitable
12. dominant and domineering
13. irritable and stubborn
14. anxious and complex
15. skeptical, critical, and precise

The creative person is usually highly tolerant of:

1. ambiguity
2. disorder (!!! you should see my studio when I am not expecting anyone)
3. emotional instability
4. new experiences
5. puzzles and strange ideas
6. intellectual pursuits

and he has little regard for:

1. job security and routine
2. people and their opinion or trivia
3. traditional judment
4. order for the sake of orderliness
5. logic, as such
6. conventional morality
7. clubs, lodges, and social societies
8. many close friends
9. time and schedules

Well... reading the above does it make you want to be an artist or happy of being one, or grateful that you do not belong to that categorie!!

thanks for your comments

Cheap Thrills

Now if you're a bit bored at home (or at work!) and you've never been to India, this is a mini-video I made in 2006. Just click on the video link, jump on the bus with me and get a little taste of the experience of travelling on the roads!
If you've been before than for sure you know that the real thing is SO much more exciting or frightening, and that 99% of the time everybody gets out alive.. but not always, I did witness some tragic scenes.. then you wonder, what exactly is life????

Love the sound of the engine!

Spring - New beginings

Marianne - Holy festival - March 2008

London early May, and the sun is shining! On such a day I would normally rush to my studio, eager to dab my brushes in thick oil paint or flood my canvases with turpentine to destroy the obvious and let MahaShakti show me the way to the next stage... But this year I do not have my studio having decided to sub-let it for a while and I need to find a way to create!. I'm so glad that I love writing and always wanted to have time to let words unfold from my heart and soul. My last Indian trip this winter was difficult, it is only now upon my return that I realise that it gave me Rust and Gold - learning to let go of all the pain that kept me away from becoming my true Self but also meeting people that became stepping stones along my journey.

Amongst them Swamiji from Ujjain was one of the key I needed to find in order to unlock more possibilities and point me in directions that I was subconsciously searching for. In such peaceful surroundings on the banks of the Chippra River the true values of life became apparent: simplicity, faith, trust and never letting oneself being caught up in trivial and superficial expectations or ambitions.
I am grateful to those who unknowingly gave me wings and aspirations, but I am learning to be even more grateful to those who blocked my path or stole some of my precious belongings, as sometimes it is only through very hard lessons that one sheds "old skin" in order to be free!

Swamiji during Holy festival 2008

India is calling me again and again... the land of endless possibilities. I must work hard and save for the time being, and maybe realising my dream of moving one day my studio over there?

Om Namah Shivaya!