Art Goes Pop

Recently, I rummaged in my old bedroom at my parents and found two books of music album artwork; I hadn't seen them in about 25 years! But they really took me back to my childhood and the enthusiasm I had even back then for graphic art - I used to LOVE browsing through those catalogues looking at the immense variety of styles and art. What always jumped out at me is how music album art was so immediate, so 'in yer face' and was/is designed to grab your attention immediately. It's so crass - there's no subtley.

Album Cover Album book by Paper Tiger

Diving Down Deep

Immersed! Keep staring at this painting, pull yourself towards it, feel it surrounding you, fall into it and drown in its depths. This is my intention for painting this abstract, that you might experience what I feel when I close my eyes, pray, meditate and reach my spirit and mind outside of me and find that connection to God. My experience that I am trying to portray, could I suppose be called transcendental.

© 2012 Angela Cutler. Immersed. Oil pastel and acrylic on paper.

Whilst the painting is only roughly A3 in size, when I look at it I really want the painting to be enormous. Something I could step into, that I could turn around and see it all around me, above me and below me. But if I look at it and close my eyes, I can still feel my original thoughts from when I was inspired to paint it, and this is how I imagine it to be.

This is one of my early attempts at exploring art and media by just letting whatever I feel for that moment develop on the paper. I start off with a thought, an expression of me in time, and I allowed that to flow through me. I don't really know what the end result is ultimately going to be and by half way through I think I've probably messed up, although I do try and not be judgemental about what's appearing. However, by the end, somehow it's coalesced into something quite dynamic. I'm trying to keep my mind out of the process and just express from my heart; and I find I'm surprised each time!

Twilight Flight

Escaping the Twilight Zone

Here in Britain we've been experiencing one of the wettest winters in 100 years. Winter had seemed to be never ending - the dark days, even darker nights, chilly temperatures and above all rain, rain, rain and more rain. We have been deluged. With the rain came overcast and continuous days of greyness with hardly a spark of sunshine breaking through. It's hard to get through winter that have been as long this one. It made me think of struggle. More immediately, those struggling with floods and its after-effects and the heartache it causes or those struggling with other internal emotions that through their own darkness often can't see the light. Sometimes, I myself, feel like I'm living in twilight - never quite reaching the joy that I believe should be in my life. But I do try and my faith pulls me along and constantly my heart is drawn to God's light.

© 2014 Angela Cutler. Twilight Flight. Pencil, oil pastel on paper.

I live just outside London, on the edge of the countryside and one dark night driving along a country lane bordered by fields I saw a ghostly waft of white feathers silently flit across the road infront of me and then to land as light as a dancer on a fence post. It was a barn owl. As quickly as she had flitted across the road, I had sped past, but the image and the beauty, once again. was ingrained on my mind...and in my heart. Even if it was only seconds - it was a moment of sheer beauty and delight.

On Wings Like Eagles

When I started this blog early last year I had intended to update it regularly with many of the paintings and drawings I had started to create. However, as is usual other things in life seemed to divert my attention, but I promise to update far more regulary from now on. For those who like some background, I had spent the last 20 years working in a stressful professional environment as a graphic designer and internet administrator with a long and tiring commute in all weather on public transport. All my energy seemed to be spent focussing and then recovering from my daily grind and although I tried not to, health issues started to compromise my life and I came to a realisation that something had to give. At one point, I thought it was me...I had come to the end of my physical tether. I have always been a very independent woman brought up on the good old protestant work ethic, but after much soul searching I decided to quit my career, downsize and change my life. I am very fortunate to have a very supportive husband who for years could see my creative spark which for me had been lost through administrative tasks, reports, budgets, corporate graphics and deadlines. He encouraged me to take this sabbatical and re-ignite the spark!

On Wings Like Eagles © Angela Cutler

I didn't know at that point almost 2 years ago now, if I still could draw or paint or even if I have the creative vision or enthusiasm to do it having not done very much at all in the interim. And in actual fact, I found the 'idea' of starting quite daunting...what if I failed? There was only one thing to do and that was to try. I started out not even knowing what materials to use...paint and if so what type, pastels, pencil, large, small. I didn't know. So I just started off with what I had in the house - pencils, pastels and some craft paint. I started to find pleasure in the process without worrying about what the end result would be. I was encouraged to see some lovely abstract art works appear which I found very satisfying as I felt they were expressing a little bit of my private feelings. I will post some of these early faltering steps soon.

Christmas Time is Hare Again!

I apologise for the terrible pun, but I'm feeling in a Christmassy mood and have painted a few little canvas's. My brother gave me a pack of tiny A6 canvas boards for my birthday earlier this year - and at first I didn't quite know what to do with them...A6 is really, very, tiny! My preferred medium is acrylic - it just so happened that I had bought quite a lot of it and oil pastels, and both don't really translate to...tiny! So I kept the canvas's for a time when inspiration struck.

Hare running in the snow - December 2013. Acrylic paint on A6 canvas board

Drawing on the Magnificient

I started my blog earlier this year with the intention of regular entries showcasing some of my artworks with some personal musings - however, I do realise there's been somewhat of an hiatus. In early spring, a friend asked whether I could illustrate a children's book that she had written - she explained her intention with the book, and naively, having never illustrated a book before, I said yes. Without previous experience, both of us really didn't understand the magnitude of the undertaking at the time - literally it has taken us all summer...and autumn!

Magnificent Me, Magnificent You - The Grand Canyon

A Children's Activity book. Front Cover.

Click on the images for larger versions.

She initially saw my drawings/paintings and liked the way I worked and felt we would make a great team for her ideas. I work from the heart and explore love and light, and her ethos is to support children both physically and spiritually. She focuses on well-being through yoga - not just bendy stretches, but healthy mind, body and spirit. I always feel that any focus on health through any tradition has to be good thing, but because of my beliefs, we agreed that there would not be a religious aspect to what we did.

Illustration for The Grand Canyon children's book

I instantly loved her book's storyline, ethos and idea. The story focus's on twins Crystal and Leo who have a wishing mirror that transports them to a new place and follows their journey of discovery, not only of themselves, but of the world around them.  They learn about spiritual traditions from different cultures and discover how to bring these practices into their everyday lives.

Artists, Exhibitions and Inspirations

So, yes, I realise that there's been a bit of a hiatus between my last entry and this. So I best get on with things then...

I've been checking out other artists and open exhibitions within the locale as I'm interested to see the type of work that's out there and how my art compares. Today I visited the Herts Visual Arts (HVA) Summer Exhibition which is held in Harpenden, a very pleasant leafy Hertfordshire town in England, UK. So not only did I have the opportunity to peruse art and chat to artists - I also enjoyed lovely afternoon which absolutely required a visit to one of the charming pubs in the area!