brian sewell, national jewel

I've been catching up on Brian Sewell in the London Evening Standard.

In many a twilight hour, I would be sent forth, ''round the corner'', on my little bicycle by Dad to collect an Evening Standard from the news vendor. Then he switched preference to the Evening News; I don't know why...

on photos: wall, web, or book?

Tomorrow I'll go to The Photographers' Gallery. On their forum, which now they appear to have taken down in favour of a new Facebook page (!), they had asked which was best for showing photographs; wall, web, or book? I'm undecided but it does show that photography is the odd medium; no one could dispute that art is best seen in the flesh.

Here's David Wilson's work. He's a Pembrokeshire landscape photographer. We've just come back from a weekend B&B there and found his book of black & white landscapes in the sitting room. It's a great book: not only are the images fantastic but it's instructive too, the accompanying words and the technical bit at the back teach more than most photo handbooks I've read.

I looked out for his work thinking I might have one on the wall at home. His work was everywhere you looked but I never found the one image that I liked enough separated from the rest. His work worked better in a book, as a collection.

What about the web, then? Well, you can make your own mind up but I was interested to read the opening lines from this press review. It's a book, then.

camera

I have a new camera, and I don't know what to do with it. It's to replace two cameras I have. That makes four cameras in all. Two of which have never been used: this new one and a 35mm one the insurance company gave me after I washed my Pentax inside a duty-free carrier bag with two bottles of Italian red. It was well and truly obsolete by that time and I never could find love for the replacement model they sent.

Anyway, enough of this crap.

Isn't this photograph wonderful! It's by Becky Vigor, The Art of Zinkibaru. (We've met before but I found her this time using 'next blog', starting at Ellis Nadler...)

the chair: an idea

In quiet moments I'll sometimes click on the next blog link on the blogger bar above. I don't do it from here. I do it from Ellis Nadler's blog because I've been doing it for a while and starting from his blog normally gives more interesting results than others, no doubt by content association. Often I thought I ought to post some of the interesting blogs I've found by this method but I'm lazy, and people should do their own lokking, and if anyone really wants to know, I hide them in the link mosaic at the end of the sidebar.

Anyway, I found Galen's Manspace and I'm intrigued by his vertical marble roller (I wish there was a video). I love machines, and I love art, so what's not to like with a vertical marble roller.

I wish I had the time to develop this idea along my own lines. Two things came to mind; there must be a visual and an audible element to this which can be separated. the idea I have is for a chair - credit to my blog mate Steve for this post - incorporating a marble roller. The first device, a helter-skelter, would wrap itself around the sitter's head thus, if the sitter closed their eyes, they would hear the sound passing around their head. The second device comprises a wall, not unlike the one in the contemplation chair, but constructed from marble rollers. There would need to be some random element in the way the marbles were released but I feel the effect will either be infuriating or relaxing, and I don't mind which.

tempus fugit

Man, it's been awhile. Tempus fugit. So, an update in brief;

I'm reading the Guardian more these days, online. Not as good as the minds found in The Times but at least it's free, and there's more Environment news-views. I have it on a handy feed. I'm liking this guy recently, John Crace. Funny.

Like Goldilocks and the porridge: neither heavy, nor lightweight. I agree with Nick. I'm voting Lib-Dem.

Life drawing was cancelled this term due to lack of interest. D'oh! But I have a new camera!, the G11. Sounds more like a meeting of elite nations; not as catchy as the Ixus which it's replacing. Not as compact either but less weighty than the Brick of Eos. I hope it fits my requirements better than either.

Shall I resurrect my art blog?

Watched James Lovelock on Beautiful Minds through yesterday's lunch hour. Easily as good as Satish Kumar on Natural World (of which I have a DVD). If I could only choose one televisual channel, I think it might be BBC Four.

Allotment is going fine. This year we're experimenting with no-dig (well, min-dig, really. I can't resist the odd fork over). It feels so natural this time around; am I becoming an old hand at it, perhaps?

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