A Single Man.

Very occasionally I watch a film that captures me and draws me into the story and world that it presents to me. It has to be a special type of film for me to shut off and fully commit to the reality of the message.

A single man captivated me.

The film is Tom Fords directorial debut, A Single Man is set in Santa Monica in the 1960s and follows a day in the life of a gay College professor trying to deal with aching loss of his life partner 8 months earlier. The films external message is one of simplicity, learning to love the small pleasures in life, appreciating each little flicker of beauty within the most seemingly mundane things, living your life in the moment. This film speaks a great deal about the impact grief and loss can have on ones perception on life.

The Art Direction presented subtle touches that allowed me to fully engage throughout the entirety of the film and not once did I break my involvement in the story. The set was built by the same team as Mad Men's and the Romance of the 1960's only adds to the beautiful nature of this film.

Heartbreakingly tender, Intense, Thought Provoking.

It is a must see, this film will be swirling round in my head for a while yet and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Draw me.

My art practice at the moment is focused around painting and I am lucky enough to be able to do a life painting class once a week, a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I be will so very sad when the privilege is gone. Life drawing is an amazing experience, the human figure is a beautiful thing that needs to be celebrated and studied.

Egon Schiele was an Austrian artist who was heavily associated with the Art Nouveau movement but it also considered an early artist involved in the expressionist movement.

I am heavily influenced by his work in my own practice and hope to create a painting of the figure that pays homage.

The intensity, twisted figures, loose mark making, neutral tones, somewhat grotesque. Worship!

Cinders and Rain.

I thought I would share with you my current musical obsession, Bat for Lashes aka Natasha Khan.

Her soft airy vocals and killer syn thy yet soft compositions have been dominating my ears as of late. I'm quite bi polar with my music tastes; I have pretty much been obsessed with every genre under the sun at one point of time or another but Bat for Lashes is my ideal style, a mix of everything; whimsical,moody,dark and thought provoking. It is the perfect sound for painting, sewing , writing, making tea and is the soundtrack to my life... till the next obsession of course.