Paris Rendezvous and Beyond

Sunday 8 November 2015

Purple Haze

Purple haze….all around….Brisbane beauty each October and November.

Paris has its greige architecture.....Amsterdam its orange celebrations.....green as only Dublin can do….and here, we have Jacaranda perfection.

It's a powerful pop of purple intensified by its tropical green settings, contrasted against blue grey skies.

Backyards, footpaths, parklands, riverbanks are swathed in purple petals….squint and you see a violet tinted sky.

Lavender….violet….purple….perfumed petal bonnets. I'm totally addicted to their intoxicating beauty.

Purple haze….a natural high…."'scuse me while I kiss the sky."

And if you like yellow, you may like this post:
http://parisallons-y.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/couleur-jaunelook-at-moi.html

Tuesday 22 September 2015

obscure beauty

I saw something beautiful on the weekend….'Cloud Land' by Robyn Stacey.

Brisbane….its clouds, architecture, jacaranda trees, environment, people….collide into a magnificent photographic exhibition.

Stacey has used that ancient photographic technique of 'camera obscura' to photograph Brisbane and my oh my what a luscious collection of images she's created.

Major Brisbane landmarks are there. Intriguing people are in the photographs too….each hinting at their own private story.

You can see the past….you can see the present….maybe even glimpse the future….all richly coloured in rather complicated and distorted settings.

Clouds on the floor? Cars and buildings on the ceiling? A shadow suggestive of a pedestrian. A red smudge that could be traffic at the intersection. Oh yes….that's camera obscura shaking things up a bit.

The photographs make you stop, focus and look afresh at familiar places.

How many times have I driven or walked past these spaces and buildings without pausing to really 'see' them.

Picture stories....made with talent, skill, patience, a little luck, chance....and camera obscura.

If you live in, or close to Brisbane, then try to see this one….it's exceptional!

And it's smack bang in the city centre at Brisbane City Hall.

Ciao

Robyn

Monday 14 September 2015

Cuteness Factor

Mummy says I'm high on the cuteness factor.

What do you think?

A couple I met the other day when daddy and I were out walking said I was a "chick magnet"! Really!!

Oh well, as I've always said....if you've got it....flaunt it baby!

Maybe someone will discover me and put me in the movies.....you know, like my cousin Verdell!

Mr DeMille, I'm Ready for My Close-Up!

Woof, woof

Sniff ya later!

XX

You know, sometimes all these photo shoots can be soooo tiring...I'll have to speak to mummy about it!

Monday 7 September 2015

....a lightness of touch….

For many reasons I am drawn to the art of William Kentridge.

A gifted South African artist, his works are rich, powerful and thought provoking.

Many of his works focus on the social and political issues of his country.....while others evoke memories and stories of childhood.

His charcoal drawings are fabulous.…as are his linocuts and etchings…..black + white + erasures + under-drawings + smudges…..maybe a few fine lines of red ink, and maybe a slick of sky blue pastel.

When you look at the works in 'Drawn from Africa', you can easily see that they've been created by a master. Some people just have it….and William Kentridge has it in spades!

Some were comical, some monumental in size, others subtle and poetic….his animated video created from multiple drawings (+ erasures) was intriguing.

All seemed to have that 'lightness of touch' that truly great artists seem to possess.

Unfortunately, my photographic images of his work, do not, in any way, capture the gorgeousness of the exhibition….they're simply a 'little teaser' for the art of William Kentridge.

There's lots of William Kentridge on youtube if you want a better look…..a great way to refresh and be inspired!

Here's "Breathe"….hope you like it.

Ciao

Robyn

You may also like:
http://parisallons-y.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/succinct-and-to-point.html

Monday 31 August 2015

Paint it Black....

melbourne - rm

I love Melbourne…..its Art scene, its fashion, its architecture, its fabulous restaurants, its caffeine addiction, its trams….even its weather. I love it all!

awash - rm.

pure gold - rm

patina - rm

It's often said that Melbournians always wear 'black'....and that's certainly seems to be true when you look around the streets of this city....but then, so does Brisbane.....and probably the rest of the world! Paris, London, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin....they, too, 'paint it black' beautifully.

Wasn't it Yohyi Yamamoto who said, "Black is modest and arrogant at the same time. Black is lazy and easy - but mysterious. But above all black says this: "I don't bother you - don't bother me"."

Anyway, for whatever reason, black seems to be the colour of choice for many of us.

But who cares.....wear red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and green....if that's your choice.

It's not all 'painted black' however. Melbourne's laneways are awash with a kaleidoscope of colour….with street artists, buskers, tour guides, tourists and the odd local taking a short route to somewhere fast!

hosier lane 1 - rm

hosier lane 2 - rm

Keep on painting it black Melbourne….with splashes of colour on the side!

Ciao

Robyn

Monday 24 August 2015

Gorgeous Adornments & Chic Bolt Holes

Past the iconic Pellegrinis, I headed down a hidden laneway to my favourite, ever so chic Melbournian bolt hole....Blonde Venus.

Hayden was there...charming as ever.

I remarked on the colours, the textures, the designs, the beauty….a row of the blackest of blacks, punctuated with saturated colour….vivid fuchsia + vermillion stripes on black wool + a single jonquil yellow sleeve on black wool jersey + midnight lace + some splendid refashioning of vintage Japanese silks.

Swoonful….in the extreme!

The designs were pure and flattering.....the cut, sharp and seductive….but as Hayden reminded me…."It's all about the fabric….it all starts with the fabric". Indeed!

Who said Melbourne was all black?

Pure gorgeousness at Blonde Venus, Melbourne

It was all exceedingly gorgeous so it was easy to succumb…..in fact, the 40th anniversary made it essential!

And then next door….to another chic 'hole in the wall', Gallery Funaki….exhibiting "PRIME", Warwick Freeman's sculptural adornments.

Angled stone slices, spheres, cubes and delicate discs of jasper, lapis lazuli, and other ancient stones….solid stone chokers + 'painted' brooches + blackened silver cuffs coated with precious stone dust were displayed on a central white bench. Textural/smooth/spare/elegant….that was "PRIME".

Pure gorgeousness....Warwick Freeman's "PRIME" at Gallery Funaki

I think Peggy (G) would certainly have approved.... "painted" cuffs of ancient stone and silver!

It was a day worth celebrating….and so after a slow stroll under those Melbournian cumulous clouds....we sat back and let the beautiful Cumulus Inc. people delight us!

Yes, it was a very fine day....under cumulus clouds et al.

Chic bolt holes + gorgeous adornments + Melbourne…..just fabulous!

Ciao

Robyn