Monday 30 November 2020

 

                                               light in our darkness : oil on canvas, janet driver


of the many advent themes, light & hope seem so relevant just now...  perhaps a painting of a pregnant woman would be  even better... but this one was based, a few years ago, on the prologue of John’s Gospel... [John 1 v 1-18 ], with its emphasis on light & darkness ... ‘the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’...  hence the painting has that sense of brooding darkness in its purple shadows...and yet the Christ child glows with the light he brings into the world through his life...the life that darkness could not overpower...

“but that isn’t the original painting, is it ?  someone visiting my open studio asked a member of the family, who was at a loss to know what to say... after all, this is an original painting... but she guessed the lady was thinking of my earlier painting below, which was selected by Museums & Galleries Ltd for their Christmas cards a few years ago... unfortunately, this painting was so popular with one toddler that he excitedly toddled over to it during a church service and quickly crayoned allover it with a bright red crayon, and when trying to clean it afterwards I accidentally removed a layer of paint, rather destroying Mary’s face... however, once I had recovered from the shock, I remembered that this painting was only meant to be a preliminary sketch as I painted meditatively trying to express the first few verses of John’s Gospel visually... and so, eventually, I felt ready to paint other versions of a similar theme, changing the colours and tone... and also painting on canvas (this first one was painted on oil painting practice paper) So in the end something that was spoiled beyond repair led to other paintings that have delighted many people... there is always hope, even when all seems lost !

                                             oil on oil-painting paper on board : janet driver


this next madonna and child is completely different...whilst the paintings above were inspired by a deep sense of awe in the mystery expressed in St John’s Prologue, the Darfur Madonna below is a prayer-painting resulting from the shocking news coming from Southern Sudan & the reality of the plight of so many refugee mothers forced to flee with their young children, photographed whilst waiting for food-aid to ease their hunger... I felt such anguish in these black and white photos filling our screens and newspapers that I decided the only way I might be able to pray for them was to attempt to paint as a form of prayer...layer upon layer of transparent reds gave way to transparent browns, slowly building up, layer upon layeras each day I prayed as I painted, then allowed that glaze-layer to dry before adding another...a painstakingly slow way of painting, and never knowing whether these faces would emerge with enough depth of brown, and yet enough red to glow with light and hope... adding a touch of yellow highlight at the end, as a sign of hope for their future...together with a little purple to take the raw edge off the deep red which has, sadly, not come out in this photo...  but then this wasn’t a painting for show... not until I began to understand that it might possibly help our mainly African & Afro-Caribbean congregation in prayer... 


Darfur Madonna : prayer - painting, janet driver

Sunday 29 November 2020

Saturday 28 November 2020

 

                                              White Lilies : oil on canvas,  Janet Driver

there is something very peaceful about painting lilies... they are so elegant and graceful...

the method I have used means slowing down, taking time to experiment and discover just the right transparent paints to do background layers over the whole canvas that will result in this very rich green... its all too easy to end up with too much blue, or a kind of teal green, and I wanted to have the exact green of the leaves, stem and buds... then each glaze layer needs to be left to completely dry before the next colour is glazed over the top... and finally, the lily itself can be painted...and again each colour needs to dry before the next one is painted over it...painstakingly slow, but somehow very fitting for this kind of flower...   trying to catch the light at just the right angle for the shapes to emerge in all their beauty... I am filled with awe & wonder as each day passes with a little more of their beauty revealed... until the painting begins to echo the joy within the flower...









Friday 27 November 2020

 

                                                       


I happened to see these beautiful photos of Mosque interiors whilst searching for the mosaics in Ravenna...but I’m not sure whether these are mosaics...I think they are more likely to be ceramic tiles...the most amazing blue...



this Sunday:Advent Sunday, there is an online carol service from St Martin’s in the Fields, London.... details on their website...

on this blog during Advent / Christmas / Epiphany I will share with you several paintings from artists around the world

an Advent Calendar... something for every day during Advent...sometimes some music, or a video, or visual... is available via St Mary’s Wivenhoe website :  stmaryschurchwivenhoe.com

  

Thursday 26 November 2020

 

                                             Chartres Cathedral Rose Window


This seems such a joyful dance :)  the square shapes look as though thrown up by a juggler !

this is a continuation of daily visuals during lockdown. 

This Sunday, being Advent Sunday, I will begin to show you visuals in preparation for Christmas by artists from around the world...through Christmas and Epiphany... 

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Wednesday 25 November 2020


                                                            Wild lily seeds: oil on canvas : Janet Driver


Tuesday 24 November 2020


 Ripe crabapples, ready for hungry birds during the winter...

Monday 23 November 2020

 

                               ancient willow R Stour, Dedham :oil on canvas, Janet Driver

we saw a group  of these bent, old trees, hollowed out, gnarled & dead-looking, and yet with a hint of new life in their new young branches making a crown of glory...

Sunday 22 November 2020

Sunday: Stir-up Sunday & Christ the King

 This Sunday is more recently changed to celebrate Christ the King...and this in itself is still following the whole “stir up” theme...in the sense that Jesus view of kingship / leadership was far from the expected norm, but in visual representations he is often shown as the king of our expectations...as here in the early [c. 6th C ] mosaic in Ravenna... wearing the same colour purple robes as the Empress Theodora and Emperor Maximilian, portrayed in their mosaics just below, on either side of the Nave. However, it does look as though he has removed his crown & is holding it out to one of the angels...perhaps this, together with his youthful face, is the artist’s way of suggesting we think again... the elements of surprise ?


                                                      Apse mosaic, S. Vitale, Ravenna
                                                  Coventry Cathedral
                                                       Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem (artist unknown )

Jesus certainly challenged our norms of leadership... the best example being when he washed the disciples feet.... a customary action they would expect to be done by a slave or lowly servant...at first Peter shies away, but later accepts Jesus washing his feet...as in the Cameroonian painting below... [ John ch 13 ]

                                              Jesusmafa :the Footwashing

You might find todays Lectionary Essay by Debbie Thomas interestingjourneywithjesus.net


Saturday 21 November 2020

 more murals in preparation for  Stir-up Sunday & Advent...



I guess these murals have all been painted by Banksy... I came across them on the internet...

the one above has just disappeared....sorry !







Friday 20 November 2020

Tomorrow is “Stir - up Sunday “

Whenever I begin preparing food for Christmas I tend to think of “stir - up’ Sunday, because when I was a child we always looked forward to making the Christmas cake
on that day... as it got colder during November, we were told to look out for the prayer on the Sunday when the priest prayed “Stir up, O Lord, we beseech thee, the hearts of thy faithful people...” So you can just imagine 3 small children excitedly clamouring for our mother’s attention after the service...”Mum, mum, did you hear it, mum ?  Its stir up Sunday today...Can we make the cake when we get home ?.... :)  

This Banksy mural of the girl with her balloons ... the wish that Palestinians could fly over the walls that are destroying their lives... somehow reminds me of Stir up Sunday... the wish that things could be stirred up and be changed...& yet the sad reality of the young woman walking along beside the wall...

Many years later I painted this depiction below...a large canvas...as a prayer- painting... a visual prayer for many situations around the world where people are suffering pain and injustice... that these might be changed...  I Wonder... what would you have included in this visual prayer ? ... is it possible for you to use these 2 visuals as your prayer as we prepare for Christmas... ?    “Stir up, O Lord, the hearts of your faithful people...”


Thursday 19 November 2020

 

It was surprising to see two or three passion flowers, alongside several buds & a few fruit...all hanging high up in the branches of a tree... in mid-November instead of late spring / early summer ? A beautiful surprise... what will you see today...

Wednesday 18 November 2020

sunset,houses of parliament, after Monet: Janet Driver 

Why did I ever attempt these paintings of sunset, so similar to those of Monet ? Well, I have always been drawn towards paintings by Monet... & I love sunsets... Then some years ago there was an exhibition of Monet’s paintings which included his London bridges and some of his beautiful sunset paintings...I was fascinated by the way Monet used colour in small dashes and dabs interwoven in such a way as to give the impression of vibrating light, either shimmering on water or shining through mist or fog...there was so much joy here !  and  I just longed to have a go at painting my own sunsets, using what I had learned from spending time with these paintings...knowing that if I first used these as a reference point, then I might be able to paint my own sunsets thereafter...   
This oil painting,above, is my first attempt...to understand how the water might appear to shimmer...and also how the misty effects could work as a foil for the light... It was, of course, incredibly difficult...and I cannot recall how many times I gave up in despair, and then came back again, determined to keep on trying, until it finally began to work...and at that point time began to fly as the painting took on a life of its own !

Several months later, I happened to see a very dramatic sunset behind the houses of parliament... by then we were living in Lambeth, not so far from the Thames and I sometimes walked our baby in a pram down by the river... there had been a heavy thunderstorm earlier that afternoon and the heavy clouds were still overhead even though the sun shone brightly, making for a really warm afternoon... and then a sunset that was brilliant in deep red against the heavy purple clouds that seemed to hang really low in the sky...and so I finally painted my own version... it felt symbolic at the time...just after the financial crisis began to unfold...and then those ten awful years of austerity and cuts...to say nothing of the dreaded Brexit vote, with so many difficulties ahead for MP’s:storm clouds indeed over the houses of parliament...But even though the tower seems to be caught in the storm, the bright sunset light holds the hope of another day...a new way forward after the covid pandemic...as the river flows swiftly on its way...


                                               Stormy Sunset,houses of parliament : Janet Driver

Tuesday 17 November 2020

                                                            Sunset, Houses of Parliament:oil on canvas, Janet Driver 

                                                             (after Monet )
 

Monday 16 November 2020

 Sorry, I was unable to put up a daily painting yesterday... I was searching for pictures of Diwali to share with you... I did eventually find some on Pinterest... but for some reason they did not download... so I am now looking for something quite different...


                                                                  East window, York Minster, Cathedral


I have chosen this window not so much because of the glass, but for the beautiful pattern of the stonework at the top of the window...


This is the East window fromRipon Cathedral... which do you prefer ?

Saturday 14 November 2020

 

                                                     oil painting : Vincent van Gogh

Thursday 12 November 2020

from the sublime to the ridiculous... continuing daily picture(s) during lockdown ....

 

focus on this photo and let your mind go...


then later on, look at our cat, who loves to sunbathe :)

and if you enjoy cat cartoons...try a simon’s cat search... they are so true to life & great fun !


Monday 9 November 2020

Sea mist at Dawn around the Needles, Isle of Wight

 

                                Sea mist... detail...oil on canvas : Janet Driver

Seeing the sun shining through sea mist is incredibly beautiful, especially at dawn or sunset when so many subtle colours appear to hang suspended in the air, and patches of the rocks can be glimpsed glistening in sunlight yet hidden away from full view... mysterious shapes that change as you try to discern where the rocks actually stand, just beyond the hidden cliff-edge...

more of the same painting...


Saturday 7 November 2020


 

White Poppies for Remembrance....of all victims of war...

 


you can buy white poppies from ppu.org.uk


When we first came to live in Wivenhoe,  one of my earliest memories is of meeting a lady standing near the bookshop with white poppies & a donation tin... & it was pouring with rain !  [typical November ]
I still dream of a waterfall of white poppies.... for a future of peace...





 

Thursday 5 November 2020

autumnal colours


brilliant sunshine enabled me to catch these beautiful bronze leaves and then the darker flowering Sedum...what you might well expect during autumn...

but then I found some surprises...

...this Passion Flower I would expect to see in Spring or early summer...

Don’t forget to add your email on the top right hand side, then click submit... I will not see your email... but you will receive an automatic notification whenever I add a new blog-post... & during the lockdown again this time I hope to find you a picture a day... & when we get to Advent, I will have a variety of paintings by artists around the world to share with you in preparation for Christmas...take care of yourself & keep others safe during this difficult time...


Tuesday 3 November 2020

JMW Turner: Rain,steam and speed...celebrating a new form of locomotion...

exhibition until March 2021   : Turner’s Modern World    details :  https://www.tate.org.uk

Sadly I only just read about this exhibition as the Tate is about to close on 5th November due to the Covid Lockdown... but click on the link above, to the tate website,  for details & re-opening...meanwhile enjoy some of Turner’s atmospheric sunset paintings which I have found via Pinterest :


JMW  Turner : the fighting temeraire...with detail above


During this 2nd Lockdown : 5th Nov - 2nd Dec 2020 I will begin to put a picture a day on this blog, as I did before, from March...