Monthly Archives: July 2014

Muse – Fiona G. Roberts, Painter.

Posted on by

Fiona G. Roberts

I actually have several muses but one of the most persistent, for my landscapes at least, is the Lake District, where I was brought up on a farm. Although  I’ve lived in London for many years it’s the features of that  rural landscape that I return to repeatedly  in my work.

 

Sunlit River 7 by Fiona G. Roberts

Sunlit River 7 by Fiona G. Roberts

 

Obviously the lakes, rivers, fells and woodland provide a rich source of inspiration for a painter, and it would be easy to suppose that capturing all that natural beauty on canvas is a sufficient end in itself.

 

But on deeper reflection it’s the people and the events that take place within an environment  that have the deepest impact on us as people, and of course, as artists.

It also has to be said, that when the sun shines West Cumbria looks idyllic, but, for a lot of the time, especially on a farm, it can be a cold, harsh and unforgiving place.

 

Reflection by Fiona G. Roberts

Reflection by Fiona G. Roberts

 

Painting, in my case at least, is often instinctive and it’s interesting what comes up when you try to analyse the reasons why you paint a particular subject.  I had something of a revelation fairly recently whilst discussing my painting, when I revealed that the main themes I return to in my work are joy and peace.  A while later the conversation turned to someone I’m close to, who is troubled,  and I was asked what,  ideally,  I would wish for that person. Without thinking I said joy and peace.

 

So, maybe my muse is not so much that beautiful landscape but actually the people who live there, and the things that I wish they could have.

Muse – Caroline Collett, photographer.

Posted on by

Caroline Collett

Some photographers leave the house with a precise notion of what they want to shoot.  Others wander round with their eyes open to possibility, waiting for life to present one of those golden moments we all dream of. 

 

For me, it’s somewhere in-between. When I take the lens cap off and step outside my door, I might imagine I do so with an open mind, but in fact I’m looking for life to meet me halfway and provide me with the visual food that I crave. This subliminal expectation is what I would call my muse.

 

Yellow Boat by Caroline Collett

Yellow Boat by Caroline Collett

 

Rolling back the years to when I was a very small child, I was always frustrated by the speed at which adults walked; not just because they were taller and faster and I was forever being left behind, but because I wanted the time to examine everything more closely. Eventually my parents indulged me by taking a bag with us on country walks (which they would of course always end up carrying) and which I would fill up every few yards with stones and cones, feathers and other flotsam I felt merited further inspection.

 

Sunflower by Caroline Collett

Sunflower by Caroline Collett

I read a fascinating book recently about why time feels to pass more quickly as we get older: it’s because we stop looking at life and start reading it instead. It really struck a chord. I aim to stay young by continuing to study everything up close!

 

My muse? Nature’s endlessly intricate patterns and geometries in the face of which I still maintain a child’s sense of awe.

 

Muse – Asmita Kapadia, photographer.

Posted on by

Asmita Kapadia 

In ancient times, the natural elements were considered the building blocks of the universe, and the basic structure of each of us.  Nature is believed to hold the key to much of our inner knowledge and the part we play in the great cosmic plan. Earth, Air, Fire and Water embody stability, thought, desire and emotions, respectively.

Water is my muse.

It invigorates; it cools; a liquid that is heavy and enigmatic, taking form in whatever contains it; in continual motion.  As a physical element it makes-up 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface which has depth, refraction and reflection.

Emotion is a key element in the images I want to create; I feel an emotive connectivity to a new place and this naturally makes me creative.  The more remote a waterscape the better, it allows me to feel and experience its power, beauty and intrigue in respect of its uniqueness. I explore an ethereal quality in many respects.

Each vista has a personality and capturing this raw energy from a visual standpoint adds a certain amount of permanence to what would otherwise simply be a brief and transient experience. An interpretation of simplicity, texture, shape and colour taken at a particular moment in time making the ordinary, visually extraordinary.

 

 

Running Free

 

A dramatic stormy day, with these beautiful five Icelandic horses charging across an inward tidal flow, symbolising a sense of freedom someplace new and remote, falling into a reverie.

 

RUNNING FREE, Iceland by Asmita Kapadia

RUNNING FREE, Iceland by Asmita Kapadia

 

Hush

 

A breathtaking journey to the Quirimbas Islands, which lie in the Indian Ocean off northeastern Mozambique.  A silver lining in this puffy pure white cloud with a less than perfect reflection where nothing is quite as it seems. A blue of nothingness, steering towards a distant opening in the land, the gateway to…..

 

HUSH, Mozambique by Asmita Kapadia

HUSH, Mozambique by Asmita Kapadia

 

 

Muse – Christine Santostefano, photographer.

Posted on by

Christine Santostefano

That creative stimulus – to innovate, imagine, design and to capture – whence does it arise?

Points by Christine Santostefano

Points by Christine Santostefano

 

Observing and pondering objects, events and people. Seeing how they relate and connect. Beginning from a slightly detached perspective – taking in the whole, yet noticing each detail.

Then comes feeling and absorbing. Not in the physical, tactile sense, but listening to what connects and resonates within.

Time stands still as images appear suddenly in a seemingly endless stream.

 

A Study of Insects 3 by Christine Santostefano

A Study of Insects 3 by Christine Santostefano

Then there are moments when the image takes you by surprise. Arriving unannounced – breaking through everyday life and soliciting attention – with all its breath-taking simplicity: purely in the moment.

MUSE – Andy White, photographer.

Posted on by
Backlit bluebell wood by Andy White

Backlit bluebell wood by Andy White

Andy White:

As a photographer I find the greatest influence, source of inspiration and stimulus comes from the landscape itself.

I choose to live in a part of the country where the coast has been sculptured by nature for millions of years and the countryside has been moulded by generations of farmers and land owners.

What we see of our landscape varies from minute to minute due to the seasons, time of day and weather conditions.

 

August mist from Quarr Hill by Andy White

August mist from Quarr Hill by Andy White

My intention has always been to capture those moments which many would miss. No photographs of blue sky and fluffy white clouds – bring on the storms, the wind, the mist and fog and above all that wonderful light at either ends of the day. If this does mean getting out of bed on a cold winters day or rising at 4 or 5 o’clock in the summer to see the sunrise then so be it.