#1622 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn art, Photographs, SerendipityLeave a comment

Hello November. The beginning of the slow, grey, slither towards the shortest day, Winter Solstice, followed by the, equally grey, clamber out of the monotone abyss in January and February.

For a couple of years now I have been fascinated by altering greyish pictures like this using the classic photographic/radiographic physics of image making that I learnt in Darkrooms during the analogue years and then the digital manipulation of the digital, computer generated years. My career was more or less 50/50. All the excitement of the digital age saw dark rooms repurposed, new skills learned and to a degree the old knowledge abandoned. I have moved from wet processing ( chemicals in tanks) to digital and AI assisted image making.

As an aside I do wonder if the initials and concept of AI would seem less threatening if it was called Assisted Information rather than Artificial Information.

But I digress. Thank goodness my brain did not have its head completely turned by the digital age and carefully retained all my hard learned analogue photography/ radiology physics.

Hard earned because I was a reluctant student of all sorts of physics. I really had to knuckle down and learn it.

In my imagination my analogue skills are all neatly stored in my brain like this

This however is probably closer to the truth including the eighties wallpaper.

Now I could bore myself with all the analogue physics skills that take a poor and dull photograph, taken an hour before sunset.

Into a vibrant celebration of a late afternoon in November. Nobody needs to be bored by me on a Monday morning. Although I been asked to give a talk to an art group in the New Year.

Imagine skipping off to an art group for a social gathering with fellow artists and a woman turns up and starts talking about Physics!

This idea is going to need some finessing.

#1621 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn SerendipityLeave a comment

If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence, what would it be?

Probably this. It is not a unique thought but part of a quote from a book I picked up in a hotel bar.

The book was largely forgettable but the quote stayed with me.

Waldmeer by Donna Goodard.

No judgement at all about the book, I didn’t have the time to fully read it and chanced upon this quote.For completeness I might add.

There is a depth to life that only comes from our connection to other people whilst walking a dog.

Walking my dogs in the parks of London and here now, in my coastal community in Devon I have engaged with some fascinating people. People with dogs are obliged to stop and talk with one another as their dogs engage in bottom sniffing. Some people without dogs want to stop and talk with me because they want an interaction with my dog. All these random conversations can lead on to longer conversations as your dogs decide that you will circle the park or peninsular together.

Of course I joke about adding the dog bit. But without igniting a dog v cat debate, I would say in my fifty years of being Team Cat there was never a point where owning a cat expanded the depth of texture, friendship or communication of positivity with other humans. 13 years of Team Dog and I have lost count of all rhe gorgeous and delightful interacrions that my canine companions have engineered.

Hugo with his/our gang in Dulwich Park. The High Court Judge, The Principle Dancer at the Royal Ballet, and the owner of an International Model agency. Just dogs doing their thing and humans doing the same. But in any other life those humans would never have charttered so freely.

There is another interaction with an artist, so famous there are T.V programmes about him. Hugo felt that love was in the air as did the very famous artist whose owner was not in the least bit bothered.

He would have been bothered in the future if any puppies were created because Hugo could not help himself when art was being created. Not really a problem at my level of the business but nose prints at his level may not have been quite so acceptable.

#1620 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn 2026, Serendipity, Watercolour1 Comment

When I sorted out my physical portfolio I was surprised quite how pink I had become. A couple of winters ago I did an on- line course with Tansy Hargan.

Obviously, without ever realising, I was searching for something in my creative world to change.I am nearly 3 years on and so much has changed. Not least a Worldwide recession, at a granular level it means there is less of an appetite for buying original works of art. The large and bold Acrylics of my past creations do not sell so well and if they don’t sell then I have to store them. Doing the Find my Colour Voice course took me back to the world of watercolours, a place I have always loved. But doing a Fine Art degree as a mature student broke me out of my comfort zone. As it should.

The humble conker as a metaphor for watercolour.

I am not a sleepy dormouse who has returned to sleep in the comforting, velvety husk of a Horse Chestnut. I have returned to watercolour fully prepared to balance on the outer spikes of the husk from time to time and even on occasions to hang just by the tenacity of my tail.

I was hugely surprised to discover there was a lot of pink in my colour voice. One of my exercises from the course is below. The Dormouse has a paintbush loaded with pink paint

I am a little disappointed that I didn’t think of making October, Pinktober. So much pink in the portfolio.

Pinktober is over without ever getting started . 2027 and October is going to be Pink, unashamedly so.

link below to Tansy Hargan, the unlocker of pink.

Source: Tansy Hargan https://share.google/OqpzvPd7q9276diui

#1619 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn art, Paintings, Photographs, Royal William YardLeave a comment

Share a few recent shots from your camera roll, no context needed.

No contexts.

Blogs do appear out of nowhere quite often. Sometimes, like today, my blog host WordPress drop a prompt that is easy to respond to. Easy for me today, because I had been prepping for today’s blog in advance.

My apologies if anyone spots a context. It will be entirely co-incidental.

October is the month of harvest and as such fruit and vegetables pose, ready to be turned into paintings in the darker months of Winter.

A Friend recently donated, to me, an unwanted photographic umbrella.I was unsure how I would use it, but it is small and doesn’t take up much space. It has a lovely gold reflective surface.

I can pose my models in the yard and catch the sharp angled sun beams in the umbrella.

I had designated this week an art admin week. No dabbling. There was also some Tennis Club admin and life admin. I made a list in order of importance.

Life Admin and Tennis Club Admin are unpredictable and come first. This week Art Admin was not allowed to be all arty and unpredictable.

Frame.

Mount.

Sort physical portfolio

Photograph fruit and vegetables.

Fix broken things.

By the skin of my teeth all arty tasks have been achieved. I am a little in love with the results created by using the relective umbrella. Which made me reflect on my general fascination with umbrellas and how they can be photographed or painted. I trawled my photo archive on my phone and found a gorgeous image from 2019. A complete and happy accident. An illumination festival was being held at the Royal William Yard, an outdoor event, blessed with the very best of West Country weather. 3 days of an after dark art installation, with 3 days of torrential rain that only arrived after dark.We probably attended on the second or third day when the organisers had, prudently, decided to provide attendees with a clear plastic umbrella so that the effects of the illuminations were not lost in the black shadows of peoples regular umbrella’s

This one lucky shot gives me such pleasure.

The No Context rule definately simplified the umbrella blog I was going to write. Another time.

#1618 theoldmortuary ponders

On By Juliet CornellIn Dartmoor, Devon, dog walks, Hugo and LolaLeave a comment

October with Lola has become a month of timed walks rather than destination focused. When we had two dogs we failed to notice the full impact of her as an avid tracker. Hugo was a fláneur.

He took a dim view of her need to track everything and hurried her along to places he could pose languidly and be dogged in different ways.

Our first autumn without him, has seen walks taking a very different shape. Given the chance she would concentrate on a small area for ten to twenty minutes. Without him she is less trustworthy off the lead and can go missing whilst on Squirrel hunts. She is also uniquely camouflaged in our local area,so no chance of finding her without her foppish white brother by her side.

Two walks yesterday absolutely highlighted October walks with Lola. One near home where she sniffed for a prolonged period. I observed possibly the most useless piece of local knowledge ever.

At some point, many years ago these yellow, parking restiction, lines were painted in the autumn.

The things I ponder whilst standing still.

I promise you the next one is a little more interesting.

I worked in Tavistock off and on as part of a medical screening team for 12 years. A great place to work, a bustling market town. I used the footpath, through the graveyard of St Eustachius Church, in the town centre often. I never stood still. Lunch hours when you are a full-time working mother are a whirlwind of chores and missions.

Delightfully, in keeping with the general flavour of her walks at the end of October I stood still, thanks to Lola’s sniffing. Fortuitously by the very old grave of an eponymously named dead person Mr John Body who rather sadly died at the age of 35.

Lola’s prolonged sniffing made me look beyond the slightly comedic notion of a dead person called Body and read his inscription. Mr Body was not a chap for levity, especially in death. 1749.

Nothing I do can improve the readability.

My Debt is Paid, my Grave you see, prepare yourself to follow me.

There We Are Then.

John Body of Tavistock, truly a man for the end of October.

#1617 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn Firestone Bay, Hybrid Printmaking1 Comment

What’s one piece of travel advice you always follow?

I always take my travel painting kit. I used to always take enough books, my painting kit and Tea Bags. I still do but now the books are on Kindle on my phone. Since I have been creating hybrid images I also keep some stock images of paintings on my phone. The full moon above is useful if a full moon event is ruined by a cloudy sky. I can just digitally stick a moon into the sketch or photographs of the full moon event I am attending. Asian full moon events are so colourful and exciting, it can be a real disapointment if the principle character fails to show up, or rises behind a massive building development. It also gives me the freedom to put the moon in the best possible place for the location and occasion.

Last night I needed my full moon painting much closer to home. It was a full moon and the ‘Bobbers’ like to swim at high tide on a full moon.

Storm Austen and Storm Boelo had other ideas. Having completely reorganised the weekend they had left an unnamed love child in our bay. A nasty storm infant who thrashed about, causing mighty waves and whose breath created thick clouds that completely covered the moon. Worse than that South West Water had released sewerage into the sea nearby. Presumably hoping to blame the storm baby. The companies Share Holders must be very proud.

Storms, named or not do not stop dog walks. A night sight shot of our swimming bay captured every reason why it was not safe to swim last night.

A full moon placed in exactly the right place aesthetically makes me a happy woman.

For anyone interested in the painterly bit of this image. I swirled a circle of white Posca pen on black paper and pushed the paint around with my finger until the paint dried.

It took me a while to get to this picture . I wanted it to look as soft and believable as possible without ever wanting my moon to look as science intends it to. More cream cheese than moon dust.

Travel advice for nearer to home.

#1615 the old mortuary ponders

On By Juliet CornellIn Architecture, Colour, Exhibitions, history, Interior Design, Interior design inspiration, The Box, Words1 Comment

I learnt two new words this weekend. Chromophobia and Chromophilia . A fear of colour and a love of colour. I also went to an art exhibition called The Way We Live. This extraordinary soft sculpture was part of the exhibition.

This work is by Do Ho Suh, a Korean conceptualist who creates the homes or parts of the homes he has lived in. With sculptures created with paper or semi- transparent polyester.

Now I would always be considered a Chromophile. Colour is my thing. But this pale green and red hallway is an exact replica of my hallway at home. Never in a million years would I paint it pale green and bright red.

In my hallway I am a Chromophobe, the only bit of giddiness is glitterball.

Braver than us, we have neighbours who own one of my Mackerel paintings. They are going to pick out the colours of my Mackerel to decorate their hall, which is also identical to the soft sculpture by Do Ho Suh.

The hallway depicted in the sculpture was a home of mulitiple occupancy that Do Ho Suh shared in New York. Which really fascinates me. Around the world these staircases, although essentially the same and about 150 years old, must have so many different artistic and Interior Design differences.

A local favourite of mine is in an old nightclub. The building had been left empty and neglected for some time but is undergoing some much needed renovation and preservation. I photographed it when it had recently been released from the fate of becoming a mega church. At the time it was pretty smelly, damp, verminous and maybe a scintilla of urine. But the layers of paint and general shabbiness were accidentally beautiful.

Of course had I known all those years ago that I would be writing this I would have included the handrail.

I was last in the building in the summer, this was a back stairway and is now closed off as an unsafe area. At the time I visited previously it looked like the scene of many an illicit historic rendezvous or hook up during the buildings Night Club years. The stories these stairs could tell…

One last ponder on my own Chromophobic staircase. When our house was still a New Build. This is what the women of the house would have worn. What ever would they have made of the glitter ball.

Staircases, they make you think.

The Way we Live Exhibition is at The Box, Plymouth until the end of February

#1614 theoldmortuary ponders

On By Juliet CornellIn art, Box, London2 Comments

I went to an art exhibition yesterday. I knew it might be tough. It was about the Grenfell tower fire. 71 people died in an entirely avoidable inferno. One of the victims and 4 of his family members died together in their burning home. He worked for twenty years in the same place never missing a day’s work until he did.

I also worked there briefly, we would not have known each other but would most likely have crossed paths and I knew some of his colleagues well.In a workplace that deals with death of all sorts on a daily basis. It can have an extra piquancy when a colleague is involved.

The tower block was also on our regular route from the South West to London. The first time I saw the charred hulk was a week or so after the fire, at dawn. I was on a trivial trip to deliver a piece of art to a London gallery. The theme of the exhibition was homelessness. Always a big subject in London, it was a huge thing, that summer, as the survivors of the fire were found short term, and then long term accomodation. The worst of reasons to make an art exhibition topical.

Years later I made a promise to myself to listen to as much of the Grenfell Enquiry as possible. It was not an easy listen.

So I was prepared that a film made by a great contemporary British artist, Steve MQueen would be an uncomfortable watch.

24 minute’s of exquisitely filmed footage of West London. Pastoral to brutal, detail and sensation picked out by the eye of a brilliantly creative and sensitive artist.

My heart and soul hurt and continued to do so long after the film itself finished.

Again far better reviewers than me have seen this film.

Source: The Guardian https://share.google/t49veMRyYMxLbXwbr

I don’t believe I have ever seen such a brilliant piece of film making. The film will be at The Box, Plymouth until the end of February.

#1613 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By Juliet CornellIn Serendipity1 Comment

What do you think is the future of AI?

The image above is created with AI using the prompt . ‘Create an image of this photograph in the style of theoldmortuary’ Similarly I have asked and got others to ask AI to write a blog in the style of theoldmortuary. Both examples were ‘off’ in so many ways that they could not be credible as unique or one-off pieces of creativity coming from my mind on a specific day.

AI is a tool and like all tools in the hands of humans there is every chance that humans will misuse it. There is not a tool in the world that was invented for good and altruistic reasons that has not been perverted for selfish, egotistical and criminal uses.

The future of AI is in human hands something to celebrate and worry about in equal measure.

Recently Google offered me an AI critique of one of my paintings. It was O.K , truthful in it’s way but nothing like the multifaceted communication a friend would give me. Or the performative input an art lecturer might deliver or the supportive discussion a committed art teacher would offer to help me thrive.

The future of AI as a tool ,just like everything else,is in the hands of humans and that is as unpredictable as the outcome of the wheel or the screwdriver.

As unpredictable as a watercolour painting.

AI also got one thing wrong. It is Pinktober not Inktober in this house.

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