Picante pero Sabroso

"When I was a young man I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. I didn't want to be a failure, so I did ten times more work." - George Bernard Shaw

So far, this has been a slow year full of false-starts and failures, and I feel it's time to adopt Mr Shaw's philosophy. I hope to post more regularly from now on. But I warn you, it may not be a pretty sight.

This small canvas, "Picante pero Sabroso" ("Hot but flavourful") was inspired by Velasquez's "Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary" - which is another way of saying, "I felt like painting some chilli and garlic". It's quite a nice, decorative piece, but I failed in what I was trying to do; Velasquez could do so much with so little, and I can do so little with so much.

Time, I think, for another Shaw quotation;

"A man learns to skate by staggering about making a fool of himself; indeed, he progresses in all things by making a fool of himself."

Asking price; £200

Carnaval del Pueblo

Every summer London hosts El Carnaval del Pueblo in Southwark. For a day Burgess Park is filled with the rhythms, colours, and cooking smells of Spanish America. It is an intoxicating atmosphere.

For me, the most impressive thing is the show of national pride. Flags are waved, costumes are worn, traditional food is savoured, and huge cheers resound at the slightest mention of, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela, or Peru.

Having been brought up in England this feeling of national pride is quite alien, since - unless we're in a football stadium - we almost seem to be ashamed of our heritage. Standing in that latin crowd a couple of years ago, caught in the moment, I remember wishing - very badly - that I were south american, so that I could be part of it too.


"Belonging" (oil on canvas 6" x 10")