Concerning Roses

I would like to apologise to roses today, who I have long dismissed as ugly plants with dodgy leaves and stature, barely making up for this in their stupid, puffy blooms. I was wrong and I am big enough to say so. The rose we planted on the hawthorn in memory of our first cat, Franky, is now in full waving, drooping, glowing bloom and greets me upon opening my curtains every day. Each day more flowers and more joy; works particularly well on the thorn branches, it is all good and wild. I suppose that is the basis of my bias; well manicured gardens of earth viewed in my youth with small sticks poking sadly out covered in garish coloured flowers with dodgy names. I have seen the light, nuff said.

Looked up more on the Mermaid Parade today and found some fab pictures which I copied in a amateur fashion off the monitor with a digital camera just for my own inspirational means. Great shots of a girl in mermaid-geisha gear with filigree black flowers and foliage on her face; also fab blue people that reminded me of Hindu gods. I have to find out the pros and cons of visiting; I would love a trip to NYC at some point, it has always been on our list and I last visited in the eighties, scary thought... The Parade looks wonderfully amateurish and cool; a heap of camp and a lot of art school drop outs jumping about in home made costume. I must see what my New York girlfriends think of it and its inspirational possibilities.

Started the day well despite being a wage slave for five hours; had a long chat about angels with a colleague who I only bump into on Sunday mornings but who reliably asks about my painting and engages me in conversation about related topics. Today he reminded me of the different angels and related beings across non-Christian religion - Apsaras in Buddhism (which I first remembered as 'Uppsalas' until it was pointed out that this is a place in Sweden) and the angel Gabriel communing with the prophet Mohammed in the desert. It really is a huge area and there are so many different subspecies (?) of angels; I have looked at Seraphims and their six wings, and then the Cherubim favoured of so many painters - not sure why... I saw a fab. documentary on the Boticelli in the National Gallery in London on over Christmas - I must look up the title - with the circle of angels dancing under the golden arc of heaven over the nativity. Awesome.

Did some great doodles today too for the next pic that appeared with force in my head over the last few days - angels in tree - which I now know to be a holm oak in front of a tiny sliver of Bruegel style landscape to suggest the infinity over which the angels have jurisdiction. I saw some great holm oaks on the Isle of Wight at Sandown and somewhere else I can't remember; they have a touch of the magic of Yew about them. Yew was a close contender for the angels to live in but somehow it smacks of evil and sinister things; also its shape isn't quite right for this one, I needed that big, wide oak stance. I have great memories of yews in various places; the 'Four (six?) Apostles in gardens near Juniper Green in Edinburgh, a fantastically evocative gathering at Dirleton Castle which seems to suck the light in and create its own atmosphere; also a great cottage near a friend's in Wales which is almost obliterated my two massive yews framing the gate.

And so to the studio and the start of the holm oak, with five little faces to be found among the leaves (not there yet); a fun bit of drawing and blocked in the undercoats. I'm going to work a little backwards now and work out the little mini version before I continue on the big one; I think it will look dinky small too and it will let me check the contrasts as I want the tree quite dark but don't know how that will work in practise. Used Gwyneth Paltrow as an unwitting model for one of the angels - via a mag, she didn't pop by for a sitting - and she looks very angelic. Working in tandem with Archie's park, so that got a few more bits and pieces done and I spent a while sorting out her face and hair - still very Botticelli, I couldn't resist...

And so to a warming tea on this mightily monsooning Sunday - roast chix, mash and peas. Can' t beat it.