Christopher Stone’s Adam and Eve and Christmas Musings

Barry Flanaganonce told me that he’d seen boys beaten in school for Dyslexia, he did however go on to say that its good for artistic endeavors, something about the brains left side,

Talking of Barry Flanagan, I remember one time near Christmas a few years ago I received a telephone call from him on Sunday afternoon, it went like this, ” Hello Chris, Barry here, Can you come up to the studio at about 5 ?, “Sure”, Barry I replied, worried why he would summon me, I had been with him the day before, and all was fine, “Will Chrissie come along also?” he continued, “Yes I am sure she would be delighted” Cristina is my wife, who always enjoyed time in the company of this great man, and it was he who christened her Chrissie “Good!, then we will have tea” he exclaimed.

We arrived at 5, and were met by Jessica, Barry’s lovely companion, we had tea indeed, made by him in a china teapot, eating chocolate biscuits, Barry went on to ask me about my plans and ideas towards my art, although never offering advice, or guidance unless I asked.

Barry disappeared for a few moments to return with 10 finger puppets, one on each of his fingers, his face was a delight, how could someone who had seen everything in the world of art be so delighted with these simple woolen dollies ? H te loved them, he handled them like you would hold the crown jewels, “Here Chrissie, for you, you can take 5″. he said, so happy to share he’s delight. A silly gift, not at all, these were a very special gift from a very special person.

A few years ago Tracy Emin was asked to put her idea of a Christmas tree in the Rotunda at Tate Britain, what do you get when you ask Tracy Emin for a Christmas tree? you get a blank canvas, her tree went to an East end Aids foundation instead, and in its place at the Tate she left the canvas, and and invited visitors to put your name etc, and a donation to the same foundation with the idea of entering a draw to win one of her art works, lovely touch, great artist, and a good person.

I dont know which artist has been invited this Christmas but I am sure originality will prevail as always.

Museums, I had a bit of luck recently by having one of my sculptures accepted by a French Museum, a friend of mine and fellow artist Ksenia Milicevic got in touch with me and told me about her plans helping restore a former village school house, with the aim of creating an art museum/gallery/ exhibition centre in the tiny village of “Saint Fragou“, she herself had kicked off by offering the museum curators 30 of her beautiful canvases, which they readily accepted,

I offered a piece from my own private collection, a piece that I carved for Barry Flanagan, the piece “Innocence“, was used by Barry some how, somewhere, and the original became mine, It is an honor for me to be accepted by the curators, a British sculptor in a French museum, not the first, but the first for me Musée de Peinture de Saint-Frajou

Some of you may be thinking of giving art this year, “Where do I start?” I here you say, First off, and for most, select a reputable gallery or art agent, take a bit of time and google them, read a bit about them, try and find some artist’s quotes about them, talk to friends, Inform yourself.

You can also buy directly from the artist, but of course here you will be restricted to his, or her work only. “What do I look for when I look at a piece of art”? There are several governing guidelines that I will list later, but really, you just have to like the piece, if its good for you, its good.

1. Look for movement, Movement shows actions, and it guides your eyes through the art.
2. Unity, This is basically the whole thing, look and see if it all comes together for you.
3. Harmony,  This is natural for most people, its like unity, but for me warmer.
4. Variety, difficult for the artist,  its about having different forms etc, different sizes, colour, and contrast.
5. Balance,  is there something seemingly too heavy, or too light in one corner?, or does it balance out in you eyes?
6. Contrast, is like using opposites, opposites that come together, light and dark, shadows, creating an interesting composition.
7. Proportion,I dont really agree with this, it all depends on what you are seeing, but generally the proportions used should remain constant throughout.
8. Rhythm, Your eye will follow a rhythm, it will travel from dot to dot, taking in everything in between.
These guidelines are general, and as I said before, you can ignore them all if the particular piece appeals to you anyway.

More posts can be seen on www.marbellamarbella.es

www.sculptormine.com

Fine art by fine artist’s can be seen on www.stephenhowes.es