Journey of a jewel
Years ago, an amethyst ring of mine got stolen.
The stone was crazed, which meant the light shone through it in unexpected ways.
Sometimes I wonder about that ring – did it end up with some kind of Princess of Persia? Has it been to the Taj Mahal? Or a moon ceremony at Stonehenge?
And then I wonder if I have anything in my possession that someone else occasionally wonders about...
Perhaps a good reason to book a trip to the Taj Mahal, then.
Pearl
Fragile horizons
I never put my own paintings up on my walls.
That would keep me 'stuck' – my relationship with a painting or drawing comes to an end when the piece is completed, and then it's time to move onto the next one.
I think maybe that's part of what it means to be a creator (as we all are) – to resist the temptation to stay in a place where you feel safe, and to keep pushing those boundaries. It's about enjoying the journey of discovery and the process, rather than the destination.
Trusting that even more wonderful experiences may be around the next corner.
To be honest, I'm a sentimental sap, and I do like to cherish things that bring back happy memories.
And while there's nothing wrong with that, perhaps I try to hold onto non-tangible things too, energy-wise... I'm wondering if it might be worth having a go at seeing my 'bigger' life in the same way that I see my art journey...
Pearl
Dreaming in a shell
So I have a very tiny snail stuck to the inside of my front door.
I had been intending to despatch of him for a while, but kept forgetting.
And then one day I noticed he had moved – so he must be hibernating.
I will leave him be.
But then I thought... what do snails dream of?
Pearl
Little golden trumpets
Daffodils seem to me like little golden trumpets, heralding the dawn of spring.
Time to revisit William Wordsworth's beautiful poem, which I think perfectly sums up the daffodil magic...
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Pearl
Mad March hare
To be as "mad as a March hare",
is an idiomatic English phrase derived from the observed antics, said to occur (some say incorrectly) only in the March breeding season of the European hare, Lepus europaeus. The phrase is an allusion that can be used to refer to any other animal or human who behaves in the excitable and unpredictable manner of a "March hare".
Wikipedia
Pearl
Like this painting? Products are available in my Zippi store - click the button below
The fairy glade
I slipped away to one of my favourite places today.
It is a little graveyard on the outer fringes of town.
This may sound a bit morbid but actually, there is something incredibly peaceful, calming and magical about this place.
When I am there, I feel that I wouldn't be at all surprised to glance up and see sprites or fairies peering around the gravestones at me.
Sometimes, it's good to be still for a moment, so that they can find you!
Pearl
Follow the butterflies
'It's the butterflies that lead to the magic.'
I had dinner with my brother the other night. He works in advertising. Perhaps not the first industry that comes to mind when you're thinking about magic.
But he told me about an advertising company that have a practice of gathering the creatives into a dark room that has a gas fire in the middle – literally replicating the sense of sitting around a fire at night.
Then, they start to tell each other stories.
Slowly, ideas for their projects begin to build, and when they start to feel the 'butterflies', they know they have found the magic.
This all might sound a bit crazy but...
'There's no point trying to create anything in life without the butterflies,' said my brother, 'because it takes magic to really make things happen.'
I think he is absolutely right.
Pearl
Rising to the challenge
Everyone loves a challenge
You can't scroll through social media for more than about thirty seconds without seeing at least a couple of challenge ideas. And a lot of them look fun – but how many people actually do them?
I had dinner with a lovely friend this weekend, who set herself the challenge to create a piece of art every day for one month.
And she did it.
Working on small, non-overwhelming postcards, she put aside the idea that she had to create something worthy of the Royal Academy of Art, and created beautiful little pieces that have personal meaning for her.
And she has let me share a few of them with you here.
I think anyone who can see a challenge through deserves a round of applause :)
Pearl
Les bohémiens
Sometimes I wonder where all the artists have gone.
You know - the bona fide, real, old school artists.
The sort that are in the opera La Bohéme, or the type who crowded into Mrs Miggins' pie shop in Blackadder.
Today, I spotted three of that rare breed, basking with their sketch-books and cameras in the gentle warmth of a very early spring day.
The fabulous Ian, Santiago and Warrick.
Love them!
Pearl
Small friends
I miss having a small furry friend -
But at least I don't have to worry about my dog doing embarrassing things anymore.
Like the time I noticed some teenage girls giggling at me in town, and I turned around to discover that I was dragging an empty dog collar, and my dog was trotting along right behind me, fancy free.
I'm not sure what the dog in this painting has done – but by the look on the girl's face, she's probably hoping no one will notice.
Pearl
Like this painting? More details here...
The silver screen
Adam will be cross with me.
He is my one, loyal subscriber to my YouTube channel, and thinks I need to be making more videos! What do you think? Would you enjoy progress videos? Spoken vlogs?
This is one I made a while ago – if you haven't seen it before, click on the link below to have a look (it's about 2 minutes long).
Paintcakes!
It's pancake day! Here are some toppings for you to try:
A splash of Lemon Yellow Hue mixed with a dab of Titanium White
or
Swirl together a slug of Cadmium Red Deep with some Rose Madder, and add the tiniest speck of Cobalt Violet
or
Mix Prussian Blue with Zinc White
or
Carefully blend a little Terre Verte with Transparent Gold Ochre
OK, Ok, you get the picture – but don't the names of paint colours sound delicious?!
Pearl
Smokin' pens
This weekend, some more unsuspecting people of London...
Have been caught unawares by the Fastest Pen in the South East!
OK, so I didn't draw these on the spot, but I sort of took some 'mental photos', and drew them on the train journey home.
Pearl
Magic among the stars?
I don't know about you, but...
I'm blown away by the news that NASA has discovered seven new planets.
But what really interests me, is the fact that almost every report I've read has eagerly flagged up the fact that we can now crack on with looking for aliens.
"Not just one, but seven Earth-sized planets that could potentially harbor life have been identified orbiting a tiny star not too far away, offering the first realistic opportunity to search for signs of alien life outside the solar system."
The New York Times
"Seven Earth-like planets have makings of Alien life"
The Australian
"Exoplanets found orbiting Trappist-1 raise hope that the hunt for alien life beyond the solar system can start much sooner than previously thought."
The Guardian
I can remember solemnly telling my Primary school teacher that aliens do exist. And she told me in no uncertain terms that no, they most certainly do not.
As much as grown-ups like to wear suits and pretend to be sensible and important, like that teacher, I am happy to think that deep down, most people want to be as awe-inspired and believing as an eight-year-old kid.
Pearl
Ms. Prunella
The heels of her red satin slippers clacked on the hallway tiles.
As she made her way to the front door, she tied her dressing gown belt into a fumbled knot at her waist.
She certainly hadn't expected anyone to have rung the bell on this wet Thursday morning – especially not at this hour.
Squinting up ahead at the door, she could see a motionless figure waiting on the other side of the stained glass depiction of tulips.
She hesitated on the door mat, and let out a quiet expletive as she ran a self conscious hand through her bed hair. Then she cleared her throat, reached out and pulled open the door.
'Hell-' she stopped short, taken aback by the polished, immaculate figure standing there in a perfect white dress.
'Ms. Prunella?' asked the stranger, her voice as smooth as a pecan nut shell.
'Yes?'
The stranger handed Ms. Prunella a small white envelope, turned, and walked away.
Stunned, Ms. Prunella stood in the doorway for a moment with the envelope in her hand, staring after the stranger. Then she looked down at the envelope. She turned it over and tore open the seal with her thumbnail. She pulled out a smooth white card, imprinted with elegant, glossy black lettering. It read,
'Sometimes the Universe says yes.'
Pearl
The magic house
A friend of mine has recently done a terrifying thing.
She has pooled together all of her resources and has bought this incredible house.
Yesterday, I paid her a visit, and as we sat with cups of tea and chocolate digestives, she told me about her amazing vision for turning the building into a theatre and community hub for artists.
There is SO much work to do and SO much risk involved, that I'm sure many people would be quick to tell her that she is crazy.
Fortunately, however, this friend of mine believes in magic.
It's been interesting for me to watch how, one by one - this belief has begun to inspire the kind of people who could really help my friend to create something wonderful.
So, remember, kids!
Believe in magic
Pearl
Would you like to help me out? I'm working on building the readership for this blog. If you know someone that you think would enjoy these messages, please do invite them to join us. You can send them this link:
http://www.pearlbates.com/hunting-magic
Thank you :)
Spell books
When I was an art student, we were encouraged to voraciously fill up sketch books.
At one point, I was filling up a whole sketchbook every week.
The object of the exercise was to teach us to actively see the world the around us - to find new ways of visually interpreting it rather than to just passively observe.
I'm certainly not filling a sketchbook week at the moment, but I still nearly always have a sketchbook or a notebook on my person.
I don't often look back through them though – until this evening.
I found some wonderful visual 'spells' – I'll share them with you at some point.
Pearl
Food for the soul
I had dinner with a very special friend last night.
This friend of mine is renowned for his amazing, positive energy. Everyone feels good when they are around him.
But last night, he told me about the time when he had his heart broken, and for him, all the world came to an end.
I said, 'I'm so impressed that you made the decision to choose happiness,' and he told me,
'Art was my cure.'
So... don't let anyone tell you that the arts are a waste of time or money!
Pearl
Looking at the stars
'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars'.
Oscar Wilde's famous quote often comes to mind when I am in the city, because I love to look up.
There's such a lot going on at ground level that it's easy to forget to look up – but there's so much magic up there!
For example – this gorgeous sculpture by Rudy Weller. It's on the top of the Criterion Building in Piccadilly, London, and it's called 'Three Gilded Synchronised Divers'.
My photo is a bit grainy – but you get the idea.
Watch out for people who are looking at their phone rather than where they're going – but I really recommend stopping to look up now and again.
Pearl
