The Creative Identity

Dead Calm

Three years ago I bought one of those little 5-year diaries, you know the sort? The ones that allow a few lines per day and you update it every day for a year, then start again and so on for five years? I have this one. I've shown up every day since 1st Jan 2014, even though I must confess that, while the premise is to record 'events most worthy of consideration', in many places I slid into a veritable compendium of the boring and the mundane. Several days over this past summer were merely recorded as 'NALGO' [=web-speak for 'not a lot going on' if you don't know, but you know now] which is as far from the raison d'être of these diaries as one could possibly get. But still, now that I am filling in year three and already have two to compare, I am having quite a lot of fun in remembering where I was and what I was doing exactly on day X, including on 'NALGO' days, which mostly qualified as 'working from Nero, not much happening', a blur of sameness. But there's another reason for 'NALGO'. 2015 has been a thorough disappointment. It's been more than a disappointment, it's been a total kick in the teeth, only topped by 2010 and 2012 [God, why so many ghastly years so close together!]. At the end of the year we are all on our blogs and sites, all celebrating the wonderful things we have and we do,... Read more →

Building A Library : Thoughts on Over-Indulgence

For a number of weeks I've been toying with the idea of buying no books whatsoever in 2016 and to read only from my own library. I am saying 'toying with the idea' here but it was more like a very fleeting thought that first came and went while I was browsing the SALE bin in Foyles. Then it surfaced again when, looking for a set of pencils, I came across a number of boxes in the guest bedroom [whaaaaat?! I moved 8 months ago! How can these still be here?!], two of which contain books from the house in Cheshire I forgot I had [but was very thrilled to see again, The Polar Express amongst them, as well as the Tutankhamen book of the exhibition from a few years back]. But there it was again, that passing suggestion to myself that, hey, you've got tons of wonderful books you've yet to read right here at home. Allow me to tell you at this point that I did not feel bad about it at all; when one buys books at the rate I do [350+ over the past three years alone], one isn't really doing so in order to rush home to crack a new pristine spine by the fireplace, but because the Building of The Perfect Library is a lifelong commitment. And yet, having moved twice in 26 months, the silent brown boxes stacked in many corners have been a very stern reminder that I've got plenty at home,... Read more →

The Best [of my] Colouring Books

In my draft folder sits a post I started in July, titled Summer Neurasthenia. I never did finish it, in fact, I did not even make it to half-way through, mostly because, while I was focusing on the reasons for being so damn uneasy and restless at the time, I actually picked up one of the many colouring books for adults that have sprung up everywhere since the beginning of last year. I drifted away from writing on here and started piling up colouring books. Soon I realised that I was becoming particularly picky about them and that what once seemed like 'nice enough' would never cut it if I were to put pen to paper. Yes, here's the thing, I use pens to colour, not pencils or felt-tips. Specifically, I use Sakura's Jelly Rolls, which I find to be of great intensity, easy to get into super-tiny detail and great at spurring me on not to correct anything, quite simply because I can't. It's a great antidote to terminal perfectionist syndrome. I try not to surf the web looking at what others have done because instead of finding it inspirational I tend to beat myself up for colouring like a three-year-old, which is really amusing because when I was small I would never colour anything in. I was big on sketching, in pen, and on never ever correcting or colouring anything. Now I have approached colouring with no plans and no vision. I get a pen out of my... Read more →

To Look Forward To In 2016

It's really difficult to live in London without feeling at the very centre of the cultural universe. I know that New York suffers from a similar sense of superiority and yet, when I think of London, I really do think that everything happens here all the time, a feeling that is compounded by the good fortune of living in Chelsea which, itself, is regarded as the pinnacle of London living. I couldn't wait to leave behind 2015 because, even though I rightly claim that my own year starts on 1st September, my birthday, there's no escaping that it is January which heralds a new, big number on calendars, diaries and computers everywhere. 2016. Gosh, 16 years since the millennium, I cannot quite believe it. When the London Olympics were announced in the distant 2005, 2012 seemed such a far, far, far away year and look at us now... The past twelve months have been full of disappointment for me, from every which angle. I sincerely hope that 2016 won't be any way near as hard-nosed as its predecessor. I am very much looking forward to Monet to Matisse, which will be the first super-exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts this year and is due to open imminently. I also cannot wait for a celebration of Vogue's 100 years, which will open in February at The National Portrait Gallery. There's also Delacroix coming up at The National Gallery as well as Georgia O'Keffee at Tate Modern. The V&A will also... Read more →

2015 Highlights

Movies watched at the cinema : 78 Some of the best : Legend, Magic Mike XXL, Foxcatcher, Birdman, The Theory of Everything, Inside Out, Steve Jobs, Precinct Seven Five, Carol, Southpaw, Ant-Man The worst : The Bad Education Movie The most over-rated : Spectre Books I bought : 84 Best home video addiction : Rocky Best fiction : Paper Towns, Grandpa's Great Escape, Katy, Murder for Christmas Best non-fiction : Creativity Best literary event : Letters Live in April Best musical event : Ratatouille at The Royal Albert Hall Favourite bookshop : Daunt Books Fulham Road, same as last year Best art bookshop : The National Gallery, same as last year and the one before Best charity bookshop : slim pickings this year, nobody wins Best online bookshop : The Book People, same as last year and the one before Best art event : From Santiago Montoya at The Halcyon Gallery to two Hamlet with Benedict to Mademoiselle Privé at The Saatchi Gallery via McQueen's Savage Beauty at the V&A and Masterpiece, it's been a fantastic year, culturally-speaking. But there was something truly special, for me, about Barnaby Barford's Tower of Babel at the V&A Number of significant writing endeavours started : 0 Most significant creative endeavour started : none People who unceremoniously exited my life : 3 People who re-entered it : 1 Holidays taken : 0 Cities I've travelled to : 0 House moves : 1 Most unexpected encounter : Antonio Banderas at Manicomio Most longed-for encounter :... Read more →