Marimekko

In 1969 I used to pass the Marimekko shop in Jyväskylä almost daily, It was only a few hundred yards from our apartment.  It was winter in Finland when we arrived and I chose the one hour of daylight to push the pram through the snow to shop for the evening meal. In the long dark days with the monochrome landscape Marimekko became a beacon of colour. I went in often. I made curtains for the living room, bold blocks of white, bright yellow and shocking pink, and dresses of stunning blues and greens.
It's good to reflect on that time. If I have any worry now that leaving the bright colours of the South of France will adversely affect my paintings - I can forget it. My head has always been full of colour. After all, the designers at Marimekko managed it - brilliantly.
I still trawl through the Marimekko websites and look at all the designs I remember from that time.
More recently memories have come flooding back. I have been given two small beautiful Marimekko eggcups, as a gift from my son. Not normally an egg lover, I now start each day with a boiled egg. I can't resist the pleasure I get from just using them.

Wind and rain

The wind has been battering the house and it's raining heavily. With luck we may escape the snow this year. Over Christmas in Germany, as if by order, we had snow. Plenty of it just two days after Christmas. That felt different. We couldn't go far but we could walk to the restaurant in the evening and walk by the river, and we were on holiday so nothing really mattered. It was a bonus.When we stood on the balcony to watch the fireworks welcoming in 2015 the trees and houses were still covered in snow. It was magical.

I haven't resumed work yet. I am anxious to get back to the studio and start painting. Next week hopefully.

On the rocks.

Work is slow - but this one is finished.

On the rocks - oil on canvas.

Nicolas de Staël in Le Havre

When I went to see de Stael's work in the Museum of Modern Art in Le Havre a few weeks ago the day was misty and wet, the landscape predominately blues and greys. Set on the water's edge the museum windows all looked out over the sea. The setting gave great poignancy to Nicolas de Stael's last paintings of the sea outside his studio window in Antibes. The window from which he fell to his death.                                                                                                                                                                                

http://www.muma-lehavre.fr/en/exposition-details/lumieres-du-sud

The attraction of rocks and stone.

It's curious why stones and rocks have such a fascination for me. I grew up in a Monmouthshire village far from the coast surrounded by green fields and undulating hills. Later as a student in Cardiff I may have remembered the beach at Ogmore or walks at Southerndown and maybe my interest began then. It's more likely that a painting by Brenda Chamberlain in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff sparked something in me. A large painting of a stone in the centre of the canvas  - I haven't been able to track it down so I rely on my memory. The details of the painting are not important. The impact it had on me is something I do remember.

I live near the coast now and my home in France over the past 17 years has been a 12th Century stone house in a medieval village where all the buildings are made of limestone. Plenty of inspiration there but a trip this summer around Ramsey Island in Pembrokeshire was a bonus I hadn't expected. I have images stored away that I'm desperate to get onto canvas. 

Selling up.

My trips to France are shorter now. I take a flight rather than drive and there's no opportunity to paint. The house is up for sale so I use the time to see friends and sit in the sun on the terrace. The decision's made and and I'm happy with it. Life moves on!



House for sale.
http://sjolley.wix.com/frenchhouse

One down, one to go.

Yesterday I cheered for Djokovic at Wimbledon and tomorrow I'll cheer for Germany in Brazil. With Wales not represented in either championship my support is for my grandchildren two of which are part Serbian and two are half German.
Work is suffering somewhat but there are lots of distractions. I'm pretty relaxed about it and just enjoying the summer.