R.I.P. ugly cat

On a quiet street in a small Lincolnshire village is where I met this enormous fluffy cat. I just had to take a photo of him because he was sat on his bench with his tongue out! The photo on the right was taken on another visit, about a year after my first encounter, and his tongue was still out! It has come to my attention that he must have passed away now as I haven't seen him for the last 2 years...R.I.P. Ugly.

Charley Harper

Whilst seeking inspiration in Tate Modern’s book shop I found a huge book by the late artist/illustrator, Charley Harper, called Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life. I thought the illustrations were just so lovely and fresh. Harper who grew up on a farm in West Virginia and was inspired by the animals, plants and wildlife that surrounded him. The images look like they were created recently, yet most of his work dates from the 50’s to 80’s, but because of his stylised geometric lines and flat colours they are timeless. Needless to say, I left feeling very inspired!

Watermelon Moon, 1973

Birdfeeders, 1970

Pier Group, 1984 and Scary Scenario, 2008

"I don't think there was much resistance to the way I simplified things. I think everybody understood that. Some people liked it and others didn't care for it. There's some who want to count all the feathers in the wings and then others who never think about counting the feathers, like me."-Charley Harper

Hello world!

Deciding on my first posting proved harder than I thought, and having just come back from New York I felt this would be a good starting point. This time round, I found myself to be more inspired by the city than ever, so inspired in fact that I want to share my findings and experiences with you as well as the daily inspirations that surround us. It’s so nice to step away from the tourism and sample a city in its real glory, so on that basis, for my first posting I thought I’d introduce you to two locals that I met in the East Village. Please meet the boys...
Seeing them made me laugh but I wasn’t expecting the old lady who came out of her apartment, and greeted them with her 40-a-day voice: “hell-aw bouys, how are you today? You look kinda funny to me” which has now become the subtitle to the picture whenever I see it or even think of them. She was a perfect likeness to the grumpy bookkeeper – Roz – from Monster’s Inc, with horned rimmed glasses and everything! It was as if I had stepped into a movie scene. I promise my next posting will be more sophisticated, but I just couldn't resist these two!

Thanks and please drop by again!