Having been to “painting village” a number of times over the years, it’s not for a lack of vision, but lack of market that they do not create original art. In shanghai as well as in Beijing there are a couple of arts districts that seriously show some great original art.
1 Like
this chap is fascinating…
Thought I would post the Chris Ofili elephant poo , holy virgin painting, I looked it up yesterday and it is very beautiful imo.
Alas, no clue at all, how to post an image here.
I seem to have discovered that when enunciating the words “les arts” the ‘s’ is not voiced/elided. Can a French speaker please put me right on this slippery issue? Ta very much. 
Layzarrrrr
2 Likes
Culture Vulture! Merci!
Interested to see the reply Peter - l always say ‘lez are’ but my pronunciation has got me into a lot of trouble over the years.
1 Like
Culture Vulture #2! Merci!
‘Lezbowzarts’ is another troublesome one😊
Difficulty in rolling my r’s😕
Very helpful. I asked 'cos I use Duolingo and now and then Les Chouettes require me to say something to test my pronunciation, and it is a rarity for me to get bowled out, even with tongue-twisters. But I was caught, bowled and stumped X3 by my best gallic “layzarrrr” until they mercifully took their claws out of my Adam’s apple and let me move on to the next question!
Anyone who has used Duolingo will know how tyrannical the Chouettes can be, but I give as good as I get and lampoon them mercilessly at every opportunity to comment on them. 
1 Like
Laybowzarrrrrr
2 Likes
Seeing this thread and the discussions, I’d be very interested to hear any comments on these two paintings - both of them are about 1500 x 500mm
Painting 1
Painting 2
1 Like
Now there’s a piege if I ever heard one!!
Well that was a comment, but not one that I really understand. I was very simply looking for some feedback, good, bad or indifferent, nothing more nothing less 
I’ve given these a quick glance to get my immediate response (would I like to buy or not to buy)… then a longer one, more contemplative…
I’d be interested to know if you are the painter and (if so) what thoughts were going through your mind while painting these.
I see more and more (or imagine I do) every time I peep at 'em.
EDIT: I should say, I’m not looking to buy but I’d like to know more about these works.
Thanks for the response - appreciated. I did paint both paintings actually, but I wouldn’t say that I’m a qualified painter in any way. I very much enjoy painting as a hobby, and find it extremely relaxing, and when I’ve hung paintings, I take great delight and satisfaction in appreciating what I’ve created. I realise my paintings are not to everyone’s taste, but for me, I find them interesting and it gives me alot of pleasure having them around, and they often remind me of a particular time or event. Although I must say I’m now running out of walls 
People have said in the past that I must sell some, but I do become very attached to the paintings, and I’m not really one to show them and talk for hours on end about them.
For painting 1, what inspired me to do this was a wildfire locally one year when I was at the house. The fire was far enough away to not pose such a great risk, but nevertheless it was a little unnerving, with flames licking the hills nearby and smoke bellowing out profusely. The fire was pretty devastating at the time, but now I’m pleased to say that the landscape has fully recovered. Maybe I should now create something based on the renewed state 
And for painting 2, well the inspiration for this was completely different, as this is meant to be a woman fading into the background and becoming a shadow of her former self. At the time I was recollecting memories of a past relationship, and how that had faded into time.
I do find it quite interesting how I can get prompted to paint. I may not paint for months, and then suddenly I’m drawn to it and feel very enthusiastic to start. I think it’s an event or a relevant subject cropping up in my mind, or something that I see that suddenly prompts me, and then I just start. And very interestingly, very often what I end up with is quite different to what I originally imagined creating when I started - the painting’s morph as the imagination kicks off - great light, great music playing, and I’m in my element
1 Like
Now that is interesting. I felt it was a person.
A person somewhere between angel and demon (obviously a bit flowery language but you get my drift). The “wings” on the left and the “dark body” in the middle…
The top painting is completely different in my view:
Feeding Frenzy is what I would call that.
The more I look, the more I see all sorts of fish/sea creatures, with gaping mouths… and the blood drifting through the water…
You are allowed to call me barmy… 
I’m used to my family laughing at what I can “see” in the old fashioned flocked wallpaper which used to adorn the walls in Chinese Restaurants. 
1 Like
And I think that’s the real beauty of abstract painting - everyone tends to see something a little different, as I guess that’s the imagination and interpretation kicking in, which is a wonderful thing. And I think the ‘somewhere between angel and demon’ was probably quite accurate actually 
1 Like
I wouldn’t form an opinion of a painting’s quality on the basis of a very small photograph, but I can still offer a couple of observations that you might find helpful.
I’d recommend not to provide such literal explanations of your painting because whilst that might be thought to enhance the viewer’s understanding, it actually constrains their reading of it. As you note in your subsequent post ‘everyone sees something different’ but if all the mystery has gone, what remains to interest the artist or the spectator? A painting often ceases to be interesting once it is ‘understood’. One has to keep finding new things and possibilities in a painting for it to endure.
Secondly, on a more practical level, if the second painting was twice as large, the spectator would have a much stronger relationship with the figure and the painting’s format would frame the the life-size figure as if in a doorway or portal. Tall narrow paintings are relatively unusual and have a different relationship to the spectator than rectangular or panoramic ones (like painting 1). Barnett Newman’s Eve in the Tate is an excellent example of how the painting’s verticality establishes a relationship with the (vertical) spectator.
By contrast viewing the horizontal painting 1 whether it be a panorama or an aerial view involves a horizontal retinal scanning more commonly associated with the viewing of landscape (hence the term ‘landscape format’).