Thursday, January 30, 2014
Cucurucu
Can't stop playng this! Beautiful song by Nick Mulvey and amazing video.... Filming by one of my favourite photographers James Morgan
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Sun and sea polaroid moments II
Dingli Cliffs
Watercolour on paper by Helen Torreggiani
Mother and child
Watercolour on paper by Helen Torreggiani
Lost in the sea
Watercolour on paper by Helen Torreggiani
The Big Blue
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani [120x90cm]
Middle Sea Race 2009
Ink and watercolour on paper by Helen Torreggiani
"Turn your face towards the sun and the shadows
will fall behind you"
will fall behind you"
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani
Untitled I
Watercolour on paper by Helen Torreggiani
Cube of sea I [Blue Grotto]
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani
Sun and sea polaroid moments I
Sailing into the sunset
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani [60x50cm]
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani [60x50cm]
Rocks at Dwejra
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani [40x30cm]
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani [40x30cm]
Filfla
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani [90x60cm]
Oil on canvas by Helen Torreggiani [90x60cm]
Dingli Cliffs
Pastel on paper by Helen Torreggiani [29.7x42cm]
Pastel on paper by Helen Torreggiani [29.7x42cm]
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Turner vs The Elements
While the german artist Casper David Friedrich was painting his landscapes with figure silhouettes against the forces of nature, in Britain there was another artist captivated by the forces of nature and its elements, namely the sea. This was JMW Turner (1775 - 1851). In my opinion he probably is the only other artist, apart from Leonardo da Vinci, who had a deep desire to discover the elemental power of nature and water in it's truest form, although Leonardo's was true in reproducing it scientifically, Turner's was true in capturing it emotionally.
In Turner's earlier works he mainly deals with pretty landscapes touching on the surface of nature's elements, but in his later works he drowns himself in the elements literally, as can be seen in his famous painting Snowstorm (1842).
It is a painting of a steamboat off a harbour's mouth, making signals in shallow water in the middle of a storm. The fascinating thing is that Turner was on the boat at the time, as he is quoted as saying
"I only painted it because I wished to show what such a scene was like; I got sailors to lash me to the mast to observe it; I was lashed for four hours and did not expect to escape, but I felt bound to record it if I did. No one has any business to like it."
This painting is the essence of Turner through and through, probably his finest seascape in my opinion. The massive vortex of nature's elements rain, sea, water spray, snow mist, and steam all swirling around almost as if it's swallowing up the boat like a tornado. In a similar way, the viewer gets sucked into this complex vortex of chaotic nothingness. It is painted with such raw energy, that Turner gives the viewer a real perception of what being in the middle of a storm must truly feel like.
Up until Turner, people were used to seeing landscape paintings framed with a sense of superficiality filled with balance and order, so when Turner presented Snowstorm to the world, he truly caused a new unrest in the art world, for this painting was one with no boundaries, no constraints. It was an epitome of the true spirit of nature in all its disruption, something that I don't think any artist had ever captured.
In Turner's earlier works he mainly deals with pretty landscapes touching on the surface of nature's elements, but in his later works he drowns himself in the elements literally, as can be seen in his famous painting Snowstorm (1842).
It is a painting of a steamboat off a harbour's mouth, making signals in shallow water in the middle of a storm. The fascinating thing is that Turner was on the boat at the time, as he is quoted as saying
"I only painted it because I wished to show what such a scene was like; I got sailors to lash me to the mast to observe it; I was lashed for four hours and did not expect to escape, but I felt bound to record it if I did. No one has any business to like it."
This painting is the essence of Turner through and through, probably his finest seascape in my opinion. The massive vortex of nature's elements rain, sea, water spray, snow mist, and steam all swirling around almost as if it's swallowing up the boat like a tornado. In a similar way, the viewer gets sucked into this complex vortex of chaotic nothingness. It is painted with such raw energy, that Turner gives the viewer a real perception of what being in the middle of a storm must truly feel like.
Up until Turner, people were used to seeing landscape paintings framed with a sense of superficiality filled with balance and order, so when Turner presented Snowstorm to the world, he truly caused a new unrest in the art world, for this painting was one with no boundaries, no constraints. It was an epitome of the true spirit of nature in all its disruption, something that I don't think any artist had ever captured.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Water in Watercolour
I'm used to painting mainly in acrylics and oils, always having shyed away from watercolours - never quite managed to get the right feel of them. But this summer I decided to have a go especially because they're great for doing quick live sketches when you're out and about.
My first attempt was on the beach with my friend and her little one. I called it Mother and child.
The second painting is looking over at the sea on Dingli Cliffs.
This is a great place for peaceful walks and just to sit peacefully and look out to sea or watch the sunset. Sitting up high on Dingli cliffs and looking out to the immense volume of sea and sky below you, always helps put alot into perspective - it reminds you of how small we all are in comparison to the enormity of the world – in a way it intensifies the concept of how mighty and daunting the world is against humanity. Such a concept is captured through the work of German artist Casper David Friedrich who is well known for painting landscapes mostly with figure silhouettes against the forces of nature. He seeks to convey the spiritual experiences of life and one can see this in his famous painting The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818). The painting shows loneliness and individualism, a feeling of one against the world, against the unknown, making the viewer think 'what is beyond?'
My first attempt was on the beach with my friend and her little one. I called it Mother and child.
The second painting is looking over at the sea on Dingli Cliffs.
This is a great place for peaceful walks and just to sit peacefully and look out to sea or watch the sunset. Sitting up high on Dingli cliffs and looking out to the immense volume of sea and sky below you, always helps put alot into perspective - it reminds you of how small we all are in comparison to the enormity of the world – in a way it intensifies the concept of how mighty and daunting the world is against humanity. Such a concept is captured through the work of German artist Casper David Friedrich who is well known for painting landscapes mostly with figure silhouettes against the forces of nature. He seeks to convey the spiritual experiences of life and one can see this in his famous painting The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818). The painting shows loneliness and individualism, a feeling of one against the world, against the unknown, making the viewer think 'what is beyond?'
The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Casper David Friedrich
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