Shell’s Notes

I’ve created a curriculum for myself so I can pretend I’m still at school. Art, history, literature, creative writing, cultural studies, a bit of science and languages. I want to feel like I did in the 90s when I was a teenager without a mobile phone. I’m just using Tumblr to collect my notes, ideas, research and things that catch my attention.

[rosieandthemoon]

By Maxfield Parrish, 1913

[illbehomewithyou]

That light again…

[illbehomewithyou]

Sitting in a waiting room some years ago, waiting for my child whilst they were talking to a counsellor.

I was feeling very sad and worried for them.

The beautiful light consoled me and waited with me.

[illbehomewithyou]

I found some photos I took a few years back, just after Covid, late November of 2020, when my partner was living in Nantwich, Cheshire.

An example of my interest in light and dark.

I took several photos and have spent some time this morning cropping them to get the composition and effect I want. I’m interested in the journey away into the dark. I also love the pattern of shadows on the farthest away brick building on the left, and the ominous feeling created by the metal fencing on the right of the white building.

[theinternetarchive]

california through the eyes of photographer wilson davis ellis, american c. 1940s-50s.

[illbehomewithyou]

Collecting examples of art that I like 9/6/26

[illbehomewithyou]

Today I got really into the art of Maxfield Parrish. It’s the way he paints light. I stumbled across his work because I was looking at artists who depict fairy tales and similar. But it’s his later landscapes I love, inspired by his New Hampshire home and his time in Arizona.

These paintings put me in mind of photos I have taken. I’ve been back through my gallery and found some of them. I’ll post them and also use some of them for ideas for my own art.

Don’t know if I’m going off-curriculum already but I don’t care. I’m fascinated by Parrish’s work and want to explore ways to depict light and colour myself. My art skills are extremely limited. It is going to be a massive learning curve.