Erstwhiler profile picture

Erstwhiler

Make a child a painting and he'll be happy for a day. Teach a child to paint and he'll be miserable

About Me

please visit my on-line picture show ::here::

My Interests


Mainly art but also: papier mache, making occasional earth ovens, reading everything from fiction to philosophy and attempting to unravel String Theory, painting, drawing, psychology, model making (which is mostly about seeing other peoples work and saying 'wow!'), music, Women's Hour on Radio 4, more art, listening to audio books whilst painting. Anything creative and not too obscurely cerebral (it's dark and unpleasant up other peoples arses).Addictions: coffee, time wasting, that damned nicotine.

I'd like to meet:

artists, creative people - geeks and geniuses in general.“Surround yourself with people who respect and treat you well.”Favourite artists:
:: George Tooker Tribute Page
:: Costa Vavagiakis
:: Lucien Freud
:: Laurie Lipton
:: April Gornik
:: John Currin
My paintings can be seen in the upcoming
:: Body Of Work Exhibition ::
29th June to 13th July 2007, Lewes, UK.interesting site for creative types ::gapingvoid.com::and for the more embittered amongst us ::slowly downward.com::“Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings" George Tookerread more quotes (cynical + inspiring!) ::here::Vote for me at the Saatchi Gallery Showdown Competition ::here::
While you're at it put your own work up, it's free.



i can't be doing with allowing massive pics with peoples comments. Call me Mrs Brady, Old Lady but that's how it is ok?

Music:

Favourite: The Smiths - I can never get enough of them.Morrissey, Patti Smith Group, The Killers, Thea Gilmore, Lily Allen, Zappa, Django Rheinhardt, Pixies, Tom Waits, Janis Joplin, New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, Skunk Anansie, Jimi Hendrix, Faithless, Johnny Cash, Thee Headcoats, White Stripes, JJ Cale, Paul Robeson. Old blues - Leadbelly, Bessie Smith etc, musicals, world music and, in fact, loads too much to mention. Call me ecletic, i beg of you.

Movies:

Film to make you go 'huh?': What The %$£*^ Do We Know? Get it, watch it, think about it!Favourites: The Alien films esp Alien 3Most recent at cinema = Perfume, Transamerica, Walk The Line. Other: CGI kids films e.g. Shrek and trad animation e.g. The Corpse Bride. Loved Five Children and It, too.
Most recent dvd: Sin City.
Old black and white films starring Fred Astaire/Cary Grant/Katherine Hepburn/Audrey Hepburn. Hitchcock etc.
The Member Of The Wedding, A Streetcar Named Desire, Denis Potter esp Blue Remembered Hills, Bladerunner, Tarantino esp. Kill Bill 1+2, British films e.g. Pure/ Nil By Mouth, 60's classics etc Psychological horror films.

Television:

Psychobabble stuff esp Shrink Rap on More4 - want this on all the time...Comedy: Favourite all time comedian(s) = Tommy Cooper and, obviously, Eric Morecambe. Denis Leary.On tv: Black Books, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Catherine Tate, Peep Show, Extra's (The Office gives me Tourettes), Spaced, Blue Jam, Brass Eye, Jo Brand, French and Saunders, Steven Wright.ER and drooling over Dr Luka in a sad, middle aged way, Desperate Housewives, Shameless, Art progs.Eastenders and crap made for tv films (for monging time - i have a busy head) Other: Simpsons, art documentaries, life stories. Also X Factor and similar rubbish.

Books:

Book of the year 2007: Alla Prima by Richard Schmid; soft cover edition (i know the hardback has been around a long time but not for me, my love).
2006: Jonathan Strange and Mr NorellFavourite authors: Isabelle Allende esp. 'House of The Spirits', Carson McCullers esp. 'The Member Of The Wedding', Patrick Suskind esp. 'Perfume' Katherine Mansfield, Patricia Cornwell, Joolz Denby esp. 'Billie Morgan', JK Rowling, Kate Atkinson, Pearl S. Buck, Dorothy Parker, Ian McKewan, Iain Banks. I love to discover quirky and funny books no one has ever heard of e.g. 'The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint', art books, too many to remember. Heaven = lying in the bath and losing myself in a good book.

Heroes:

Artists: George Tooker (again - he really is v good), John Currin, Velasquez, Ron Mueck, Georgia O'Keefe, Maxfield Parrish, Frida Kahlo, Kathe Kollwitz, Tomma Abt, Robert Crumb, Grayson Perry, Michael Sowa, Gaudi and so many. Most art interests me. Other: Carl Jung, Bertrand Russell, Ivor Cutler, Kafka, the Suffragettes, Bill Hicks, Quentin Crisp, Melanie Klein, Morrissey, my grandmother, my mother and many other people who aren't famous (...to be completed).

My Blog

A new painting - initial stages

2: Crappy photo.Hair is just about finished apart from glowing highlights(?).skin too dark still plus needs simplifying to get it how i want it.Next month, part 3. Don't you kids get too excited y'hea...
Posted by Erstwhiler on Thu, 02 Nov 2006 02:52:00 PST

The Ancient Art of Enneagrams...

so far i'm a 6, 5, 4, 8...it depends on mood it seems. Maybe i'm a loaded dice?..>  Main Type Overall Self ..>Take Free Enneagram Personality Test..>..>..>..>..>..>..>...
Posted by Erstwhiler on Sun, 11 Mar 2007 02:00:00 PST

Studio

Kitty Thundercat is nonplussed..." My little corner of the wurlde"(say with grossly sickly sweet 'Valley Girl' accent)....
Posted by Erstwhiler on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 05:41:00 PST

Egg Tempera artist George Tooker is 87

www.tendreams.orgArtnet.com Dear J. Sinclair, Mr. Tooker is very much alive, he will be 87 in August.  We will be presenting a small exhibition of Tooker paintings from April 25  June 22, 2...
Posted by Erstwhiler on Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:55:00 PST

Interesting sites and things that make me go 'haw! haw! a wabbit!'...

31/03/2007 - String TheoryA quote from the BBC 'Parallel Universes' : "there are an infinite number of universes each with their own laws of physics" fuck my old boots!!:::::::::::::::::::::::::...
Posted by Erstwhiler on Wed, 15 Nov 2006 01:39:00 PST

culture vulture?

You scored as Idealist. Idealism centers around the belief that we are moving towards something greater. An odd mix of evolutionist and spiritualist, you see the divine within ourselves, waiting to e...
Posted by Erstwhiler on Fri, 03 Nov 2006 03:14:00 PST

Ode to Mank

I woke up at 4am with this ode to my neighbour, his mucky cups and my health risking British politeness in my head:'Cup of Tea?' Always The Manky Cup Hubristically proferred The encrusted rim So car...
Posted by Erstwhiler on Sat, 30 Sep 2006 04:32:00 PST