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Updates and additions
November 17th
I’d like to report that everything is going to plan, but I managed to injure my leg last Saturday and have been almost immobile since, not able to stand for long, and not able to work on my exhibition. Things are getting a bit better, but I don’t think I’ll be able to work properly this week. I’m planning a series of quite large flower paintings (80x80cm) and the amaryllis is the first of them. How many I complete before the exhibition depends really on whether I can go and buy some more canvases. The paintings are acrylics and take about 10 hours each to complete. But I have enough other paintings to exhibit so I’m not really worried!
Please click on the image  to view a larger version of the amaryllis.
I’m off track for abstracts at the moment and I can’t relate to the older ones. I don’t know why. That’s one reason I’d like to show more flower paintings.
A week or so ago my large (160x80cm) magnolia painting went to its new home. My wall seemed very empty after it had gone. I plan to replace it when I’m physically able to deal with the logistics!
Click on the image to see the larger version.
November 12th
Slowly but surely I’m getting mentally prepared for my exhibition. I’m going to hang the paintings on 2nd December, so the next days and weeks will be spent making sure the paintings are actuaqlly hangable. This time I’m showing a number of smaller ones, some abstract, some figurative, some old, some new. I hope the mixture will be enjoyaable for the visitors. I’m really quite excited now the date is drawing closer. I didn’t think I would be - or even have enough new paintings to show. But I think I will have, so I’m being positive. Tonight I just want to point you to the painting that has taken me many weeks to complete. It’s here!
October 22nd
My newest paintings aren’t quite ready to upload. Call again soon!
Sometimes it’s necessary to make decisions. I made an important one last week: I deleted some of my web galleries portfolios. I was spending so much time fiddling around on various web sites that I had no time left to paint or even get other things done that should have had priority. It’s easy to get into the swing of online chats etc - I know we all do it and enjoy it, but it should not take more time than the rest of one’s day and I was tending in that direction. Part of the problem is the custom to comment on other people’s work. Some artists send mails asking one look at their latest creation - and say nice things about it - and sadly, words often fail me in this direction, not because I am particularly good, but because I am discerning enough to notice when talent and/or skill is plainly lacking and would like to say so but can’t or shouldn’t, since everyone is responsible for his or her self-delusions (including me, of course). No one likes to be criticized, but on the other hand, reading comments that are plainly over the top is not constructive either, and I’d rather read an honest word or two from someone whose judgment I can respect. But how does one find out what is really genuine, and what is just idle flattery? The usual axe to grind is being able to point out how many people think one’s work is “awesome”. But I really don’t need that! I’m just going to struggle on in my own sweet way and if you like my work, that makes me happy. For more thoughts on this topic please read my artist’s statement (scroll down the page).
October 10th
Just a quick update. Had to remove the satirical Palin “debate” because the link was dead. Sorry. I hope to upload new paintings next week. Tomorrow I have to celebrate my own birthday, so today is a day of sadness for all the missed opportunities.....
September 20th
I’m celebrating my son’s birthday today by adding a page to this website. It makes me laugh every tme I come across it. There was a satirical piece here about “Restless Brush Syndrome” = RBS here in humorous response to an article on RLS = Restless Leg Syndrome. My satirical response to that letter is here if you scroll down the page, but I quote it:
More RBS rather than less Faith Puleston, Wetter, Germany,
Assuming there is no medical cause (Parkinson's, for example), compulsive repetition of brush-strokes (Restless Brush Syndrome or RBS) may be a sign of insecurity (self-disbelief), dissatisfaction with life (in general) and the painting itself (in particular). It could be a form of doodling, automatic writing (Is anyone there?), or even an advanced form of that game we used to play as kids, blindfoldedly having to attach the tail to the pig or some other domestic animal, suffering devastating humiliation from the paralytic laughter of the onlookers when we got it wrong, which we usually did, having been pirouetted to dizziness beforehand.
Depending on your zodiac sign, RBS could be subversiveness, indecisiveness, self-negation or humbug. If you are into Feng-Shui, it might be a subconscious desire for a new order of things, a way of tidying up your life (finding inner meanings via outer balance?). A New Age fan might be exploring esoteric concepts for self-fulfillment, and people like me, terminally middle-aged and usually in too much of a hurry to think more carefully about what to do next, could be merely covering up the last set of brush-strokes which failed to have the desired effect.
Another consideration: How many really famous artists have had RBS? I would say Seurat had it in quite an advanced form, Monet and Pollock were also afflicted. But the admirers of these and countless other artists cannot all be wrong. Maybe we should have more of RBS rather than less of it!
Much to my amazement, a few months later it had been taken up as a genuine complaint and made its way onto this website:
http://pharmamkting.blogspot.com/2006/06/restless-brush-syndrome-lessons-for.html. If you can’t be bothered going there, just click on ths RBS link in the menu!
I recently reacted to another letter here, which I also quote:
Restless brush syndrome by Faith Puleston, Herdecke, Germany
Whenever I need something to cheer me up I write my name and a few "clues" into google and I'm guaranteed an hour's entertainment, and these musings owe quite a lot to your efficient marketing! Web-crawling is definitely the healthy alternative to pub-crawling! Do you remember writing a piece on RBS ? At the time I thought it was satirical and replied with some satire of my own. But ever since then there has been some sort of cult about it! Scrolling down the page of this admirable website I found a few more tips which might be of use. I think they apply to pretty well everything art-connected or art-disconnected. Here they are:
1) The condition may be a natural consequence of aging rather than a medical problem.
2) Lifestyle and diet changes may be viable alternatives to serious medication.
3) Maybe it can't be cured at all.
4) Perhaps it's all "humbug."
5) The condition could be of some benefit to the sufferer.
Obviously some creative people, including the admirable John Mack of the website, have jumped right onto this particular bandwagon. So what is the truth about RBS, Bob? Come clean. Should we be aiming for heightened creativity through decontrol or practicing painting by foot and mouth?
I think it just proves that you can sell anything if you put your mind to it.
Anyway, Happy Birthday to my son, who is taking a break on an island off Teneriffa. I miss him, of course, especially on days like birthdays. But he has more than earned a break, so I’ll buy some fresh flowers and spend the day just celebrating having two wonderful kids and not regretting that they are able to lead independent and full lives.
September 17th
Just a short update to keep the record straight. I worked on my other pages first this time round. I’m really busy making new paintings and will post a whole lot very soon! My firm intention to start completing a painting a day has been postponed until further notice because I’m trying to paint two very large canvases. This morning I took the monumental decision of abandoning the acrylics and going back to oils. Though the canvases are 160x80 cm I think I can work faster in oil glazes because they stay supple for long enough to get them right! Images to follow very soon. My weblog (see link) is also at a stillstand until I can take the time to get it up and running properly. The intention is really to abandon most other forms of publication, but not just yet. I like having the freedom of design here. I know it’s simple! It’s meant to be.
August 28th
I don’t know where August went to! 2 weeks in the UK refreshed me (photos coming soon) and I’m back in the old routine, except that I haven’t done anything like enough translating, almost no writing, and too little painting, but I will be very busy during the next months, finishing or reparing older paintworks and hopefully getting a few new ones ready for a little exhibition in December! I’ll keep you posted. I started a new blog called: faithonfaith.wordpress.com with the firm intention of doing a painting of some kind (almost) every day, but August was a write-off. Last week I rejoined a painting class I went to years ago to get me back on track painting regularly. I find painting in a group very stimulating, because I usually work alone, there being no one within reasonable reach who would be interested in working together. I’m tempted to do a class on a regular basis for this reason. I don’t think I’m a very good student. I like to go my own way (rightly or wrongly), so tutors have a hard time (assuming they want to do any tutoring - I prefer a guardian angel to an interfering educator). I’m really more interested in watching what’s happening around me.
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July 29th This will be the smallest update ever. I should be asleep. I leave for the UK in 6 hours! But checking through I noticed one or two errors, so I’ll correct them. I decided one hour ago to ditch all my art materials and have a complete break. So I won’t get any new paintings done at all for 2 weeks. Instead I plan to finish a book of stories I’ve been writing for donkey’s years. And I’ll take lots of photos everywhere! I posted some abstracts done earlier this year and in 2007 (the trio infernale). That’s all for now, folks. Tempus fugit!
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July 21st...this time including a new page for daily paintings. With my vacation starting on 30th July, I probably won’t get that project going properly till I get home two weeks later, but I hope to do some daily painting there and maybe even post images to my new weblog, the link to which is on the right. My other pages include some writing and a selection of photos. I plan eventually to ditch all or nearly all the websites and post everything online to weblogs as they can be accessed from anywhere and it saves all the bother of design and maintenance, which is a time-consuming activity and sometimes highly frustrating!
I have posted quite a few images here. The trend is definitely away from galleries charging sometimes exhorbitant fees for showing one’s work. Though these galleries offer extra services, it is really not worth while for me in Germany because shipping larger artworks is prohibitively expensive even if one does find a buyer. Red Bubble offers prints of artworks. If you are interested but can’t find that particular painting in my portfolio (“faithart”), please contact me.
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