Art-a-Day While in the UK ('25 '26)
This winter I booked us a 4 week visit to England, to tour London, North Yorkshire, Norwich, and back to London--before returning to the frost-bitten North Atlantic US coast. For my artworks, I worked on a few pieces over multiple days, or took photographs, or constructed a piece of *jewelry. Here's a bit of it. Line art tribute to David Bowie and Jilly Cliff: Amy Winehouse, coloured pencil: pen and ink scribble, stylized elephant: copy of south Asian sculpture (from postcard): The jewelry …
London for a gig (part 1)
Vegetarian lunch at Nostimo A Day & A Night in London I found NOSTIMO Greek Restaurant in Russell Sq—in that old Brutalist building I love so much (The Brunswick Centre)—anyway, ordered the veggie platter—which comes with chips. I forget that Britons love chips more than any side. The platter came with a gorgeous fresh salad, tahini, made-to-order pita, hot and crisp, and what looked like 2 generous slices of grilled polenta. When I cut the first of these medallions open, it spilt out fresh cooked peas and carrot, still a bit firm. What a…
England 2025: Manchester
Technically it's Day 3 I caught the train from Euston Station in London, to meet Emma at Manchester Picadilly, for an epic day out. We planned to eat in at the world-mentioned Kingfisher chippy in the Northern Quarter, then take a self-guided street art tour. If you don’t know about the Manchester art scene, it is filthy with tags, graffiti art, slaps, mosaics, and full-on building height murals. While it’s not the City of Angels, it is not to be missed! We grabbed me a fish n chips platter…still a meal too big for me to finish (and I ke…
Challenge: A Week of Self-Portraits
My favorite person in the whole of England, Gardener Purple Wellies , challenged me to complete an activity with her, for a week. We were both tasked with making a drawing of ourselves, at the same time each day, and then writing a single word that sums up our experience of the day. She made me wait for a full week before we could do show and tell of all pieces. We’ll exchange our pics on Sunday…but there’s no rule that said I can’t blog about it. My Saturday sketch is Schl ä fzimer (bedroom), with me sleeping into the morning Monday was sh…
PoeM: Retail Therapy
Needed to buy new clothes to help feel better today. It's odd but whenever I buy something new, it’s viewed through the lens of being with you. Not just clothes but anything, everything. I bet he’d love this dress on me. I‘m certain he’d know a good recipe for this salmon. I can guarantee he’d be amused by the Velcro on these sport sandals. Today’s purchase is slinky and sexy and the fabric begs to be touched, caressed, and admired. It’s a far cry from what I had on when we met… A sweater, winter coat, ear muffins—probably, all …
An artist statement...
It has been over 2 decades since I penned my first/last artist statement. But the time is at hand. I love the idea of truth and sharing my truth. This is it, in about 500 words: Born in the eastern Caribbean leeward island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, I was predicted to become a doctor or engineer by my dad. Having moved to the US to finish primary school, I found that alongside an affinity for programming, maths, and literature, I possessed a passion for drawing. Eight-year-old Simone exclaimed “I shall be an artist” in response to learnin…
PoeM: LDN Winter Sunshine
There I was sketching in Regent's Park in London in the height of winter, when and this couple walked past me holding hands. I snapped a photo then jotted down these words before they disappeared out of sight: Seeing them makes me think of you, AND of how effin' cold it is.
El Anatsui at October Gallery
London 2024 El Anatsui, artist, inspiration. Solemn Crown at Dawn, 1989 Exhibition at October Gallery. Wires wrapped, bottle caps pressed, light, depth, movement, negative space, reflection, transparency. He signs each piece with his initials hidden somewhere. I found 1! the artist's signature on a 1" square of hammered metal This artwork makes me feel like a fraud, and I am moved to tears to see the large fluid fabrics made from metal. Another feeling inspires greater experimentation--I will explore this. There are older works…
Art-a-Day While in the UK
The creative process while traveling is something like this. I often pause at a restaurant or cafe, order a pint and a plate, then mentally scroll through my day... did any event stick out, or did anything in particular cross my mind during my travels, Or perhaps something amusingly memorable happen to me...or when in doubt, what looks good from my travel photos! A year or two ago I started a practice of creating one artwork per day while traveling. It's significantly more than I can manage while at home, HA! Here are the pieces I created …
Recent Painting & Accomplishment
I snapped a few photos of myself while watching the first England match of the 2023 Women's World Cup, at 4am, on my laptop, at the farm. This was my favorite one of the series. I challenged myself to relinquish control and succeeded. Rather than rely on small brushes, short strokes, and meticulous control over the medium, I slathered on acrylic paint with larger brushes, finger tips, and pencil butts to daub on acrylic paint. This was a meditative practice, and I am brimming with pride at the result!
Recent Painting & Inspiration...
To try something new, that is. I started this painting at the farm a few weeks back and spent many a happy hour with a fine bristle brush, gently daubing short horizontal strokes in acrylics to build light, texture, and a bit of depth on the flat surface. This piece started with a photograph of a couple guys in sport shirts. First, I sketched out the scene in graphite, then decided that it should be rendered in a series of colored bands; primary colors. As it unfolded I realized that it looked a bit rainbow-flaggy, and opted for a metallic cop…
Walking in DC
At the exhibition we reclined in the cool underwater chill out space, listening to soothing drum and bass, a welcomed contrast to the hot sultry city streets above. DC Delicacies: Macaron from Laduree at Union Station (pistachio, salted caramel, chocolate, and rose water). As the start of school fast approaches, we decided to take a day trip to Washington DC, to catch the exhibition, From the Deep, by artist Ayana V. Jackson, at the Smithsonian Museum of African Art. We biked to the Marc Train, took an hour ride to DC's Union Station, w…
Summer Holiday: Back at the Farm
At Northland Sheep Dairy The original plan was to head to Bethany Beach for the annual family reunion and body surfing competition. So hubby and all of his brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles headed to a strip of Delaware to reconnect and unwind. I hear they had a great time...for while everyone was sunning and sanding at the beach, I was home alone taking a unit test followed by the final exam for Speech & Voice Science (I passed) . Not to miss another family tradition, I headed to Northland Sheep Dairy , a fe…
On Socials