10 Bands, 10 Paintings…Let the Rock Art Begin!

Coming Out of a Black Hole and Having Revelations

Yeah, the global energy of late has been intense.  Making us all bunker down for some quiet time, and if not, forcing you to cease and desist.

Have you been lacking inspiration, creativity or get up and go?  Well, I have.

Hatshepsut TempleThese last few weeks since I returned from Egypt have been damn right frustrating.  I’ve lost my pluck, mojo and anything else you want to call it.

I’ve picked up the paintbrushes and seem to be trying to repeat old patterns in creativity that just don’t work for me anymore.

“It could be realism, abstract, impressionism, crapism or bullshitism…who knows?  We’ll just have to wait and see.”

But this weekend I had a revelation…

Who The Hell Am I?

Yes, that old humdinger.  What can I truly offer the world that is unique and not only that,  stay completely in alignment with who I am?

Not easy and a question I am not alone in having to come up with an answer to — this seems to be the common thread or million dollar question among most people this year, if not this lifetime!

I Am…

I sat down to have some quiet time to reflect and saw a storyboard of everything I have done since I left school.  I know that I am intrinsically an artist, musician and a writer and I have tried to merge the 3 in this website but something still hasn’t clicked into place. In a nutshell, it went like this:The Bends

Above (Photo of our band The Bends taken in 2001)

Cherie playing BassThe Younger Years — Left school and played bass in 2 rock bands.  Last band (The Bends — you guessed it, we were all Radiohead fans…yeah yeah) recorded 2 albums and got some radio play.  After the music scene cooled off and my weariness set in I up and left for the UK.  Photo (right) — in Paris Studio recording our 2nd album.

Travel Bug — In the UK I started painting again.  Got back home, 3 years later, and started painting full-time.

Crossing Abbey Road London

Above — In the UK, at the famous ‘Abbey Road’ crossing, London

Profile PictureDivine Revelations and Ants in my Pants — Started feeling ‘pushed’ to write my book ‘Divine You’ in 2010 and did so, focusing all my energy and attention into getting it published and promoting and blogging, etc.

Footnote — Here I am, having come full circle with all 3 of my major interests but I feel like I need to break free from the confines of every single one of them.  I need to fuse them into a trinity of talents that will truly showcase the uniqueness of my being.

New Realizations:

I am a rock chick, a philosopher, a creative, a free spirit, a wanderer, a listener, an adventurer, a seeker, a trailblazer…so what am I trailblazing?

” I am more than the ceiling limit I have built over my head.”

I feel like at the moment I am trying to conform to the standards of any other self-empowerment writer (who just happens to paint and compose on the side).  No, this is not working for me.  I am more than the ceiling limit I have built over my head.

Major Refurbishing

I am going to be blowing through the ceiling.

My first adventure, that incorporates all 3 of my pursuits, will be to do a series of 10 paintings to my favourite bands or musicians from the dawn of my time here on Earth.

Musical Mural A little background:  I love to turn on the stereo in the morning and blast out my favourite music much to my husbands annoyance.  It just happens to usually be quite loud and obnoxious music for this time of the morning.  However the upside is that this ensures that the car gets washed, or that the lawn is mown (husband seeking refuge outside of the domain).

“I want to be activated into action first thing in the morning — and this plus a cup of coffee seems to do the trick.”

There is nothing like a bit of Airbag by Radiohead to get the blood flowing after a long nights sleep or head-banging your way to the bathroom to get cleaned up to Hysteria by Muse.  Who can’t be put into a good mood when you are listening to Queen’s I Want to Break Free?  Or even better, David Bowie belting out ‘Drive in Saturday’?

Yes, I know, I am a bit odd.  This is probably not the best morning music soiree (I am told this is strictly night-time music) but I simply can’t wait for night-time to arrive, I want to be activated into action first thing in the morning — and this plus a cup of coffee seems to do the trick.

So Where is This Heading?  Get On With It, Girl!

Okay, okay…I love rock.  Yes, oh yes.  So I have selected 10 bands to do 10 painting to.  I want to see what comes out whilst listening to their music.  I hope this experiment will be a visual feast and have no preconceived ideas of how any of it will turn out.  All I can guarantee is that I am going to have fun in the process and do whatever comes to me in the moment that I set aside to paint.

It could be realism, abstract, impressionism, crapism or bullshitism…who knows?  We’ll just have to wait and see.

I will be blogging (obviously) about each artwork and the process (so watch out for Tuesdays art blog).  And will reveal the top 10 bands/musicians that have been the greatest influence in my life in next Tuesdays blog.

So in the words of the famous Monty Python…”and now for something completely different”.  Bring it on!

READ THE GRAND BAND REVEAL HERE

Note to self:  Need to add new word invented in this blog to Wikipedia — ‘crapism’.  Needs no definition either, self-explanatory. Bullshitism seems to be a valid word because my spell check didn’t pick it up.

Share Your Insights:

What are you struggling with?

Do you have yourself all sussed out or are you still in flux about who you really are?

Do you think it is important to align yourself with your core essence or do you think that is just a bunch of crap?

John Cleese – Pushing Boundaries Through Comedy

WARNING:  PG 13 – Foul language used in this blog

I was fortunate enough to be able to go and see John Cleese‘s new show ‘Alimony Tour’ in 2012.

“Without these ground-breaking, side-splitting writers and actors we might never have broken the barrier of vulgar, fowl and completely insane comedy”

I have always been a huge fan of Fawlty Towers and Monty Python, not to mention A Fish Called Wanda and the latest triumph, ‘Spud’ – a movie made from the South African novel of the same title by John Van De Ruit.

The childhood memories of Basil Fawlty and the ‘deceased parrot’ skit are some of my fondest.  This so-called ‘black/dark’ humor has been my life-line in many occasions and it is all due to the genius of pioneer comedians such as Cleese and the Python team, as well as Connie Booth (Cleese’s first wife and co-writer and star of Fawlty Towers).

Without these ground-breaking, side-splitting writers and actors we might never have broken the barrier of vulgar, fowl and completely insane comedy.

Pushing Boundaries

Cleese mentioned that he was the first person to say ‘shit’ on the BBC and consequentially went on to be the ‘first’ person to say ‘fuck’ at the church memorial service for his fellow writer/actor/friend, Graham Chapman.  A tribute, Cleese declared, that his friend, Chapman, would have wanted him to fulfill at Chapman’s expense *grin*.

“With their light of humor, they shone laughter and mirth into the hearts of millions who needed to be uplifted from their daily grind.”

The Python team went on to push all sorts of boundaries with their completely zany comedy skits and movies.  The one thing they did achieve through this was a world-wide fan base and some of the best and most diverse comedy to hit the screens ever!

This opened up new avenues and diverse channels for finding humour in the mundane and darkest of places.  What’s life about if we can’t take the Micky out of everything!

Comedic pioneers, with their light of humour, shone laughter and mirth into the hearts of millions who needed to be uplifted from their daily grind.

On With the Show…

Mona Lisa grinThe show was about Cleese’s personal and professional history and what a journey it was!  From the humble beginnings in a one-horse town to the moment David Frost called him up to be on telly – the show takes you through the trials and tribulations of this mans extraordinary life.

Mother Cleese

I loved the story of his mother.  In a nutshell, she lived to be 101 years old – being born in 1900 and passing away in 2001, she experienced a centuries worth of tumultuous history – living through WW1, WW2 and the cold war – just to name a few major events.

However, according to Cleese, she never really noticed any of it due to her incessant fears, worries and phobias.  Something he later turned around when he offered to hire a hitman to ‘take her out’ if it made her feel better.  This made her laugh about her situation and from that moment onward they shared a special bond through his talent of ‘black comedy’.

The Effect on the Masses

What stood out for me during the performance was how all the thousands of people in the audience responded to some of the clips he was showing from his various shows.  The crowd was applauding, giving standing ovations and laughing merrily.

“When you have the ability to laugh, you have the ability to heal.”

This brought me to think:  How wonderful is laughter?!  It can unite so many people under its umbrella.  It can make us look at situations and find the humor, no matter how diverse in nature.

Laughter is the Best Damn Medicine

The human being has this wonderful gift – to laugh.  And, more importantly, to laugh at ourselves.  So many times, we take ourselves and situations too seriously.  When you have the ability to laugh, you have the ability to heal.

Be lighthearted and find something to laugh about every day.  You will reduce stress and you will be a fantastic person to be around.

Go on – have a laugh!

A Parting Word of Thanks (Just Don’t Mention the War!)

Thank you, John Cleese, and all the other comedians who pushed the boundaries and gave us all something to laugh about!  The echoes of laughter will linger long after you have moved on.

You leave this planet a much more jolly place to be in.  You all deserve medals for your contributions to pant-wetting.

Other articles you may enjoy:

What is Free and Priceless in the World Today?

Why Weird is the New Cool

The Dummies Guide to Awakening

7 Proven Tactics to Spread Joy Around the World

Does The Sun Shine Out Of Your Bottom?

Dare to Be Who You Are

A Practical Guide to Feeling Good