I certainly don’t belong to that group of women who love shopping: in fact I hate it! By ‘shopping’, I mean wandering around and through the main commercial streets downtown and spending hours making “Leche-vitrines”, as we so fittingly call it in France: licking shop windows.
But it was different in Lanzarote, I did enjoy it a lot. Not that the stuff they sold was more attractive to me, but everything was presented in a way that delighted my eyes, and I had loads of fun looking at everything. And licking these windows, I came to the idea of this watercolour and ink series of “Toy Stories in Lanzarote”. Some of the motifs I chose were simply toys (it was not long before Christmas, so toys were everywhere), others were little art-crafts objects in souvenir and art shops.
I called this first one “Cat Town”. The cats were little wooden or ceramics sculptures, I don’t remember exactly. And what I have painted in the background as the cat houses, were in reality the cardboard boxes in which you got the cats when you bought them. I thought it was a funny idea…
I think, what inspired me in all these objects, was the playfulness with colours and shapes. The colours I painted are probably not very faithful to the original ones, as I added them later at the hotel to the original ink sketches made on the site. But the impression is certainly right, that stuff was incredibly colourful and funny. And although it is quite kitschy, I did love the camel: you might have noticed it, but the clock in the background, on the left side, with the typical black lava stones from Lanzarote around it, is the camel’s back!
These dogs and giraffe were not even sketched on the site. They were standing inside a kind of posh souvenir art shop, which, along with the assistants, seemed to give off the vibe -mainly because of the prices…- that they would not appreciate it if I just stood there and sketched. I did that painting totally from memory later on , and I really have no idea if they looked very much like that. And now, almost two months later, I just remember that the main dog was made out of wood, and was very big, and the giraffe probably too…
“The Three Graces from Lanzarote and The Bull” was also inspired by sculptures seen in the posh shop mentioned above, and drawn from memory. I have no idea why they were selling a red bull in a souvenir shop: Lanzarote belongs to Spain, and Spain is well-known for its bulls, but I don’t know if there are really bulls in Lanzarote. I don’t even know if they practise bullfighting. I certainly never saw a bullring. In fact I didn’t even see any cows when I was there, and I did travel through the whole island!
These first 3 paintings were based on artcraft, Let us go to the toys now.
I saw these two cute bears in a shop window in Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote. The scene touched me very deeply: I had just received some terrible family news and was crying all the time. These 2 bears reminded me so much of my partner -the English Rocker Kev Moore- so kindly and tenderly trying to comfort me. A little insider’s info for you: Kevin calls me “Rosa Baby”, because I love the colour pink. This is why I strongly identified with the sad pink bear…
And back to happiness and fun now, a toy story of swinging monkeys witnessing the beginning of a love affair between a doll and a cat.
And here is a last one for now, another love story between a doll, her ducks and a jealous little dog.
I could have gone on and on with painting all these cute little things, but if I did so, I feared I would not be taken seriously any more as an artist… I loved doing them though, and painting is for me, more than anything, a way of making a big party out of my life! So, between us: I don’t really care if I am taken seriously or not, as long as I enjoy what I do!
These paintings, as well as many others of Lanzarote, are available directly online as Giclee print in many different dimensions, on paper, canvas and metal, and also as greeting cards. Please click on the button below to access my
FAA store
The Giclee prints from the above mentioned Online shop are manufactured in the USA and sent directly to the client from there. For personal or financial reasons it might not be appropriate for everybody to order their prints in the USA. Also, you might prefer to purchase my Giclee prints hand-signed. If so, you can alternatively order directly from me. Simply contact me indicating in which size. Go to
Goodaboom Boutique
to see a guideline of pricing for different dimensions.
I also sell A3 posters (297mm x 420mm) as high quality digital prints on a Heavyweight White 350gsm paper, each packed in cello with card stiffener.
Poster Price: 50 euros.
They are a great alternative to the Giclee prints, to a more affordable price.
(the price does not include packing&shipping)
[/framed_box]
Source:
http://mikiaboom.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/painting-lanzarote-04-toy-stories/
The News from http://funyhalloween.blogspot.com