Arts Portfolio

A friend of mine, Trevor Morris, writes articles for the Dorset Echo. He lives here in France and has written articles almost weekly about the trials, tribulations and joys of living in France. He puts a very humouristic slant on everything, including my art! He intends putting all of these articles in a book and this will be published in the next couple of months. He has written the following article about artists in France in general but includes information about me. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Cathy Savels, www.cathysavels.com

Not so long ago, wealthy families who cast out their black sheep put them on a ship France. Once the ne’er-do-well landed he would make his way to Paris, find himself a garret, buy a set of paintbrushes, and starve to death. Well, in fact it would be a race to see whether the starvation would get to him before the absinthe had a chance to rot away his brain and disintegrate his vital organs.

This was all very noble. It got rid of unwanted relatives, kept a few backstreet cafes in business, and even produced the odd bit of artwork into the bargain. Things have changed. It seems that you no longer have to come from a fabulously wealthy background to become an artist. Anybody can do it, even the working classes. One thing has not changed. They still come to France. Continue Reading »

SaraJane, my enthusiastic upstairs neighbor on this beautiful block in paradise, came by not so very long ago, to tell me that the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs where playing their season football game on local television. Now, I like Sara (without an H). She’s bright, funny and a bundle of preoccupied positive energy. So I reminded her, as gently as I knew how, that Baseball - not Football, was my sport of choice and that, in either case, I didn’t watch T.V. anymore.

She gave me the same puzzled look that I get from everyone in my world who finds out that the “boob-tube” isn’t part of life’s equation
for me.
After all, this is America!. . . land of the formerly free and home of the “you’re supposed to have one of everything Walmart sells” mentality. Continue Reading »

After months of not being seen out and about in the southernmost city, I found my way down to happy hour at my neighborhood watering hole. Taking my seat on a stool beside my old friends Captain Finbar and Harry the Dutchman, bartender Angus cracked open a round cold ones and commented on my absence, “hey man, haven’t seen you around much lately! Got yourself a new woman?” Without answering, I took a long slow serious swallow of what was my first cold draft in ages. The Captain and the Dutchman just looked at each other, shrugged and shook their heads. The lovely Smithers, not a shy girl and also working behind the bar, reminded Angus, in her most braggadocios brogue, “That boy’s got no time for a new woman, he’s been living with his art!”

The bar went so quiet we could hear Finbar’s gold tooth fall from his agape mouth into his rum and coke. It was true! I knew it and so did most of the big dogs around the outdoor waterfront bar. I was shacked up and hell-bent for who knew what. Angus served up another round and as we all sat around drinking, talking and listening to Moose play the blues onstage, the sun sank into the sea. Soon enough, I was feeling my Mexican toilet water with lime, singing along, smiling and feeling, as always, at home. But in the back of my head, that little voice kept whispering, “you ought to get back”. I couldn’t refuse the urgent urgings, “you’ve been away too long”. I slammed back my last mouthful, quietly slid from my stool and skulked back down the boardwalk toward my studio. Continue Reading »

We have a few contributors to the site now, all from different professional and creative areas. Although I have spent much of my life studying Art and Design and hold an Illustration degree, I would no longer consider myself an artist. I prefer the term “creative person”. I work primarily in web design and development so there’s a mixture of visual designing, Photoshopping and programming. I would say that although there is a delicate balance for a web designer between creative and technical, as far as most artists are concerned I am more technical than anything else.

The reason I say all of this is because I am going to talk about something that may at first sound like a technical matter, after all the title has got numbers in it. The internet is not only a tool for artists allowing them to communicate with other creatives and show their work off, but it is quickly becoming an important part of life. Creative people especially benefit from learning about the things around them which they can then harness and use within their work. Continue Reading »

So far we have 4 contributors for the site and it’s getting more visitors as we have a direct link at the bottom of ever page on Voodoochilli.net. Ideally we need around 5-10 contributors to make this site work properly, so if you are interested or you know someone that is please contact us.

You will be able to express your views about art, become an editor on a website, and help to inform others. What are you waiting for?

Ideally we are looking for people that are experienced artists or writers, and would prefer (although its not required) that you are a member of Voodoochilli.net.

Art and Compulsion, article by Janet Stead, Saturday, 31 March 2007

I recently attended a discussion on the subject of Art and Compulsion. Several speakers were there including, a Psychiatrist and several Artists.

Art is a very personal thing, for me it has been a way of expressing unspoken word, about something I found difficult to verbalise. A sanctuary or refuge for certain points in my life, where I have felt driven to either write about an experience or paint something that expressed the way I felt. Strangely, it has also made me feel vulnerable, although the compulsion has never diminished. As a young person, I remember the horror on my mother’s face when I painted a portrait of my grandmother, who had been hospitalised suffering with Dementia. I had no idea of the concerns it raised within my immediate family. My uncle, also an artist, was particularly concerned about an oil painting I did in the 1970’s of a young child being blown apart by a bomb and it took him a number of years before, he asked to see it again. Interestingly, all those years later, his view had changed and he commended me for being able to put so much emotion into a painting. That was quite an accolade by someone I respected as a landscape artist. But my views were based on the way I see art, I remember the endless hours spent walking around art galleries and whilst those who accompanied me became bored, I just became inspired, struck in awe and wonderment of those who had created such a beautiful and rich history. Never could a history book replace the living colours, I saw in those works. Continue Reading »

My reasons for coming to France? Less stress, not working 9-5, better schooling for the children, better weather, having more time with the family, a bigger house, smaller mortgage, being closer to nature to name but a few.

I came to France in January 2002 with my husband and two children aged 12 and 14, two rabbits and two budgies (the children refused to come unless they came too). There was no heating in our rented house and although we had been told how warm it was here, we endured temperatures of –25 that first winter. Better weather, um, I was reserving judgment on that one. Continue Reading »

We all have a book inside us waiting to come out, the question is when and where and whether we wish to embark on such a mammoth task.

Not easily daunted by adversity, I decided to give it a go. Friends have been pushing towards this goal for many years, even hinting that my life would make an ‘interesting read’. But one remark, ‘Just write you life in five chapters’ seemed achievable enough, even for someone like me. The five chapters should just be headlines of your life, and although I struggled with that for a while because I was someone who looked at stories as having a beginning, middle and an end, eventually, I produced one A4 sheet and presented it to this friend. Hmmm she said, ‘it would seem you have a very ordinary life’. “Yes, I have”, was my reply “the usual, childhood, education, marriage, having a baby and current situation.” She laughed, “now go away and expand on those chapters.” Continue Reading »

There are quite a few exhibitions coming up over the next few months at the Courtyard in Hereford. The Courtyard has exhibitions featuring Edward Ball and Beccy Mair during April, and also as a host of workshops, drama, films and other events.

http://www.courtyard.org.uk/

We are currently looking for contributors for this website. If you are an artist and would like to share your ideas with others please contact us and briefly describe how you intend to help.