Anyone Like This Lady?

[Atheist]

Portrait of the mother of a dear petanque chum who is now deceased (him, not his mum). DTC inspired me to show this to AB.

[pastafreak]

Your work is very good...there is a lot of depth, and you capture the character of your subjects. Do not underestimate yourself.

[DTCwordfan]

I love the first one as that is so intense in the emotion that you have captured - well done!

[chrissa1]

Ahh. That’s a lovely painting.

[Theland]

Atheist - You are far from ordinary. That is my domain.
I am forever amazed at the talented ABers on here, for their art, and brains.

[Atheist]

Pasta; thank you. The trouble with paintings is that they are two-dimensional (albeit with an illusory 3rd dimension arising from perspective effects, or a real 3rd dimension arising from impasto or huge lumps of elephant dung, or a 3rd time dimension deriving from prologed study of the work). Music and literature have an inbuilt 3rd (time) dimension which to me is more satisfying. It is all a matter of taste of course. I'm pleased you thought the pictures worth looking at.

[Atheist]

Thank you everybody who has commented; it's interesting and encouraging. I need to retire now. Good night, children, everywhere.

[jourdain2]

Very good portraits, both. Character shows through, they are unmistakably French.

Re: the writing. It is so easy to think you are not good enough in both painting and writing. I think writing is worse because you are exposing yourself more. I wrote when in my late teens/early twenties and then looked at it an thought 'I'm not as good as Jane Austen'. Seriously. I then more or less gave-up writing until my 50's. Now I have short stories available to download from Amazon and I am investigating a novel I wrote in my twenties to see if I can turn it into something worthwhile and I've also started another one. Very daunting still.

You are very talented, keep going. :)

[eleanor2]

Atheist, wonderful!

[gness]

I don't hear, Atheist. I see. Your words in the post I mentioned created in my mind flashes of colour and movement. That for me brings your words to life and I then see pictures that you have painted with your written word to the point where I could believe I'd experienced what you had.
All my words and numbers have a colour. When people speak to me I see the colours of their words. Some much stronger than others. Nouns are always very strongly coloured.
When I close my eyes I never see dark. I see colour and pictures. The pictures are a bit like watching a film. I see people, animals, places....no idea about any of them and luckily I can fade them out if I choose but I find them fun mostly and interesting because I don't know what is going to appear.
So while, as a synesthete, some of my senses merge, taste and hearing don't. Some people have a merging of all five senses. That must be weird!
I was in my thirties when I discovered that not everyone saw things the way I do and that there was such a thing as synesthesia. It came as quite a surprise. The conversation with bewildered Mr and MissG about what colour Tuesday was still makes me smile. You know.... when folk are looking at you as if you've gone mad!
But I'm happy to be a synesthete.... :-)

[Theland]

Gness - Your post reminds me of LSD.
(And that said seriously and respectfully).

[DTCwordfan]

you should have a go at painting, Gness....and see how your ideas/thoughts/perceptions come out on canvas....!

[THECORBYLOON]

I mind on seeing a programme about synaesthesia and a woman was shown a long sequence of numbers.

A while later she was shown the numbers again but one or two had changed. She was able to spot them because she seen numbers as mountains (I think it was)and the landscape had changed.

[gness]

Theland. Never tried it but I can imagine the similarity so no offence taken at all.

Dt. I can draw quite well and was the arty farty person when I was working in schools. Painting is difficult for me. I am what is, I think, described as too tight? Bit like my sewing and craft work.....I love tiny and precise work....just can't let myself go and flow....even after a Guinness or two...so I've never been good at painting.....though I did once paint an underwater scene on all the windows of Class 3C.....Pi**** off the caretaker no end...... :-(

[gness]

I can understand that, Corby. I would see the numbers as colours and as long as I could still see the sequence of colours....in other words paid attention!......I'd know what had changed.
I must say though that my synesthesia is slightly weaker now than when I was younger. If it disappears with age I'll miss it.

[The Builder]

Atheist ... I'm sorry I missed your questions last night.
Yes, I do play regularly. The current nonsense has stopped all that over the last few months though. All the weddings and parties we should have been playing this summer.
I'm glad you liked the quote. I have to admit that I made it up on the spot. I like to think I was inspired by your work :o)

You said to another poster that painting is essentially two-dimensional.
Technically yes, but I always think that by far the most important third dimension is supplied by the viewer.