My Inspiration for September 2022

This September I really enjoyed reading Paula Hawkins’ novel “The Girl on the Train” and watching the film adaptation starring Emily Blunt as the main character Rachel. Rachel is a miserable drunkard called who pretends to still have a job (which she lost because of drinking…) and through the window of the train she watches people in their houses, and she imagines what their lives must be like, how happy they all must be… And she is also often found stalking her ex-husband and there is a surprising twist in the end which I will not reveal. I can relate to Rachel because I also love watching people from the train and I wonder about their life, and my ‘people watching’ is usually accompanied with a constant longing and envy that their lives are more thrilling than my own is. I also watched a South-Korean thriller called “Midnight” (2021) which I, surprisingly, enjoyed. I loved discovering the rainy day scenes in art, spooky paintings by Leon Spilliaert and Serafino Macchiati, circus scenes in art, I had fun rereading Anais Nin’s Journal of Love…

“Give me a few days of peace in your arms. I need it terribly. I’m ragged, worn, exhausted. After that I can face the world.”

(Henry Miller, From a letter to Anais Nin, featured in A Literate Passion: Letters of Anais Nin & Henry Miller, 1932-1953)

“You were a dream. Then a reality. Now a memory.”
(Iain Thomas)

Marine Vatch photographed by Cédric Klapisch for Madame Le Figaro (2011)

Picture found here.

Picture here.

nimue smit shot by venetia scott for orla kiely

Picture found here.

The Lovely Omens Tarot Deck from Keely Elle Art

shore of my life | © víctor m. alonso

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My Inspiration for August 2022

This August I very much enjoyed rediscovering some wonderful and underappreciated seascapes by the Romantic painter John Constable, and also many other beach scenes by artists such as Maurice Prendergast, Eugene Boudin and Philip Wilson Steer… As you may have seen in my book review, I read Shirley Jackson’s novel “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” and I thought it was amazing, I also read and enjoyed Stephen King’s novel “It”, John Ajvide Lindquist’s vampire-novel “Let the Right One In”, Jack Kerouac’s “Dharma Bums”, poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Tennessee Williams. I’ve had moments of great inspiration, particularly for collages and playing with words, but also moments of intense waves of inexplicable sadness. I am now assured that Kierkegaard is right when he says; “do it or do not do it – you will regret both”, for which ever thing I choose in life, misery seems to come along with it. A desire fulfilled is always tinged with a regret for something else and a longing for something that’s lost. My biggest discovery this month is surely the Cannadian singer-songwriter Michelle Gurevich and her songs “Lovers Are Strangers” and “The First Six Months of Love” which I absolutely adore.

“Life was then brilliant; I began to learn to hope and what brings a more bitter despair to the heart than hope destroyed?”

(Mary Shelley, Mathilda)

“I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.”
(Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life)

“Why was life so unsatisfying? (…) Each smile hid a yawn of boredom, each joy a curse, each pleasure its own disgust; and the sweetest kisses only left on one’s lips a hopeless longing for a higher ecstasy.”
(Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert)

Picture found here. March 1995. ‘What makes a good finale? Gowns that look just as good on the way out.’

Picture: untitled by christanoelle.tumblr.com on Flickr.

Picture by Alex Murison, found here.

Picture found here.

Photo by Elisabeth Novick, 1970.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

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A Meandering Path: A walk in the desert, Willwood Badlands, Wyoming

by riverwindphotography, March 2017

Picture found here.

Alexandra Spencer by Sybil Steele for Spell Designs February/March 2016

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Thay Temple-  Hanoi, Vietnam 

farandaway.com

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My Inspiration for July 2022

This July I was into the Rust Belt, mostly through reading Anne Trubek’s collection of essay by different authors called “Voices from the Rust Belt” and Springsteen’s songs, floral print facades, horror films such as “It” (2017), “Creep” (2014) and “It Follows” (2014) and novels such as Stephen King’s Pet Sematary which I found particularly fascinating, the idea behind it especially, Charles Burchfield’s watercolour of strange, creepy buildings, Emil Nolde’s paintings of vibrant flowers, Edward Hopper’s paintings of lonely streets, acoustic version of the song “Joey” by Concrete Blonde which is very emotional, passionate and raw. I read two fascinating books that give a great analysis and commentary on the situation in the modern western world regarding GenZ especially; “iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious by Jean M. Twenge and “I find that offensive” by Claire Fox.

“I am solitary as grass.
What is it I miss?
Shall I ever find it, whatever it is?”
(Sylvia Plath)

“It’s funny. I used to daydream about being old enough to go out on dates, driving around with my friends in their cars. I had this image of myself, holding hands with a really cute guy, listening to the radio, driving along some pretty road, up north maybe, and the trees start to change colors. It was never about going anywhere really. Just having some sort of freedom I guess. Now that we’re old enough, where the hell do we go?”
-It Follows (2014)

Romeo and Juliet mural, Shoreditch

This mural marks the site of original Shakespearean theatre and where Romeo and Juliet was first performed. It is unlike the typical street art found in Shoreditch, plenty of examples of which can be found on London Edge.

Thomasin McKenzie on set of ‘Last Night in Soho’. Photo by Greg Williams.

Little Castle by Martin
Via Flickr:
Loenen (NL)

Sarah Loven Photography

ig @labohemejulia.

Flower Valley in Himalaya by Samiran Sarkar, found here.

Instagram by elise.buch

Photo by Tom Leighton.

“Storm and Forest” by Samiran Sarkar.

Runaway Bride, Isabeli Fontana by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue Paris April 2012

My Inspiration for June 2022

This June I really enjoyed Georgia O’Keeffe’s simple, meditative and vibrant watercolour, some watercolours by Berthe Morisot and Winslow Homer, some Japanese short stories of which I will write about soon, witchy vibes found in the film “Love Witch” (2016) and the painting “Morgan-le-Fay” (1863-64) by Frederick Sandys which I have included in the selection of pictures bellow…

“No permanence is ours, we are a wave that flows to fit whatever form it finds.”
(Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game)

“Solitude devastates me, company oppresses me.”
(Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet)

“Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists.”

(Kurt Vonnegut – Cat’s Cradle)

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Instagram: liberty.mai

Instagram: liberty.mai

untitled by nicolette clara iles on Flickr.

Instagram: sofie.in.wonderland

Found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

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My Inspiration for April 2022

“I am still ashamed of myself, afraid to let myself go, to let things pour out of me; I am dreadfully inhibited, and that is because I have not yet learned to accept myself as I am.”

“Etty Hillesum, from a diary entry featured in An Interrupted Life: the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork (translated from the Dutch by Arnold J. Pomerans)

Jamie Beck (@jamiebeck.co)

Instagram: elise.buch

Picture found here.

Reylia Slaby, Ophelia – Tales from Japan series – Nara, Japan – 2013

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

My Inspiration for March 2022

“I don’t do anything with my life except romanticize and decay with indecision.”

(Allen Ginsberg, from The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice: First Journals and Poems: 1937-1952)

Amorous Couple (Mithuna), ca. A.D. 500, Madhya Pradesh, India, Pink sandstone.

Picture found here: Etsy shop: ‘Blessed Damozel’ necklace, inspired by the poem and Pre-Raphaelite painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Picture found here.

Aerial sculpture of the Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Tamil Nadu.

Picture found here.

Victorian Decorated chancel ceiling by Spencer Means.

Picture found here.

Patrick Bergsma’s unusual kintsugi sculptures combine the art of ceramics with bonsai.

By Glen Martin Taylor, @glenmartintaylor – “….if you die in one piece, perhaps you haven’t lived.” “Death’s Cabinet Door”, vintage plate and cabinet door, bones, silver solder.

By Glen Martin Taylor

Nijo Castle details. Japan. Photography by Matt Ritter on Flickr

photographed by Ben Toms for Vogue China, November 2017

My Inspiration for February 2022

This month I really enjoyed gazing at the dreamy and magical Oriental illustrations by Edmund Dulac and Warwick Goble, some of my favourites are featured here in this post. My other favourites were the Japanese inspired postcards by Raphael Kirchner. I enjoyed rereading Natsume Soseki’s wonderful, meditative and poetic novel “The Three-Cornered World” and also the poetry of Kobayashi Issa and Tagore. Here is a poem by Issa which struck me the most because it conveys such a lovely image:

“In spring rain

A pretty girl

Yawning.”

(Kobayashi Issa)

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture by Laura Makabresku.

Two pictures above found on liberty.mai Instagram.

Yayoi Kusama — Self Portrait  (collage with pastel, ballpoint pen, and ink on paper, 1972)

Picture found here.

Vogue 1971

there… by Jane Ha

My Inspiration for January 2022

This has been a rather fun and creative January for me, but I am still glad it’s over! I really enjoyed gazing at the Japanese woodblocks depicting winter scenes with snow covered roofs and bridges, paintings of Marie Laurencin, Danish painter Gerda Wegener and Raphael Kirchner; the latter two painted quite a few paintings with pretty girls and swans which I love. Flowers and bright colour to compensate for winter’s dullness…. oh how I long for spring’s mellow, flowery, idle days! I read Irving Stone’s romanticised biography of a German businessman and amateur archaeologist Henry Schliemann called “The Greek Treasure” and it was really interesting, even though I was never particularly interested in ancient Greek art and civilisation, but Stone writes in such a vibrant and captivating way and he can make any topic fun. Also, a song I really enjoyed this month was “I want your love” by Transvision Vamp from 1988. The singer, Wendy James, really brings this intense, obsessive energy when she sings and I love the video as well. Here are some lines from the song:

“Well I love, love, love, love the way you move
And I love, love, love, love the way you groove
I love your motivation
And I love your desperation

I want your love.”

Picture by Laura Makabresku.

Abandoned window in the forest. Ink and watercolor on paper. Instagram

Picture by Hadar Ariel Magar, “I am a garden of black and red agonies”.

Picture by Laura Makabresku.

This is a spirit communication via automatic writing, from I Heard a Voice, 1918.

Picture found on daryadarcy on Instagram.

Picture by everlinet on Instagram.

“Teacup in Chains” by glenmartintaylor

Instagram: everlinet.

Picture: Japanese Satsuma Tea Caddy By Kinkozan, 1900.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

North Lodge of Brockenhurst Park, Hampshire, UK | @nicolinaiacob

White Wanstead Epping Forest by Christian Moss

Picture by tonchetaah on flickr.

Picture found here.

In Bloom Gown // FireflyPath

Picture found here.

Lovely Bones (2009) film caps, found here.

My Inspiration for December 2021

This December I discovered, and rediscovered the beauty of some paintings, such as Kandinsky’s “The Riding Couple”, Zinaida Serebriakova’s paintings of ballerinas, Degas and Odilon Redon’s delightful pastels, Raphael Kirchner’s Japanese inspired prints of pretty ladies and flowers, and this painting of sunflowers, birds and the red setting sun bellow called “Sunflowers” by Walter Williams from 1975-76. I love the warm, dusky colours and the motifs, it just speaks to my soul. I’ve also really enjoyed the song “Mad World”, both the original by Tears for Fears and the cover by Gary Jules, especially the sad lyrics:

“All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had…”

Picture found here.

Instagram: everlinet..

Picture found here.

untitled by AnyDirectFlight on Flickr.

Picture found here.

Picture: everlinet Instagram.

Picture: everlinet Instagram.

Unicorn, by Nissan Engel.

Picture found here.

Picture by everlinet on Instagram.

Edinburgh by Daniel Farò

Picture found here.

My Inspiration for November 2021

Never has a month so utterly miserable and gloomy given me the gift of discovering such beautiful poetry. I have shared some of it on the blog throughout the month, as you may have seen. Words of poetry, full of beauty and meaning, and music that spoke to my heart made me rise again like a phoenix from the ashes of despair. It’s wonderful how Beauty (and Love…) can wash away the sadness of life… This month I really enjoyed gazing at paintings by the Polish painter Teodor Axentowicz and Stanislaw Wyspianski, and also I have a freshly awoken love for James Tissot, a genre painter whose elegant paintings I use to love a lot. I also enjoyed a lot of autumnal themed paintings as you will see bellow. Bye bye November and hello December!

“Have you ever thought, right… I mean, you don’t know…but you might already have had the happiest moment in your whole fucking life…and all you’ve got to look forward to is sickness and purgatory?” (Johnny’s quote from the film “Naked”, 1993)

“But let your statement ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more than these comes from evil.”
(Matthew 5:37)

“The embrace of poetry,
Like love’s impossible, perfect fit,
Defends while it lasts
Against all the misery of the world.”
(Andre Breton, The Road to San Romano )

The grounds of Gwydir Castle near to Llanrwst, County Conwy, in North Wales. Artist: Ben Abel.

Picture: よりそう by Kaz Kaz

Picture: Untitled by Théo Gosselin

Picture found here.

Picture by elise.buch (instagram)

Burg Hanstein, instagram.

Two pictures above by: darya darcy (instagram).

Instagram: elise.buch.

Marz Doerflinger (American, b. CA, USA, based Olympia, WA, USA) – Waiting for the Chinook, Paintings: Pastel

Picture found here.

By Xing Jianjian.

Picture found here.

Picture found here.

Picture By takikropka.

Two pictures above by: Ellen Tyn (@liskin_dol).

Instagram: sofie.in.wonderland.

Crescent Moon Crimson Sky

Life and death or the creeping shadow. 1873. Illustrated title page.

Kusakabe Kimbei (1841-1934) – Chrysanthemum

Picture found here.

Autochrome photo of flowers made by unknown French photographer, 1910s.