Month: July 2017

Ulysses Butterfly

Ulysses Butterfly

This is the result of today’s doodling in Paint 3D, starting from Ulysses butterfly model and reinterpreted on a whim, to my own liking.

My inspiration stems from the fact that I like butterflies, just like Nabokov – especially intense blue / black ones.

And I am currently reading Joyce’s “Portrait” which resulted (rather unintentionally) in the Ulysses butterfly association – seems the subconscious can exert a strong influence after all.

The project definitely looks better in Paint 3D but unfortunately I couldn’t upload the 3D file here for security reasons. It’s interesting though to play with shapes, images, textures and colours and see how they are brought to life in a 3D experience.

I haven’t ascribed any particular hidden meaning or symbolism to the image, I mostly enjoyed experimenting with colouring the butterfly in glossy red (blood ?) and confining it into a cube (freedom ?, escapism ?) – in any case, I think the end result is quite peculiar.

Beyond us

Beyond us

Beyond the clouds; beyond the moon and the stars; beyond the big blue.

Beyond darkness and light.

Beyond the birds’ song and the piano music.

Beyond the storm and the big calm.

Beyond being and not being.

Beyond the mundane and the surreal.

There is only us, fire and ice –  in our eternity, unspoilt and unfathomed.

 

You

You

“Are you not weary of ardent ways,

Lure of the fallen seraphim ?

Tell no more of enchanted days.”

(James Joyce, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”)

 

You are the end, and the beginning.

You are darkness, and you are light.

You are fire –  and ice.

My hell, and my paradise.

 

Strangeness of being

Strangeness of being

Lying in bed.

Eyes nearly shut.

Catching occasional glimpses of car lights as seen through the shutters.

Listening to a mellow song – sweetness to my ears.

Room dimly lit in silvery, moon-like colours.

Thinking of you, reminiscing about your touch.

I.

Feel.

You.

Capture a moment

Capture a moment

Picture me in a swing on a sunny summer’s day, moving rapidly backwards and forwards, gentle breeze in my hair, sun on my cheeks.

Childlike attitude, childhood memories of an exact same instance brought back to my mind.

Trying to photograph mentally the blue sky, the passing clouds, the way they join to form perfectly imperfect shapes, the sun hidden behind them, aloof and pale.

Trying to photograph a moment, this precise moment; this setup; all the memories rushing in; childhood memories; memories of a long gone summer at the country house, when I looked up at the sky in the same way; memories of you. And the sound of the piano, first soft and melancholic, only to become more intense, more obsessive, more haunting as the crescendo sets in.

The world upside down.

End scene.

 

Stream of consciousness

Stream of consciousness

The clock at the gym today stopped at 1.35 PM.

This got me thinking: what if us, humans, remained stuck in a moment, unable to rewind or to fast forward ?

We would be trapped in a single variation of space and time, living the same moment forever and ever. How sad does this sound… To be incapable of going back to better days which filled our hearts with joy, shared with our loved ones…

Suppose the suspended moment was a perfect one – this would also make us feel incomplete, because it would be solely one beautiful instance, replayed over and over again…

If only we could at least have the liberty to choose it…

A childhood flashback of a warm summer night, roller skating, knees torn from too many falls, favorite ice-cream in hand…Times of feeling spoiled and protected, carefree and unconscious of all the struggles ahead…

A walk in the park with your significant other, barefoot, cause the heels were simply too much…Scorching weather…

A cigarette shared in a parking lot, on a freezing December night, sometime around midnight…

Which moment would you choose ?

 

Castle Infatuation

Castle Infatuation

 

So apparently this castle which belonged to the Annesley family in the seventeenth century is a haunted one. I didn’t know that when I visited it on a Sunday mellow afternoon – I actually found it quite peaceful.

Makes you wonder though if spirits and ghosts truly exist – I personally don’t believe in them but hey, I guess we all do in the middle of the night…

 

Hide and seek

Hide and seek

Getting lost in here with you. So many paths and possibilities.
Losing and finding you over and over again.
Oh baby I so wanted to get lost in here with you.

One Week

One Week

If I were to describe the days of the week as if they were people, they would probably look like this:

 

Monday – The Grumpy One

  • You know Monday’s going to be the toughest one ever since Sunday’s anxiety kicks in at about 8 PM. This day is all about managing to survive despite the long gone effects of the weekend bliss, starting with the blackest coffee in the morning, attending the monthly team meeting, skipping lunch and submitting that urgent staff report to the HR department.

Tuesday – The Average One

  • At least this one starts better – you haven’t hit the snooze button even once. Fresh and clean post morning shower, you struggle to make your way through the crowds on your daily commute to the office. This shouldn’t be long, you encourage yourself, already irritated after someone stepped on your toes – it’s fine, really ma’am, don’t worry about it. You manage to find an empty seat and you delve into your graphic novel.

Wednesday – The Optimistic One

  • The brief meditation session in the morning works wonders – you are managing Wednesday like a pro. Interesting chat with a colleague about a career change and going solo as an entrepreneur – who wouldn’t want to work for themselves instead of focusing to achieve sales targets and KPIs ? A really good discussion – apparently all this office chit chat isn’t nonsense after all. Going to see a movie inspired by video games after work with your bestie – you smile, looking forward to that.

Thursday – The Active One

  • Bacon and eggs breakfast morning, coffee after lunch to boost your productivity and intense workout at the nearby gym in the evening. Sometimes you wonder why all these people exercise – just to keep fit, because they have nothing else better to do or because they want to look more attractive in the eyes of the others ? The instructor is ruthless and brutally interrupts your stream of thoughts – at least your abs will thank you later.

Friday – The Relaxed One

  • Enjoying a glass of wine with your significant other on the best rooftop terrace in the city, caressed by the soft sunset beams – silence is just better in two.

Saturday – The “Lazy pants” One

  • Binge watching Netflix all day, shamelessly ignoring the house chores, having to go to the supermarket for groceries or the fact that your cat is literally screaming at you asking for food. I have two words for you – couch potato.

Sunday – The Mellow One

  • Just sitting in at Starbucks enjoying a coffee while working at designing your website. What you like the most about this place is that it feels like home, the barista already knows your order and the background jazz music is so relaxing. Making plans for the holiday – it has to be sunny and warm, far-off to feed your wanderlust and absolutely amazing. Actually, I’m going to go buy that perfect swim suit right now out of pure excitement. Monday anxiety will kick in later but who cares ?