Dried Rose (30cmx30cm) – Sold
When the rose is faded,
Memory may still dwell on
Her beauty shadowed,
And the sweet smell gone.
That vanishing loveliness,
That burdening breath,
No bond of life hath then,
Nor grief of death.
‘Tis the immortal thought
Whose passion still
Makes the changing
The unchangeable.
Oh, thus thy beauty,
Loveliest on earth to me,
Dark with no sorrow, shines
And burns, with thee.
I think its impossible to beat Jeff Buckley’s version of this song, where his singing genius met with the lyrical genius of Leonard Cohen. But as it is a song which has moved me so many times , I really wanted to have a go at doing a cover.
I am certainly not alone in this – records estimate that at least 200 different recording artists have done their own version, from the emotionally raw that runs fingernails down your spine to gospel fuelled X-Factor winning renditions that gets the whole audience swinging along to the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus.
Perhaps we all find ourselves in the ‘baffeled king’ or the person that ‘cut’ their partners hair as Delilah did to Samson – the humility of the song resonates to many among us.
Getting more and more into impasto…
Isadora-Madonna (30cmx30cm) – Sold
Dear Sketchpowder friends -
First of all, thank you to all of you who took the time to cast your votes in the Saatchi Online Showdown. Your input is hugely appreciated.
The competition is now down to two entries – Paul Saroglou’s Falling Soldier and Uwe Schein’s Order & Disorder. Congrats to both. We look forward to who wins this round….
Whilst E.s entry – a portrait of Arthur Ferrari – did not make the final two places, we feel that overall it has been a big success. An average rating of 7.06 / 10 and over 1,370 votes cast.
Out of more than 2250 entries, that’s not bad ,)
Thanks for continuing to support us – If I can nick a recent Twitter post by @ClarendonCare
“Invest early and often in promising young artists – support is absolutely critical for them to be daringly experimental.”
Hi All – if you have five minutes – and of course if you feel like it – please take a second to rate Erwan’s competion entry for the Saatchi online showdown here: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index/249973
- and needless to say – please, pass it on 
Oil on Canvas – 30cm x 30cm
Description:
| Portrait of Arthur Ferrari – French jazz / pop musician – Portrait d’Arthur Ferrari, musician de Chanson française / Jazz / Pop Painted on the occasion of his 30th birthday. Private collection, La Taillade, South of France Check out Arthur’s music on myspace – a wonderfully curious mix of 60’s cinematic, kookie, jazzy individualism pret a ecouter for 2009 : http://www.myspace.com/arthurferrari |
Fleur fanée (20cmx25cm) – November 2007 – For Sale
La fleur fanée
Une tige seule
et des pétales
perdues.
My Funny Valentine: Ghost Town Crooners
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Peonies (70cmx50cm) – For Sale
Whenever I see this,
I think to myself
“What are they talking about?”
A head inclined
A cigarette held vertical
A multicoloured world bursting into life
But their focus stays on words
OK folks – here it is – the latest commission is now completed!
La Cathédrale Saint André (80cmx60cm) – Sold (Private Commision 2009)
See below for stages of creation:
We would love to know what you think in comparison to the 2005 version – leave us a comment!
Radish (20cmx20cm) – For Sale
Ivan and coffee – 2004
The VCG’s – a family portrait.
For details on similar commissions please contact us: lebonze at gmail dot com.
The Cathedral Saint André 2009
Exciting news – the latest commission is almost completed. Erwan hopes to have it finished by today so stand by fellow Sketchpowder fans – I’ll upload the images as soon as its ready!
Here is a sneak preview taken on Saturday, of Erwan painting in his studio
The visitor’s room
Peace, peace, thou over-anxious, foolish heart,
Rest, ever-seeking soul, calm, mad desires,
Quiet, wild dreams–this is the time of sleep.
Hold her more close than life itself. Forget
All the excitements of the day, forget
All problems and discomforts. Let the night
Take you unto herself, her blessed self.
Peace, peace, thou over-anxious, foolish heart,
Rest, ever-seeking soul, calm, mad desires,
Quiet, wild dreams–this is the time of sleep.
Leolyn Louise Everett
Competition entry for Salies à peindre 2009 (70cmx50cm) – For Sale
The weekend of the 12th of July was the annual Salies à peindre event – an oppourtunity for professional and amateur artists alike to depict a scene of Salies de Béarn. Salies is a typically pretty French town in sleepy repose. There are endless cobbled streets, cafés entertaining regulars and tourists alike, and lamposts strung with brightly coloured bunting from which to draw inspiration.
However, coupled with this prettiness is a sense of crumbling decay – as if a song from of the grand days of the turn of the century hums hauntingly to remind us of it glory as a splendid spa town for the wealthy in need of a cure. Their ghosts linger, caressing passers-by with tendrils of long planted wysteria.
Erwan’s entry depicted the bandstand at Salies. It lies in front of the Thermal Baths that spelt Salies’ heydey.
And for your delictation, here is Hector Pellerin singing his hit “Nid d’amour”
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Seeing that Erwan is working on a new commission of Saint André Cathedral in Bordeaux, I thought I’d share the first painting he did of the building, now hanging in a private collection in Belgium.
There is something about Cathedrals that are truly inspiring. Perhaps it harks back to Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth, but it never ceases to amaze that these giant edifices were built in the 11th Century by labourers who had nothing more sophisticated than hand tools, wooden plank scaffolding and faith. Often constructing these buildings was to be the life’s work for those involved, taking 30 years or more to construct. Illusion, magic, story telling and clever engineering – ceilings appearing so high, so light and airy that they could almost be floating, gargoyles at once comical and terrifying, arches that serve as mystical symbols between man and creator. It was an expression of the master masons vision of beauty – of their dreams and of man’s desires in relation to a higher consciousness – that still strikes a chord, agnostic, atheist or believer.
What I love about this painting of the Cathedral Saint André is that it is not recognisable as such as the cathedral in Bordeaux. Its is not ‘reality’. Instead it is dazzling, curvy, appearing to float off the ground and be ready to take off – like one’s own dreams and desires.
Bordeaux Horse (50cmx70cm) – For sale
Part one of a two part view of Bordeaux.
The Horse was painted with dark tones, representing night – the planned second painting is of the Golden Madonna by the Cathédral Saint Andre, and will represent light.
This time with some maïs…
Pumpkin and maize (20cmx20cm)- For sale