CALL OUT to Authors and Poets – Textual Illustration for The Image.

art, Design, drawing, Exhibition, exhibiton, folktale, Illustration, metamorphosis, Painting, portrait, press, Prints, short story

‘Cubs’ Another from the series – Mythologies.

CALL OUT: I have plans for a book and am looking for a writer.

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This series has over 40 pieces and most of them emerge as if from some old myth, folk tale or strange internal narrative. This is why I call them ‘Mythologies’.

But… the tales they tell have never been written. 

In the reverse to the usual relationship of text and image I am looking to collaborate with someone (or several people) to write text to accompany each picture, to illustrate the images, if you will.  The idea is to combine these into a book. This writing, be it a paragraph of prose or a few lines of poetry, will sit opposite the artwork on each page and make a pair to be ‘read’ together. 

_MG_7070 Play crop

The Story-World…

The idea is that each piece of text be another ‘moment’ from the images story-world, a suggestion or clue that opens up the narrative to further interpretation rather than attempting to complete, or explain the picture itself. Instead of finished stories I’m looking for writing that echoes or extends the sense of mystery and magical-realism, and may do so without obvious reference to the image itself. It could be specific, detailed, atmospheric or impressionistic. 

I’m very excited to see what emerges from the birth of this project…..

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If you are interested….

I’d love to see any snatches of writing inspired by this as starting points and inspiration for the project which is just beginning and is a brand new idea, so do share this with anyone who might be interested, and email blancheellis@gmail.com for more images if you’d like to try writing something, or to discuss ideas for the project.

More images from the work can be seen on my Instagram @BlancheEllisArt

I also plan to have an exhibition of these artworks with the text in the future.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blanche

Obsession: Love, Ritual, Collection

art, drawing, Exhibition

I’m happy to say I’ll be taking part in a group exhibition Obsession: Love, Ritual, Collection at the Embassy Tea Gallery in June.

My work for this exhibition is based in the art of letter-writing, as a certain ritual that embodies love, collection and, sometimes, obsession. I find that there is a spill over from words into images and vice versa…… subtle links between our verbal and image-based languages that can be very powerful.

Letters are a subject I have been exploring for a long time both in personal and in community work: Painted Veils

 

Further details of the upcoming exhibition below:

Obsession, Love, Ritual, Collection

Obsession, Love, Ritual, Collection

OBSESSION: Love, Ritual, Collection 

EMBASSY TEA GALLERY 

195 – 205 Union Street London SE1 0LN 

Exhibition open by appointment only 24th June – 27th June 

PRIVATE VIEW FRIDAY 27TH JUNE 6PM – 9PM 

Exhibition continues 28th – 29th JUNE 

A group show in aid of OCD UK 

curated by

Charlotte Meddings

www.charlottemeddings.com

http://www.facebook.com/TheCuratorLondon

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Illustrated short story

art, Design, drawing, folktale, Illustration, Painting, Quotes, short story

Here I have illustrated the shortest of stories, or a poem, by the writer Aniqah Choudhri. 

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'The Fox and the Woman' by Aniqah Choudhri  - illustrated by Blanche Ellis

‘The Fox and the Woman’ by Aniqah Choudhri ~ Illustrated by Blanche Ellis

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On the road one summer‘s evening
A fox met the woman he would marry.
She smelt like otter blood and barley
With top notes of sage and honey.
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He followed her all the way back
To a sleeping village where men spat
Whiskey on cobbled streets and
Cats urinated to mark their territory.
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Go away they hissed to the fox
But the fox slept behind the rubbish bins
That his bride threw orange peel
and chicken bones in.
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He killed a rat to woo her
and laid it on the kitchen floor,
And heard her scream of delight
 when she opened the door.
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His bride threw a butter knife,
A wine glass and an apple core.
Dragging his loot behind the bins
He knew their love was for evermore.
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Fin

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A wonderful mix of the mundane and the imaginative, a folk-tale of subtle simplicity. I hope to collaborate more with Aniqah on her writing and poetry in both illustration and song.

Bertrand Russell on Eccentricity and Love

art, Design, drawing, Illustration, Painting, philosophy, Quotes

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Although these works are part of my on-going project ‘Musicians, Writers & Philosophers’  I feel this fellow deserves his own post. No introduction needed…

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Bertrand Russell and Eccentricity  "Do not fear to be eccentric... every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."

Bertrand Russell and Eccentricity
“Do not fear to be eccentric… every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”

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Bertrand Russell - "Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness."

Bertrand Russell – “Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.

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Amen.

comments welcome, prints available.