BAD HAIR DAY?

ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY DOMINIC MURPHY

PORTRAIT OF MY DAUGHTER JESSIE WITH ALLUSIONS TO ALICE (LEWIS CARROLL), MYTHOLOGY AND SYMBOLS RELATED TO HER PERSONAL IDIOSYNCRASIES. 

 I wanted to share with you a single item of artwork by Dominic Murphy aka Homelyvillain.  I first fell upon Dominic's work on Ebay where he sells watercolours inspired by Alice in Wonderland and pictures of Bull Terriers I imagine inspired by his own canines.  At the time, I was searching for pictures of Hares - the Lepus europaeus variety and not the angling variety which cropped up in quantity during my search.  Call it serendipity but a wonderful watercolour of a White Hare appeared created by Dominic which I was able to procure and from then on I've succumbed to a couple of deadly sins namely avarice and visual gluttony in building up my own personal gallery of Dominic's artworks.  Here is a link to his site  www.dominicmurphyart.com/

To visit his site is to walk alongside the dark miasmic canals of baroque Venice or to melt into a dank wall to evade London footpads.  Allusions to Hieronymous Bosch, Dali, The Inquisition, high Gothic and high Church, tongue in cheek wordplay.  Allusions all!  Dominic is an artist in his own category but paints in several categories - Catholic tastes abound.  Take a walk on the dark side - your responses may veer from abhorrence, astonishment, empathy, laughter, admiration and a spot of covetousness.  What matters is that he will evoke a response.

More Maximalism at Millers...............

MILLERS HOTEL AND RESTAURANT

PORLOCK WEIR ,SOMERSET

A BOOKISH CORNER

For an injection of opulence and bold determined colours that nod more to the richness of the Far East than the tedium of British taupe, cardigan beige and creams a stay at one of Millers Hotels is a must.  No faux suede footstools, bundles of twigs garnished with LED lights or laminate flooring here.  This is recycling at its best.  An eclectic mix of auction finds, battered, cracked and faded but all skilfully positioned or perhaps just fortuitously and accidentally placed. Scattered around are bowls of sweets for visitors to graze upon.  It's like wandering into the home of an eccentric yet indulgent Aunt with a young staff  who are friendly, efficient and engaging. The paint finishes and electrical socketry are imperfect - extension leads abound but it's like being at home.  Who wants perfection?

 Architecture and decorative detail should evoke a response in us.  Buildings and the enclosed space affect our moods and how we function on both an individual and a societal level.

http://millersuk.com/anchor/

A Spitalfields Christmas

18 Folgate Street, Spitalfields

"You either see it or you don't"
The late Dennis Sever's teasing invitation to immerse oneself into the sensory experience that  he created in a former derelict Weavers House in Spitalfields.  Dennis Severs artfully restored the house eschewing modern conveniences and making do and mending to beguile the eye when original 17th/18th Century furnishings were too costly. He 'shared' his house with a Huguenot family named  Jervis. The experience is to suspend the 21st Century at the door and walk silently through the candlelit rooms warmed by open fires and to be always one step behind the family members who have seemingly just left a room with meals discarded and shards of a broken cup knocked hurridly onto the floor.  The Christmas experience has become something of a ritual for me and a spiritual and sensory feast  shared with my daughter Jess.   It is  a house that underpins my love of maximalism, history, clutter and candlelight.  Thanks to Mick - the long standing retainer who maintains the house, organises the bookings and is a genial host.  Until next year..........God willing.

The ground floor dining room.

http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/