Thursday, May 16, 2013

life force


Definition of life force

noun [mass noun]

  • the force that gives something its vitality or strength:

  • the spirit which animates living creatures; the soul.

    well ... this post i quickly put together to share photos from a Design Files shoot that took my breath away. 
    Some of you know I spent a good part of this year to date
    getting my home ready to sell and then house-hunting like mad... well it was five months in all...

    ... and the good news is we have sold and also (virtually) bought... but more on that in the coming weeks or months.

    When I saw the images I wish to share here they are from the home of an australian artist who people tend to love or hate... or certainly have a position on.

    I must say it's his houses that always draw me in ... that and the sheer fact of his prodigious output... and the range of his mediums and pursuits related to the visual and often to the paintbrush.

    the photos bring focus to a new(ish?) marriage... and new baby... in a new (old) house... in a new town. When reading this Design Files post it reminded me a little of the way and artist like Picasso could fill a new home with new everything... including people... artwork of every kind going on in every corner of the space.

    I am quite drawn to the idea and evidence of abundance of creative spirit which seems to whoosh out in some creatives homes. Call me old-fashioned or pre-modern as opposed to post-modern...or whatever you will... I am not so taken by the contemporary habit of art being only what gets served up in the gallery and in the rest of the life there is little evidence of the creative spirit or a sense of aesthetics or joy de vivre  ...or risk!

    When house-hunting I felt sad at the frequent absence of plants, books and ideas being brought to bear on homes. I'm not after some text-book case of the designer, crafty, arty house... just perhaps a sense that the occupiers have a relationship to their space that might reflect their individual identities and values.

    Anyway... getting sidetracked here... I will post a number of Design Files pics here...but there are 21 images at the original post worth reading in full!

    Tell me what you think... what comes to mind about your own approach to home and living spaces and all things artistic therein?

    OK... SO here's the house of two creatives now living in Byron Bay, the most easterly point in Australia... and a place loved by visitors from all over! 


    the dining room looking into the kitchen...



    the kitchen...



    the TV room




    inside outside...



    bedroom with bath ...



    the favourite backyard studio .. with pizza oven.


    I wont spoil it and post anymore nor tell you more about who these people are... go find out if you have no idea.

    All I can say is over the years I have seen shoots of at least five homes from this artist and i always get the same feeling ... that he never sleeps at night and the artistic process is given over to the whole panorama before his eyes.

    Well... Ive stayed up too late tonight... so I am off now and back tomorrow to check my spelling mistakes!

    cheerio,
    S

9 comments:

Blue Sky Dreaming said...

First, Congratulations on your house selling and purchasing!! I will be anxious to see the new place!
I'm speechless on these photos featured of artist Bromley home. I viewed the WHOLE site of 21 photos and just loved each one. What seems haphazard, thrown together is organized artistic eye for combining so many levels of beauty. I won't take up this space with all my 'loves' because there are so many. Like Picasso, the space is filled...inside and out and all beautiful dreams...thank you for the tour.
This Saturday we are going on a local house tour and I know I will not see anything like this one!

Valerianna said...

I like the full-ness of this place.. and the wooden, earthy textures. Cool. No idea, going to find out, thanks!

Sophie Munns said...

thankyou MaryAnne... 'tis good to have the search behind us... tho'... we have one more step to go today before its finalised...so, fingers crossed.
But our home will be someones else's by the end of June and they are apparently so looking forward to it and bringing a young child so we are very happy!

Speechless... yes ... it does do that... the sheer energy that has been transmitted into this habitat... the boldness and balance of raw and refined is fascinating.
I think I like most the sense of things not being too precious even though you know that they are actually are ...
It does challenge what we have come to think about home!!



Full-ness... yes Valerianna ... hope you enjoyed the tour! My big thing is living on the ground... was chatting to a friend yesterday about loving verandahs and views and light and air that can come with above ground living (specially if not living in dense city high-rise) ... but more than all that I love to live on the ground and step from inside to out without obstruction... so that alone about this house speaks to me!

cheers,
S

Anonymous said...

LOVE THIS HOME! So its Bromley? i will have to check out more. I love all the ecclecticness of it, the way he painted lines on the wall. Its brave, its confident, the house speaks of comfort with his own self, and it just the whole energy of VERY COOL! Its something that I struggle with personally regarding decorating the way I want to, I guess its the same with the painting process sometimes, and the self doubt that creeps up. I am inspired!!!! Gracias Amiga
Peace and Love

Sophie Munns said...

Hello Colleen,
loved those stripes too... confidence and being bold... taking the risk. Yes... I think that's the thing.

Tonight I showed the article with all the photos to family and they said... "oh thats some artist's thing... we aren't interested in that" so... those of us who go through the process of playing with how we create spaces and artwork know well the comments of others can throw us off ... even more reason to be awed when we see someone's whole-hearted creative unleashing.

I'm not one for figurative work, people, nudes... so Bromley's people are not what speak to me but the exuberance...the letting one's passion's be fully expressed. i find it eneverating!
Thanks for leaving your note Colleen!

Mlle Paradis said...

oh yes! to all this! congrats on the new home! too exciting!

Sophie Munns said...

hello mlle p ... thankyou thankyou!
movement at the station!
exciting yes!
x

Carole Reid said...

Yay, your house sold! Congratulations!
Oh my goodness their house is fabulous........!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE the bold lines in the kitchen and would sell a child for the summer bedroom!
People always tell me that our house is so welcoming and interesting (art on the walls, on the shelves, in the bathroom). I am always surprised at how few homes I visit have plants, art, or even colour in them. Their loss is what I think. Poor them, woe-is-them, no life in their homes.
My grandbaby and daughter left this morning for a new adventure of living in a tiny community in The Yukon, 2hrs north of Whitehorse for the summer. I already miss them and plan to visit. We'll not be staying with them as they will be living in a tiny trailer from May to October with a baby just about to start crawling! Ha.
xo Carole

Anonymous said...

Love the look of this home... and I have no idea who it belongs to