GJ Willis' Art Notes

Yesterday I did something a little different I forgoed my usual Friday end of work week routine of eating Orange Chicken at that place that has the perpetual opening day special of 3.95. Instead I tried the Friday Fish Fillet Special at McDonald's. It was ok...but it was no Orange Chicken! I'll have to go back next week and have my usual... there's nothing like Orange Chicken on Friday night!

Another great thing happened yesterday my books from Amazon.com arrived! I now have in my possesion, The Complete Book of Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker. I greatly admire her work. I want to make fairies that are as magical in look as hers were a century ago.

Recently, I have developed an affinity for the works of Pre-Raphaelite artists. Not surprisingly Barker also admired the works of the Pre-Raphaelites as well. There's something indescribable about that Victorian art movement that I find magical and ephemeral.

My favorite Pre-Raphaelite artists so far are Dante Gabriel Rossetti(1828-1882) and John William Waterhouse aka JW Waterhouse (1849-1917). Waterhouse's work reminds me of my all time favorite artist Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966). It appears to me that JW Waterhouse influenced Maxfield Parrish's work although I can't prove it..

A good site to get a basic precursor on Pre-Raphelite art is The Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood A good site to explore the works of the Pre-Raphaelites is the tongue and cheek named site, Indescent Exposure Another good site to explore there work is The Magic Circle

Right now it's rainy in beautiful downtown Baltimore. I always feel like taking a nap whenever it rains. So instead of napping I thought I'd write something today. At this moment I'm kind of in a Moby mode...

Here's my political gripe: I'm upset at the way that Bush is handling the country. I feel as though he's in the pocket of Big Business, he's their boy. How can any right thinking person allow for drinking water to be contaminated with arsenic. Yes, I know that arsenic is a naturally occuring mineral that shows up in water. However, the levels that he's oking are far and above normal standards. He's just oking it to placate the mineral people. And another thing I'm upset at the potential for him allowing for the drilling of oil Alaskan wildlife reserves. I'm starting to feel as everything sacred to the environment is being pissed on by big business and there towel boy, our Supreme Court appointed president, George Bush. Yeah, that's right I'm an environmentalist card carrying member of the Sierra Club and I'm mad as hell!!!