Monday, December 26, 2016

MARK HOLLIS: 2 Years of Marvel, The Rotterdam Concert & Happy Holidays! ...

     

I have been doing my Mark Hollis and Talk Talk videos since two years! Two years!
If I had been told that two years ago, I wouldn't have believed it. 

When I started, I had no idea what I was going to find out. About Mark Hollis, of course, but chiefly about myself.
I never heard before that some Music could remove a psychological block from a person. I am sorry if I don't explain really well, even though I speak English relatively correctly, there are some concepts difficult to explain in a language which was not originally mine, even though it seems my parents were speaking English between them when I was a baby, but still...
I really would like to explain better what I have in mind when I do these videos. I am not a groupie, have never been, I am not interested in getting an autograph from Mark Hollis or a t' shirt. I can't even say that I collect his records. As long as I have all his originals albums, I am good to go, I don't need them in several versions, jackets or Publishers. I don't even collect his photos, and when I keep some of them on my computer, it is only to maybe use them as a model for my paintings, as obviously, he is not going to visit and pose for me...

So where all this is coming from? 
I have been searching and searching and searching during two years, to try to understand what exactly happened to me. Some famous Saints saw the Virgin Mary appear, I just saw the Magic in Spirit of Eden, and more... 

I have made all these videos, to compensate the fact that I couldn't talk to him, Mark Hollis, directly. I so wanted to understand his method of working, because what he made, the way he made it is so astonishing! And I have a true passion for people who do the things differently and by a very original way.
I know that I didn't find all what I was searching for, yet. And I am not talking about private facts, I am talking about this secret thing, the incredible ingredient he is using in his Music to make us addicted to it. 

Now I arrive after two years of videos, turning all this in my head, in all directions. I know only one thing: that I know absolutely nothing and that I need to search deeper and in my motivation, in my mind, but also in Mark Hollis' Music. I am certain that all this has a reason to be linked and chiefly has a reason to be.
I arrive here at a kind of plateau, probably like he arrived after The Colour of Spring, at this plateau which made him create Spirit of Eden...
I am not sure that I will have my Spirit of Eden, but I am sure that I arrived at a level where I need more, to really get deeper.
I have been very busy with the Holidays, but I am wondering if I didn't need to meditate on all this also. I understand that I cannot continue as always. I think that I must continue, but by another way. Up to me to figure out by which way. There will still be videos, but what kind?
There is the appearance, what we see first. I saw it all. Now I am in front of the deepest core. How am I going to tackle it?

I am totally aware that there is more than one person who is going to think that I am totally crazy. I don't really care. I know what I know and I feel things that I can't explain. 
I discovered that Music could be more than something we just like or even love. It can also change who we are. I am sure that Mr Mark Hollis knew it, and employed his talent and energy to use these incredible tools. Is he a magician? A therapist? (he studied psychology). He is a genius for sure.

Let me sleep on it, it is so late, I should be in my bed now. Maybe will I see the new development in a dream too?

If thirty years ago I had known that Mark Hollis was this genius, maybe I would have been very far ahead now? But no regret, only some gratitude to have had the ability to understand something essential for my Art creation. It is always better late than never.

How To: RECYCLE Magazine Postcards & The Cindy Shepard's Book: Stash & S...


 
    

I am always searching for new ways to recycle stuff, and this is a good one!

Priming My New Mark Hollis PAINTING & December Nela ARTWALK Night, David...



   

This is how I start a painting, and this is our December 2016 Artwalk. Every new Nela Artwalk Night gets weirder and weirder...

Thursday, December 1, 2016

FLIP THROUGH My Smash Book, JOURNAL: Mementoes on Rice Paper

     

Invitations, Exhibitions, Brochure, Press Note, Greeting, Business Cards and more on a Journal which was not meant to gather all this, so many memories...

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Mark Hollis LYRICS: Contrasts, Play on Words & A Little Bit of Cockney.....


      

I've been trying to figure out the funny and odds in Mark Hollis lyrics, it is how I stumbled on a few Cockney-like things, it seems, maybe, maybe not. I chiefly found some Poetry.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Monday, August 29, 2016

Mark Hollis & Talk Talk Music: Terribly ROMANTIC & L.A. by Bus


     

Desperately trying to say the unspeakable...
 That is probably why I am tempting to paint what I perceive and can't say with words...

I think it was Paul Klee who was saying that Art does not reproduce the visible, it makes visible. This is what I am trying to do, in my own little humble way.


Friday, August 5, 2016

COLLAGE Decoupage Under GLASS: Rose Flowers & Gold Paint on PLATE


     

A little late on my schedule, but it had to dry...

You will find all the information related to the products used, on YouTube, in the description box under this video.

Sunday, July 31, 2016

MARK HOLLIS & Talk Talk: The DOORS Influence, A Very Personal View


   

I invited my old buddy Jim Morrison on my new video.
The creating process. I've been searching for the link between Fine Art and Music during a very long time. Now, I am searching for the links between my two main sources of inspiration. 

Mark Hollis and Jim Morrison are so different as persons, that it is hard to believe that they could meet somewhere in Music. Jim Morrison, in his lyrics, described the visions he may have had, as a Shaman, during his psychedelic trances, going back to the most primitive and raw aspect of Humanity.
Mark Hollis is a giver and has offered us a divine Love through his Music. I receive it loud and clear.
Such a difference between the both! 

But still, both are, were searching for a piece of Truth, for a form of sincerity.
They have in common to have not sold themselves, to be very picky about their creative choices, both are, were, extremely talented, both said not to have an extended knowledge in Music when they started their career. 

Both disappeared abruptly: one died near my home in Paris, and was buried a few streets further, the other one retired without a warning or almost, and came haunting my dreams with his Music. 
Both are fascinating characters! 

But Jim committed a kind of suicide while Mark decided to save his life. 
Really not the same approach!
Jim Morrison disappeared way before I could even honor his work, I was still a child when he died. That is probably why I don't want to miss any chance to honor Mark's career, artists should be really appreciated and admired while they are still alive.

I am grateful to admire someone who is somehow my age, and still well alive.
Wish I can learn the most from him.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Mark Hollis SPIRIT Of EDEN Timing The Irish Time / The Spectator Austral...


    

Announcing a great news in here, and I'm in my delirium again, sorry if I want to laugh a lot... I don't always have opportunities when I can have a big laugh. Even if the situation is grave, I always like to see the comical aspect in things as long as they are not too overwhelming, of course.

Also, you will hear a song all along this video, which has not much to do with Mark Hollis or Talk Talk, even if it is the same period, kind of... If you have the patience to watch this video until the end, you will understand why I am playing it. So, first, guess what song it is, second I will try to understand the link which can exist between the great news announced to me on phone and that song... 
Any suggestion is welcome. Maybe Scotland has something to do with it...

Funny how my huge interest in Talk Talk and Mark Hollis' Music led me to have even more concern for United Kingdom, if it is actually possible. I always have been passionate about UK, and if I hadn't felt the need in 2006 to go very far away, right now, I wouldn't be in Los Angeles, but very probably somewhere around London.  
However, now, this concern has an even deeper level, and with this Brexit being discussed, I find myself even more engaged in British political views, than I have ever been in the French ones. It seems to me that this potential Brexit affects more or less all of us. 
I am just wondering how videos about Art and Music can be suddenly invaded by British Politics, but we live in this world, we can't pretend it doesn't exist, chiefly when it is about a country, or rather a group of countries, that I love probably even more than the one I used to live in (France).
When I arrived in L.A., a little more than ten years ago now, people were asking me if I was not missing Paris too much. I was answering that beside my family and friends, not really, but what I was missing the most, was London. I was saying that like a joke, until I understood that it was nothing of a joke, it was what I was really feeling. 
That's how I started considering seriously moving to England if/when my L.A. adventure would end, because I didn't and still don't want to go back to Paris, or to France in general. 
Now, with the Brexit, this potential project seems slightly compromised, hence my new interest towards Ireland (South). 
This is why I am day and night, nights and day on the BBC news, to understand every decision, change, implication, meaning for me, meaning for United Kingdom, by hoping this Kingdom will still last a long time. Hoping also that this surprising referendum won't result, in the future, in another world war. 

Change is definitely the common point between Mark Hollis and United Kingdom. Leaving is another one.
Changes are necessary in life, but seeing people leaving has always broken my heart, it still does.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Mark Hollis Tomorrow Started OIL PAINTING The Darkest Details, Talk Talk


    

Adjusting
a few details on my oil painting, in spite of the terrible heat in Los
Angeles. I am actually in Eagle Rock, which is not far from the Valley,
we unfortunately don't have the freshness of the ocean, wish I was in
Santa Monica or Venice Beach...

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Was The Stage So Unsuited to MARK HOLLIS' Personality? Tim Friese-Greene...


   

A subject which touches me directly for many reasons.

Actually, it can touch any person who is an artist and has to perform in front of a lot of people, whatever it is: art, theater, music and more....

The questions of the past remain the questions of the present. 

In my next video, I will talk about something which shocked me even more. Some people asked me why I was so connected to events which happened a long time ago. I answered that these events determined what we are living now, in the present, and for sure will affect how the music industry will be done in the future, for the next generations. 
If we never talk about these things, nothing will never change and the quality won't be there. 

Actually, I don't really care what people say... If it is important to me, I bet it is also very important for others who feel like me.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Mark Hollis JOHN COPE Or How To Make Love to Music, The Doors, Talk Talk


       


A place where Talk Talk and The Doors meet.
How could I avoid
such a song where the two artists who inspired me the most for my
paintings, and who have been somehow mentors to me, find a common point
in the Blues and Jazz creation? I fell in Love with this song the first
time I listened to it. No surprise, John Cope reminds me the Music,
which made me , during my childhood, a kind of artist.
I am still
creating today because many years ago, I heard an organ, and guitars,
and percussion, and voices which overwhelmed me. I’ve been lost in the
meantime. But now, it is more than time for me to accomplish what I was
meant for, by hoping  I will have the time...

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Tomorrow Started PAINTING Pulp Fiction/Gilmore Girls PEOPLE, Mark Hollis...


     

The endless painting... Here is a follow-up of my previous videos about this painting. More to come, you will be kept posted when it is completely done. By hoping it is soon. 
Life has been testing my ability to overcome all the troubles which may occur, putting me down, it is so easy to say: I am depressed, I won't paint, or, I'm not in the mood. Actually, more I had troubles, more I felt in the mood, because I had the feeling that painting, was my only way to keep the contact with what I love the most. 
On last Sunday, my tax return was waiting for me to be filled, and instead of that, I took my brushes, I painted the whole afternoon, and I was feeling so good after. And you know what? My tax return is done, nobody cares if I used a few hours on my own Art, and everybody is happy.
Conclusion: don't sacrifice yourself, keep the deadlines in mind about what is so called urgent. Take the time for you, even if you must speed up after on more annoying things. What are a few hours? Nothing for the IRS, a lot for ourselves.
Persist in what you love the most.
Any question is welcome.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Monday, March 14, 2016

Mark Hollis THE COLOUR OF SPRING Talk Talk, Music, Lyrics, Feelings


   

I had the most difficulties to stop shooting this video, because I could have talked about this Music forever!
I spent one day and one night editing it, but it put me in such a joy, that I don't regret one second of it. For an album which seemed slightly sad to me, I think that I discovered a new level in it.

I feel honored to have the opportunity to talk about what I love the most in this world, and if at least one person understands the quality of this Music thanks to my videos, then, it was worth doing them.

This is not a sponsored video, I did it just because I wanted to. No, Music is not coming for the evil, but on contrary, from something huge and positive, and it shows in this Music. It makes us feeling good, it is the only proof I need.

People pass, the Music remains.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

MARK HOLLIS' Music: The Soothing Effect, Morality & Religion, Talk Talk


     

Always going to what we love the most, always searching for what feels right and good. I am not religious, I am not a Priest, I am nothing like that, however Life is so much more joyful when the intentions we put in it are good. 

We live in a world which is becoming kind of scary. I don't want to see the nasty things, I want to enjoy the best, and show how much Music, can soothe us, comfort us and make us do wonderful things. 

Peace & Love, it has never been more true!
Thank you Mr Mark Hollis for such a gift!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Digital VIOLIN In The Street DAVID STROTHER, February 2016 Nela Artwalk


     

By filming, I didn't realize that there was kind of a strange feeling, with the noise of these cars passing, the dark atmosphere, we didn't have a lot of light, and not much people came. Which gives kind of an interesting, though not well filmed, video. Never mind, it is a way to keep memories.
I also kept the behind-the-scene moments, because we are still human beings who like to laugh a little sometimes.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Mark Hollis' LAUGHING STOCK, The Virtue & Silencing The Scams, Melody Ma...


   

All is a matter of attitude...

I unfortunately don't see a lot of people deciding like Mark, like "Hollis" as we say... I am so surprised every day to see how much people can push further and further the limits of decency. The scams are becoming a way of living, someone will call you one morning to sell you something: "how to scam your neighbor, by a very courteous way" (it is an image, of course). And when I point out the fact that it is immoral, people don't seem to understand what I am talking about. I thought it was only in Los Angeles, but it seems that it affects the whole world. I started wondering if I was the only one to think that way, maybe am I old-fashioned? But when I read an article like this one, I am glad to see that maybe we are a very small club, but some people like me still exist. They are very rare, they are precious, I want to honor them. 
But by honoring them in videos, am I talking too much? Am I damaging the succinct aspect of their Art?
It seems that in this world, I don't know anymore how I am supposed to do...
As I was saying before, all is a matter of attitude, I just want to be sure to have the right one.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

SMASH BOOK #1 Journal FLIP THROUGH, Between L.A. & Paris, Journaling.


       

It’s time to take your glue and scissors! :-) Maybe it will give you ideas?

This Smash Book was made a very long time ago, it’s like reading a part of
my story, but by only keeping the best, or almost… I haven’t opened
those often, now I am enjoying the work that I made on them, and that’s
all, just for the pleasure of the eyes.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

MARK HOLLIS 1984 Interview, French Translation FOLLOW-UP, It's My Life V...


   

This is the follow-up for the non-French people, some explanation about this interview. Something which we should have known before...

MARK HOLLIS 1984 Interview, French TRANSLATION, Traduction Francaise


  

Yes, I translate to French sometimes.
I am lucky enough to understand and speak English, but it is not the case for many people in France. Why these people should be deprived of something as interesting as this interview?
Hence this video...

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Driving, Walking and Running in L.A. California, USA


  

I love and live in Los Angeles.
However, everyday this privilege can be removed from me. That’s why I am trying to keep images of my every day life, as long as I can.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

MARK HOLLIS Changes, Integrity To A Style? Motivation, David BOWIE Said


   

Are artists supposed to have an integrity to their style? What about the changes? What about their motivation?
I think any artist should wonder what is his or her motivation in Art. Because it is a main key for one's creation, it is what determines the style and the technique the most.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Mark Hollis' LAST INTERVIEW Visual & Organic Music, Rob Young, Talk Talk


  


A video related to the Spirit of Talk Talk book, a new parallel between music and my art, a lot of excitement! :-)

It seems more and more obvious to me that there is a very close link between fine Art and Music. The Talk Talk Music is probably the most visual one I worked on. Wish I had the time to do more and quicker... 
Another thing to work on: taking the time to enjoy life without feeling guilty.