New Year 1012

Wanted to post these up last week. Wanted to do more of them. Wanted to do them all nicely in colour. But wanting and finding the time and energy are not always compatible. Still….they’re here now! I was fascinated and just a little appalled, but not surprised by the antics of New Year revellers in the UK on New Years Eve. The thing is if you don’t live in the UK you might be mistaken for thinking that this happens only on News Years eve, so that would be okay. But it pretty much happens all over the country, in small towns and cities, every weekend. It don’t know what it says about the state of the UK at the moment. It’s certainly a pressure valve, with out which, the frustration of living there would likely bubble up somewhere else. It does however make great subject matter for my art. I love the resemblance that some of the prostate drinkers have to dead bodies…i guess that’s why they call it dead drunk. You can see the originals here….

Its a wonderful Life

New Year has always been a time of mixed emotions for me and I guess everyone has their own way of celebrating it. When I was younger it definitely involved a long night and lots of alcohol and other substances. As I grew older and out of that, it became a struggle to decide where to go and what to do, which was more often than not an anti-climax. I’m also not one for New Years resolutions but whether I like it or not I always end up analyzing and evaluating the past year. My pet hate though is the self or otherwise imposed pressure to have a good time and feel super elated when the bell for midnight goes. So now its a good meal, a glass of something strong, the company of my nearest and dearest and a showing of one of the most uplifting and life affirming movies I know.

Frank Capra’s Its a Wonderful Life, staring James Stewart is the story of a man who has come to the end of the line and is ready to kill himself. His time on earth seems to him to be one of missed opportunites and personal failure, until his appointed guardian angel, (who is out to earn his wings) replays his life, to show him how much poorer others lives would have been had he not been around. So if your still struggling for something to do or your stuck in on your own, grab your self a copy and fill a large glass with something strong and heart-warming and put yourself on the right foot for 2012.