"PAINTINGS BY JENI CARUANA" 
I have saved quite a few trees by not sending out invitations or making printed flyers or posters. I am relying on this, my Blog, emails and Facebook posts to advertise my current exhibition. I do hope this works as I really think that these are some of the best paintings I have ever produced. I am exhibiting again at the 'La Vittoria' Band Club in Mellieha. It is a great venue, run by some great people dedicated to the local community. It is easy to find, as it is in front of the main parish church in Mellieha.
No parking problems either.... 
Do drop in and see me - it is open every evening from 5 - 9.30 pm and on Sundays from 10am - 9.30pm and I will be there. 
It is only open until Sunday 18th May.
I have put a lot of work into this collection over the last year, and I really think I have taken my work a big step closer to where I would like it to go. I would love to share it with you. 
    Besides simplifying the exhibition title (I am so fed up with exhibitions with grandiose, meaningless titles) I have also named the paintings simply too.....  perhaps it's my age, or perhaps just the stage I have reached. I don't want to mess around any more. The paintings are the important things - they should speak for themselves. 

In his inaugural speech, Marquis Nicholas de Piro must have telepathically picked up on my thoughts, and said 
"I do not think that artisitic inspiration should be explained too much – all I am interested in is how Jeni’s work might influence me, and its power to assume any impact on my emotional stability. I do not really want to hear her version of what might have moved her. Ringing in my ears are the words of an Oxford Don and poetry critic I once knew. He said “Some of the worst poetry ever written was created with the sincerest intentions”. This is important and reflects all of art from painting to sculpture to architecture to music. Creativity to become great, does need a little bit of sophistication, and even enough hypocrisy to challenge the intellect. Jeni is not dreaming; she knows what she is doing. I think so, anyway.    Yes indeed there is some naive art which I like and esteem, but now, today, this evening we are considering Jeni Caruana and she is anxious to pass on the stimulus she continually receives, the inventive, spur and motivation she chases and admires – and then passes on to us.

   What she sees in a rough staircase attached to a rustic wall leading on to nowhere, and how she handles her paints depicting this scene made me gasp with pleasure. In another picture, her carmine nude contrasting the softness of reality with the mockery of falsehood – oh how it worked for me; but I would not want to hear why she did it."

In collaboration with 'La Vittoria' Band Club.                  Wines provided by Monte Kristo Wine Estates

My exhibition opens on the 7th May and everything is ALMOST ready.... Last minute hiccups apart, it will be All Right On The Night. If you are able to, please come to the official launch on Wednesday evening (see details in my previous Blog below). Or pop in and see me one evening, as I will be there with the paintings almost every evening from 5 - 9.30pm. Contact me HERE if you want to make sure I'll be there.....  

But now, back to Drawing!!

Many people are so hooked on the outcome of their drawings that they seem to stop themselves enjoying the actual practice of it. In normal ‘left-brained’ life this is usual; we don’t want to do things that seem to be wasting our time. But it is rather like expecting to run a marathon after the first week in the gym..... drawing well takes practice and discipline.

Tearing up and throwing away the ‘not good enough’ attempts in sheer frustration is understandable of course, but a shift in attitude is much more beneficial all round. By taking a more philosophical approach and keeping in mind that the journey is more important than the destination, much of the pressure can be released.

Ask yourself why you want to draw – it’s understandable that we want other people to look at our pictures and admire our efforts, but maybe we should ask why that is so important? I wonder if, because children’s drawings are so often treated with amusement and even criticism, we harbour a deep need for our work to be accepted and approved?  Maybe, because our childish efforts at self-expression were so dismissed, we attach huge importance to our adult attempts and can be crushed by criticism all over again. 

By loosening up your approach you will find that what are called ‘happy accidents’ – a surprise result that seems to happen all on its own – will be far more likely and really exciting when they do. We humans seem to learn much more from making mistakes than by repeating our small successes hoping to improve, so make BIG mistakes!! Make glorious, over-the-hill disasters and really learn what your materials and tools can or cannot do..... and what have you lost? A piece of paper! What have you gained? Experience, knowledge, an hour or two of absorbing fun, and a lot of ideas to use next time! 

Your NEXT drawing is ALWAYS going to be better...... and the next one, and the next one......

Please click here to see the collection of paintings I will be exhibiting

   Haven't posted in a while - just been so BUSY, getting everything ready for the exhibition..... and of course getting myself in a tizz at the same time!
    But now it's almost ready - paintings are framed, posters, flyers, invites etc are all printed and distributed, the British High Commissioner H E Mr Rob Luke will be inaugurating the whole thing, with an intro by the Mayor of Mellieha....... I'll be glad to just sit down with a glass of wine!
    If you are able to, do pop along to the opening on the 3rd May at 7.30pm (oh and the local children's choir will sing a few songs too!) if not, I will be present from 5pm every day until the 12th. 
    More details are on my Facebook event page  'Landscapes' by Jeni Caruana with a map and all.....
        Phew!!

    What WILL I do when it's all over???
    

   Pop up and see me if you can, or make an appointment for a convenient time.... 
           Meanwhile, Hoppy Easter!!

For directions - just send me a message through the contact form - click the 'button' above :-)

    This is a painting I did ages ago, when I was doing a lot of work around the prehistoric Temples of Malta. It's called 'Portal' and sums up a lot of what I feel about these unique and powerful sites.

  This morning I visited the same Temple, called Ta'Hagrat, which is very close to where I live. It really is a very special place. I was with special friends too, and we spent some time there, meditating and just feeling really. 
   I have been thinking of re-connecting with the Temples paintings for a month or so now, and it all seems to be coming together, at least in my head! I want to further the work I have already done in them, and to see where that takes me. I realised that I hadn't even put a Temples page on this website at all, even though I have so many images to use. That I will rectify soon, and I am also making a whole website dedicated to that subject alone.

  These sites date back to around 5,000 BC, and are almost universally unknown! 

  So that's my next project really, but first I have to work on the landscapes exhbition I am doing in May, with all the printing and designing and advertising and organising that goes with it. 
  I have to virtually forbid myself time in the studio or out painting so that I concentrate on all that Stuff.

  And I did resolve to send out regular blogs too, but Time just slips away..... the Temples have been standing there for thousands and thousands of years and I don't find Time to blog!