FLOWERS and LEAVES

FLOWERS


Flowers and Leaves are 8 panelled canvas boards 10"x12" done with acrylics and texture white. Many paintings have been done in these series. I must say that this series have sold out and there is a demand for more of a similar kind of art work. Presently I am working on four entirely different flowers and leaves which I will add on here on completion. Perhaps what is interesting about these pieces is the background textured designs which compliment the foreground flower and leaf designs.

The inspiration of these pieces initially came from the fact that the years I had spent in the beautiful islands of The Republic of Seychelles, were highlighted with the fact that there was very little flora as compared to an abundance of foliage which comes in various hues of the spectrum, much to my delight. The foliage in Seychelles is remarkable and spectacular to behold. One cannot but help notice the element of surprise when one becomes aware of the fact, for the colourful foliage more than makes up for the lack of flowers. Demonstrating this I have used the artworks of 2 artist from the Seychelles, Christine Harter who does water colours and Michael Adams who does silk screens.

Valee de Mer, Praslin, Seychelles by Christine Harter


CHRISTINE HARTER
Christine Harter was born in Seychelles in 1951 and graduated with honors in 1979 from the West Surrey College of Art and Design in the UK. During her years teaching art at Seychelles College, she developed her natural inclination towards watercolors. In her early stages of painting, she was almost exclusively an abstract painter, working in oils and acrylics. She soon found that the equatorial light and natural exuberance of Seychelles demanded a more figurative and representational approach. In November of 1996, she was invited to represent Seychelles on the International jury for the final selection of the Seychelles Biennale.

Christine Harter’s gallery, Cafe d’Art, is in Praslin, the second largest island of the Seychelles. It serves as a gallery, exhibiting works in the rear rooms, and as a superb restaurant stretching out onto the beach touching the warm waters of the Indian ocean. She may be contacted at - Café des Arts, Côte d’Or, Praslin, Seychelles. Tel : 00-248-23 21 70.

Botanical Garden, Mahe, Seychelles by Michael Adams
Botanical Garden XIII

















Botanical Garden VI












MICHAEL & HEATHER ADAMS
Michael Adams M.B.E. has been living and working in the Seychelles for 4 decades now. His vividly colored pictures show up a wealth of detail and evoke the fecundity of the islands. His works are on silkscreens, postcards, line blocks, calendars and books, art journals, magazines and guides.

Michael Adams was born in Malaya (now Malaysia)in 1937. He graduated from The Royal College of Art in London and lectured at Makerere University, Uganda beginning the graphics department. He taught for 5 years then became a full time painter. He is married to Heather. They met in Nairobi, where she was teaching poetry to African children at the Nairobi primary school. After a dangerous courtship in Idi Amin's Uganda, both decided it was time to leave Africa and plant trees for a peaceful future.

They chose the Seychelles islands in 1972. They live at Anse aux Poules Bleues in a wooden plantation house and have two children, Tristan & Alyssa - 65 chickens, 16 cats, 2 horses, 5 dogs, 40 ducks, 2 giant tortoises & a million fish in a jungle pond, (although the numbers may have changed now) guarded by a greedy little bittern heron. Michael Adams was awarded the Member of British Empire in 2001.They can be contacted at Box 405 Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles, Phone:+248 361006,Fax:+248 361200,
email:heather@michaeladams.info/ adams@seychelles.net

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

Pete Seegar

However, as I began thinking about doing an artwork I kept humming the tune to "Where have all the flowers gone?" A folk song of the 1960s written by Pete Seeger and Joe Hickerson which found it's inspiration while Pete Seeger was on his way to a concert. Leafing through his notebook he saw the passage, "Where are the flowers, the girls have plucked them. Where are the girls, they've all taken husbands. Where are the men, they're all in the army." These lines were from a Ukrainian folk song referenced in a novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, 'And Quiet Flows the Don'. Seeger adapted it to a tune, a lumberjack version of "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill." With only three verses, he recorded it once in a medley on a Rainbow Quest album and forgot about it. Hickerson later added verses four and five.

The Kingston Trio, Peter,Paul and Mary and Joan Baez and many other have also recorded it into a popular folk song. It was performed in 1962 by Marlene Dietrich in German, as "Sag' mir, wo die Blumen sind", with translated lyrics by Max Colpet. She also recorded the song in English and French.

LEAVES

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone?
Gone to young girls, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?
Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Gone to young men, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone, long time passing?
Where have all the young men gone, long time ago?
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone to soldiers, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

And where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the soldiers gone, a long time ago?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, every one!
When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

And where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?
Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Gone to flowers, every one!
When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

PEACE NOT WAR


Just as relevant today as it ever was and in the 60s when Seegar wrote it, the song questions war and why we have not learnt from the past. Thousands are still needlessly suffering in the many areas of conflict existing in the world caused by governments, terrorists and fanatical bigots. The message of the 60s and the Hippie Movement was that it doesn't matter who we are or where we come from or what belief systems we follow, there is no better time for peace than the present