Arts Autobiography

I went to England last summer and visited many castles and churches. One
castle I really liked was Scotney Castle. It's an old country house build in the
early 19th century. It was a replacement for the Old Castle and was designed by
Anthony Salvin. The gardens, which are a honored example of the Picturesque
style, are open to the public. The central feature is the ruins of a medieval
house, Scotney Old Castle, which is on an island on a small lake. The gardens of
Scotney Castle are really charming. It has this elegant appeal which makes it
feel like youre in a fairytale. The details are remarkable especially the wood
paneling and some of the significant furniture which was also designed
specifically for the house by Anthony Salvin which gives a lovely flow of continuity to the home.

If it comes to music I like mostly all of the different sorts. When I'm in a good mood I listen to music
with a catchy rhythm. When I'm in a bad mood I listen to sad,
depressing songs. Two of my all-time favorites are Felix Snow and
James Young. Felix Snow has written one song which I listen to on
repeat, it's called Cherry On Top. The song is really good and
makes you want to dance the first second you listen to it. James
Young is an amazing songwriter and the lyrics is simply
outstanding. I especially like I'll Be Good and Habits Of My Heart.
Those two songs give me emotions I often hide. It makes me feel
vulnerable.

I've always wanted to go to Australia. If I remember correctly since the age of 10.
I'd watch TV shows and movies which were filmed in Australia and I just fell in love.
The one thing I always admired was the Opera house in Sydney.
I always thought it looked like the dorsal (back) fin of a shark which makes sense because in the
Great Barrier Reef swim a lot of different shark species. In
reality the designer of the opera house Jrn Utzon was
inspired because of his love for sailing. I love the fact that
his personal interest led him to design the building. Because
you can see the resemblance clearly. The white canvasses
on top of the building are sails. I also love the building
because of its simplicity but on the other hand it's a little
chaotic. They're just simple shapes colored white but there
are so many that it looks like a chaos. Still it looks organized
because the sails become smaller and the smaller ones move inward the bigger sails. As simple as it
may look there are a lot of details especially on the roof (sails). It's made out of more than 1 million
tiles in different shades of grey and white and they're placed in a pattern. Beneath the tiles there
are ribs which are connected to cables with a concrete lid in the middle.

The simplicity is something I admire. The fact that such a building can give you an indescribable
feeling is surreal. I wouldn't say that any serious emotions pop up when I see a picture of the
building but it's just so impressive. The building is so imposing that I feel tiny compared to it. I
would say that that counts as an emotion. It gives me this feeling as if I'm unknown and invisible. No
one would notice me next to this building. It resembles a greater power than everyone who stands
near it. It's like a non living king or queen.
I love Greece. It's all sun, sea, beach and good food. Greece is
not just known for sun, sea and beach but also for its art. And
what I mean with art is the architecture in Santorini. Santorini
is an island of Greece. The biggest tourist attraction is the
spectacular landscape made of perpendicular walls where the
white villages are built in and on. These white villages blend
really well with Greece and its features. The flag of Greece is
white and blue and so are the houses in the white villages on
Santorini. The colors are vibrant and expressive. You can
clearly see that the island belongs to Greece. I mentioned the Opera house
and its simplicity, the white villages are the complete opposite of it. Its all very
chaotic but it still looks very appealing.

This form of art intrigues me. The black and white strokes draw my
attention first and moments later I recognize the shape of the face and
lion. The painting of the face is made out of so many different lines
depending on their thickness and color. As you can see some of the lines
do not match with the shape but are just there. I really like when you can
see a painting is really painted by someone. You can see its tiny mistakes
which are meant to be there because thats how the painting is supposed
to look like. The characteristics of the painter are often projected in the
painting itself. I cant really explain my art logic but I hope it
makes sense somehow. The painting with the lions head is
also really good. The focus was set on the head of the lion
and the manes are faded on purpose. I think the artist did
this because he or she wanted to draw attention on the head
because the lion is roaring which is a powerful gesture. And
the powerful gesture should be the center of attention.
Unfortunately I couldnt find the artists of these two
paintings.

Kim Gerritsen V4D