Tags
art, London, night, olympic opening ceremony, Oscar Wilde, painting, Raymond Williams, Thames, water
Water Under The Bridge, acrylic on paper, by Diana Hale
The complete antithesis of everything I normally approve of – speed, bling, celebrity, fake, but the fantasy of that night trip along the Thames through Tower Bridge and up the River Lea (didn’t show much of that bit!) to the Olympic Stadium was pretty amazing!
Last weekend was coincidentally the anniversary of my first blog post and as the Thames was one of my original as well as ongoing inspirations I thought I should celebrate with some more images of my own.
Thames sketch, ink on paper, copyright Diana Hale
Thames sketch poem, ink on paper, copyright Diana Hale
Inspired by an Oscar Wilde poem Symphony in Yellow which finishes:
“…And at my feet the pale green Thames
Lies like a rod of rippled jade.”
Thames Upstream, acrylic on paper, by Diana Hale
I was interested in the symbolism of the Olympic opening ceremony in representing Britain and the central use of the landscape feature of the tor as a symbol of the unchanging core of the land, with the spiral pathway an echo of prehistoric earthworks. Intended as Glastonbury it also linked the pagan worlds of mythology with modern cultural references. The flags planted, which will disappear again of course, although the land will remain, made me think of wind turbines in the landscape. Although music, film and literature as cultural phenomena were represented in a rather Hymns Ancient and Modern meets Neverland Tolkienesque way, with the more contemporary fantasy worlds of James Bond and East End teens thrown in, there was no visual art as such. I thought the combination of celebrating the NHS with children’s literature was clever, with creepiness to pep up nostalgia. The portrayal of British history set up the old dichotomy of the country idyll versus industry. However this is interesting as I am currently thinking about urban and rural landscapes and rereading the wonderful Raymond Williams, The Country and the City of 1973, to see whether this is still a relevant opposition. As a Marxist historian maybe he influenced Danny Boyle!
I shall report back on this and the current New Statesman special summer edition The London Issue!
Related articles
- David Beckham’s up to speed on Olympics speedboat stunt (thesun.co.uk)
- David Beckham drove speed boat live (itv.com)
- The 20 nerdiest moments from the Olympics Opening Ceremony (comicsbeat.com)
- In pictures: Olympic opening ceremony (bbc.co.uk)
I’m not surprised you were inspired by the Thames that night – it looked incredible! Great response through your paintings – loving your work
Thank you so much!
Stunning
love your work especially Thames upstream…nice write up loved the opening ceremony in the main. But any Olympics that has music from the Clash and The Sex Pistols has to be good 
Thanks Neil. There certainly was something for everyone which I guess was the aim.
Big fan of your ‘unexpected colours’ too – they’re very ‘signature’ despite you saying they’re outside the comfort zone, it’s the, um, unpredictableness – a vibrant shot of colour that seems to have come from a special psychical palette…
Not sure about the ceremony: interesting images seemed to crop up in photos after-event which didn’t impact in the live version so think maybe filming didn’t do justice. In two minds as ever – flashes of brilliance with a dollop of ‘dad dancing at wedding’ syndrome and not a little self-referential. But deserves a medal all the same – for being ‘kaleidoscopically intriguing’.
Looking at the gallery images I have on you may be right! I obviously select different things for here. I think of myself always using blue and green!
I agree about the ceremony and some elements getting lost. I wish now I had recorded it! It is such a fascinating representation of Britain.
Fantastically atmospheric acrylics, Diana. Although I am already a Danny Boyle fan I was really impressed by the opening ceremony. It seemed to be quietly subversive and it was good to see British history celebrated in this way: Blake, Shakespeare, Sex Pistols etc. I was rather hoping to catch a brief glimpse of a plastic swan pedalo but that didn’t happen – never mind.
Thanks for appreciation Laurence. A swan pedalo would have fitted in very well! Maybe in the closing ceremony?
Beckham! Never thought I’d see the day! Your last acrylic is stunning, Diana. Happy anniversary!
Sometimes we surprise ourselves – it is good to be unpredictable! Thanks for appreciating.
Hi I love your sketches
Do you mind if I feature them on my Oscar Wilde fanclub site?
I would be honoured!
http://oscarwildefanclub.com/i-wished-i-was-david-beckham/
I reblogged your post earlier but the picture quality was poor would it be possible to get better quality copy of your artwork?
Celebrity and fake are not my interests either, but these paintings are wonderful, whatever inspiration.
So kind – and thanks for catching up with other posts too.
When I saw the title of your blog post, I smiled. As you say, the antithesis of everything you believe (me too, for what it is worth), but that ride was magical, even from across the pond. All through the opening ceremonies, tears ran down my face. No fool like a sentimental old fool but Danny Boyle captured my heart. It just had to be a wonderful night to be British for it was a wonderful night to be alive.
Happy blog anniversary and many more.
Karen
Karen you are such a softy! Glad you enjoyed it and the fantasy. Thanks for all your support the past year too.
Oh: Happy 1st Blogging Anniversary
Thanks Kathryn – I think you have been there almost from the start and are certainly one of my most prolific commenters – thanks for the support,
Diana x
Love the 1st and the last, Diana. Such unexpected colours in the 1st. And the bit of that Wilde poem has such rippling music. I could repeat those lines all day
An experiment with those first colours so may be I should move out of my comfort zone more often!
I love your sketches – such atmosphere as usual.
Glad you like them.