Awesome Things My Friends Have Made #3: Music + Art

[nanila]

Here are two things that have provided pinpoints of light in these dark times.

The first is the release of roya’s EP, “trax”. Roya & I went to high school together. She now lives in Sweden. We see each other every few years when she passes through London, usually on her way to someplace more exciting. Roya introduced me to the internet (back in the days of dialup and BBSs) and the Simpsons (you know, when it started). She was the first programmer I ever knew. She was, in short, much cooler than I am, and she continues to be in these haunting electro tracks.


[The cover of the trax CD EP, two stickers, and Roya’s note to me. Click here to access her Bandcamp site, where you can listen to tracks and/or purchase her work.]

The second is a Dutch artist who was having a small exhibition at ESTEC the last time I was in the Netherlands. I was immediately attracted to her abstract, heavily textured paintings. I noted an area of one piece that had been done with a palette knife and we then had a long chat about her intricate, labour-intensive construction process. I was secretly delighted at some similarities to my own, and inspired to try some of her more sophisticated elements. It is my ambition to own one of her Lyrical Incandescent or Geological Series pieces.


[“Through the Heavens,” Nicole Cijs, from the Geological Series. Click the image to view her web site.]

Comments

[alatefeline]

Good signal boost!

[nanila]

Thanks! I hope you enjoyed perusing the artworks.

[lenores_raven]

The painting is very beautiful.

And I like what I hear very much. :-) Interesting music.

[nanila]

It is beautiful. I feel fortunate to have seen it in person. The photos are good but don't quite convey all the subtleties of texture.

I think Roya's on to something good with her music. :)

[silveradept]

These are both neat things, and perhaps, in my lack of free time, I will be able to enjoy them both.

[nanila]

I hope you do! :)

[ljravengirl]

I've been paging back through your artwork and I love it. Varied and wonderful. I didn't want to clog your inbox on each one I love, so this is my overall comment! Beautiful work.

[nanila]

Aw, thank you. Please note, though, is that this particular artwork is not mine! It's a Dutch artist called Nicole Cijs, whose work I saw at ESTEC in the Netherlands on a work trip. :)