Life Care Center, Edinburgh
Aug Wed 9th, 2023
Man, did we get a good deal on this Wed 09th Aug in the ever giving Edinburgh Fringe. The aptly named Sound & Vision was to be hosted at LifeCare Centre venue number 524. In its Gallery room on the top floor (which was the 1st floor) we were dipped into the fantasist and always will be of David Bowie. But let’s reel it back an hour or so.
Coming from Glasgow going to Edinburgh has many stages of prep for another trip to the Internationally present and one of the largest Theater Festivals there are ‘the Fringe’. I traveled down the City’s plenteous zones from Haymarket to the Venue near Queens Ferry where I crossed a huge bridge, anyway enough tourism let’s have a chat about ‘Sound & Vision’ and all it meant.
This Care center has a large premises, it was open, friendly and above all a charismatically caring place. As I went through the door I was taken aback by its relevance as a Studio, the room itself is used for many things but today it was a studio. Quite the painting studio it would turn out to be, and as I gazed I was introduced to all the participant Artists aficionado’s.
A nice air of focus filled the attic room already, Denise Harrison began with a ginormously giving smile for everyone, at an already streaming pace, and her techniques hitched a ride in our hearts as we sat imbued.
Light poured in through skylights and windows, a huge space with spread out tables magic foldable easels, this event was to enlighten us with something she called ‘Bowie cut-up lyrics’ technique. This included listening to him as the 5 hour phenomenon passed. There was even a live performance of a few of his songs to date, all the while working on this thing called painting.
She had such a style and communicated with a very adopting well made idea of teaching in the forms of something immersive that was well planned for. A figurative mood was let loose as we stared at our blank page. One could see with this guide (Denise) whose unravelling Art in the making, began with a revolutionary starter technique that was washing your page using the colours that were of your own choosing. Of your own choosing is a wonderful term if heard in an art studio with a tutor in progress. Her energy was unending; as was her excitement, she mentioned other events accomplished mixing music with painting along with the time it created.
We all took to it with no little gusto, a choice of brushes at our disposal in a new (for me) work of layers, layers, layers and layers. In her material interests were flowing and too had a stem to them from the wide array she is bringing to the table in art and life. Varied in this way she laid down ‘Sound and Vision’ for the art world to hear and not ignore.
While she was undoubtedly of a huge success having been commissioned to write a book which she completed and is a go to book. I again will mention that this fringe event was quite the deal financially and tutorialy). With a spectacularly accomplished sense of calm and focus she rubbed off her roots and made up our experience’s as the painter (having chosen to focus on it) with all the collective artistry being brought forth.
She reached to a depth of something remarkable and essentially made painters of us all. This depth could only be interpreted as good, and a wholesome way to spend the hours that went by fast but had lots of time in between. Having the fun intentions of an event like this as a venue of the Fringe showed us the way to work, passing as we were through its relative stages and into the acrylic Art of painting in the arms of one impressively awesome and astute artist.
Daniel Donnelly
Mumble Music 