Composition Studies

Inspired by Chris Riddell, one of my good intentions for a Lenten exercise this year was to do a daily composition, as that's an artistic muscle I haven't stretched in some time and I want to get to the point where I can use the page as a frame. Unfortunately my hand started making wee peeping noises a few days into this, and I am at the mercy of the hand – previous attempts at resting up have been thwarted by my impatience, so this time that's it, I'm going to hold off drawing until long after it feels better in the hope I can finally see this thing out and not have to deal with it ANY MORE.

Luckily there are still a few in my sketchbook I haven't scanned, so I can keep feeding the blogs for a little while ... in the meantime, expect a lot more typing. Gonna be doing a lot of reading and typing in the next couple months.

Regarding the randomness of the bluetit illustration: I have been keeping a bird feeder outside the kitchen window, and have noticed that whenever a bluetit arrives to eat, he announces himself with a little fanfare that reminds me of the inappropriate way Hamlet turns up at Ophelia's funeral.

In many respects Lent this year has been a bust, but I suppose I have learned the important and unexpected lesson that it's much easier to be self-disciplined when times are hard than when they're great. Who knew! Now I do.

Wolf Hall's Three Card Trick: Episode 1

The PBS airdate for the first episode of Wolf Hall is coming up. This series made me ecstatically happy when it was airing on the BBC and I am very much looking forward to finding out what the reaction will be from across the pond. What made me so excited aside from the brilliant acting and gorgeous production and general intelligence of the whole thing, was the subtle game it played with the audience – a game which, I fear, may have been too subtle, as I feel like the only one I know to have picked up on it. Usually I'm the one missing something completely obvious in a movie, so I was a little worried I was hallucinating, but in rewatching, and reading what other people have to say, I'm pretty sure I'm on to something. For that purpose, dear North Americans, I shall write out my take on the show, in the hope that when you see it you can check it against my theories and perhaps enjoy it as much as I did. At the very least I aspire to spark some interesting meta.

I should clarify now, when I refer to Wolf Hall, I mean the 2015 BBC miniseries directed by Peter Kosminsky, screenplay adapted by Peter Straughan. I have not read Hilary Mantel's novels, but I have read the RSC stage adaptations by Mike Poulton, which differ from the TV series quite a lot. As such, I don't know who to credit for the storytelling to which I refer, and whether these ideas and the way in which they are presented are faithful to Mantel's vision or an invention of Straughan and Kosminsky's. I shall refer to the creators therefore as 'they', a nebulous hand-wave in the direction of the font from which this all came, and someone who knows more than me about its creation can inform me as to where credit and blame should fall.

( First, a little on the Nature of Subjectivity )

This is a big claim to make, on behalf of creatives who have said nothing to this effect.* It is possible they didn't intend it, but I hope to lay out enough evidence to prove that even if it were accidental, it still works. If you haven't seen the show yet and want to watch it for the first time without any influence, stop here – if you wish to play the game from the outset, or have seen it already and are wondering what I'm on about, then read on ...
*Of course, if they had, it would ruin the game.

( Catching Out Cromwell: Episode 1 (with pictures!) )

This is what engagement with your entertainment looks like. Have fun! Accept no substitutes!

Episode 2: Entirely Beloved