Metafiction, Myth and Language: A World in Words (and Pictures)

 While this week has proved to be the most harrowing I've ever faced to date, yesterday I still managed to find time to sneak in a flying trip to Auchmithie on the coast to capture a piece of very impromptu 'cave art':  The whole operation took no more than 20 minutes, including actually finding a suitable cave spot on the beach (luckily the tide was out, as I hadn't had time to check beforehand). The painting, intended to resemble the ancient red ochre tradition, was simply ground sandstone powder ( prepared in a previous post ) applied with a wet brush (and finger) and, I think, looks actually OK. The painting is designed to resemble the head of the raven god Hrefni, who is lord of storms, and is therefore an invocation to him by fishermen for calm seas: As I forgot my sketchbook with the full-length figure of Hrefni and his shaman's drum, I would like to revisit the caves at Auchmithie and spend longer realising another piece of prehistoric cave art, which can th

 Friday afternoon, and I started to think ahead to the final public 'installation' concept - namely, one (or more, resources allowing) pieces of 'prehistoric wall art', most likely to be created here , at Auchmithie. I found some chunks of sandstone lying around the garden and ground them down. Research shows that a glutinous binding agent of some sort - like animal fat, egg white or some such, is what was probably used by actual prehistoric artists. I opted for water since it was readily available, and after scattering some of the finely-ground powder on a slab, was able to produce a decent-looking result using only a wet brush: In the right light (or with some subtle Photoshop manipulation) it could look pretty much like red ochre, the traditional medium of ancient artists. A trip to Arbroath in the coming days or weeks will be a nice break from stone grinding and donkey work.