Life Drawing, The Jam Tree, Clapham - Male 23/04/2018

I really enjoyed this class and I am super happy with the drawings produced, more the first three than the last one though; I started well with that one but found the head/neck angle quite difficult to draw. Anyway thanks for looking! :) 

Charcoal

Charcoal

Pencil

Colouring pencil: red, pink, orange

Why I loved Call Me By Your Name

Ever since I first saw the Oscar-nominated, coming-of-age film Call Me By Your Name I have wanted to write about it, but have never known exactly how to do it justice. I recently applied for a job and in the application form, I had to describe a recent positive experience of making art or going to a cultural event (an exhibition, music, theatre, film, design etc). 

I chose to write about this film because I love it so much, and thought it would be a good opportunity to write about it on here. I realise I will probably never do it justice but hey ho! It's worth saying I haven't yet read the book.

You know when you watch/ experience an extraordinary piece of art that just moves you, whether that's hearing a piece of music that leaves you with goosebumps, or reading a book/watching a film that makes you both laugh and cry. CMBYN did that to me and then some, I tell my friends it changed my life (I have been known to exaggerate). 

But the world seems to have had the same reaction, an analytics firm found that the film received the most 'positive' mentions out of the Oscar Best-Picture nominated films. And the general consensus that people (I have spoken to) who have seen the film, has been an expression of adoration for how beautiful it is.

Timothée Chalamet's performance won the world's attention, and the producer of CMBYN, Rodrigo Teixeira, suggested he could be one of the best actors in the world: possibly the next Leonardo DiCaprio. After all, how could anyone not be obsessed with him? Chalamania is real: 

Both images from article linked above (The New Yorker).

Here is the first version of the excerpt I wrote for the application, I had to edit it about a million times to get it down to 200 words:

Before going to see Call Me By Your Name, I had no idea what it’d be about (I hadn’t seen the trailer). Before seeing it, I realise now, I had never seen such a beautiful portrayal of a same-sex romance in a mainstream film. Elio and Oliver’s relationship is represented as being without or more importantly beyond categorisation; and the word 'gay' isn't mentioned once.

Because their sexualities are not made binary, they are not limited in their pursuits with other characters. Yes, Oliver is ultimately unable to pursue his relationship with Elio and marries a woman, but whilst they are in Italy (for the majority of the film), they freely explore sexual encounters and relationships with each other as well as other women. Elio loses his virginity and has a relationship with Marzia, and Oliver has a fling with Chiara. I realise that the development of Elio and Oliver's relationship is kept relatively private, but they nevertheless face no condemnation for it throughout the summer. 

The performance of Elio as performed by Timothée Chalamet was most striking to me. There was an essence to Elio that Chalamet perfected, the fluidity within his physicality in the way he moved, as well as the fluidity his sense of self; his sexuality and his ability to pass so easily between English, French and Italian. His sense of swagger.

Because of the film's coming-of-age genre, it makes sense that throughout the film Elio is somewhat naive and innocent. This is shown by the fact that he is unable to quite come to terms with the depth of his feelings for Oliver, who is older than him and so seems already more aware of what is expected of him (to marry a woman). I think Elio's sense of innocence is what makes the ending of the film so cathartic, because whilst Oliver seems to already have come to terms with the fact their relationship could not last, the viewer witnesses Elio’s heartbreaking realisation of this.

Most heartbreaking scene ever ever </3

Thessaloniki, Greece 2018

I recently visited Thessaloniki, a city in the North of Greece, for 4 days. One of my best friends, Milly, is currently living on the island Samos; and we both had some free time, so it was the perfect opportunity to see each other and have a little getaway. 

We stayed in a studio booked through Airbnb, which was tiny but perfect for us for the short stay and was good value (£100 for the 4 days). The city itself is cute, and has plenty of historical monuments to offer. We were located about two minutes from the Arch of Galerius and Rotunda, which are original Roman structures from the time or Emperor Galerius. The general vibe is quite interesting because the Great Fire destroyed much of the city centre in 1917, so in amongst the Ancient landmarks, the city has a modern European layout. 

The remains of the Palace of Galerius, within the Navainou Square

On the first day, we walked along the waterfront and got a hot chocolate and spent most of the time just catching up, which was super nice. Because it was a Monday, anything touristy, such as the White Tower, was shut (worth noting!). But that was fine because we were both in the mood to chill anyway. 

On the second day, which was sunnier, we were able to explore some of the monuments a bit more. We walked to the White Tower which was also on the waterfront, where there is a museum and a great view at the top. We weren't able to understand much of the content in the museum as it was all in Greek, but then we chose not to use the headphones with English audio so that was expected! The view from the top was beautiful, with a great view of the Aegean Sea and the city too. 

That night, we went out for dinner in a Greek restaurant called Lola Ouzeri. We (well, mostly me) wanted to find some proper Greeeeeek food and this really hit the SPOT. Whilst a lot of their menu involved fish and meat, it was generally vegetarian (not very vegan) friendly, which was perfect for us. We had a traditional Greek salad, Grilled Halloumi, Baked Feta in Filo pastry, Aubergine with Tzatziki and probably more, and it was beaaaaautiful. 

The next day was very sunny, so we spent the day going for a walk, up through the old part of the city, towards Trigonion Tower, and the Walls of Thessolonika. Like the White Tower, we were able to walk to the top of Trigonion Tower, giving us a breathtaking view of the city. On the way, we went into the Hagia Sophia, one of the oldest Byzantine churches in Thessaloniki, which is full of mosaics and paintings inside dating back to the 11th Century. 

After taking some time to take in the views, we made our way down and back to the apartment, and went out for dinner again that night to another Greek restaurant, this one called The Rouga, where the food was absolutely insane. It was in this super sweet little lane full of restaurants, which almost looked like a film set as it was so clean and colourful. We sat outside, which was nice, and got loads of food again, including Kolokithakia tiganita (fried and battered courgette), baked beans (ugh amazing), potato with feta, filo with fennel, and a salad with fig, pistachio, orange, balsamic dressing and gruyere cheese. And some freshly squeezed Orange juice to drink. Oh. Ma. Gosh. 

Also in both restaurants we got free desserts!

The holiday felt like it went so quickly; it was such a special time with one of my favourite people. I probably wouldn't return back to Thessaloniki for the sake of experiencing the place itself again, just because I prefer a beach rather than a waterfront when in Greece, BUT am very grateful I was able to take a few days and experience it nevertheless!