To be honest, recently I am becoming a witness of something I cannot completely agree with. The previous decades were full of art exhibitions just like nowadays, people from the world of art used to fascinate us with stunning paintings or sculptures of writing works - personally I have gone to some of the best galleries in the world and I must admit what I have seen there is truely remarkable, amazing, almost unbelievable that it was created by the hands of a human being.

However, recently I attended an exhibition ( not to mention the name and the place since I do not really want to influence people with different interests from mine) that totally disappointed me - I saw no beauty, no magnificence, no inspiration in their exhibition stands - and that was announced to be “modern art”. The paintings were mainly scratches that had no meaning at all no matter how intense was the use of the word “abstract”, the scultures were only composed of metal cables with no distinguisged form and thank god there were no pieces of literature.

What bothers me is what happens with the modern art? Are really “abstract”works worthy of attention and “breathtaking”prices? To me, everyone would be able to create a painting and claim it to be a masterpiece only because it wears the label “abstract”, and the sculptures I saw even I can create with my coffee maker and couple of network cables - where is the beauty, where is the fascination? If I see a Picasso painting I won’t think for ages what is painted, or if a see a sculpture from ancient rome, I won’t need a “modern art”dictionary to understand what has been made. What is happening with the modern art - my answer is that we gave too much freedom of expression in art so simple work by children and masterpieces of great artists have now become equal, the art is getting faceless and just labeled as “modern”expression of the thought.

The exhibition itself focuses on the “Sublime” and works deemed to come under this category. The word “Sublime” has been interpreted in many ways and its meaning is a little vague as it can refer to number of descriptions. The word is a Latin based word and has been defined as referring to such descriptions as: a feeling, an event or state of mind, magnitude or intensity – either physical or moral even metaphysical or spiritual that can overwhelm a persons ability to perceive. However the words direct origin is “ set or raised aloft, high up”.

There are a number of works showing works that can be seen as relating to the term sublime. These include such works as those of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) with his 1798 painting called “Morning amoungst the Coniston Fell, Cumberland.

The painting illustrated dark valleys and the morning mist as it ascends the mountains and is depicted as a white light of moving cloudy rays across a dark mountain back drop. The mountain valleys are deep and forebearing. They seem dark and mysterious. Even as the morning sky seems to bring with it the safeness of dawn one might think twice about venturing to such a place alone. The painting is a large painting in oil and canvas and measures 1229 x 899 mm. It is an exhibition well worth visiting.

Speaking of which last time I was at the TATE, I got an excellent set of Pantone Mini Mugs that my friend now wants a set of. But they don’t seem to sell them anymore, has anyone got any idea of where I could find these?

My favourite type of paint for creating images as an artist is the traditional oil paints. Each type of media has it pluses and minuses. Watercolour and acrylic paints are also a popular artists choice.

The best thing about oil, least I think so is it is very forgiving. If you want to redoe the painting or even make a mistake you can simply go over it and cover the original painting or section with new paint. Excellent. Down side is oils don’t smell so great . Always best to paint in a well ventilated room. Also the paintings seem to take forever to dry. Some say a few weeks.

What this means in practice is don’t brush anything across the painting if you don’t want it marked up. This includes things like putting it in a plastic bag whilst your going to your art class on the bus. The black plastic bin bag may stop everyone on the bus oggling your big painting on canvas but it will be a smudged up mess by the time you get to art class, and all of a sudden your subject may look like they have had a chemical skin peel. If you have an accommodating art teacher willing to fix the mess this does help though.

Acrilics are similar looking to oils but have the added that they dry quicker. They are also cheaper to purchase. However they are not made the same way and don’t seem to work the same way as oils. For example when mixing the colours and thinning them out the reaction to the paint thinner doesn’t seem to be the same.

Water colours are less forgiving. One brush slip and your image can be ruined. No ainting over allowed. Unless you want a water logged mess all over your now soggy paper. Water colour is an art form in itself. It is about light organized strokes suggesting whatever image you would like to create. However you really need to be able to plan and know what that image is before you begin. Changing your mind as you go along will just not do.

The current season at Covent Garden is proving to be a storming success. The highlight of the season is the return of the legendary tenor Placido Domingo to the Opera House, and for the first time in the United Kingdom he is singing baritone! The tickets for the opera in question, Simon Boccanegra, sold out with lightning rapidity and this helped the whole season to sell in ‘molto allegro’ fashion! On the day that the tickets went on sale the queues at the online box office were over a thousand strong throughout the day. My advice to opera lovers therefore is to book online with the Royal Opera House website now if you want to see any of their forthcoming productions.

The Autumn programme has been put together with their customary expertise and offers something for everyone. Opera newcomers will be enthralled by the bawdy, boisterous brilliance of Verdi’s Rigoletto and enchanted by the musical virtuosity and sheer vivre of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte. For seasoned opera buffs there are productions of operas rarely seen in this country, the highlight of which to my mind is a spectacular new production of Niobe, Regina Di Tebe by the early Italian composer Agostino Steffani.

The Opera House has emphasised its commitment to making opera an activity that all the family can enjoy with a Christmas ‘pantomime’ production of Humperdinck’s Hansel And Gretel, the perfect antidote to the bland Christmas specials on mainstream television. There really is something for everybody, if you haven’t seen live opera before then prepare to be amazed but please heed my advice – book early!

Buying paint brushes has to be, without question, one of the most confusing things a beginner artist ever has to do. It’s truly impossible, and even my friend who is part of a group of top interior designers say that they also have trouble knowing what to look for, and it is something that isn’t always taught. They all look the same, yet some are expensive and some are cheap. They all look the same yet some are for oils and some are for acrylic and some are for watercolour. When you ask an assistant they will tell you that the more expensive brushes are better, yet there seems to be no real reasoning to back this claim up. Then, just as you have resigned yourself to this being the most difficult challenge your art career will ever have to face, someone comes over and starts picking them up, and it’s clear they know exactly what they are doing, and you feel like a berk.

The truth is that where brushes are concerned, this is just the beginning. After you’ve decided how much you want to spend, the real task begins–working out what all the different brushes are for–

In reality it isn’t that difficult. Basically, you get what you pay for. Here are a few reasons why both kinds are good, along with disadvantages of using both:

1) Cheap brushes:

Good: cheap, obviously. You can get ten cheap brushes for the price of one expensive brush made from the finest horse-hair.

Bad: the bristles have a habit of coming off in your painting. Then they get stuck in there and you might not be able to get them out, which will be annoying.

2) Expensive brushes:

Good: fantastic quality means that they will last a long time. And you get better control of your brush-strokes, too.

Bad: if you’re using acrylics then be sure to wash your brushes out thoroughly or all that money might be wasted. Secondly, in truth there isn’t a huge difference between the control of an expensive brush and that of a slightly cheaper brush, and it doesn’t always matter anyway, especially if you are just slapping it on. When it comes down to it, it’s really down to personal preference.

So we really do hope that you find something on here that you enjoy, or perhaps even give you a little tip that you like to use in your own work. Enjoy and we hope you come back soon!