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Frances Livings

Songwriter | Multi-lingual Singer | Author | Poet

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- Waters of March und der Zyklus des Lebens
- Songs in the Key of Orchids: Kunst trifft Natur…

IMAGE_Jenisch Park Greenhouse 1851 postcard 1908

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frances_livings

❖ Jazz in French, Spanish, English w Ipanema Lounge
❖ Author, poet & songwriter
❖ Voice-over actor
❖ Listen to 🌙 Coyote Moon here ▼

🌿 Looking for a quiet spot to have my lunch in

🌿 Looking for a quiet spot to have my lunch in between two tours today, I remembered this lovely little courtyard.
✨Absolutely perfect: wind still, quiet and very Italianesque with the vines against the white washed brick walls, the palm fronds and olive leaves in contrast to the blue skies…
🌳 Those of you who have been on one of my “Kultours” through the historic park and its museums may be able to guess where this is… (Hint: take a close look at the third picture).

Let me know in the comments!

#HamburgArt #arttours #musicandart #BargheerMuseum #HamburgArt #MusikUndKunst #Kultour #Jenischpark #ArtHistory #courtyard #italianstyle #sundaytours #toursinhamburg

“The orchids grow in the woods and they let out

“The orchids grow in the woods and they let out their fragrance even if there is no one around to appreciate it. Likewise, men [and women] of noble character will not let poverty deter their will to be guided by high principles and morals. If you are in the company of good people, it is like entering a room full of orchids.”

~ Confucius (551–479 BC) translated by Alice Poon

The first two are from the botanical gardens in San Diego, some of the others aren’t orchids at all but very pretty blooms I admired at home (and the rare brown one just too cute)…

👉🏼 Don’t miss the link in my bio to “Orchids in the Key of Life”.

#orchid #orchidelirium #botanicalgardens #homegrown #adoptdontshop #flowerstagram
#tropicalblooms #orchidlovers #orchidworld #historyoforchids

🎺🥁“With Drums Rolling and Trumpets Ablaze” – I’d like to dedicate these gorgeous little prints and paintings from the 1920s and 30s to my lovely musician friends & community:

I just saw them last weekend at a small exhibition I wandered through at the Bargheer Museum, a small art gallery style exhibition space in the burbs of Hamburg, on the periphery of the romantic Jenisch Park.
The title of the exhibition translates to “With Drums Rolling and Trumpets Ablaze” and is show-casing around 60 artworks from the 1920s — musicians and jazz scenes.

The “Flötisten” (an aquatint etching) is by one of my favourite graphic artists, Rolf Nesch, and is from 1931. It is part of a series depicting scenes of the famous Karl Muck Orchestra.
The exhibition only just opened last weekend. Join my small guided tour for more in-depth stories behind the paintings!
DM if curious about upcoming dates because obviously, this is the perfect marriage of my two passions...

* #HamburgArt #arttours #musicandart #rolfnesch #BargheerMuseum #HamburgArt #MusikUndKunst #1920sVibes #HamburgSecession #AvantGardeArt #ArtExhibition #KlassischeModerne #EduardBargheer #Jenischpark #ArtHistory #MusicInArt

🌿 Did you know Jenisch Haus hosted one of Europ

🌿 Did you know Jenisch Haus hosted one of Europe’s foremost orchid collections in the 19th century? Step behind the scenes with me on an exclusive guided tour of this historic gem.
Tap the link in bio for details! #HistoricalBotany #GuidedTours #HamburgCulture

🌿 Avoir un cœur d’artichaut 🌿 Meaning: t

🌿 Avoir un cœur d’artichaut 🌿
Meaning: to fall easily in love

Literal translation: to have an artichoke heart

There are so many magical fruits (I had written about pomegranates a while ago) so imagine my delight when I came across this French proverb! Artichokes, you probably know, are a vegetable where layers of leaves protect the edible part – its ‘heart’. 💚 Originally, the French expression was slightly longer, "cœur d’artichaut, une feuille pour tout le monde", which translates to “artichoke heart, one leaf for everyone”, the meaning being “lots of leaves, lots of loves”. ❤

Makes me also think of the beautiful jazz song "I fall in love too easily" by Chet Baker.

#vegetables #magicalmoments #songwriting #artichokes #artichaut #lovesongs #foodinsta #foodart

🌿 I have to be really honest: Being a "messy pe

🌿 I have to be really honest: Being a "messy perfectionist" and an HSP is a great recipe for under-estimating and over-doubting oneself. A psychological double-whammy, which is why I often struggle with finishing things.
I've never had a creative block in whatever genre I've worked in, it's more like an overwhelming sense of being sensually and creatively over-flooded with ideas and possibilities. So I'm working on it and have to start patting myself on the back when I have the courage to decide; be slightly bored and “just” do the nitty gritty and – FINISH things!
One song I recently completed (and am actually very happy with 😳) is "Prussian Blue", which is why I thought I'd share this colour chart with you – having just posted about the colour yellow. Prussian blue is the third colour from the top.

From top to bottom: Ultramarine Blue (PB29), Cobalt Blue (PB28), Prussian Blue (PB27), Viridian (PG18), Cadmium Yellow (PY35), Yellow Ochre (PY43), Burnt Umber (PBr7)
:
:
:
#pigments #art #artist #artwork #painting #kunst #malerei #peinture #fineart #yellow #blue #colours #colors #ultramarineblue #cobaltblue #HSP #perfectionists #Prussianblue #Viridian #Cadmiumyellow #Yellowochre #Burntumber #colourpalette #songwriting #songs #femalesongwriter #indiemusic #indiemusician #lyrics #lyricist

🌿 On this date exactly, only 136 years ago, on

🌿 On this date exactly, only 136 years ago, on September 28, 1888, Vincent van Gogh sent his brother Theo a description and a sketch of one of his latest compositions saying:

“…a 30 square canvas representing the house and its setting under a sulphur sun under a pure cobalt sky. The theme is a hard one! But that is exactly why I want to conquer it. Because it is fantastic, these yellow houses in the sun and also the incomparable freshness of the blue. All the ground is yellow too. I will soon send you a better drawing of it than this sketch out of my head…”

🎨 It is apparent and well-known that he was quite obsessed with the colour yellow in Arles, where he had rented four rooms in a house on Place Lamartine (southern France). You can see it in the painting: the building with the green front door, next to it a window to the sitting room and upstairs, famously the two bedrooms, one of which he invited Paul Gauguin to stay in. This is the very bedroom for which he painted his sunflowers, to adorn the walls and to greet his guest. Van Gogh was exited. Thus, the friendship culminated in tragedy…

This painting is now on a very rare loan at the very recently opened exhibition, Poets and Lovers, at the National Gallery in London from 14 September 2024 until 19 January 2025.

💛 But the reason I am telling you this is because I am working on a piece – a song, a spoken word piece maybe – about the colour yellow, which has not only got some wonderful paintings to be inspired by but even has an interesting history a as a pigment.

The Yellow House (The Street)
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Arles, September 1888
Oil on canvas, 72 cm x 91.5 cm
Copyright: The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

#pigments #art #classicalmodern #paintings #artist #VanGogh #exhibition #artwork #painting #architecture #kunst #fineart #yellow #yellowhouse #colours #colors

First impressions back in West Hollywood— all th

First impressions back in West Hollywood— all the while trying to beat the heat.

If in Hamburg… don’t miss this exhibition of t

If in Hamburg… don’t miss this exhibition of the Berliner painter Werner Scholz one of the so-called forgotten artists of the 1930s, en par with George Grosz and Otto Dix. It will be closing on Sunday June 9, 2024. Contact me for an exclusive tour of these unusual paintings from 1927-37 - before Scholz was defamed by the Nazis and left Germany in 1939.
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#germanart #neuesachlichkeit #artexhibition #artexhibitions2024 #artingermany #germanartist

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Featured Recordings

<a href="https://franceslivings.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-i-am-livings-in">The World I Am Livings In by Frances Livings</a>

<a href="https://franceslivings.bandcamp.com/album/a-breath-she-took">A Breath She Took by Frances Livings</a>

More Blog Posts

Songs in the Key of Orchids: Art Meets Nature
Novembersonne
Moon Songs. Coyote Moon
Moon Songs. Mr. Moon
Livings in Los Angeles – Murals and Mug Shots. Thoughts on the Artist Mike Kelley
Participation in an Audio Guide and Interview for a Podcast
The Healing Powers of Sound
The World I Am Livings In

Index

Index

Your Comments

Frances Livings: Weltenwandlerin zwischen Musik, Poesie, Kunst und Natur - MassivKreativ on Livings In Los Angeles. Public Parks and Gardens and their Impact on Mental Health and the Creative Mind
Frances Livings on Aganjú ~ Music and Spirituality
Moon Bourjolly on Funeral Blues ~ Songs and Poems about Death
Songs of the Soul ~ In Memory of Zane Musa (1979 - 2015) - Frances Livings on Songs of the Soul
Reeks on Aganjú ~ Music and Spirituality

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