Paul Watson’s Likes tagged “Inspiration”

These portraits from the dark postwar years have been so reworked that the paper is often gouged through. The results feel as war-damaged as his family – yet still thrillingly alive

Frank Auerbach: The Charcoal Heads is at The Courtauld Institute, London, until 27 May

A multifaceted artist, Michaela Ďurišová’s artistic odyssey commenced in a diverse realm of disciplines, from music and set design to crafting exquisite jewellery. Her foray into photography was serendipitous, ignited by her need to capture her jewellery creations and share them with the world. Yet, her path took an unexpected turn when a single photoshoot with her mother altered the course of her career.

Bookplates from the collection of Richard Sica

Samuel Araya is an artist living in the poison heart of South America, his work has appeared in a variety of media, from videogames, t-shirts, posters, records, to cards and books, including five editions of the prestigious "Spectrum: The Best In Contemporary Fantastic Art" annual. Currently also dedicates time to his career as a gallery artist, with an important number of international shows already gracing his curriculum.

The sculptures of Ghyslaine and Sylvain Staelens are not afraid of the twilight or the light. Like their creators, they have the experience of both. They oscillate between haze, chiaroscuro and clarity with impunity. They are expressionist and yet they elegantly support any critical gaze. They're mystic, they're not eccentric. They are created consciously to go and populate a mysterious forest. Under a grey sun, they blend with the grains of dust, honey-coloured light and deaf beardage of old trees. They can be impetuous, they can be meditative, they're always enigmatic.

Throughout my practice small acts of engagement respond to the landscape using a variety of strategies, such as making and building using found materials, creating pools of light on the forest floor, using craft materials such as paint and wool, introducing starscapes taken by the Hubble Telescope or glittering light from the surface of the sea.

The final images are the culmination of these interventions. The forest becomes a studio, forming a backdrop to contextualise the work, so that each piece draws on its location; a golden tree introduced into a thicket shimmers in the darkness, painted paths snake through the undergrowth, and strands of wool are woven between trees mirroring colours and formal elements within the space.

Blót is the term for “sacrifice” in Norse paganism. A blót could be dedicated to any of the Norse gods, the spirits of the land, and to ancestors.

austin osman spare; chaos magic; art; automatic drawing; zos-kia cultus; esoterica

In the photographic series that Vera Lehndorff designed in collaboration with Holger Trülzsch, the aesthetic figure Veruschka refuses to be a projection of beauty’s ideals, yet in these portraits she retains her completely individual aura. Diffused in bolts of energy, in bizarre particle streams, and in psychedelic plays of color that reflect London of the 1960s, Veruschka transcends her body and delves into a world that translates the glamour of an icon into a sensually experiential image.