Creativity - Aidan O’Rourke @AidanORourkeCP

City Photo Walk in Manchester or Liverpool with Aidan O’Rourke photographer tutor

15/11/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

My Photographic Walking Tour is now a well-established event that has been enjoyed by scores of people from north west England and beyond. Come on a leisurely walk around the city, benefit from a photography lesson ‘on the hoof’, learn about photography, get constructive feedback, meet new people.

Here are the main points:

We will go on a short walk through the city centre stopping at a few points.
The photo walk lasts three hours and thirty minutes.
Get my concentrated lesson on aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Learn how you need to use only a handful of controls on your camera.
Pester me with questions as much as you like (on photography!)
I hate jargon and always try my utmost to explain things carefully.
If you learn one new thing it will be worth it. Actually I can guarantee you will learn at least several new things.
Get ‘over-the-shoulder’ feedback from your friendly and dedicated photography tutor
Get tips on composition and what makes a good (and bad!) photo
Pick up basic but useful tips on how to take better photos
Take photos of architecture, statues, trees, flowers, anything, discover new photo opportunities, impress me!
You will receive information sheets and my exposure crib card, which you should keep with you at all times!
We will Look critically at so-called ‘pro’ photos on display in the street and learn from their mistakes!
Meet nice people! The ones who come on the Photo Walking Tours are very nice!
If you’re more experienced, you can help someone less experienced and in doing so, reinforce your own knowledge of photography.

The meeting point will be at a convenient place the city centre (Manchester or Liverpool). Make sure you have my mobile number 07779 290082 on your phone. Please text me on the day or the day before to confirm where the meeting point is. Also check my Twitter feed to confirm all is okay.

A large number of people have been on the walking tour and the feedback has been very positive:

Dilys Thompson ‏@DilysBT
@AidanORourkeCP Thanks Aidan – really enjoyed it and promise to try and steer clear of my auto setting from now on!

Meet at a pre-arranged point in Liverpool or Manchester city centre. Text 07779 290082 on the day to find out where.

Tour starts at 1:30 finishes around 5pm (some tours may have alternative times)

On the day don’t set off before texting me, checking this site and/or my Twitter feed.

Bring any camera, whether a tiny, cheap compact, or a high end ‘brick’ DSLR, and even no camera at all!

This is an all-weather event! Come suitably attired wearing a good pair of shoes.

A tripod not usually necessary but bring one if you like

Wide angle lenses may be better for buildings but telephoto will be useful too!

We will watch out for each other, but remember I am not responsible for your own safety.

I will try to keep to a max of eight or nine people though occasionally it might be more

To book choose a date from ‘Upcoming Events’ then email, text or phone me

Pay in advance or on the day

Special offers and discounts are often available please enquire

Voucher holders please note: Your voucher will run out on a certain date. However, as long as you contact me, redeem your voucher and make a booking, you can come on any walking tour. Just make sure to get in contact with me asap!

Filed Under: Creativity, Liverpool, Manchester, Photography Tagged With: learn photography, photo lessons, tutorials, workshops

Review of the Rolf Harris exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool

19/05/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

The Rolf Harris exhibition ‘Can you tell what it is yet?’ opened at the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool on Friday 18th of May 2012, and runs until August. It features a large and varied selection of his paintings and drawings, plus many artefacts from his long and distinguished career, including musical instruments such as didgeridoos, jews harps, a stylophone and painted grand piano. There are also memorabilia such as family photos, record sleeves and gold discs.

What’s astonishing about the exhibition is the large selection of really amazing and wonderful paintings in a variety of styles, and the impressive technical and creative quality of the work, much higher than I expected.

I was there on the opening night, Liverpool’s annual Light Night when museums and galleries stay open late. I queued up to see Rolf doing one of his paintings in front of a live audience. I stood just a few feet away from him and captured the whole thing on my Fuji Finepix W3 stereo 3D camera. A mono version of the video is above.

I felt very privileged to be there and to finally see a personality I know from my earliest childhood.

What struck me was that Rolf Harris is exactly the same in real life as he is on screen: genuine, down to earth, honest to goodness and totally real, unlike many of today’s so-called reality tv personalities.

Now, as ever, he has a universal appeal. He joked with a tiny kid on the stage but also chatted and exchanged banter with people of all age groups in the audience.

I admire Rolf Harris because he is blessed with many talents and likes to make use of them, and because he has a strong educational intent. He tries to share the joy of art with people and help to develop their appreciation, encouraging them to have a go themselves. That’s brilliant.

His television and media career is long and distinguished, making him a priceless national asset. He has been there since the earliest days of British TV and has met and worked with many of the most distinguished people, including the Beatles, and all the best known stars.

A high point of his career was when he painted the Queen. The excerpt from the BBC programme is one of a number of items shown at the exhibition and has people spellbound. Only Rolf Harris could make a visit to Buckingham Palace like dropping in to have a chat with your favourite auntie.

The painting is on display at the exhibition and what’s striking is that she looks exactly in the painting as she does in the video. When Lucien Freud did his portrait of the Queen she looked forbidding and haughty, but in Rolf Harris’s painting she is smiling and engaging with twinkling eyes.

In many ways, a portrait often reflects the character of the artist as much as t the sitter, if not more so.

He was born in 1930 and first came to England in 1953. He’s now an octogenarian, but looking healthy. One lady asked him about his skin regime.

But it is remarkable, and rather shocking, that he has had to wait until now to experience a retrospective of his work, the first in his lifetime. Thank goodness he’s alive to see it.

The fact is that Rolf’s work has not received the recognition it deserved.

It was criticised by Brian Sewell and Norman Lebrecht. I won’t bring down the tone of this article with their comments, but they can be read here.

Perhaps I was unconsciously influenced by those reviewers, and lazy enough to assume that as cultural commentators, they must know what they were talking about.

But when I saw Rolf Harris’s paintings of London, I was bowled over by their sophistication and subtlety, I realised I should have mentally torn up those reviews and thrown them into the bin where they belong. I won’t make any comment about the initials of the first of those named above, but they seem apt.

There is a lot that is bad about the art world, a lot that distorts and debases culture.

In my opinion, culture is precious. It should have a capital C. It should be about honesty and integrity, not pandering to a narrow clique in a certain part of the country. It should appeal to as wide an audience as possible, not just an elite. It should be about celebrating and encouraging creativity at all levels and in all genres, and not focused on just a tiny number of over-paid and under-talented personalities who know how to play the media. It should be about encouraging personal development, about including people, not excluding them.

On all these counts, Rolf Harris embodies all that is good in the arts and media.

In my opinion, Liverpool has the best museums in the UK (leaving aside the unfair bias in this country towards the capital). It’s great that that the Walker Art Gallery has brought the first ever retrospective of the artistic work of Rolf Harris to Liverpool.

For me, that proves that four years on from 2008, Liverpool remains the UK’s true Capital of Culture, (with a capital C).

More information about the Rolf Harris exhibition on the Walker Art Gallery website.

The exhibition was developed in association with De Montfort Fine Art. Rolf Harris is represented by Billy Marsh Associates.

And below is a detail of the very nice picture that Rolf painted especially for me and the other people looking on. It’s a frequent theme of his, an Australian view based on childhood memories, with trees, dripping paint and a chain fence running diagonally across the frame.

Filed Under: Art, Creativity, Liverpool, video

Sea Odyssey – when giants walked the streets of Liverpool

26/04/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

On the weekend of 23 April 2012, giant marionettes hit the streets of Liverpool and mesmerised thousands of people, including me!

On Friday morning, I listened in to the start of their walk on BBC Radio Merseyside, when Little Girl Giant woke up from her slumber in Stanley Park, north Liverpool. That evening on BBC Northwest Tonight I watched them live as they made their way through Liverpool One, and I decided I would have to go and see them for myself.

I managed to get there by train later on Saturday afternoon. At Lime Street station, police were directing the crowds. Outside the station, I saw the streets were empty of traffic but thronged with people. Looking up along Lime Street, I saw the outline of a large moving figure.

I headed in that direction, and few minutes later I caught my first sight of the diver as he walked past the tower of St Lukes Church. His head seemed almost level with the top of the tower. The streets were lined with thousands of people of all ages from young children sitting on their fathers’ shoulders to old people in wheelchairs, all drawn by the sight of this gigantic man in an old-fashioned diving suit making his ungainly way along the street.

He was supported by a large improvised crane on wheels, a small army of French-speaking assistants, or ‘lilliputians’ all in red uniforms. Live music was played by a French band on a trailer following close behind. Over the speakers, a voice told the team what was happening: “Pied gauche levé! Posé! Pied droit levé! Posé!” “Left foot up! Down! Right foot up! Down!”.

Puppets sleep after Day 2., overlooked by Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

And so the gigantic groovy marionette in the diving suit made his jaunty way towards Chinatown. Due to the massive crowds there was a bottleneck, so I headed back down Bold Street and over to the other end of Chinatown. Unfortunately there were too many people, streets were closed off,I couldn’t get anywhere near him so I decided to head down towards the Albert Dock and catch the other puppets.

Just by the bottom of Paradise Street, which was lined with thousands of onlookers, I saw I was in luck. Some distance up the street, I saw the dog Xolo and following not far behind, the towering and beautiful Little Girl Giant.

It was a magic moment finally to see both of them with my own eyes, as they made their way very slowly at first, but then more quickly towards me.

Soon they were in front of me as well as scores of other onlookers – here the crowds were a little thinner than elsewhere and I could get quite close. The giant size animatronic black dog was an astonishing sight. He moved right up in front of me nuzzling his face into the crowd, children patting his nose, as scores of devices snapped his every move. His tail wagged, his ears flopped down and he smiled with a wide, foxy grin, tongue hanging out. Though this was a robot made of papier maché and metal, people reacted in the same as they would have done to a real dog.

Little Girl Giant riding her boat on the Strand

I got some great 3-D video and stills, then I followed them down onto the Strand and watched as Little Girl Giant was disconnected from her cables and lifted by a crane onto a boat. As the transfer took place the operator issued the instructions over the PA in French. I heard “Décrochage des coudes” – “Disconnection the elbows”, and more commentary.

It was a real boat, maybe a small fishing boat and it sat on a trailer. Water gushed from underneath it, some of the spray fell onto the crowds. Soon the trailer started to move, the giant girl looked down, opening and closing her eyes with an almost regal presence.

The assistants dressed her in a yellow sailors jacket and hat. She seemed to enjoy being the centre of attention and the yellow outfit really suited her…

See what I mean! For me she was becoming a real person, not just a 30 foot high puppet.
I got some great 3D video of her as she rode in her boat along the Strand. Hundreds more clutching cameras, phones, tablets and even iPads were doing the same as me but as far as I could see, I was the only one shooting in stereo 3D!

After the procession entered Princes Dock huge crowds followed them slowly forming another bottleneck near the entrance. I decided to I walk against the crowd as fast as I could back to the other entry road, and headed past the Echo Arena towards Kings Dock where I caught the final moments of the performance. Yet another crane hoisted the girl onto the divers’ lap. They hugged and before long fell into a deep sleep, and a snoring sound rang out over the speakers

That was the end of the proceedings for this evening but no one wanted to leave, so captivated were they by the two gigantic figures. Eventually I decided it was time to head home and started to make my way back towards the centre and Lime Street station. As I walked, I dictated the first draft of this article on the iPhone.
I love everything about Sea Odyssey, it’s fantastic, the best street theatre I’ve ever seen.

Giants are rooted in our psyche, in stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Gulliver’s Travels. Movies can do amazing things with CGI, but this is different. They are there standing right in front of you. I think that’s why the effect is so awe-inspiring.

The marionettes are truly hypnotic. They look and act as if they are alive. I’m sure many small children think they really are. Fantasy had come to life, a spectacle on an industrial scale played out not inside a theatre but on the streets of Liverpool.
The music was great too: French style rock played live, and quintessentially French melodies sung by Edith Piaf. Liverpool definitely became a little bit French today. I liked the playful Latin American music accompanying Xolo the dog: I checked on Shazam and it was Primavera by Michi Sarimiento & Sus Bravos!

The show was conceived and put on by street theatre company Royale de Luxe, based in Nantes. In France they think big. I feel that only the French have the panache and élan to pull something like this off.

I understand that it cost over £1.5 million to put on, but only a small part of this amount was paid by Liverpool City Council. Thousands of visitors have poured into Liverpool this weekend it is predicted that the event will have earned far more for the city than it cost to put on. I think the legacy will last a long time.

Little Girl Giant passing by at the Pier Head. The spookiest thing is when she appears to be looking at you.

All I can say in conclusion (in very large letters) is:

Vive les marionnettes!

If you liked the article, video and photos, please ‘Like’ my Facebook page www.facebook.com/AidanORourkeCP

Mon the Giant Spectacular Facebook page.

The website of Royal de Luxe, Nantes.

Filed Under: Creativity, French language, Liverpool, Photography, video

A visit to the Beatles’ childhood homes in Liverpool

30/03/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

On Friday 30 March, I went on the National Trust’s Beatles Childhood Homes tour, visiting 20 Forthlin Road Allerton, and Mendips on Menlove Avenue, Woolton.

It was a very memorable and quite moving experience as we got to see the actual rooms where the Beatles met and wrote some of their early hits. There were some marvellous family photographs which brought us very close to the early lives of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The commentary by the two guides at each of the houses was perceptive and often based on conversations with Beatles members or their friends and family.

Booking on the tour is the only way to access the two houses and transport is in a National Trust minibus. I took the 2.15pm tour from outside Jury’s Inn Hotel near the Albert Dock. Our friendly driver told us there would be music playing on the speakers by a particular band and it wasn’t the Rolling Stones!

After a journey of about 20 minutes we arrived at 20 Forthlin Road, the house where Paul McCartney lived during the years up till the Beatles’ rise to fame. The first thing you notice is how different it looks to the other houses on the street. This is because it was restored to an approximation of how it looked when Paul McCartney and his parents and brother lived there. Original windows have been put back and the exterior was repainted.

Inside, the rooms are all decorated in the style of the time. For me it was like a journey into my own childhood. Even if only for a fleeting moment, the years seemed to have been swept away and I was able to recapture the distinctive atmosphere and aura of the late 50s. The superb black and white photos by Mike McCartney capture Paul and John as they rehearsed their early songs. The photos from earlier years show a typical family at home or on holiday. Gazing into the living room I really felt I as if I was there in the late fifties during a family music session with Paul’s dad at the piano, and Paul on the armchair, strumming a guitar and singing.

Photos are strictly prohibited inside both houses and I think it’s a good idea. It helps to preserve the historic value of the interiors and everything they stand for. So instead, with blink of both eyes, I made a mental snapshot of the living room at Paul’s house. I can still see the Chinese wallpaper, the armchairs, the quaint side table and old fashioned tv, with Mike McCartney’s photos on the wall.

Our guide was very knowledgeable. Both she and her husband, who is based at “Mendips” have personal contacts with Beatles members and their friends.

After an all too brief stay at 20 Forthlin Road, we returned to the minibus, and made the short journey up to Menlove Avenue and Mendips, the semi-detached house that was John Lennon’s home from 1945 to 1963.

As we soon discover, the stern character of his aunt Mimi left its stamp on both John and the house. She forbade him to enter by the front door and so after our guide took photos (see mine lower right) we walked round to the back door and the kitchen. Our guide gave a quiet and thoughtful account of their lives at the house, and we soon got a very vivid and touching picture of the trials and tribulations they faced.

First impressions of Mendips are that it is quite grand in comparison to Forthlin Road, and it has less of a family feel. This, as we learned, is because Aunt Mimi was obliged for financial reasons, to let some of the rooms to students.

As at Forthlin Road I took a mental picture of the ornate living room, which was only used for special guests, although Aunt Mimi allowed John’s skiffle band The Quarrymen to rehearse there.

The highpoint of the visit was a glimpse of John Lennon’s tiny bedroom at the front of the house. This is where in his early years he lay dreaming, and wrote his first songs. On the bed there is a guitar, a collection of books and records, posters on the wall of Brigitte Bardot and Elvis and other memorabilia.

And that was the end of an all to brief visit to the home of John Lennon, which was presented to the National Trust as a gift by Yoko Ono Lennon.

The visit has left many impressions and brought back many memories of my own from that time. I wish it was possible just to sit back, relax and have tea with the young John and Aunt Mimi! All we can do is… imagine!

For more information and to book on a tour, go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatles/

Filed Under: Creativity, Liverpool, Local history, Music, Photography Tagged With: 1950s, Beatles, Fab Four, fifties, Merseybeat, music heritage, National Trust properties, nostalgia

Redeye Hothouse 2012 a day devoted to photography

12/03/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

Redeye’s Hothouse photography event took place on Saturday 10th of March. Photographers gave presentations of their work, there were portfolios, books and other stuff on display.

People met, networked and generally immersed themselves in photography for the day. There was delicious coffee and tea on tap (for a small flat fee). The venue was The Studio, on Lever St, very modern and well equipped. Best of all it was free and open to anyone to attend.

I think I’m right in saying that everyone who attended Hothouse enjoyed it and benefited in some way. Here’s how I benefited.

By listening to photographers, I learned new things and was inspired.

I learned about the best way to prepare a photographic portfolio, and what to do with it.

I met some new people, including one or two very talented photographers and a keen blogger.

I met up again with people I know including some well known photographers!

I saw some great photography in the portfolios on display.

I drank a lot of very nice coffee, and some wine at the end, and was offered a piece of birthday cake by one of the UK’s leading photographic publishers!

More details on the Redeye website www.redeye.org.uk.

I wasn’t there all day as I had one of my photographic walking tours in the afternoon, but I brought my students into Hothouse for the final hour.

Congratulations to Paul Herrmann and all at Redeye for another excellent event, which really brought people together. I highly recommend Redeye, they are doing a great job. See www.redeye.org.uk.

Here are the Tweets I posted on the day

#Hothouse12 Paul Herrmann’s talk on The Perfect Portfolio has completely changed how I think about portfolios. Now I must get mine in order!

At #Hothouse12 Jacob Russell’s photos of the odd Salford boy known as Knight Warrior. Documentary photos capturing a strange reality.

#Hothouse12 Met Miguel Fernandez. Wonderful bw photos of Madrid like Cristina García Rodero. Also India m.flickr.com/#/photos/oshii/

Photo walk in one hour

At #Hothouse photo event saw Paul Watson and his delightfully simple saturated colour experiments. All about yellow! www.pbwfoto.con

Nice talk & presentation by Phil Portus philportus.co.uk with jazz music. He’s member of Sth Man Camera Club. I’m giving a talk 23 April

Two hours till Manchester Photo Walk 1.30 to 5. One confirmation and one cancellation so far. Weather in Manchester good

Now watching presentation by Neil Alexander. Very impactful well composed and saturated nad.me #Hothouse12.

I am at the Redeye Hothouse event about to listen to talk by musician & photographer Phil Portus. meeting walking tour students at 1.15

Filed Under: Creativity, Manchester, Photography

A few words about Karen McBride rock photographer

24/02/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

This new blog is about creative success, and one of the most creatively successful people I know is the music photographer Karen McBride.

In my archive there is an article I wrote about her in 2003 entitled Karen McBride, Rock photographer with the X-Factor. Please note that article pre-dated the famous television programme of the same name! Maybe they saw my article and got the idea for the title!

Anyway, since then Karen McBride has carved out a unique career with her inventive, accomplished but often uncompromising photographs of musicians and performers.

A silly and superficial way to judge the merit of photographers is to look at how famous the people they have photographed are. According to that principle, Karen McBride has done pretty well, but I won’t mention any famous artists till further down.

Instead I will make the point that she has always taken a great interest in photographing obscure, unsigned bands who may or may not become famous in the future. In fact most of the artists Karen McBride photographs will never be famous.

But she takes a special interest in all of them and she tells me that the attention she gives them, making them look good in photographs, can be a great encouragement to young performers who may be lacking in confidence and self-esteem.

However a few of those obscure and unknown bands photographed by Karen McBride go on to achieve a higher profile. They include the Ting Tings and the Scissor Sisters.

And she has also photographed a singer named Robbie Williams on his European tour, as the official photographer for the sponsors of the tour.

I could reel off a long list of other well-known artists she has photogaphed but if I did, this post would turn into just a piece of publicity copy.

So instead, I’ll just finish with a couple of observations.

You might think that working with famous artists and being featured on the covers of magazines would mean she could bask in the adulation, rest on her laurels and not get out of bed for any but the most prestigious photo shoots. But it’s not like that in today’s world. She still works hard, still photographing obscure artists as well as famous ones, still striving to maintain her hard won creative success.

The other thing is simply that her style is very quirky and often goes against the rules of conventional rock photography. She takes risks – they don’t always work – but she is single-minded in her creative vision and a stickler for technical details. I think that is one of the keys to her success.

She’s done loads of other stuff as well, so take a look at http://www.karenmcbride.com And that’s all I have to say about Karen McBride – here are a few of my favourite images of hers.

444 words written on the 42 bus!, a few more added later Excellently concise Aidan (for a change!)

Filed Under: Creativity, Manchester, Music, Photography, Uncategorized Tagged With: bands, creative industries, make money photography, rock music

How to be creative – and successful!

14/02/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

how-to-be-creative-and-successful/

That’s a question that has dominated my mind and the minds of countless people, since time immemorial.

I am speaking as someone who has achieved some modest success in the creative sphere: In 1997 I launched my website Eyewitness in Manchester and managed to secure a contract to produce it which helped support my freelance career for eight years. I have also sold or licenced hundreds of my photos for use in print, on websites and hanging on peoples walls as prints. In the last few years, I have contributed photographs to five books, the most recent being “Liverpool Then and Now” appearing April 2012.

But I am not satisfied! Why? Because I am not just creative in photography. I am also creative across a spectrum of other genres as well, as can be seen in the categories on this blog. I intend to find success in those areas as well, though it is a very difficult task. This blog will tell the story of how I am going to achieve this success.

But coming back to the question, how to be creative – and successful. I’ll address that in more detail in the pages of this blog, but to conclude this first post, here are a few bullet points in response to the question: “How can I be creative and successful?”

1) First of all, make sure that your chosen medium and subject is right for you and that you have original ideas and genuine talent. Your innate creativity should be the driving force, not your desire for a certain image and lifestyle, or because you crave adulation or monetary success.

2) Whatever your medium, carve out a niche that is unique. Do things in a way that nobody else is doing them. Don’t duplicate what thousands of other people are doing

3) Within this niche, produce work that is better than anyone else. Develop it, enjoy it, hone it, love it, believe in it!

4) Some say you should work on it for long hours. I don’t believe that’s necessary. Spend a good amount of quality time, but don’t waste your time endlessly churning out more stuff. In my opinion a good amount of high quality material is better than endless amounts of mediocre material.

5) Find peers to network with. It’s always good to have the support of others who are involved in a similar creative field to yours. They are not competitors, they can be fellow-travellers, colleagues and maybe good friends. Nowadays there are lots of networking meetings, groups and events.

6) Learn how to promote yourself in today’s world: Website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, YouTube are important but traditional routes may still be relevant: such as finding an agent or manager, submitting to publishers. Face to face networking and meetings are still important.

7) In today’s world, don’t rely on being ‘discovered’ and then making it big. Define the success you’d like to achieve in terms of goals. In the past mine was securing a freelance contract, getting my photos published in books. I’ll reveal my future goals in another post! There may be a chance that you will be ‘discovered’ but it’s probably only a small chance.

8) You cannot let the apathy and lack of interest of others discourage you, though I have often felt like this! If you believe your project is good you have to follow it through and see where it takes you. The most apathetic people may well be very enthusiastic to say they know you once you’ve found success. Don’t allow the attitude of others to lead yo into giving up! Success is often a lottery but you have to be in it to win it. Enjoy the journey and if /when you find the success you crave for, please remember these words of advice!

What is the secret of creative success?

9.26 started, 9.58 finished so half an hour 601 words, just right.

Filed Under: Creativity

Hello world!

14/02/2012 By AidanORourkeCP

My previous blog was located at http://www.aidan.co.uk/blog/ and relaunchedon 14 Feb 2012.r In April 2012 I decided to move the blog up to the root level of the aidan.co.uk site and make it my main site. I transferred pages and posts to the new site and made it live on Tuesday 24 April 2012. It’s a WordPress site with the Genesis parent theme and Adapt child theme, plus various plug-ins. The site is about me and all my creative projects.

These are the words I wrote when I launched the older blog:

This is the first post in my re-instated blog, launched on 14 February 2012. The theme of the blog is creative success and how to achieve it! Today I wrote three posts for the blog which I will upload shortly.

The reason for relaunching the blog is because my aidan.co.uk site is in need of regular updates. A blog is the best way to achieve this. Other content on the aidan.co.uk site will be pretty much archived.

The blog will be where I upload new articles and pictures.

The reason for choosing the ‘Creative Success’ theme is because it is something that is very important to me and to many other people as well. It will provide an interesting slant on every post. When for instance I review a famous artist, I will ask myself ‘How did they achieve creative success?’.

OK, that’s it. First post completed!

147 words, completed within the WordPress text editor on my old computer!

Filed Under: Creativity