Introduction:

"This blog is not necessarily for lovers of art, it includes a variety of topics and whatever. I'm a painter who likes to know what's really going on in the world today. So you might find anything from Shamrocks to Salmiakki mentioned here on my blog. There will of course be some boring, factual and informational posts, but I'll keep them to a minimum, I promise!

And I might get a bit nostalgic now and then.

So you have been warned!"


- Alan Hogan



Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Hong Kong Hot Shots





Last Saturday I got to see an exhibition by a group of professional photographers based in Hong Kong collectively known as HKPPN. The exhibition was titled The Portfolios 10 Exhibition and featured a variety of intriguing works showing at The Central Oasis, a busy public space in downtown Hong Kong. 



Click image to enlarge




Click image to enlarge
 



Click image to enlarge




Click image to enlarge




Click image to enlarge




To be honest, I actually found this exhibition by pure accident while on a short visit here before returning home to Finland from a holiday in Australia. While not a serious photographer myself I do enjoy this artform and take a lot of inspiration from it. I also appreciate good photography when I see it. If I ever get a proper camera for myself one day I can only pray to produce results like those seen here in Hong Kong. 




Click image to enlarge



Click image to enlarge


Anyway, after spending several hours walking around the huge metropolis that in Hong Kong, this sudden find was an instant oasis of calm and enjoyment for me. Having arrived back home I found out more about this exhibition and was quite surprised to see the amount of work involved in producing this show.



Click image to enlarge


For example, the exhibition's official poster was an achievement in itself. Here's a short video of it's creation. While involving some hard work, it certainly looks like these guys had a lot of fun too!
More photos from this exhibition can be found on the HKPPN Facebook profile here.







Thank you for visiting my blog!!!


Thank you very much and please share this with your friends!!!







Share




You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


- Alan
 



               
                                                             






Friday, December 13, 2013

No Snow in Finland!

Karjaa, Finland - 12.12.2013


Okay, so this blogpost was meant to go out a few days ago. It was meant to be a short post with lots of pretty snow photos from Finland. I even took a quick video from where I'm actually sitting right now which was going to be followed by more winter images. There was a drop in temperature to -13 degrees celsius, so everything was looking all nice and glitzy. I could almost hear the Jingle bells ringing!

But then all of a sudden the temperature rose to +8C degrees! And did I get a chance to take my Christmas photos? ...No!
Instead, after seeing awful weather on tv from the recent memorial for the late Nelson Mandela in South Africa, and hearing about the first snow in Jerusalem for over 60 years, I stood at my window taking photos of grass outside my Finnish home. This is truly terrible! It's now less than two weeks to Christmas and there's no snow in Finland! What's up with that?






Here lies possibly the last piece of snow of 2013. 
It is now in my freezer in case of emergency.



I realise the title of my blogpost isn't entirely true, of course there is snow in Finland. It's such a big country, you only need to drive 200 kilometers north and you will be guaranteed snow. But if anyone is travelling to the capital area of Helsinki, beware for you may be disappointed, especially as one of Finland's finest events occurs today.




Today marks the crowning of Lucia, an annual event on December 13th happening in various towns across Finland with the largest and most media-covered crowning being held in Helsinki against the backdrop of the fabulous Helsinki Cathedral.  


 Click to see original painting


I have seen this event without snow before. I remember a group of students from Sweden brought their own Lucia celebration to St.Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland about 10 years ago. It was something special indeed, especially when I first saw the group all dressed in white gowns with red sashes walking up the freezing stone floor in their bare feet. It was a very cold evening and walking barefoot didn't look easy. While I still remember that occasion in Dublin very well, it is still not as spectacular as the proceedings in Helsinki. 
If you missed the Lucia celebrations at the big white church in Helsinki today don't worry, you can watch it all on the Finnish National broadcaster's channel. Just click this Link













Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends. Let's hope the snow arrives here and wherever you are for Christmas!





Share



You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


- Alan 



                     
                                                                      Click here and join our Facebook group!

Please leave your reaction to this blogpost by ticking one of the boxes below. 





Friday, December 6, 2013

Happy Independence Day Finland




Happy 
Independence Day 
Finland!









- Alan 



   

Friday, November 29, 2013

Pikkujoulu! Party time!




Pikkujoulu begins this weekend here in Finland. This date on the calendar always confuses me. Correctly translated from Finnish to English, Pikku joulu means Little Christmas. For swedish-speaking Finns it translates as Lilla Jul. But when the word Pikkujoulu is mentioned in Finland it usually refers to Christmas Party-time, and more so by Finnish speakers. It's time for groups, companies, friends and colleagues to hold their Christmas parties! 
The reason I get confused is because back in my old country Ireland, we also have Little Christmas or 'Nollaig Bheag' as it's called in Irish. But it is celebrated after Christmas on January 6th. I always remember it occurring just before the end of the Christmas school holidays. My parents used to meet up with friends at the local bar and invite them back to our house afterwards for some food, a few drinks and sometimes a sing-song! 

The fact that there's no term for the Irish equivalent of Pikkujoulu does not mean to say that Irish people don't have their own version of it before Christmas. Indeed, the festivities are very similiar to Finland with non-stop company parties and all other gatherings throughout the whole month of December. Because of their popularity and the difficulty in finding or booking a venue, some Christmas parties can often begin as early as the first week in November!

One of my favourite days while living back in Ireland was the last day of work before breaking up for Christmas holidays. It was a day of very little work and more about drinking coffee and eating as many of the boss' chocolates as possible! And all this while been presented with bottles of whiskey from customer reps and suppliers, and not to mention the Christmas bonus!! 
After all that it was straight to the pub at 12.00 for a free bar and finger-food (I imagine these pleasures have been trimmed back a little since the bank crisis a few years ago)
Having left work-colleagues at the pub in the afternoon during the usual half-drunken rendition of either 'You've lost that lovin' feelin'!' by The Righteous Brothers or 'Fairytale of New York' by The Pogues, I usually headed into Dublin city centre to meet up with my own friends. This is the best time to be in Dublin or any other city in Ireland, as the atmosphere is really warm and friendly. As an Irish person I would go so far to say it's better than St.Patrick's Day (unless it happens on Christmas Eve Dec 24th when most city pubs close at 9pm! ...that's a bummer!!)


Happy 10th Birthday Fake Argos Christmas Tree!!


Anyway I'm all set for Pikkujoulu here in Finland. I've dragged my old fake Christmas tree out from storage and the lights are up. I can't believe that the same lights which came with this tree are still working! I must admit I hate untangling any sort of Christmas lights. I think I'm gonna add it on to my Love/Hate list on facebook (you can follow it on my Facebook page here)

Christmas Lights!!! :)

It's a momentous year as my tree celebrates it's 10th birthday! I bought my tree from the Argos store in Dublin while living in Ireland and it has served me well every year since. I like to look at it as been ten real trees I have kept alive. Although I confess, I have cut one down for someone else as a favour while in Finland.


Guilty!



"Happy Pikkujoulu!!!"


Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.



Share



You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


- Alan 



                     
                                                                      Click here and join our Facebook group!

Please leave your reaction to this blogpost by ticking one of the boxes below. 





Thursday, November 21, 2013

Slogans uncovered

I recently found a site featuring famous brandnames with a few interesting slogans. It gave me a few laughs. Here's a few examples... Just click to enlarge!

Source: Honest Slogans

Source: Honest Slogans

Source: Honest Slogans

Source: Honest Slogans

Source: Honest Slogans

Source: Honest Slogans

Source: Honest Slogans

Source: Honest Slogans

There's plenty more slogans to be found on Honest Slogans . It's mostly brandnames better known to those of you living in the U.S.A. 
However there was one I didn't agree with. It was this slogan for Pepsi. Now unless it's Pepsi Zero, I will always choose Pepsi over Coke. The trouble is that it's not always available. 
And since when has there ever been NO COKE?


Source: Honest Slogans



Here's one I added myself. Bring back the greasy spoon where one could get a proper mug of coffee!!!

Source: Hogan's Blog

Finally while I was looking for something similar on airline company brands I stumbled on a funny joke.

A guy was sitting on a barstool drinking a pint at Heathrow airport, when a really beautiful woman sat down next to him. The guy thought to himself, "Wow, she's so gorgeous, she must be a flight attendant, but which airline does she work for?"

Being a bit of a know-all and hoping to pick her up, he leaned towards her and uttered the Delta Airlines slogan, "Love to fly and it shows?"

She gave him a blank, confused stare, and the guy immediately thought to himself, "Damn, she doesn't work for Delta".

A moment later, another slogan popped into his head. He leaned towards her again, "Something special in the air?"

She gave him the same confused look.

He mentally kicked himself and scratched Singapore Airlines off the list. Next he tried the Thai Airways slogan, "Smooth as silk".

This time the woman turned on him, 

"What the f*** do you want?"

Then the guy smiled, and said, 

"Ah, Ryanair!"



Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.



Share



You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


- Alan 



                     
                                                                      Click here and join our Facebook group!

Please leave your reaction to this blogpost by ticking one of the boxes below. 






The Art Garage, Finland

The Art Garage, Finland
Click this banner to visit my website!