Drawing with scissors; cutting colour

Not many artists reinvent themselves in their 60's after a major health scare and while the rest of the world is at war... I am so appreciative that my all time hero, Henri Matisse, had a second chance. It seems that he was unable to stand at his easel, so he learned to cut out sheets of paper pre-painted in bright and solid colours, from his bed. He then used his bedroom walls to display and re-configure his designs!

Tate Modern's new exhibition Matisse Cut-Outs brings together works from a large number of important museums throughout Europe and America, together with some private collections, in what is an extremely comprehensive retorspective of his last 20 years. It is an amazingly well curated exhibition, where we observe the importance of constructing an image from key objects.

A highlight is a complete set of original works and prints of his large illustrated text Jazz - a kind of adult fairy tale of images and profound messages, created against the backdrop or war. He created amazing images with colorful and stylised cutouts and wrote an accompanying text in his very floral handwriting - o I wish I could access my schoolgirl French with ease!

I also loved seeing his 4 blue nudes, coming together from the Musee d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou and the Fondation Bayeler near Bern. It was truly amazing to see all 4 together. Individually they are impressive and capture the female form in such simplicity. But to be able to compare these images, also with some simple sculptures was an unbelievable indulgence...

And the final piece d'resistance pour moi, was to see some of the preparations for his final Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, in the south of France. This was one of my most unexpected spiritual life events - to see the sun streaming in through his amazing stained glass windows, contrasted against the white simplicity and his stunning drawings on the walls. OK the Tate has not been able to do this, but to present some of his early drawings enabled me to transport myself back in time and place...

so how to conclude from such an exhibition that brings so many memories together in a unified appreciation of an old man that has changed the world of colour and form - all I can say is that he has inspired me to read his catalogues and varied books, and to get out my scissors and coloured paper to recreate my creativity...o wot fun it will be ;)