Somewhat distracted; Alison Scarpulla.

This incredible photo by Alison Scarpulla perfectly depicts my current head-in-the-clouds state. 

See more here. 

Sunday Soundtrack - Dreamscapes.

Dreamscapes. from raloup on 8tracks.

As the "album art" suggests, I'm still stuck on Michael Rougier's 1960s photos from Tokyo. 

This has been the most popular mix I've put up so far, by a long stretch.  

Slow and quite calming, including Yann Tiersen, Eels, Tim Buckley and Iron & Wine.

Good music for the day before a big presentation...?  

Now I need to get back to work.

Happy, sleepy Sunday to all. Let's hope the sunshine sticks around today. 

Distraction & Focussing on Dreams; Zhou Fan.

Posting has been pretty lax here of late, largely because I have suddenly found myself with a mountain of work to be getting on with... Nonetheless, I'm distracted and don't feel like I'm being productive enough.

These abstract aquatic works by contemporary Chinese artist Zhou Fan speak to my current inability to concentrate. The colours charm me. In the first paining, the figure seems to be delighting in the surreal swirl in the sky, and in the second one, it seems to be surrounding them in a stressful and claustrophobic crush of colour...

In his statement, the artist summarises my feelings in a rather succinct manner:

Somehow I feel that it is easier to focus on dreams than reality.

How do you balance being inspired with getting distracted?

What ways do you have for managing your time well?

What do you do to wind down after working all day?

See more of Zhou Fan's work on his online portfolio (where the above images are from).