This terrific self-portrait dates from 1927. Just as a supplement to the Satie piece: here is Suzanne Valadon’s chart. She was a wonderful woman, a free spirit, single mother, great painter and an inspiration for many other artists (Neptune in the 7th), in particular Renoir. For a while [...]

Monet by his friend Renoir (1875) When a grocer’s son from Le Havre and a young factory worker from central France met in a studio in Paris in 1862, one of the most important friendships in the history of art was born. Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir were in the midst of torrid, [...]

The art establishment’s favourite entrepreneur is on the radio this morning, so I thought I’d repost a piece I wrote about him. It made me laugh again, but that is part of Hirst’s charm. To read it, click here.

Blue, Green and Brown by Mark Rothko I do wonder how much astrology is used in the Vatican. The timing of Benedcit XVI’s resignation and then the papal conclave that starts today, on the day of the Pisces New Moon, is perfect. This Pisces energy is well-used in prayer, contemplation and [...]

Black Iris III The American painter, Georgia O’Keeffe, was an über-Scorp, with Sun, Moon, Jupiter and Mercury all in the sign that rules – among other things – dissection and sexuality.  Her bold studies of irises show how such things can be beautiful. Like some other Scorpio artists – [...]

La Loge, Renoir. It’s April 1874 and Paris is laughing. A group of painters has had the audacity to exhibit their work outside the Salon – and it’s absolute rubbish: smeary, blurry, amateurish, trash. But by 1890, everything has changed. The reviled “Impressionists” [...]

OK – I’m on holiday, but I was just popping by to update the horoscopes so I thought I’d briefly post on the Olympic Opening Ceremony – what a hoot! Have you ever wondered what the shiny, happy face of Pluto might be? If so, you might want to watch the Opening Ceremony [...]

Cancer is the first water sign – an immediate, unmediated emotional response to the world. Maybe that’s why so many artists have been born under the sign of the golden claws. To read last year’s piece and get an eyeful of gorgeous portraits by artists with the Sun in Cancer, click here.

Gandhi’s morning walk, photographed by Margaret Bourke White (b. June 14, 1904)   In the tangled intricacy of the natal chart, the Sun sign is so often dismissed as too vague or too broad an indicator. But when it comes to career, it should never be overlooked. Migrant Mother by [...]

I’ve just re-read last year’s Gemini self-portraits piece again and it made me smile. Take a look and enjoy how surprisingly alike some of the artists look, right down to the facial hair and the rebel attitude. To see the whole piece click here. Main pic: Diego Velazquez, born June [...]

Most self-help books have about three ideas in them which are padded out with a lot of white space and bullet points. But there are a few which are absolutely brilliant. Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way has sold about a gazillion copies in the two decades not because it’s [...]

Click here for to read my piece on Aries self portraits published here last April.

Daydreaming by DG Rossetti I think it’s time I drew your attention to a piece I wrote about Neptune in Pisces and the Pre-Raphaelites. The astrology is pretty exact. Click here to read it.

Is this the most influential portrait of a woman from the 20th century? You wouldn’t believe it now, but way back in 1991, this cover of Vanity Fair showing the then highest-earning actress in Hollywood naked and heavily pregnant caused a storm of controversy. Why? Because some people [...]

Pablo Picasso loved the virile masculinity of the bull – the cojones. He painted and drew and modelled and made hundreds of bulls. It’s well known that he especially identified himself with the Minotaur, the mythical monster half-man, half bull: tender and bestial. So, astrologically [...]

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (8 Jan) painted this self-portrait when he was 16. During his lifetime, he was one of the richest, most sought-after painters of his day, creating vast fantasies of Roman decadence and fairyland luxury. His charm lay in the way his people looked so real – and yet there [...]

Truthfulness is a Sagittarius quality — for good or bad. Maybe that is why they make such brilliant self-portraits. There is the German-Swedish painter Lotte Laserstein with a tabby cat comfortably nestled on her arm. Her gaze is a little sardonic, but quite confident thank you, as [...]

Francis Bacon, Oct 28 Don’t expect to find this an easy bunch of pictures to look at. We are in the land of Scorpio this month – and this sign like to deal with deeper truth. Not for Scorp the polished surface of a Gemini or the gorgeous patterns of Libra. No, Scorpio prefers to [...]

Artist Georgia O’Keeffe born 15 Nov 1887 – Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter in Scorpio opposite  Neptune (illusion, glamour)-Pluto (death again). Scorpio – death, archeology, digging deep, the bare bones – and sex. Scorpio rules the genitals, of course.

Suzanne Valadon (23 Sept 1865) Theoretically, there’s nothing more revealing of character than a self-portrait, yet this month’s artists don’t do that straightforwardly. Their own faces blend into the backgrounds of the pictures, becoming simply part of the motif. Compare [...]