Judi Dench (1934) as a Shakespearean actress. One of the finest actresses Britain has ever produced. Conte pencil
Author: Gary Kirkpatrick
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Judi Dench as a Young Woman
Judi Dench, Conte pencil on cream colored pastel paper -
Fallas 2024 rocks on
Starting March 1 each year, Fallas is an annual celebration of renewal, a kind of out with the old and in with the new, clean out the shop and closet to create something out of scrap. Well that’s the way it began, morphing into an over the top celebration of, well, pretty much whatever you want, most using a wood/foam construction to create these gravity defying sculptures as well as the smaller ones, called Ninots which largely target children. Photos below the videos.
For an explanation of what this World Heritage event is all about, see Fallas- what it’s all about
Here is a link to the midnight fireworks of March 17, in the City of Arts section of Valencia
Here is March 17th mascleta at 2 pm at the main square
In the Rusafa neighborhood of Valencia. Huge numbers of people arrive from all over Spain, Europe and the rest of the world. It is a family centered event. Kids as well as adults participate in just about everything. There are food trucks and cocktail stands galore, with very little drunkenness especially considering the numbers. It is loud, with firecrackers readily available and employed even by the smallest of children, generally following the requirements of adult supervision and training for members of the Casals, the clubs that organize the sculpture production and doa lot of the partying as well as sponsoring the Fallera Mayor and Fallera Infantil, the adult and child queens of the entire event.
A good time in the lights of the Rusafa neighborhood 
The Fallas Pilar in construction, going on to place third in the Special Classs (the biggest sculptures) 
We watched them add pieces to the Pilar Fallas 
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Umberto Ecco
Umberto Ecco, Conte pencil, 32 x 50 cm/ 12.5 x 19.5″ Umberto Ecco (1932-2016) was a medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. He is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, made into the movie with Sean Connery playing the leading role. The novel is a tour de force of intricacies of medieval theology. Foucault’s Pendulum pokes fun, again intricately, at conspiracy theory, while Prague Cemetery revisits the plots of the Risorgimento. Another of my heroes. He taught at the University of Bologna, which we visited along with the Focault pendulum then swinging in the cathedral. Portrait in Conte.
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Pianist Singer Ballerina II
Pianist Singer Ballerina, Acrylics on Canvas, 100 x 73 cm, 40 x 29″ This is the third painting featuring the pianist. The first is a realistic depiction
Pianist and SInger The second, completed just a month or so ago, appeared in the Street Art Fair in Picanya, Spain
Pianist Singer Ballerina, 1.5 x 1.3 meters, acrylics -
American Artists Exhibit in Valencia
Eight American artists, including me, are participating in an exhibit from March 1-6 at Bloom Gallery in Valencia. The opening is March 1 at 1930h (7:30 pm). For those who live here, hope to see you there!
Each artist will exhibit two pieces. Mine are:
Pianist Singer Ballerina 2, acrylics on canvas, 100 x 73cm/ 40 x 29″ 
Croquis Cafe 57 x 76 cm, 22.5 x 30” acrylics
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Stormy Braggs
Stormy Braggs, digital portrait of Stormy Daniels -
Pianist, Singer, Ballerina
Pianist, Singer, Ballerina, acrylics on canvas, 1.5 x 1.3m/5′ x 4′ This expressionistic piece combines imaginative and realistic elements such as we see in the dancer, from the performer’s point of view. The stained glass look continues, muted in the dark theater as is the audience. It’s about the challenges of cooperative performance. Without an audience there is no performance.
Light and dark interplay. Shafts of light downpour, adding to the pressure. The spotlight’s on you. Do it. There is one escape: that open door. But to get there you are judged more harshly.
Last year’s event here Dones de Picanya 2023 and 2022 here Dones de Picanya 2022
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Portrait of María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick
María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick, 39 x 50cm/16 x 19,″ Conte pencils in white and sepia on gray pastel paper This is an updated version of this Conte drawing. Eugenia married Napoleon Bonaparte in 1853 and was the Empress of France from 1853-1870 when Napoleaon was deposed. See my article about her at https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/the-kirkpatrick-empress-of-france/
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By the Sea
Add this one to the paintings inspired by Edward Hopper, although in this case I drew from a painting by the impressionist Frederick Childe Hassam. It is another piece in the style I term “Symbolic Expressionism.:
Note the sail on the horizon.
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Portrait of Dame Judi Dench
Dame Judi Dench, actress (b 1934), conte pencil drawing 30 x 50 cm/ 12 x 19.5″ on pastel paper I’ve watched Judi Dench perform since the 1990’s in the BBC comedy ‘As Time Goes By.” She’s a natural on the stage. I am not alone in singing her praises. She has been awarded an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Television Awards, six British Academy Film Awards and seven Olivier Awards. She appeared in eight James Bond films. Starting in 1968 she had a long run as Sally Bowles in ‘Cabaret.’ Her accomplishments are almost too long to list.