Patrick Stewart has aged, making for interesting challenges for an artist, so I took it on.
Patrick Stewart b. 1940 an English actor, director and producer. He started as a Shakespearean actor before going to television and film. He has been nominated for multiple awards. He is one of my favorite actors. I watched some episodes of Picard just to see him do the part. It was otherwise a not series I found particularly interesting. The popup control panels were astonishing.
From a scene in The Crown, Anne with her photographer boyfriend
This is the car I drove as a teenager. It’s a 1958 or 59 Morris Minor 1000 produced in the UK. Morris is famous for the MG, standing for Morris Garage.
It was manufactured fom 1948 and 1971. There were three series: the MM (1948 to 1953), the Series II (1952 to 1956), and the 1000 series (1956 to 1971). There was a two-door, convertible, a four door and a station wagon, called an ‘estate’ in the UK.
Its peppy performance and decent handling no doubt were influenced by the MG, and very good interior space. I drove a VW bug at several points in my life and by comparison the Minor was a much better car and nearly as reliable.
“O sole mio” which is the basis for my pun is a famous Neapolitan song written in 1898. Lyrics by Giovanni Capurro, music by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi. It is usually sung in the Neopolitan dialect. ‘O sole mio in Italian is ‘Il mio sole,’ “my sun” or “my sunshine.” O Solo Mia means ‘O just Mia’ or ‘Mia alone.’ She resides with friends in El Carmen, taking one or the other for several walks a day.
An ode to Manet
This scene is based upon our local bakery, and inspired by Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Petxina (pronounced ‘Pechina’) is a neighborhood of Valencia. The bakery is around the corner from us.
Portraits of members of my family.
Her first name was really Sebastiana, an Italian name, but she went by Diana since around 1928. She was born in Brooklyn. Her sister was born in Sicily, probably Partanna where her father, my grandfather, was born.
Mathew, as we knew him, was born in Partanna, Sicily. He was our uncle. He came to the US around 1914. His last name differs however. I obtained his birth certificate. Unlike the others, the parents names are not stated. We have no idea who his father was.
Camillo was born in Marsala, Sicily (yes, home of the famous wine). My brother says his hair was not curly as I have depicted it. He died during WWII while at work at the Brooklyn shipyards. I found his death certificate, upon which my mother’s first names were both used. I needed this to show the Italian consulate that Diana and Sebastiana were the same person. This allowed me to claim Italian citizenship.
These next two are my more creative and less realistic portraits of older relatives
I have never seen a woman conduct a band or orchestra. At the concert on February 4, 2020 we were treated to her skillful conducting and for me her fabulous gestures. Too bad it was too dark to draw. In addition, there were two composers in the audience whose work was performed by the Banda de Valencia, a symphonic band (no violins).
Beatriz Fernandez Aucejo trained locally first as a clarinetist and in Murcia to the south of Valencia as a conductor. She’s conducted numerous bands in Spain. She often flashed a great smile at the band as she conducted while she almost danced her intentions to the musicians.
Santiago Quinto Serna and Vincente Ortiz Gimeno were in the audience. The band performed the former’s Un Deber de Amor . There are numerous performances on youtube. Here’s one
They performed Serna’s Rapsodia Hernandiana
These two pieces are representative of modern Spanish composition. Valencia is an internationally recognized center for music composition, especially for symphonic bands. In the province there are about 600 symphonic bands, many of whom annually come to Valencia to compete.
What is uniquely mine comes from what it means to be me somehow. Sometimes even I can not emulate me, some of the colors I have mixed I can not quite duplicate. These colors are a mixture of what I have learned academically and my flying by the seat of my pants, pure instinct for fuel.
Croquis Cafe is an ode to Edward Hopper’s Sunlight In a Cafeteria. Strong lines are offset by soft figures. Unlike the loneliness of a Hopper scene, here we have activity and movement in an art cafe. “Croquis” is the French for sketch.
From the story of Julio and Alicia in El Gran Hotel. The story takes place in turn of the century Spain. Julio looks for his missing sister at the Hotel, finding work as a waiter. He finds a sympathetic ear in Alicia, who is forced to wed a crooked partner of her parents. In the ethos of the time Alicia must not wed below her status as a well to do heiress. She finds this secret room in the hotel, hidden between two guest suites. Here they meet. I did a version in chiaroscuro here https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/couple-views-eclipse-from-bed-in-chiaroscuro/