Art

At the Bakery

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There is an excellent bakery just around the corner from our place in Valencia.  A friendly young woman frequently serves us.  So I got the idea of putting her into a scene like Monet’s Bar at the Folies scene.  This is what I have done here.  I consider this a study for a larger piece.  

 

At The Bakery, acrylics, 30 x 40 cm/11.8 x 15.7″

Churches of Thessaloniki: Agia Sofia

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The Agia Sophia dates from the 8th century and is modeled after the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (4th century), also still standing. Photos by Peg.   

 

 

 

 

The Ascension is shown in the dome.

 

The church was converted into a mosque after the city’s absorption into the Ottoman Empire in 1440.  Here you can see the remains of the minaret.  You can see the arch in the Islamic style versus the Roman style which is rounded.

 

Viking in Dokkum 2

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This is my second rendition of our boat in front of one of the two old windmills in the tiny town of Dokkum in Friesland, the northeast province of the Netherlands.

Viking in Dokkum 2, water color, 8 x 8″, 20 cm x 20 cm on Arches paper

 

Farewell to Downton Abbey

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While we were in Zwolle we went to see Downton Abbey, the movie, at the luxurious new theater.  As you may have already noted, the movie added to the story but did not cut any new paths.  In fact it is a reinforcement of the absurdities caused by the Englishclass system.  Among the lesson of the superb television series:  you can not marry outside your class, you can not rise from lowly origins, you can not have sex outside of wedlock.  Both of these norms were breached, causing great consternation.  The absurdity was exposed in another way in the movie. 
 
Spoiler alert!  I am about to share the main plot.

 

The movie starts with a notice from the royal family (as a Republican in the English sense, I do not capitalize ‘royal’) advising of a pending visit.  This was not a request but never mind that for now.  The family and staff burst into action.  The family –  get those duds ready to show off.  The staff: get the meat, veg and wine ordered.  As the visit nears, word comes that the royals will be bringing their own servants.  These arrive several days in advance with their noses in the air, ordering the family’s staff to simply stay out of the way.  The staff is deeply offended, as to them serving the king was to be the highlight of their lives. 
So incensed at losing the opportunity to put meat on a plate and pour a glass of wine for over-indulged (if genteel) guests who by this time were basically figureheads whose job it was to be spoiled and cut ribbons that the staff hatched a plot to displace the royal (pain in the ass) servants.  Sleeping droughts, locked doors in remote bedrooms and the like were all painstakingly put in place so staff could cook a goose and carry it upstairs on a platter set before celebrities who were born into the position, not there by merit. 
 
Nonetheless this is a fine farewell to the series, and I fear to the acting career of Maggie Smith, one of the finest actresses to ever grace the stage.  My ode to her:

 

graphite

In a Hopper Cafe

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In a Hopper Cafe, Acrylics on Arches, 57 x 76 cm, 22.5 x 30”

“In A Hopper Cafe” is another in the series echoing the work of American artists Edward Hopper, this one inspired by Hopper’s ‘Chop Suey.  Strong lines contrast with fuzziness in the figures, hard lines with soft, outdoors with the indoors, the comparative focus of the indoor scene with the uncertainty of whatever lies beyond with but a slim barrier of safety.

We are social creatures. Our connections keep us informed. Yet we are also separate. We have to reach across space as well as other barriers, whether the barriers be based in culture, gender or other factors.

Waterpoort, Sneek, Nederlands pen and ink drawing

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Sneek is a small city in Friesland, the northeast part of the Nederlands.  It has a gorgeous gate and other architectural gems.  It faces the canal.  We were moored just in front of it.

 

 

Waterpoort, Sneek, Nederlands pen and ink, Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

Three pen and ink drawings from recent travels in the Nederlands

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August 17, 2019

 

We stayed on an island near Woudseen, from which I drew this scene.  It is  a tranquil spot with room for about 12 boats.  The island has many mice who dig in the sand.  We were there for two nights.  

 

 

 

 
This mooring is on the outskirts of Lelystad,  also a free mooring with room for 3 or 4 boats.  You can get to Lelystad by bike easily.  It’s a pretty ride through the forest part of the way.   There were several groups of rowers while we were there for a few days.  

 

 

On an Island Heeg and Woudsen, near Lelystad, pen and ink, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

 
The Batavialand Museum in Lelystad offers a very interesting visit.   The Batavia replica is a major attraction.  The original dates from circa 1628.  It was the flagship of the Dutch East India Company.  The exploitation of the resources of Indonesia was the major contributor to the country’s Golden Age, from which much of its finest architecture and art dates.  The Company made Holland the world’s largest trading nation at the time.  Even today Holland is a major trading nation, the world’s fifth largest according to a guide.   You can walk almost everywhere on the ship.   

 

 

 

 

Sketch of the Batavia, Dutch East India Company, 6″ x 8″ 15 x 21 cm

 

There is a superb tapestry recounting the history of the region created by 27 volunteers, one of whom was inspired to do so after seeing the Bayeaux Tapestry.  It starts around 6000 years ago at the time of the earliest known settlement, moving to the Roman era, the middle ages and Dutch Golden Age with the founding and development of the Dutch East India Cmpany.   It then moves to the creation of the polder in the late 1920’s and up to the present day.  Peg made a video of a large portion of it.    [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_4Utat-Go4[/embedyt]  
 
There is an exhibit displaying the archaeological findings from the earliest period.   Childen played in a waterworks exhibit, lifting and moving water and boats.  So Dutch!    You walk outside to get to the Batavia, build some 30 years ago and in need of major repairs.  It will be coming out of the water soon and will probably be closed to visitors for several years.