Art

Umberto Ecco

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umberto ecco conte
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.

Pianist Singer Ballerina II

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Pianist Singer Ballerina
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
Pianist and SInger

The second, completed just a month or so ago, appeared in the Street Art Fair in Picanya, Spain

Pianist, Dance, SInger dones picanya final
Pianist Singer Ballerina, 1.5 x 1.3 meters, acrylics

American Artists Exhibit in Valencia

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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!

announcement show

Each artist will exhibit two pieces. Mine are:

pianist singer final
Pianist Singer Ballerina 2, acrylics on canvas, 100 x 73cm/ 40 x 29″

 

 

Croquis Cafe 57 x 76 cm, 22.5 x 30” acrylics

Pianist, Singer, Ballerina

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Pianist, Dance, SInger dones picanya final
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

Portrait of María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick

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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/

By the Sea

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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.:

By the Sea

Note the sail on the horizon.

Portrait of Dame Judi Dench

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Judy final
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.

Music Drawings from the Palau

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For several years I made drawings while sitting in the audience in the Palau de la Musica in Valencia, Spain. In the darkened auditorium I could not see very well, so I would find out what I had drawn. I used both hands. In one I held a Pilot pen and in the other a brush with a water reservoir which I used to create the washes and shadows.

Here you see the result in an 8 minute video set to Libertadores by Oscar Navarro, who is from Valencia. We have been there when this piece was performed and Oscar was there too. It’s a wonderful piece. I hope you enjoy it and the drawings.

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