Excellent model at my studio
Nude On Sofa
People and portraits
Hungarian Woman 111
This is based on a portrait of a friend. Despite all the decoration she is still clearly there!
Carmen Stretches Forward
Portrait of Van Gogh as a Young Man
I did this pencil portrait from a photo of Van Gogh that was hanging in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It’s a bit hard to believe he was ever this healthy in appearance. His self portraits reveal his struggle for mental health and artistic achievement.
Carmen Stretches
Carmen is one of my favorite models. She’s lanky, a ballerina with great stretching poses. As you can see, this had to be quickly done. Sometimes you get the best results when you do not have much time.
Woman Chatting, pen and ink drawing
Pen and ink drawing using the two hands method.
Woman, With Hair
Double Take!
Scroll down for larger image.
At the Bakery
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.
Farewell to Downton Abbey
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:
