the gallery

Last week I decided that it would be best for Legato if the next exhibition were to be of longer duration. I have had several calls asking where people can see the works, so instead of having a short week-long exhibition in the available public space, open only during office hours, I have made temporary provision to host the exhibition here in my village in my as yet unfinished gallery. This means that visitors can have appointments to view the work at hours to suit them, and I can have a more normal life as well. Legato can stay "more or less" on display until it is time to move it to the next centre.

It has been a tiring couple of days but things are taking shape nicely.

Today I am grateful for willing helpers.

music in the air

Paintings to finish, lessons to teach, stucco to sand, letters to write and parcels to post...

but

...there's music in the air, there's music in the air! Spontaneous bursts of song, lots of laughter, and the occasional woof woof about the place.

Today I am grateful for a full and busy life.

finished apart from a few windows?

Time is up... a few details, stretch the canvas, and I think it is done. For now it is away with the brushes and off to the excitement of the game on a big screen, three Kiwis in the midst of the Italians!

Aotearoa or Italia... let's hope it is an exciting and even match. Let good sport be the winner :-)

Today I am also grateful for my two countries.

***
Monday morning post script: Well, yes... my mother did tell me that I should be very careful about what I wished for...

sunday morning soccer day

In the studio I mix my colours.
Today I am torn between white and blue. Best to settle it with a good game of football, soccer, calcio...

Today I am thankful for friends who are "good sports".

back to basics

This week gone by has been a mix of work, with the palazzo being the main focus. I have been touching up where the winter damp has done some damage. Buildings like this need to be lived in, and even my own home has developed a few damp patches after our extremely wet winter.

Today I was sanding down the stucco where I filled holes last Thursday. Where the big switch-boards have gone I have to repair the damage, so it is back to mixing the colours I haven't used in months.

I like having the palazzo to myself, and now that the weather is hot it is a cool and peaceful place to work. The huge crane went yesterday, the garden is underway, and the apartments are filling with kitchen and bathroom fittings. Soon the building will come to life, and the birds who try to nest there will meet much more opposition!

Today I am grateful for access to exciting places.

ancient rocks

Do good things really have to take time?(NB: This photo is not an accurate crop so the composition appears a little out of balance).
I am struggling with the scale of these tiny buildings. Each window and wall has to be accurate, but I am not that kind of painter - I prefer commissions that give me room to move with my brushes and don't tie me down to detail. I checked against the photograph this morning and was encouraged by how accurate my work was, but when it comes to miniscule windows and parallel roof lines I am quick to take a break!

There is a problem with the particular canvas I am working on. It is not the quality it appeared to be, and is stretching unevenly. I will need to take it to be restretched, as it seems to have a plasticised coating which appeared to be a coat of gesso and didn't reveal its true nature until too late. I wont be using the rest of the roll.

Today I am grateful for my cheerful picture framer.

a reasonably steady hand and some progress

The villages at either end of the landscape have been blocked in, a few more olive groves have appeared, and the main village is tentatively blocked in. Another work (a touch-up of another artist's copy of a Raphael) has been completed. The decks are a long way from being cleared, but there is light all around!

Today I am grateful for happy emails.

slow progress

I'm struggling to stay on task today. I want to lean all over the work, put in tiny details, and start "constructing" the village in the centre of the painting, but it's all too wet! Working in oils again is good but...
Today I am grateful for good weather.

on the job again...

Landscape, stage two.
A wide landscape is difficult to photograph. The photo montage that I am working from is taped to the shelf above the canvas. Soon I will be ready to head outdoors and pick out the highlight colours from the landscape.

Oh, and oops! The bookshelf hasn't been tidied since my artist student/visitor left. I wonder where I have put the rest of the books? Must sort that before the next photograph!

Today I am grateful for the smells of home cooking.

a little too busy still

I am slowly getting some order back in the chaos that was my life leading up to and during Legato. It is time to write a few more blog posts and get back into routine. There are many many loose ends to tie, new applications to make, letters to write in another language... but there is also a little sunshine and a comfortable couch that I can flop onto occasionally.

Today I am grateful for the semblance of order and getting a few bills paid!