Perhaps of some interest to you: http://www.online-literature.com/for...60#post1033860
St. Luke's--Stopping in after long absence. I was thinking of you this weekend as I experimented with oil paints for the first time. I bought an inexpensive starter kit with a nice array of colours and then found a starter assortment of mediums to mix in, so I've been daubing away with great fascination the last few days and on Sunday ran about the Art Institute examining brushstrokes on various masterworks there with new eyes. Like the difference between listening to Bach and playing his music. I must say, I knew intellectually about all the various things artists could do with oils but there's something completely compelling about the feel of experimenting with the stuff yourself. Anyway, getting a little glimpse into the world of artists such as yourself. I can see how very tempting and seductive this painting thing can be. Hope that things are well with you. Things on my end have been exceedingly busy, so it was nice having a weekend of painting and concert going recently.
Hi St. Luke's--Thanks for stopping by. I've been in and out of the forums lately. Pretty busy this year, but I was able to take some days off to enjoy the holidays. Hope you have indeed been able to get into the studio and get some creative work done. I'm sorry to have missed the Dante versus Milton discussion myself. Tough choice. I'll have to go look at the thread. Wishes for a very happy New Year. L.
PL... Good to see you still around. Our Dante discussion seems to have petered out... but Oh well... it motivated me enough to pick up the Jean and Robert Hollander translation with some marvelous notes and I ended up reading their Inferno side by side with Robert Pinskey's. Returning to Dante again armed with a wealth of knowledge of the history etc... of the era, it is amazing how easy... or shall we say how "fluently" he reads. We missed you in our Dante vs Milton discussion... which eventually morphed into a Dante vs The Wasteland and James Joyce dispute. Hope you are enjoying a few days off over the holidays. I'll actually get some time in the studio next week! Hope to see you 'round. Stlukesguild/David
Hi St. Luke's--Been away from the forum for awhile and thought I would stop by and say hello. Happy belated birthday! Hope you had a good day. Off to see what's happening in the lit. net. classical listening set. --L.
Boy am I a sucker! I just hadn't read the thread with any attention. My head was somewhere in a nexus between three languages and an obscure architectural site in the penultimate decade of the 16th century and I ran over here to kill a few minutes while I waited for something to download. Not having time for the more substantial threads or seeing a new picture posted yet for the guess the painting game, I ended up on the Aced thread. I had just read a few posts and was sitting on the line between believing or not when my download popped up, so I just erred on the side of kindness in case it was some amazingly dumb parent. Upon later review of course... I imagine the bad spelling didn't register because I was in a polyglottal corner of the 16th century where variant spellings and MS abbreviations abound (and the texting generation think they're something new ) There is a reason I have to make breaks between research time and paper grading.
Petrarch! Were you really falling for Aced as a struggling parent? When he she employed "u" for you I was almost 100% certain that we were dealing with a kid wanting his or her homework done.
I'm struggling with the next painting. I truly hate using any photographic references. Not only do they make things difficult... but there are the legal issues to consider. On the other hand, I'm not likely to start painting apples and oranges and orchids and daisies. Such subjects do nothing for me. I am most fascinated with the figure... and especially with more complex and expressive gestures. I painted the wife nude quite a few years back, but she's just not up for a repeat at this point... especially with the chance of the work now getting some exposure. The alternative is to approach these works as portraits. As iconic as they are there is certainly something akin to both Modigliani and Klimt involved... but again... that involves getting someone to pose... not the easiest thing to convince a total stranger to do... even if the clothes remain on.
St. Luke's, I'm shocked. You're painting people with clothes on?! It looked like you had posted some pictures of the latest project in your blog, but they aren't displaying for me for some reason. Didn't one of the English pre-Raphealites paint Isabella or the Pot of Basil? I'll look forward to seeing that and Persephone when you post pics (or when my computer deigns to show me the ones you've already posted. Thanks for the well wishes concerning the job market. Not a fun proposition at all, but miracles do happen on occasion.
Petrarch... good luck with the academic job possibility. It is currently one of the ugliest times to be looking for a job. I have more than a few friends and teachers who are currently looking for work in this tight market thanks to staffing cuts. I am certainly enjoying my summer off and spending the time working in the studio. I just completed the latest painting, Persephone... and everyone is clothed this time. I'll have to post the completion of this work to my blog when I get time. My next painting is slated to be based upon the Boccaccio tale also employed by Keats: Isabella or the Pot of Basil. I also have ideas for a Salome, Eve, and a number of others looming in the wings... but one at a time. I'll be lucky to finish two more paintings before summer ends.
