painting books

Bims has to have surgery to remove this cyst thing on one of her front toes, on Wednesday week. It’s not bothering her, but it’s bothering us –

as you can see she’s not impeded by it in any way at the moment,

but it’s on top of the nail bed and it has to go – at vast expense of course

beach jewellery

pirate lookout

and as you read
the sea is turning its dark pages,
turning
its dark pages

the last stanza of a poem by Denise Levertov 1961

so this is the latest version of the self portrait on the sofa

that was like this

and then this. I think it’s much better now – some details –

I think this top section is much more interesting with the (my old abstract) painting on the wall added. I did all this very quickly with quite fluid oily paint and a palette knife.

then I stuck with the palette knife –

I had fun with the art books

especially with the Vanessa Bell upside down self-portrait …..

this is the Aubrey Levinthal (a painter from Philadelphia) monograph produced by Ingleby Gallery, Mirror Matters

and this is Andrew Cranston’s Never a Joiner also produced by Ingleby, with his commentary on every painting. I find it inspiring, challenging, endlessly useful.

So that is done, and this week I have to take the echinacea painting into Graystone Gallery

It’s been sitting on the radiator in my living room and so has dried reasonably quickly.

Last week I was walking with Bims around town and along the river (Eden Burn) and at last saw the otters. This year there are a mother and her threee kits. I walked under South bridge and saw them see me, heads up! but they were not very scared and were diving  so I managed to get this bit of film on my iphone, as well as an out of focus slow motion and an in focus slow motion, while I realised I was pressing the wrong button. The water was clear so you got a good view of them diving down.

It’s not so easy to post films now as the iphone makes them into the wrong format for WordPress – but my daughter who is an expert in all things video  (her super power is making video essays) sent me the link for HandBrake which is an open source software which easily converts them.

I have been staying with her and her partner in St Andrews, as my kitchen is getting a new sink and induction hob, and to go with those a new worktop, (B&Q oak block) and tiles. I intended to do this five years ago when I first bought the house, but what with one thing and another – and it is a major disruption, stuff all over the house, the hallway an assault course, and no way to cook. Except for kettle and microwave in the living room and I would rather not since half the space in there is taken up by the stuff out of the cupboards and off the worktop …

It will look good when it’s done, but Dave the plumber who is an all rounder, except for the electrics, is on his own, his “lecky” partner is on holiday, so it’s slow, and we have to get an outside “lecky” to connect up the hob which will be where the tub of tile stuff is in the photo.

 

meanwhile the walking has been extremely beautiful, the leaves really vibrant

 

We had an interesting and steep in parts walk around the edge of Glenrothes a couple of weekends ago.

various sculptures and  things around a community woodland

views of volcanic stubs out in the Firth of Forth

While I’ve been away from home I have been away from my studio, obviously and rather divorced from any ideas of painting, but at the weekend I thought to do a watercolour of these perky plants and pots on the windowsill here in St Andrews.

so I set myself up on the kitchen/diner table while everyone was out yesterday afternoon.

first effort in my sketch book

and another go on proper hot press watercolour block, 10 x 8 inches

which I like better, I think.

The books were the Aubrey Levinthal monograph, Mirror Matters, and a 2017 catalogue from the Sydney Gallery, King Street, of the Australian landscape painter, Idris Murphy, who is another of my painting crushes.

King Street were so kind as to send me a pile of catalogues, treasured possessions. There are two really good essays in this one.

One of the benefits of being in St Andrews is the amazing cooking done by Scott. Last night we had steak with baked potatoes, organic rib eye steaks from Bowhouse Butchery who rear all their own livestock on the  Balcaskie estate near St Monan’s.

Today an attempt to walk it off at Cambo, which is just 8 miles from St Andrews, in the lovely sunshine –

their friendly pigs –

and almost the last of the leaves.