Late Summer in the Olive Grove

I started this painting a couple of months ago at least, but because of life and cataract surgery, I didn’t finish it until today. There have been several iterations of it. The subject itself was inspired by van Gogh, and I had thought to try to copy his style of painting, but found that it was far more difficult than I anticipated.

The painting itself is done on an 11×14 canvas panel by Arteza I gessoed over its primed surface, in part because I like the process of preparing a surface for a painting, in part because I never like something already prepared by someone else. From there, the surface was neutralized with a pale underpainting of yellow ochre and burnt sienna, very thinly applied.

One of my primary issues in painting of ay type is depth of field. Easy to do in photography, but not in painting! Thus, this was a goal in this painting. In general, I think I made it, but had to work and re-work the surface of the painting. This is the pleasure of acrylic – once dried, I can paint over what I don’t like.

I used a variety of techniques, one being glazing to dull own areas by using a cool glaze, and to bring others forward using a warm glaze. It worked, but I realized I needed to go further by using a dullish grey-green for the tree on the left, and a brighter, warmer green for the olive tree in the foreground.

This is the first painting – artwork of any kind – I have done since I had my cataract surgeries in July and August. With new lenses, in my eyes and in my glasses, my sight is much better. However, I may still need a newer prescription in a month or so as it was hard to see what I was painting with my new glasses. Time will tell with this.

Altogether, I am pleased with this attempt. First, I like the painting. I am going to let it stew a bit before I apply any varnishes. So, letting it sit is “second” – already I can see areas which are a bit illogical. Finally, the entire process was fun to do. Acrylic, as with all media, has its good and bad qualities or frustrations, or whatever, but the simple doing it is delight. Painting just removes the outside world and transports me into another dimension which is pure bliss.

Eye Can See Clearly Now . . .

Well, not perfectly, but I got some new glasses a couple of days ago, and the world is a lot sharper than it has been. I got regular ones with progressive lenses, and a pair of gradated (faded) sunglasses where the coloring is darker at top than at bottom. I prefer the sunglasses as they are easier for me to adjust to, which seems weird, but eyes and vision are not perfect . . . and will never be what I would like. Still, I have nothing to complain about.

For the past month, my ability to see has been drastically compromised because, with each eye surgery and lens implant for cataracts, my old glasses failed to work as they did before. The world became brighter and close vision sharper, but I still needed to use +1.0 readers to see, and just accept the world was blurry – but not as blurry as formerly. The change in my vision went from -3.75 or so in both eyes to -0.50 in my left and +0.50 in my right. Just looking through my old glasses made me nauseous. Now my eyes are corrected to 20-20. There are still some retinal issues, but nothing that is serious (i.e. no macular degeneration) – just need monitoring. I am very lucky to have the eye specialists I have.

The glasses took a bit to adjust to. Balance and orientation can be weird with new prescriptions, as anyone who has gotten glasses knows. Sometimes nausea and headaches are side effects. I was a bit off balance just because of my sense of distance for stepping up or down, as an example; however, details are very clear in the distance.

Dog fur on the floor is very clear, too, so time to get that vacuum out today!

Singing a Song

I have a singing voice that sounds more like a bullfrog with laryngitis. Of all the things I wish I could do, singing is it. Particular to my heart is Irish singing, in Gaelic or Irish no less. Music is a big gap in my learning, and while I can read music, I am very unmusical. When my sister and I took piano, the dog would curl up under the piano bench as she practiced; he would go to the back door and whine to be let out when I practiced.

I tumbled across this video on YouTube a few days ago, and I found it to be both educational and entertaining. I never knew what I like so much about Irish singing, and it turns out this video showed me. The way a song is sung varies throughout areas of Ireland (N and S), and vocal embellishments are added to carry the words along. Add to that, the music is so lovely, and in my mind, heaven on aural earth is found.

Outside of the Old World, America has the largest Celtic population. Migration brought traditions, and singing is one. Time, of course, changes the “old” ways and “new” ones become the new “old”! The mountainous areas created their own cultures and traditions. There is a rich heritage here.

The above video is a bit long, but to me it epitomizes much of a culture long gone. My father’s side of the family were “mountain folk” – also called hillbillies (a derogatory term) – from Tennessee.

Besides the Celtic descendants, we also have a rich heritage of Black music, gospel and folk and spirituals. Rhiannon Giddens is a modern singer with wide ranging talents. Above she sings an original song based on an older one, and old traditions.

Gospel music always brings joy – old and new – Aretha Franklin sings “Amazing Grace”, an old Anglican hymn from the 1700s.

Altogether, vocalists are my favorite form of music to listen to. Strong voices, good stories. Mahalia Jackson, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Billie Holiday.

I could go on forever, but folk music and singing always bring more to me than most instrumental music alone. That is not to say instrumental is not to my liking, but that is for another time and place. Maybe.