Thursday, July 2, 2009

"Escaping in Beauty"
5:32pm

I've been so tired of late. I don't feel inspired creatively. Mostly, I've just been working on trip photos. Not that there's no satisfaction in that, I just don't feel inspired to do any drawing. Is it all the bad news on TV, celebrities dropping right and left and economic woes?

The sad faced news anchorman reports "467,000 jobs lost in June", (source MacNeil Lehrer report).

Sigh! Meanwhile, I still have so many lovely photos to share, and so I shall escape in these beauties.


Steatite cosmetic dish in the form of a 'lotus' bouquet
Egyptian, Early Ramesside Period


The Dressing Room
Pierre Bonnard, French, 1867-1947
Signed and dated (upper left): Bonnard/1914
Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982 (MMA 1984.433.3)

(From the info card):
"Bonnard delighted in portraying scenes of domesticity, everyday events that take place mostly in dining rooms and in the bath. This picture presents a casual view into the corner of a dressing room in the artist's house at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, where he lived during World War I. Space and light seem to be created by the two mirrors hanging on the walls, the vertical one on the right and a horizontal one that reflects a seated woman holding a white cloth and her curled-up, sleeping dog. She is probably Marthe (Maris Boursin, 1869-1942), Bonnard's companion and, after 1925, his wife."

Friday, July 3, 2009

"Book Learning"
5:07am

After my inspirational draught, I now have a drawing:


"Koalabear29's" photo of his teacher "Mr Cook" has inspired me!

Also credit to the text of Peter Brand, _The monuments of Seti I_, (from which the professor is quoting), "Seti I was one of the more prolific builders in Egyptian history. He left a huge corpus..." (page 119)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

"Not All Heat is Bad"
6:57am

My Fourth was marred by a bad sinus headache. Fortunately, it eased by the evening, and I was able to enjoy the music and fireworks special on PBS. Barry Manilow, looking youthful likely with aid of face lift, did better than I expected. I used to be embarrassed to admit I'd owned a cassette of his music in the seventies. But I think he's past all that now. He's proven to be a survivor, singing his songs with verve and enjoyment. In the pale shadow cast by the death of the 'King of Pop', many were given 'royal' titles. National Symphony Orchestra director Erich Kunzel was the 'Prince of Pops' and Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul. The only thing I didn't like was her fur laden jacket. Even if it was fake fur, the sleeves just looked heavy and odd. But she did not use a pre-recorded voice, and she sang great.

I slept fairly well, despite the hot/cold temperature disturbances. It doesn't cool down at night, so we must use the AC. But I freeze when it's on, and I sweat when it's not. However without it, I am burning up hot, and can't sleep at all.


It only got down to 81°F (27°C)

It was that temperature when we got out walking in Smucker's Park this morning at 6:00am. It felt good to stretch the legs, stretch the eyes to the long distance of seeing the mountains and breath fresh air. Well nearly fresh air, there was smoke in the air, giving reason to the reduced visibility seen in the chart above.

Yesterday, I didn't feel up to any outing, but I was able to make some progress on the Met museum photography pages. Slowly, I'm getting the Egyptian section up to the quality of the that of my Brooklyn museum site. Eventually, the Egyptian section will have a URL of its own, beginning here and likely needing two index pages as the Brooklyn photo gallery does.

Later today before it gets anywhere near the 110°F (43°C) that's predicted for today, we hope to get out and see the new Johnny Depp movie in which he portrays Dillinger. The lovely actress who starred as Edith Piaf in _Ma Vie en Rose_ is starring as his love interest. From the reviews, I gather they generate some heat of their own.

(Not all 'heat' is bad!)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

"Untitled Drawing"
1:23am


I'm not yet sure how I will color it, whether by colored pencil or digital, but I do want to color it...
I'm 'seeing' the lady in a red dress, seat cushion dark forest green, walls sky blue...

Thursday, July 9, 2009

"Colored Untitled Drawing"
6:52am


Note of July 10, 2009: I post here the version with blue background. Perhaps the legs and arm width imbalance is metaphor for the awkwardness this young lady 'with the heart of darkness' feels. Is she at some social event, not sure how she fits in?

Friday, July 10, 2009

"Intuitive Doodle"
6:43am

Saturday, July 11, 2009 A

"Simple Joy, Here and Now"
3:12pm

I was so weary, but I kept the nap waiting until I completed the task I was working on. (I have at last finished the first half of the Metropolitan museum gallery!)

That task done, I fell readily into sleep, and slept for two hours. I woke after a dream. Julia and I were filling the car with gas. Big flying blimps overhead which were to supply more gas to the station began falling to earth. Something went wrong with their landing. To sop up all the gas going where it wasn't supposed to, huge soap bubbles appeared to gobble it up.

This left Julia and I on foot, trying to escape the advance of the gas and cleansing bubbles. Somehow, we were next in New York City, and I was trying to negotiate a stay at the hotel I stayed at in past visits.

The heavy set man told me we could only stay one night, which he'd give to us at half rate. "Just go back in the morning, you'll find they've cleaned it all up, and you can return to your own apartment." I wasn't sure that it could be cleaned up in so little time.

Meanwhile, we were in New York city. I told Julia, "Come! Let's take advantage of this! You don't want to stay in the hotel all evening, do you?"

I emerged into the street, and heard a perfect male voice singing lushly and eloquently, "Greensleeves was all my joy..." Now was the moment of magic, and I was going to seize it. I felt perfect delight listening to him.

I woke up, and now I hear perfect male voices singing "tis a gift to be simple, a gift to be free". _The King's Singers_ entertain me here now in this hot apartment.

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