Packing for Araucania

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Medium sized case, carriers

Travelling to Araucania

I`m trying to keep weight and nuisance down. 

 I calculate that I can take 32 card pieces to paint on, in the very unlikely event that all the 32 painting sessions that my four weeks in Chile allows are successful.

 I carry these in 4 carriers. The problem with using oil paints is they need at least three days to dry. That's one reason for not staying anywhere for less than a week-  to allow any pictures the time they need to dry before packing between different painting spots. I have thought about using acrylics but I find them nasty in colour and finish.

As things stand, I`m painting in three places: Villaricca, Pucon and Melipueco, though I  I shall perhaps wander down to Puerto Montt for the last few days in Araucania.

The paints and so on fit into this case, along with various other bits and pieces. It`s tight but it`s just about ok. The larger case is cumbersome. 

My trip isn't until after Christmas, but I like to plan things in advance and do things in a good time, unhurriedly. The Brazilian way of doing everything last minute appalls me.

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Creek, framed

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Creek, Florianopolis, oil on card,  29.1 x 23.5 cm, framed  SOLD   

Thanks Peter for sending me the framed picture

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Two spoon, two books, an unidentified item and a wallet on a table

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Two spoons, two books, an unidentified item and a wallet on a table

oil on card, 15 x 16 cm  - available

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My Chile trip: Araucania

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Melipeuco

I have added Melipeuco to the list of places in which I will stay. It's close to a national park, called Conguillio.

I think the nature and scenery there might no be so different from here, albeit with snow covered volcanoes and more lakes.

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The corner of a table, a book, my diary, a spoon, my wallet and part of a chair

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The corner of a table, a book, my diary, a spoon, my wallet and part of a chair

oil on card, 16.7 x 15.2 cm

I painted several versions of this scene and can`t decide which is satisfactory. For the moment, I shall go along with this one, though perhaps they all have virtues. The book is This is New York, by E.B. White.

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In still life my taste in objects is limited to things which have in common simplicity of form, with clearly recognizable profiles and plain colouration. My repertoire is small- books, cultlery, bowls or plates, cutlery, and occasionally pieces of furniture. I like it if the items have som personal resonance.

I love flowers but when it comes to a subject for painitng, I find myself more and more in sympathy with Uncle Monty in Withnail and I: "I think the carrot infinitely more fascinating than the geranium. The carrot has mystery. Flowers are essentially tarts. Prostitutes for the bees";

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My summer trip: Chile

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Araucania

Chile: Araucania

There is a direct flight from Florianopolis to Santiago, and it is considerably cheaper to go there than  Quito. So I shall make my way there then hop down to Temuco and the lakes (Villarrica and Pucon).  It is a shame to, again, jilt Ecuador, but I have to be careful with my finances.

The scenery is rather find with volcanoes, forests and beautiful lakes, and I think it will have a pleasant temperature and a fine place to work.

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I reread my piece on Santiago from three years ago and it seems prescient. 

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Cherry tomatoes on a cloth

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Cherry tomatoes on a cloth, oil on card, 16 x 14.5 cm  available

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Room, Trindade, with books, sofa and bag

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Room, Trindade, with books, sofa and bag

 oil on card, 17 x 15.5 cm

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Orange

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Orange, oil on card, 12.6 x 14 cm

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Cherry tomatoes in a bowl

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Cherry tomatoes in a bowl, oil on card, 15.3 x 13.1 cm

New apartment

It is only mid-November but, thanks to the wickedness of Christmas prmotions, I already feel that the year is ending. This is the first picture from my new apartment. The new apartment is not far from the old, but has a somewhat different atmosphere- more urban, cleaner, brighter. The picture is a continuation of the simple still lives to which I return from time to time. 

This colourless style serves to cleanse my mind. I did once consider doing a trip and only using black and white, but ultimately desisted, concluding that a month of it would become quite tiresome.

The disturbance and expense caused by moving means I have yet to finalise plans and book tickets for my January trip, something I hope to put in order this week. 

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