A drive further south 2: Gravatai; scale; priming

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Gravatai

 

Gravatai is a satellite town serving Porto Alegre, and not especially charming. It's untidy  and seems almost  completely over-run by the needs of cars. I sensed that it was quite polluted. There are few buildings of architectural interest, and it would be hard to find anything distinctive about it.

There was a cyclone here which shut down electricty and water in the neighborhood where I was staying for several days.

 

 

 

 

Gravatai, from a roof terrace, oil on card, 28 x 25.7 cm unavailable

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Gravatai, view up a little street, oil on card, 23.5 x 29 cm unavailable

 

 

Gravatai, view up a little street -  detail

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Where I stayed are runs of smallish suburban houses- in Brazil these are rather individualistic. Their excentric shapes make them difficult to paint.

 

Gravatai, a house, oil on card,34.5 x  27.5 cm-  -unavailable

 

 

 

 

Gravatai, a house- detail

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A bit bigger

 

  I think I'm now at the largest size (34 x 27 cm) that is comfortable for a number of reasons- the length of time I like to work in a session (up to two hours) - the issue of carrying wet paintings. 

With the former, I am limited by both my energy and the likelihood that the scene changes. 

With the latter, the issue is that the boards are not stiff enough not to bend a little and touch the sides of whatever they are being carried inside.

 

 

Acrylic priming

 

The texture of the acrylic primed surface was very dry, which makes it hard to manipulate the paint.

So, I will add another oil based priming to move the brush with speed leaving paint on the surface.

These experiments take a few months to be realised because of the time it takes for primers to dray and the time needed for the oil painted surfaces to dry.

 

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A drive further south: Torres, Imbituba and Gravatai

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Florianopolis to Gravatai via Torres

 

A little drive further south- to Gravatai, near Porto Alegre. There are fine rocks in Torres. I will try to stay there and paint.

 Perhaps I will stop in Imbituba too.

Recently, I`ve been bored. I`m always doing the same things, but I can`t think of more enjoyable or better things to do, or new ways to do what I like but am bored of.

 

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Bento Gonçalves, RS

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A trip to Bento Gonçalves, RS

 

 

This region should be quite lovely and seems a good possibility for mid-January week long escape- let's see.

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Pre-Christmas Sale

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PRE-CHRISTMAS SALE

All the pochades on this site are for sale, at 75 UK pounds (or equivalent in other currency) each- a 30% reduction. 

They make beautiful gifts, and if ordered now will arrive in time for Christmas.

Today's selection from the archives comes from Rio Grande do Sul, Chile, Santa Catarina and Bolivia.

 Livramento, a road in the country, oil on card, 13.5 x 15 cm, 2013

Above and below: both painted in Rio Grande do Sul, that strangest of Brazilian states, on a road trip to Uruguay.  

 Santa Maria, view of a street from Venancia Alves, oil on card, 15 x 15 cm

 Valparaiso, beside Parque Italia, oil on card, 14 x 13 cm, 2012

 Sao Jose, Rio Marum, oil on card, 18 x 17 cm, 2013

 Tall pines, Urubici, oil on card, 14.5 x 18 cm, 2013

 A tree in Praca do Bombeiros, oil on card, 14 x 16 cm, 2014

It's funny how one's perceptions change about one's own work over time 

When I had just painted the pictures above and below I feltthat I'd made a real breakthrough- in the first case towards a boldly Japanese, graphic style, and in the second, to a method of description with flattened perspectives and simplified profiles, not unlike the work of Herge, in Tintin books. With hindsight, however, neither seem as radical to me now as they then appeared; either because I have now absorbed their lessons, or because they weren't really as dramatically new as I had then imagined., anyway.

La Paz, street with newspapers, kisok and cars, oil on card, 13.5 x 16 cm, 2014

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Payment and postage

Payment is by direct transfer or cheque to  my UK or Brazilian bank accounts, or via Paypal.

 Postage costs an additional 15 pounds for up to four items.

 Allow up to 21 days for pictures to arrive, though often they come within 10 days.

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 Please contact me with any queries: Tadeusz598@yahoo.co.uk

 ...or call me on 0055 48 9967 3041. I am on Whatsup.

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Paintings from Uruguay and Rio Grande de Sul: the set of twenty

 The full set  of twenty pochades from my trip to Uruguay and Rio Grande de Sul. All were painted plein air, oil on card. 

I feel positive about the results of my trip, the success rate was high, but I am quite tired. The next big trip is to the USA, specifically new York and Miami, in October. I need to find a better way of pacing myself: I tend to work intensely in the first week, then flad for the second: it would have been better to take a break every three or four days.

Stage three of my Uruguay trip: Livramento / Rivera

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 Livramento- by the railway tracks, oil on card, 15 x 11 cm  - available

 Livramento- a street, oil on card, 13 x 14.5 cm - unavailable

 Livramento- outskirts, oil on card, 9.5 x 12.5 cm  - available

 Livramento- a road in the country, oil on card, 13.5 x 15 cm - available

The city is called Livramento in Brazil and Rivera on the Uruguayan side, which you know you are entering because of various pryamidical markers and a sense that things are more orderly.

There is an interesting old station, which has been turned into an art centre and a fair amount of decent Art Deco and eclectic architecture. The city is pleasantly hilly, and grid planned, and I enjoyed staying there for 3 days. The countryside around is idyllic, and people use horses extensively-  Gaucho territory. The light is beautiful and as ever I find the outskirts of the town to be most interesting.

I think these paintings are probably the best of the trip: they`re lively but not hysterical, with a nice range of textures and colours.

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Many thanks to Carina Benitez for her generous hospitality in her beautiful house in Livramento.



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Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, the second leg of my Uruguay trip

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 Santa Maria, a view from Vanancio Aires, oil on card, 15 x 15 cm  - available

Santa Maria is dilapidated, but then so are most Brazilian towns that I`ve seen. And it isn`t without interest.

It has an old station, where I spent a good part of the day painting, and some good churches, including an, obviously British built, Episcopalian (now some sort of Evangelical Protestant). There are such British churches in many cities towards the border with Uruguay, especially in towns with railways.

 Santa Maria, the railway station, oil on card, 18 x 12.5 cm - unavailable

 Santa Maria- the goods yard, oil on card, 11 x 16 cm - unavailable

 Santa Maria, behind the station, oil on card,  12 x 15 cm

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First leg on my Uruguayan trip: São Francisco de Paula (Rio Grande do Sul)

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 São Francisco de Paula, residential sttreet, oil on card, 15 x 12 cm  - unavailable

 São Francisco de Paula, lakeside, oil on card, 12 x 14 cm - unavailable

 São Francisco de Paula, road out of town, oil on card, 12.5 x 18 cm  SOLD

São Francisco de Paula, two travellers, oil on card, 13 x 15.5 cm - unavailable

 

 I`d driven through here before on my way to Gramado, and back and thought, "now this is interesting", in contrast to Gramado`s Walt Disney consumer Alpine, this is a lovely working city with it`s own atmosphere, well maintained with elegant lakes and good wooden domestic architecture.

Pity that I got bitten by a dog on the road out of town, above, where there is slum housing, You know you are still in the third world when there are dogs all over the place, something I didn`t see in Uruguay.

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The lakeside picture owes something to Klimt, with water on a square format. The last two relate to Corot. Nineteenth century painting, especially that which tackles themes of travel and exploration is very important to me, and there are whole schools that deal with this that are commonly ignored in standard British Art histories- most obviously the Russians and Americans.

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Pelotas: a celebration in photos

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Pelotas is a fine place to spend a few days if you love architecture, specifically of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The place is in a reasonable state, with some buildings well resored. There is some of the usual Brazillian grafitti and negligence, but it isn't too bad, and it feels generally safe to wander about. The splendid Guarani Theatre (above) has fine sculptures.

The city is founded round a central square and grids deriving from it, on a sight slope.

 

The building of most obvious interest to foreigners, because of its unusualness for Brasil is the Anglican Church, (pictured above) one of three I saw in the Pelotas and Rio Grande and just over100 years old, and recently, rather nicely restored.  The custodian is very pleasant about showing one around. 

 

The central square contains a fountain and a monuments, including this relief celebrating Garribaldi, and an old fellow selling sweets. (below).

There is a rather grand central market featuring this unusual clock tower:

 

The city contains a large number of residential buildings, some in pretentious- or glorious -19th centrury eclectic styles, others are more modest but similarly containing charming details, art noveau or deco, or various combinations thereof:

 

 

 

 

Charming old paving tiles:

I stayed at the abominable Rex Hotel, which is very centrally located, dilapidated, run by sour-faced hags and a fine place for mosquito-hunting, if that is your bag.

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Well, that is a selection of pictures for you: there are many other buildings both modest and grand that I haven't shown.

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Pochade carriers; Rio Grande do Sul

Above, a collection of pochade carriers which will be used on my trip later this week to Rio Grande do Sul, specifically Porto Alegre, Pelotas and Rio Grande.

As you can see, I shall paint some slightly larger pictures this time.