Cabo Polonio, Uruguay

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Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, oil on card, 21.7 x 27.7 cm  Not For Sale

Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, beach, oil on card, 18 x 22 cm  - available

I became sick with flu and so my trip to Uruguay wasn't the success it might have been. This is the disadvantage of short trips- they take an equal amount of time to organise but the smallest mishap can mean the entire trip is rendered futile. Also the travel costs became a disproportionate burden for the time spent.

Well, that`s it for trips until my time comes to visit the USA in August. I shall at least try to go to the mountains for a few days.

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Nude; monotype; John Thomson

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Nude, monotype, 10.1 x 18 cm

I am pleased to announce my return to monotype. I may just do monotypes in Uruguay. Why not? I have bought a range of papers to experiment with. It is most important to have a sense of delight, of play, in artistic pursuits.  

And there is something about the way that monotype forces you to be rapid that liberates one. For every good result, however, there are three or four duds. 

The medium is limited, especially when it comes to creating spacial depth- though with a press you can get a wider tonal range and therefore suggest more depth. But I am hand pressing these and therefore effects I can achieve are less sophisticated.

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John Thomson

A Canton Junk

Following from the theme of travel and image-making- I came across the work of John Thomson, a Scottish photographer from the 19th century who went to China, Thailand and Cambodia.

I feel tremendous respect for Scottish culture of the Victorian period and early 20th century for producing so many adventurous and ambitious figures. Is this spirit still alive? 

Thomson with two Manchu soldiers, Xiamen, Fujian.

China and Siam: Through the Lens of John Thomson, can be seen  at the Brunei Gallery, London, until June 23. 

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A little trip to Uruguay

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URUGUAY

The map is dated 1916, but I can't see who published it.

My little Uruguay trip idea is to visit Cabo Polonia, which has some  old houses scattered rather randomly around as the land descends towards the sea. I was there a few years ago and always thought what fine subjects they'd make for painting.

 Then I wish to go to the slightly hilly areas inland, where there is a landscape recalling that of southern England.

1. FLY TO MONTEVIDEO
2. RENT CAR
3. DRIVE to CABO POLONIA (3.5 hours)
4. STAY A COUPLE OF DAYS
5. GO TO MINAS via AIGUA (3 hours). 
6. STAY THERE TWOS DAYS

7. RETURN TO MONTEVIDEO (2 hours)

8. FLY BACK HERE

I am thinking of going for about 5 days.

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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.

Montevideo, Uruguay- the last painting days of my trip

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The final place where I did any painting was Montevideo: a delightful city: I stayed in Pocitos, an elegant amalgam of 19th century and 20th century urban styles, lined with autumn trees.

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Mostly the trip was a success: I worked very hard and was quite prolific- there were a few duds but not too many. Travel is tiring and painting are quite intense activities, and after about ten days I started to weary- perhaps I should have paced myself more evenly, allowing more breaks and days off. Stylistically, the pictures went  from tight to loose:  perhaps this was partly a result of falling concentration.

The countryside in Uruguay was more interesting to me, as a painter, than the city of Montevideo. In the country, the feeling of having stepped back in time, the absence of cars and the presence of horses, the little houses, and the wonderful bright winter light, and the way the landscape is open but not featureless all made it a good painting place for me. The weather doesn`t change every half hour from bad to worse as in the UK. And Uruguay feels safe: children don`t throw stones at one as in Arab countries, nor do traders harry one constantly; and there aren`t stray dogs all over the place, or the sense that things are barely in control, as in Brazil. The people are markedly more reserved than in Brazil, though I found them to be very pleasant.

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Many thanks to Ricardo Merlinski for his generous hospitality at his elegant apartment in Pocitos: the gardens above are those from his place.

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Tacuarembo, Uruguay

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 Tacuarembo- a tree, oil on card, 12 x 15 cm  - available

Tacuarembo- a college, oil on card, 11x 15 cm - unavailable

Tacuarembo- a kiosk in the square, oil on card, 16 x 18 cm - unavailable

Tacuarembo- in the park, oil on card, 10 x 14.5 cm  - available

After a little hassle (the Brazilian Border office is some way from the Uruguayan) which could have been averted beforehand with a little forethought, I drove along Uruguay's wonderfully empty roads to Tacuarembo, a country city, where I enjoyed painting in the orderly squares and parks, in the exquisite Winter light.

I was, throughout my patch in Uruguay, impressed by the sense of orderliness and tidiness there, the absence of graffiti or public squalor which is so apparent even in wealthier Brazilian cities.

The pictures here are  more freely painted, and those in my final leg, which I`ll show tomorrow were even more so.

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I was very nicely treated by people here that I met at the opening of a little exhibition, especially Agustina Bulmii, who prefers to be called Negrita, and whom I wish to thank especially for showing me the murals in the radio station.


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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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Some recent photos from Montevideo and Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay

The fantastic old cars and buildings makes wandering round these wonderful Uruguayan cities feels like being in a Tintin book (say "The Broken Ear").

Montevideo is especially charming, with a fine selection of art noveau and deco buildings. The streets are well planted with mature trees and the cty is beautifully located with ready views of the sea. There are pleasant street fairs selling old books, bric-a-brac, paintings and jewellery. The atmosphere is unhurried and feels somehow like an English seaside town, and like many English seaside towns is rather in need of renovation in parts.

One of the things which is especially delightful about it is that tourism- which must constitute a major part of their economy- is so lightly mediated. In the UK, for instance, anything old has a little sign attached to it "teaching" the passerby all about it; nothing is left to chance, and before leaving any designated "tourist" premises, you are fed through some tiresome gift shop or other.

Service in Uruguay is generally good, in an old fashioned, unobtrusive way: the waters wear black and white uniforms as they should and don't attempt to make friends with you. The food is excellent too, and these things are very cheap.