Sea, Praia Brava

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Sea, Praia Brava, oil on card, 16 x 13.4 cm  unavailable

A listless day, a strange sense of incompletion.

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A drive to the mountains

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 Rancho Queimado- in the mountains, oil on card, 14 x 15 cm

Aguas Mornas- logs, oil on card. 15.5 x 14.5 cm

It's slightly cooler- just about tolerable, therefore- to drive to the mountains and do some work.

 When painting you are very alone. Your're in this arena against the subject and your own worst instincts. You just have your paints and and your thoughts as weapons, and you have to be determined, or very lucky to win. Or sometimes you have to know when it's right to cede defeat and abandon the work. Clarity of mind is everything, and that's why solitude is so essential, as is the right mental state to begin: humility, courage, stoicism...

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Peru

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Taken from Stamford's Library Series, 1912

Again, I reincarnate as Charles Ryder.

This is the plan: on 1st June I fly direct to Cusco, and on the 24th I return to Florianopolis. What happens in between then will depend on how I feel and the weather, but I'll almost certainly go to Machu Picchu, Puna and Arequipa.

Originally the idea was to spend time in Lima, but I decided that I would happier working in much smaller places. After all, the idea is not to see everything but to produce some decent pictures, and enjoy the process. 

Peru is not small nor so close and the flights to Cusco are likely to be quite a monstrous experience. But I do not envisage anything going terribly wrong. Latin Americans aren't, on the whole, actively hostile or interfering- unlike North Africans whose diverse cultures show a diversity of malignancies. So if some Peruvians choose to rob me then they will do so in an amicable fashion- if, indeed, theft can ever be conducted amicably. 

Anyway, join me if you find the idea amusing. 

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Moçambique, The Atlantic

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Moçambique, The Atlantic, oil on card, 14.5 x 17.5 cm

This is reminiscent of Nash with it's chalky colours.

It is a good painting and was very difficult to paint. One hopes the frustrations I passed through are not apparent in the picture. Painting the sea is very challenging. The sea is so vast and invites so many different emotions and is always in flux. When I am painting the sea I often feel a terrible sense of the hopelessness of everything.

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Recently framed paintings of Santos

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Santos, framed and glazed.   SOLD

 Santos - a ship, framed and glazed    SOLD

Santos- the port, framed and glazed    SOLD

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The corner of a table, after lunch

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The corner of a table, after lunch, oil on card, 13 x 11.5 cm - unavailable

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A hat on a table

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A hat on a table, oil on card, 12 x 14 cm   -unavailable

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