A visit to southern Peru: Puno; part three, down by the market

*

Puno, red car, woman, oil on card, 15 x 16.5 cm  SOLD

Puno, a lady in a red skirt, oil on card, 14 x 12 cm  SOLD

This picture above, above, is one of the best from this trip. It convey's the rugged feel of the place well in the roughness of technique.

Puno, late afternoon, oil on card, 16 x 18 cm - available

I continued this way: a cross between impressionism, and art brut approach (not so much a choice as an instinct) working rapidly and directly. It has something to do with saying- these are the limits of my capacity to know, I can only see so much now, let me not pretend.

 The places depicted here are in some senses ugly, unfinished, in other senses they are places with potential, rudely muscular like many young places in Latin America,

Puno, people going about their business, oil on card, 13 x 14 cm  AVAILABLE

The last four pictures revive the sense of stimmung, the concept of  which de Chirico writes about eloquently with reference to Nietszche, and seeks to introduce into his own work. He describes(from The Memoirs og Giorgio de Chirico,  translated by Margaret Crosland, Da Capo Press, 1994):

 ...a strange and profound poestry, infinately mysterious and solitary...this extraordinary sensation can be found (but it is necessary, naturally, to have the good fortune to posess my exceptional faculties) uin Italian cities  and in Mediterranean cities like Genoa or Nice; but the Italian city par excellence where this phenomenan appears is Turin.

Does the  clear light of the Andes which resembles that of de Chirico`s Turin?

*

These streets contain many incidents, and suggest the possibility of incident. They are market streets but given my aversion to people watching me while I worked, I painted the less busy streets.

*

A double carrier

The double carriers worked reasonably well. There were difficulties with one: the cases have to allow for the fact that in hot weather the card supports start to buckle in the sun and take up three or four times the depth than otherwise, so it is best to compensate for this with fairly deep case frames.

 I used glue rather than blu-tac to hold the pictures. It seems more secure than the blu-tac. The pictures can be removed from the carriers fairly easily. 

These carriers allow me to take considerably more pictures home with me, and therefore open the possibility of longer trips? thus Ecuador, in January, might well be a whole month.

*

A visit to southern Peru: Puno; part two, in the neighbourhood

 *

Puno, the end of a street, oil on card, 14 x 15 cm  - sold

Puno, man, dog, oil on card, 12 x 13.5 cm 

These were painted in the streets north-west of the Plaza de Armas, an area possessed of considerable mystery.

*

A visit to southern Peru: Puno; part one, from my hotel

 *

Puno, the street below, oil on card, 18.5 x 14.5 cm unavailable

Puno is situated on the banks of Lake Titicaca, but despite the location is there is an old but not especially striking cathedral, but apart from that little of architectural distinction that I could find.

However, I found it rather agreeable, and it's one of my regrets on this trip that I didn't pass time in nearby Juliaca, Both are working cities, with dusty, brown, boxy architecture, and many people getting on with ordinary life: buying selling constructing- though Juliaca even more so- such places are very satisfactory to get on with painting. 

There'ss a a warren-like quality to the town: it reminded me of early photos of Manhattan pre-skycraper: a tight grid plan, few cars, many people, occasional poverty, buildings fighting for elbow room.

I found myself adopting styles of painting to accommodate this sensation: a coarse , angular, direct, unrefined, partly based on cartoons.

*

Two recently framed pochades

*

 Flowers in black,  oil on card, 18 x 22 cm, framed SOLD

Cambuquira , a view from the hotel terrace, oil on card, 14 x 14 cm , Framed  SOLD

Two paintings recently framed by the buyer. 

*

A visit to southern Peru: Cusco; part three: the new town

*

Cusco: narrow road downtown, oil on card, 10.5 x 14 cm - available

Cusco: buildings, oil on card, 10 x 12 cm  unavailable

Cusco: shops downtown, oil on card, 13 x 12 cm   available

Cusco

I'd wanted to work on the shops which are so striking, selling piles of pig cadavers or novel varieties of potatoes piled up high, or   children's shoes spread out on a blanket on the ground or car parts or bust up cellphones or old university thesis, but there were too many people to concentrate.

 It is impossible for me to work when people are watching. Almost all viewers are pleasant, but their presence transforms me into a street performer and this prevents me from working freely: I begin immediately to think of of what effect each change to the picture has on the viewers considerations. 

I wished I had taken my little Lumix  camera because the one on the mobile is poor, and it'd have been easy to take some nice snaps. There are some things for which the camera is unquestionably superior to painting, and that includes capturing street scenes.

Anyway, here are some, rather expressionist, paintings of the streets. The high perspective is especially reminiscent of Kirchner. With such painting the question is always about finish, knowing when to end. 

*

A visit to southern Peru: Cusco; part two: looking out from the edges

*

Cusco: a view from north to south, oil on card, 13 x 14 cm   available

Cusco- Nueva Alta, oil on card, 14 x 16 cm  - available

Cusco- Arcopata, oil on card, 12.5 x 15 cm - available

Cusco, the hills to the south, oil on card, 12 x 14 cm - available

Cucso- simple houses, oil on card, 15 x 13 cm - available

Cusco from near the tower, oil on card, 9.5 x 12.5 cm  - available

Cusco- a development to the west of the town, oil on card, 11.5 x 14 cm   available

Now here are a set painted over my week in Cusco representing the city from various heights, or looking towards the hills on the outskirts. 

The city is dusty and very dry. It's quite tiring walking around, the altitude affects one, making one breathless, and giving slight nosebleeds  The effect of being nestled so in hills makes the place somewhat claustrophobic.

*

A visit to southern Peru: Cusco; part one: the old city

*

Cusco: a lane, oil on card, 12.5 x 11 cm   - available

Cusco: entrance arch, oil on card, 11 x 15 cm - availale

Cusco: the view from a hostel, oil on card, oil on card, 12.5 x 16 cm  unavailable

Cusco: Cathedral, oil on card,  11 x 14 cm  available

Cusco

The arrival was painful- a miserable arrival at a godless 5 am and freezing. They like to start early in Peru. Sadists. The taxi driver was blunt.

The city is charming, valley set, baroque heavy, solid, rising with increasing imperfection to the high mountains around. The hostel was cosy. I felt happy there. The people of the town are are different but not unfriendly. The city is full of surprises.

There is a long road lined with shops all small selling all manner of stuff. I plan to go there to do some work. The hills are steep and I like to climb them and see the town. The hills have handsome pine woods.

The easel is breaking up: I fix it sometimes. The paintings go confidently. I'm glad I came. I think, I am going to plan another trip very soon to another place like this, as this is what I should be doing.

I went by train to  Machu Picchu and it was stunning, if at the same time  one of those tourist sausage factory experiences. I reccomend it, but don`t bother taking the costly train as it ties you down. Hire some guy to drive you.

*