I know this is supposed to be a writer's blog and all that, but art (and music) is a big part of my life and this has been a very visual week, so...
Was delighted to track down a copy of American Painting by Donald Goddard. Came across this when I was in America last year, but wasn't able to get hold of a copy in Australia. Finally tracked it down to a wonderful second-hand book-store - Icapsa Used Books in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA - who arranged to send it to me. It's a great collection of paintings and I've been browsing through them again these last few days, but one of the most significant for me is Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World. When I was 17, I wrote a piece of poetic-prose that was inspired by this painting and was doubly impressed when the Northampton Chronicle & Echo not only decided to print it but placed it next to a black and white image of the painting.
(10,700,000 Google hits for this painting!)
Have been watching Simon Schama's Power of Art on TV. Last Sunday, his focus was J.M.W. Turner. I especially like his later paintings, where the figurative drifts into the abstract. We get some stunning skies here, but the more turbulent ones always remind me of Turner's work.
Also revisited my brother's online gallery recently: Phil Burman. He's getting ready for an exhibition in the north of England - drawings and sculpture - and had included some new images on his website, so I wanted to see what he was up to. Thought this the perfect occasion to give a plug here.
What else? Well, it's turned out to be our olive-picking weekend. The birds (or possums) beat us to it last year, so I was determined they weren't going to have the lot this year. It's rained both afternoons and, though we ended up saturated, we got both trees picked, and now have to prepare them for bottling. A fiddly process that includes a fortnight of changing brine daily, but well worth it when we start eating them.
And this morning saw the enterprising Blarney Books host Sisters in Crime: a panel of three crime writers (Kirsty Brooks, Vikki Petraitis and Lindy cameron) talking about their work with Carmel Shute. Enjoyed listening to them very much. It's interesting to hear other writers talk about their work, especially when they have a great sense of humour and when this shapes the session - it was a good laugh indeed.
And this morning saw the enterprising Blarney Books host Sisters in Crime: a panel of three crime writers (Kirsty Brooks, Vikki Petraitis and Lindy cameron) talking about their work with Carmel Shute. Enjoyed listening to them very much. It's interesting to hear other writers talk about their work, especially when they have a great sense of humour and when this shapes the session - it was a good laugh indeed.
