Unseasonal weather

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Before the Storm 12" x 9" Acrylic on mount board

Before the Storm
12″ x 9″ Acrylic on mount board

Some parts of Fethiye experienced temperatures of 6C last night and the wind is still blowing hard from the North.  There are many visitors still here and I don’t suppose that they are very impressed although the sun is shining as usual.  Snow is falling in the Black Sea regions so it could be worse.  I’ve completed my self-imposed target of a daily still life and have enjoyed it, but I’m enjoying work on a large canvas of Fethiye Bay even more.  So I’ve confirmed my conclusion of the 18th …. It’s the daily painting, not the painting a day that counts.

Goodbye Shades of Grey! It’s Rain at Last!

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Aubergine 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

Aubergine
9″ x 6″ Acrylic on mount board

We had 5cms of rain last night!  A spectacular storm with continuous thunder, lightning and strong winds causing the first major power cuts of the season.  The all enveloping dust has been covering the landscape for 5 months but overnight the colours have magically reappeared .   Now bricks are red,  leaves are green, soil is brown, roof tiles are orange, the mountains are purple and the sky is clear and blue.  And it’s goodbye to shades of grey, black and white are back !

Nar

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Nar 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

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This region is blessed with a Mediterranean climate and abundant water and could be described as a huge market garden.  Everywhere you look the trees are laden with fruit, the greenhouses are full to bursting and the market stalls are creaking under the strain.  I must confess I can live without figs and melons but I do get especially excited by the prospect of pomegranate juice and the arrival of fresh walnuts.  Talking of melons, last year I was given a pomegranite the size of a honeydew melon!

A change in the weather

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Garlic Bulb 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

Garlic Bulb
9″ x 6″ Acrylic on mount board

The weather changed two weeks ago.  Practically overnight we waved goodbye to the scorching heat of summer and said Merhaba! to the wonderful Turkish autumn.  Now we can switch off the aircon, move into the sunshine and out of the shower and sleep comfortably at night.   For me, it means the brush has stopped sticking to the canvas and I can actually do things again.  I have reviewed my post of the 18th and reconsidered the Daily Painting ethic.  I reckon it wouldn’t do me any harm to actually submit to the discipline of finishing a small painting every day.  I don’t expect they will be landscapes but we will see.

Eagle Eyes

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Eagle Eyes 9" x 6" Acrylic on mount board

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I am a member of an art class who meet on Thursday mornings at the Nayla restaurant  on the beautiful Fethiye kordon or promenade, you would call it.  Our teacher, Leslie is quite ill and receiving treatment back in the UK.   While we wait and look forward to her recovery we continue to meet as a group and I really enjoy our get togethers.   The members are nearly all women and as a side benefit I now know quite a lot about gynaecology and diets.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, the creative side  has become a bit cute and fluffy without Leslie’s direction.  For example, last week the subject matter included kittens, puppies, donkeys, babies and fairies.  When the lovely Linda asked me if I thought her painting of an eagle looked more like a dove I sat down and did this in response.

The Daily Painting dilemma

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Blue Pergola 12" x 9" Acrylic on mount board

Blue Pergola
12″ x 9″ Acrylic on mount board

Although I enjoy our regular art group meetings in Fethiye, I decided to join the daily painting movement as a way to discipline myself to paint regularly and improve my technique.  I’m not lazy but I’m easily distracted so I needed to find a way to develop my own style and keep pushing myself.   That’s when I read about the Daily Painting movement.  It’s so simple, all I had to do was sit down and produce a small painting every day.  Well no, because a small painting might take an hour but it could take me days or even weeks to finish.

In addition, Turkey is not Provence and as I’d like to develop an impressionist landscape ouvre, I have the problem of finding new subjects every day without resorting to Still Life.  And I didn’t want to copy other artist’s paintings.  Imitate their style, yes!  Develop their ideas, certainly!  Learn from their progress, definitely!

I found myself fretting over this dilemma until I came to a workable solution. I now think of “daily painting” as an activity, not a product. It’s the daily painting, not the painting a day that counts.