A Lighthouse on a sunny day is a bit useless other than as as a navigation mark or a tourist attraction, so my final interpretation of Gelidonya creates the storm that defines it’s existence. I’ll possibly come back to Gelidonya again but I must get on with the larger canvas of Fethiye bay. The temperatures have soared to 35C + in the last couple of days, not a great time to sit in full sun so I need to rig up some shade on the hillside before I can get on. It’s very steep and rocky there so I need to get my thinking cap on.
Tag Archives: Acrylics
Gelidonya 2
This is my second interpretation of Gelidonya Lighthouse from a different viewpoint and using a different palette.
Gelidonya Lighthouse 1
125K from Fethiye and a notable landmark on the Lycian way, Gelidonya Lighthouse is situated on an dangerous cape east of Finike and due south of the site of Olympus. It makes an attractive subject for painting as there are few Turkish lighthouses situated in such a dramatic setting. We are not spoilt with them like those who live around the Atlantic coastline.
A brief history can be discovered on this sign at the site. To summarise
Costruction began in 1934 and it was lit in 1936, fueled by Kerosene until 1990 and ?? since then. It flashes every 3 secs. and has been run by the Demir family since 1944.
Gelidonia Headland and the islands are very important to Lycia’s geography and the history of navigation. It’s the most dangerous part of the Bay of Antalya due to opposing currents and to pass was quite hard (I bet!!) in antique times. The flows have pulled many ships onto the rocks and have changed the place to an underwater cemetary (sic)…..
My first painting has again been done with a very restricted choice of turquoise, yellow, red and white and although there is limited potential when mixing acrylic paints, I hope and feel that I have managed to convey a sense of harmony in this landscape after making that decision.
Fethiye road chaos
We are used to living on a building site such is the rate of development round here but we have been suffering for months while the Belediye install a huge system of rainwater drains across half of the town. We’ve been living in a mud bath now being baked into a dust bowl. It will be nice when it’s finished, as they say! Of more concern to me is what happened at the weekend.
I went out to paint this scene, one that I photographed late last year as I roamed on my bike. A new cami framed by some splendid eucalyptus trees. Had potential, I thought……
…..but the scene when I arrived had been improved to this!
So I came home and painted this small lakeside view instead.
Fethiye Postcard
This is my favourite view of Fethiye and my original photo, taken from the hillside above the Marina Vista Hotel and the boatyards, has a picture postcard quality that I rarely capture. The plan is to create a large landscape and this is my first studio sketch using that photo which I intend to follow up with some plein air work. I limited my pallette to just the three primaries and white and worked with a large brush to try and keep the detail minimised. I’m really looking forward to the challenge of developing this as it’s a more picturesque subject than most of my work on Kayakoy.
Hedgehog Happy Hounds
Not much sleep last night after a chorus of all the dogs in the area woke us at 2.30. Unfortunately it was started by our pair, Ziggy and Zara doing their best to make us believe they were being tortured with hot needles. As it turned out that was a fair description.
Opening the door revealed a pattern of bloody spots and paw prints and we thought, oh no, here we go again! Luckily, all became clear when Gina discovered nothing more sinister than a very large hedgehog. This was deposited in the field opposite and serenity reigned again, well as near as we ever get to it!
At least the horrible wet weather today enabled me to finish this landscape. Here, I’m trying to capture some of the spirit of Kayakoy as the changes in the wind move it into another phase. It’s been out of sight for a long time, hidden away and quietly corroding, but the future is rushing in as politicians, developers and all the other interested parties begin to unfold their plans and read us their agendas. Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.
Poppies at kayakoy
Millions of poppies bloom here in Turkey every spring but I think they look their best against the greys and greens of antiquity and nature dancing to the waltz of time. I was up at Kayakoy yesterday and was stunned as usual by the profusion of colours. Despite the many roadside verges that have been bulldozed away, it makes me so happy that wild flower meadows are still a normal part of the scenery around here. Let us hope that it lasts!
Machete Vs Machine
I was given a telling off yesterday by my neighbour, the farmer’s wife. We have a beautiful Mimosa tree http://spiritrisingherbs.com/?p=33 which blooms throughout the summer but it was planted against the garden wall and, willow like, it’s branches hang down and block the road. I can live with that but, annoyingly, they also grow through the electricity cables.
So every few years I have to give it a severe haircut. I had just climbed down after the latest operation when I was sharply interrogated about my intentions regarding the 50 or so branches strewn across the road. Up ’til then I’d been using a hand saw as chainsaws, me and ladders don’t mix but I explained that I would be using my chainsaw to lop the branches into firewood. Makina yok! she said, zooming off and after a couple of minutes returned with a wicked looking and razor sharp machete and a chopping block. I was then given a lesson in the art of stripping off the twigs and lopping the 10 ft. branches into one foot lengths with the same apparent effort as it takes to scramble an egg. Suitably impressed, I was handed the heavier than it looked billhook and told to start. Well, after two minutes I discovered, unsurprisingly, it wasn’t anywhere near as easy as it looked!
However, I persevered and managed to complete the job in record time with no damage to the enviroment apart from a couple of blisters. I sure my neighbours enjoyed a good laugh….”Guess what! He was going to use a machine to make a bit of firewod!” And Gina has promised to buy me a machete for Xmas….mmmm
Anyway this has nothing whatsoever to do with my painting today which is of a lonely chimney stack back in Kayakoy.
The River Bend
Today I took Daisy, our new boat, out in the bay for our first sail and despite a few butterflies to start we had a great time getting to know her. During the trial, some more small jobs became evident and that will keep me from the easel a little longer than planned. So tonight I fell back onto one of my favourite subjects. Rivers are an endless source of delight and inspiration to me and despite the demands of Daisy, my new mistress, I managed to produce this painting.
Fethiye Palm Island
This little corner of Fethiye is in an area subject to major redevelopment at present, and often overlooked by residents and visitors alike, mostly due to being focused on the traffic hazard, I suspect. Since I took this photo it has been enhanced with the addition of a huge TV advertising screen on the island and a massive pediment fronting the jeweller’s shop on the left. There is also now, to the right, the major works of the Fethiye Amphitheatre Restoration Project and there seem to be more buildings on the hillside too.
As I said last week, I’ve been getting the boat ready and not had much free time for painting but I’m really pleased to finish this scene as I think it highlights one of the easily missed views of this amazing place.