Not doing much for a few days...

Have been taken down again with a cold just as I thought I was over it.  Doc says I must rest for a few days, I'm really sick.  Sorry!  Thanks for looking in.  So I'm sitting here trying to think about only TWO paintings of horses that I really love .....hmm.. So many ..am I talking contemporary or historically.  I'll do history first.

The first is a painting I adore.  This is easy: it is called The Hunt in the Forest by Paolo Uccello.   This artist lived from 1397-1475.  He was fascinated by mathematics and perspective, and animals.   I even made  a simple woodcut from a section of this, that I still have.    And I still have a sketchbook design that I shall revisit again at some point..

The second is a beautiful  black/red figure vase from Greece.    The original is in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.   (It depicts the abduction of Hippodaemia taken away by a warrior and a chariot of white horses) I was so inspired by this I designed a needlepoint cushion of the design. (quite an achievement as I had to be shown how to do needlework - its not my thing - and rather than purchase a kit, I created my own work of art.  It turned out great too.  So far I cannot find a photo anywhere of this vase so above is an example...you can see that Picasso was surely inspired by this artwork: look at the lines and the way the horses heads are depicted.

My mind is wandering to my own inspiration by a visit to Symi - a tiny Greek island off the coast of turkey.  I had a vacation to Rhodes and took a small trip to this amazing island.  I have been told there is a yachting regatta there every year, but nevertheless the island is amazingly beautiful.  Here are two small paintings I sketched in oil, studies for two large oils that turned out really amazing...both in private collections in the USA.  I kept these for myself and still enjoy looking at them. I have just posted another better photo below.

My mind is now turning to what is my favourite painting?  I'll have to think about this!
and what do I think is my least liked contemporary artist or artwork.    That's for another post..