Latest Blather

Greetings. Time for some new info on the blog, which may, or may not, be of intense interest to anyone. LATEST OILS: Having finished my painting of Christopher Marlowe (viewable on my web-site), and having crammed it with many agonizingly small motifs, I wanted to do something a bit simpler. Since I had been reading J. Israel's giant door-stopper of a book on the Dutch Republic, and I have Dutch ancestry, I thought I might do a Dutchman from the 1590's holding a matchlock musket. I used the colors of the House of Orange,orange/white/blue, to create a color scheme. The figure is dressed in mainly blue clothing and he is standing against a wall covered with blue and white House of Orange rampant lions. On the ground, I placed a basket of oranges, and put some loose oranges here and there. I am almost finished with the thing, but I'm not quite sure about it. I may have to do some more thinking and analyzing before I call it a day and order a frame. One never knows quite how any idea will work out until it is fully realized; I always assume that if I am not a little nervous about what I am painting, I am not working "honestly".Per Ardua Ad Astra!
I usually get to work on the next painting when I am half-way to completion on the latest work. I procrastinated a great deal on my new one, however, and I have had to do a lot of drawing lately to get it ready. It will be a study of Orsino from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. A few weeks ago I found a large, gray moth in the back yard - when it opened it's wings it revealed black spots filled with an intense magenta/pink. I want to use it for a design on a tapestry which will be on the wall behind Orsino. He will be seated in a large, carved chair and flanked by two greyhounds. I want something on the floor in front of Orsino, but I have two possibilities: one or two unopened letters that Olivia has returned, or a copy of the 1623 folio of Shakespeare's works opened to Twelfth Night. Anyway, the studio is filled with all of my insect/moth and dog reference books.....more later.
When I had my old web-site up, I used to get regular, monthly hits from someone on the Seychelles Islands. I have always wondered who, at this remote, romantic, Joseph Conrad-type location was checking in on my work ?!? Are you still out there? Parlez-vous Francais? Je parle un peu. Ecrivez moi, s'il vous plait!