Gustave Loiseau (3 October 1865–10 October 1935) was a French Post-Impressionist painter, remembered above all for his landscapes and scenes of Paris streets. [1]Wikipedia
Loiseau and the Coasts of Normandy
Born in Paris in 1865, Gustave Loiseau, like many of the Impressionist painters, found inspiration in the coast of Normandy. InFalaises de Saint-Jouin, Loiseau eliminates almost every sign of human presence, choosing instead to focus on nature itself.The composition is anchored by the dramatic cliffs on the right, and framed by a wide expanse of sea and sky.
Lovely sketches- particularly like the architecture-very pleasing
Detail from my Hummingbird project journal.
No painting this week! OK, so I don’t have paper on which to paint but that is no excuse! In fact I have been involved in other admin stuff so didn’t even do any acrylic painting, but that also is not an excuse. It’s probably the pandemic getting me demotivated.
That said, I have started a couple of projects in my journals. One is to paint some marine life to put into a book, no rush but I now have a deadline set for August completion. The other is a personal project which involves documenting details (eg eye, feet, feathers etc) of Hummingbirds and Tanagers to create a reference for when I paint these beautiful birds. Whenever I can get hold of large sheets of watercolour paper I intend to do large-scale portraits of a couple of species and to see how these develop.
First published in 2007, Tahmima Anam’s intimate civil war tale A Golden Age won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Best First Book and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. The edition I read was published in 2012 as part of the Canongate ‘the Canons‘ list, which is a slightly strange mixture of ‘boundary-breaking’ books that Canongate decided either were already classics in their own right, or deserved to be. I’m not convinced the collection has aged that well, but it’s an audacious idea.
Anam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh (and now lives in the UK). This, her debut novel, is set in 1971 in East Pakistan, where Rehana Haque, a young widow, is throwing a party. Anam is great on description of food, Rehana is an excellent cook and the feast is described in loving detail. But civil conflict…
“If he/she wanted to he/she would” is the most overused and misguided phrase in consolation. By saying it, the person on the other end attempts to provide his friend with tough-love, to say without saying: You need to move on. It’s akin to the saying: She’s just not that into you. Yet, most of the time, she’s just not that into anyone. But the tough-love crowd doesn’t seem to get it.
Romance has a multitude of barriers: income, self-image, fear of criticism from the prospective partner or one’s circle, fear of abandonment, fear of guilt, lack of sexual chemistry (which may be more internal than external), and so on. Yet, we’re keen on reducing rejection to the last barrier on that list and not only that, but to the version of sexual chemistry which implies that you just aren’t doing it for her/him. As you can imagine, this version of…
Broncia Koller-Pinell (February 23, 1863-April 26, 1934) was an Austrian Expressionist painter said to be the first to bring attributes of French Impressionism into Austrian painting. Biography on Jewish Women’s Archive: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/koller-pinell-broncia
He doesn’t look too happy does he? But at least, although somewhat contorted in posture and attracting the attention of others, he has his coffee strong and black. He invokes a strong feeling of nostalgia for a seemingly lost world. In this case the mittel europa of the 1920s. He may even have a croissant at his elbow. I particularly like the evocation of the blue-violet-brown of the enclosing satin draping. This work is by the little known Croatian artist -Young Man in a Cafe, c.1923 by Marijan Trepše (1897 – l964). Born into the latter days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, you may read more about this artist and how he travelled to Prague via Paris at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijan_Trep%C5%A1e
It is unsurprising, looking at this painting, to read that this expressionist later became a significant set designer.
Using the magical utility of a reverse image search. There is a very useful such device a TinEye. I happened upon the following:-
Much as I miss the congenial and convivial ambience of just sitting around and chatting away with friends, these characters do not exactly look very warm types. Their faces are mask like and reminiscent of harlequins. We certainly have had enough of face-masks. It is interesting how the hands link across the table but touch perhaps slightly. There seems something of considerable interest off-frame to the right. Nevertheless, something of considerable artistic import is being discussed. The juxtaposition of the feet seems a little more cosy and relaxed. It is the combination of tones such as the contrast between the brown of one gent and the blue of the artist which I find attractive.
It is interesting to compare and contrast these two painters who might well have met up over un petit café noir in Montmartre in the 1920s. They would certainly have much to talk about if they could converse easily.
Rose glow of ambience, turned faces recognise, smiles and greetings made. Hands reach out, cheek to cheek kisses, “Bonjour” and “Ça va” spoken. “Un petit café noir, si’l vous plait”. “A small black coffee please”.
A chair is offered, news exchanged, dialogue and dispute, advice and acrimony. Journal passed in turn, maybe a game of Belotte (cards). Another round of coffees, morning ritual slowly ends. “A demain matin”, “See you tomorrow morning”.
Which is the Stefan Zweig? A great writer imho! Hope you had a great Birthday and you prompted my memories for Vermouth which I seem to remember was a favourite tipple of W.H.Auden!
I had a birthday this week, so my TBR pile, officially already out of control, has become even more so.
Four books arrived from my parents, I unwrapped a book each from my son and my youngest daughter, and a pal dropped off a book, so my new pile looks like this (including the two books at the front that I was already reading):
I’m expecting to review the French TV series Call My Agent for the blog this month, plus Tahmima Anam’s first novel ‘A Golden Age’, set in Bangladesh, and Jacob Ross’s Caribbean crime novel ‘The Bone Readers’. I’ll also be looking at the work of Malian photographer Seydou Keita and reviewing a heart-warming romantic movie from Niger.
Meanwhile, in a little extra birthday news, my eldest daughter made me a fab frog cake, and I have some daffodils blooming in my little kitchen. Enjoying some simple…
Image from a Dutch magazine “Het Leven” (via Spaarnestadt Archive).
Here is a typical Berlin Balkonia, little man’s and woman’s green paradise, in its rooftop edition: as a small garden and a chicken-pen.
This model example of self-sufficiency was necessary to survive dire food-shortages of the First World War – shortages which were particularly acute in the capital and led to long periods of starvation not only among the poorest. Many Berlin children did not survive those and if they did, they often suffered their consequences – mentally and health-wise – for the rest of their lives.
This idyllic image is a witness to a very bitter truth: that unless you were able to provide your own food yourself, your family was in danger. And that in 99% of the cases this responsibility had to be shouldered by women – whose children were at great risk.
The Mother of the Artist by Broncia Koller-Pinell
Image from a Dutch magazine “Het Leven” (via Spaarnestadt Archive). 
penwithlit 