I gave in: with temps in the 90ºs, this morning I biked to the gym and trotted around the track for the first time this summer.
What a relief!
I'd wanted to be one of those people who run outside no matter the weather, but I'm finding that the reality of running is different than the idea of running.
Jogging in the air conditioning, my body actually felt lighter, like I'd taken off a cloak of heavy air.
Sister is coming over this afternoon, to sketch while I watercolor in the shady backyard.
"Two Women Sitting in a Garden," 1933, by Eric Ravilious
I just discovered the wonderful watercolors of English artist Eric Ravilious (1903–1942). That's his wife, Tirzah Garwood, shelling peas above.
I'd never heard of him, but he's famous in England for being Englishy. Note the umbrella. Did he ever paint a sunny day?
To me, his art seems to be nostalgic for something that isn't even gone (yet). But his pictures aren't at all glum, so I wasn't surprised to read:
Only 39 years old, Ravilious died while accompanying an RAF sea rescue mission off Iceland that never returned.
What a relief!
I'd wanted to be one of those people who run outside no matter the weather, but I'm finding that the reality of running is different than the idea of running.
Jogging in the air conditioning, my body actually felt lighter, like I'd taken off a cloak of heavy air.
Sister is coming over this afternoon, to sketch while I watercolor in the shady backyard.
"Two Women Sitting in a Garden," 1933, by Eric Ravilious
I just discovered the wonderful watercolors of English artist Eric Ravilious (1903–1942). That's his wife, Tirzah Garwood, shelling peas above.
I'd never heard of him, but he's famous in England for being Englishy. Note the umbrella. Did he ever paint a sunny day?
To me, his art seems to be nostalgic for something that isn't even gone (yet). But his pictures aren't at all glum, so I wasn't surprised to read:
"I never saw him depressed," recalled his friend from the Royal College of Art, Douglas Percy Bliss. "Even when he fell in love – and that was frequently – he was never submerged by disappointment. Cheerfulness kept creeping in."--From "Eric Ravilious: Ups and Downs" in the Guardian.He became a War Artist at the beginning World War II. Have you ever seen a tea pot in a submarine scene?
Only 39 years old, Ravilious died while accompanying an RAF sea rescue mission off Iceland that never returned.
Love it! Thought the painting might have a subversive undertext- the wealthy lady reclines & reads, while the maid prepares vegetables, but then you tell me the pea-sheller is his wife....hmmmm....and then you tell me he fell in love many times.....hmmmmm....maybe there IS a subversive subtext......
ReplyDeleteHAVE FUN WITH WATERCOLORS!
like the homey tea in the submarine!
ReplyDeleteLaura:
ReplyDeleteWell, actually, you aren't entirely wrong about the subtext! The Fry Art Gallery's note on the painting says:
"The scene is the garden of Brick House, where Eric and Tirzah Ravilious (on the right, shelling peas) lived with Edward and Charlotte Bawden (on the left, reading) from 1932.
Although an outwardly peaceful scene, the contrasting activities of the two women here may be revealing.
Domestic arrangements in Brick House were not always harmonious, and the Raviliouses moved to their own house in Castle Hedingham in 1934."