![]() |
collection of last 15 which were finished by May 24th |
Here I am, at three in the morning
on my spousal support unit’s birthday, on the eighty-seventh monthiversary of
our first meeting, on the cusp of our fifth wedding anniversary, and although I
probably won’t post this until Friday or Saturday, I can say forthrightly and
honestly that I’ve completed what I set out to do. All ninety paintings are complete, or so close to readiness
that everything from here on is in the nature of tweaking, of preserving, of
preparing for centuries of happy viewing.
This final stage of the process has
combined some of the greatest challenges of the entire project with elements of
the most sublime enjoyment of the whole span. Here’s what that means. I’ve had all four-score-and-ten of the compositions underway
for nearly ten days now. Earlier
panels often were one-a-day, two-a-day, or even a three-a-day
propositions. At most, I might
have taken a couple of days to reinterpret Turner’s genius on the beautiful
wood that has proved such a sturdy and lovely foundation for this effort.
Here recently, though, for fifteen
days or so, I’ve had to focus more and more exclusively on the twenty layered
paintings, which means that concluding in a single sitting has been impossible. I was really leery about how to get
through this final lap; thank heavens for spousal-support-units who have
logistical minds. Jimbo pointed
out to me that, so long as I had everything underway with ten days or so to
spare, I could labor along on three or more ‘washes’ each day.
And that’s what I’ve done. Always in these last couple of weeks,
I’ve queued up three or more panels and have had sort of a primitive
assembly-line in operation. Later today, after I’ve finished scribbling, read a
little more of the Victorian literary narratives that have happenstantially been
a part of our lives over the past few months, and gotten some sleep, I’ll put a
few finishing flourishes on the five or six pieces that remain in need of one
more coat.
In other words, I will have done
what I promised. What it all
means, or whether it has any more than personal significance remains for us to
discover.
Certainly, for both my dear spousal
support unit and me, the sense of a monumental learning experience has powerfully
marked the whole shebang, as they say.
Who would have thought that I could learn the practicalities of indirect
painting in such a thorough way?
Who would have thought that I’d garner so much insight about color and
light and perspective while slaving away?
Who would have believed that J.M.W. Turner would end up seeming such a
fascinating fellow? A radical and
maybe a revolutionary; a non-conformist and ‘wild March hare;’ a shrewd
businessman who wanted to give his fortune away; a man who eschewed
conventional relationships but lived blissfully in sin with his mistresses
while creating a body of erotica that may have been even more substantial than
the hundreds of salacious sketches and other works of sin that have survived?
I take this opportunity to
acknowledge all those who have helped to make this possible. All of my KickStarter supporters,
family and friends, random strangers awestruck at the daunting prospect of
accomplishing this feat, contributed their own piece-of-the-puzzle, so to
speak. Thanks are always
inadequate, but thanks are always in order.
I will keep writing here for at
least a while longer. I have ideas
for a survey of my readers and anyone else who has participated in some
way.
I also want to ask for advice. Can anyone offer pearls of wisdom—I vow
to try to insure that no one ‘casts them before swine!’—about what to do
now?
We’re definitely going to stain and
fix all of the individual wooden ‘canvases.’ We’d like to sell the entire lot, for enough money to
support a similar venture of some kind for a year. We’ve thought about starting to tour the entire set, on
learning that campuses sometimes make provisions for wandering minstrels,
artists, and like creators, making stipends and other inducements available
that might make such a process feasible.
Anyhow, I feel myself fading. Dawn is not far off. Jane Austen is whispering to me; after Framley Parsonage, I’ve taken a step
away from sophistication into the realm of psychology and romance that serves
as a bedrock of much literature of a certain sort in the modern era. Art ever beckons to the aristocrats and
adventurers in these tales.
Maybe I shall find a pathway that
permits me, on a sustainable basis, to engage the world in that fashion. I’m hoping that such will prove to be
the case in any event. I wake each
day with the notion resonating inside me: “You were meant to do this.” Whatever the case may be, again, thanks
to all who supported me. Bend
comforting thoughts my way in the days ahead that, inevitably, will feel a
little empty in the aftermath of such a rigorous passage.
Wholehearted congratulations! I'm sure the path going forward will show itself to you soon enough. And we'll be there for you every step of the way.
ReplyDeletethanks baa! you are the best :D
DeleteWow! What an effort!
ReplyDeleteAmazing. Now you can get a full night’s sleep. Walk by a pond and smell the flowers.
Thanks Tom! Wish I COULD sleep - think I''m suffering jetlag LOL
DeleteHi Alicia,
ReplyDeleteI was looking at your Epic Painting site and Congratulations! You
have some very cool paintings.
thanks to you Umber :D and all else who helped me out
DeleteExcellent work Alicia!
ReplyDeletethanks so much Stuart! I do hope you can come by and visit the exhibit at some point!
DeleteWhat beautiful work! I love that you celebrate your monthiversaries too!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Geri! You do too? What fun!!
Deletewow... that's all I can say... wow. I am very impressed with your work!
ReplyDeleteThanks minnemie! very encouraging words :D
Delete