Portrait Time

I've started a small portrait of my niece's husband's father. If it works out OK then I shall attempt a larger and 'proper' portrait of him. Here's the rub, Jeff's dad is dead and there is only one inferior photograph of him available from which to paint. I think he was Chief of Police in Algeria at the time. Here it is:

As you can see there are few shadows and next to no details: folds in the cloth etc. 

I'm going to cheat a little and try to copy the shadows from a photograph of His Majesty King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, who is standing in roughly the same position and wearing similar clothing: 

Should be an adventure!

Don't look now but ....!

I'm finally doing a painting - a portrait in fact of my nephew-in-law's dad. To make it more interesting he is an Arab, and dressed in traditional costume. As the reference photograph is rather old and in mono, I shall paint the portrait in black & white ... which kinda makes it a bit more of a challenge.

As the boat I'm building is starting to look like a boat, and launch day becomes a real event rather than a vague dream..

The Seagull  the 15 foot wooden Maine Lobster Boat I'm building

...Pat thought I should learn how to 'sail' one and so she's signed me up for a course with the Royal Yacht Association for two days of power-boat training.

Lots of interesting places along this coast line to take a boat into for a quiet picnic. Here's a touch of the local area:

Great Art

Whilst in Austria I popped into the village church in Scheffau, in the Tyrol. Leaving aside the religious aspects for one moment, for my non-Christian friends, I'd like you to see the great artwork in church of such a small village (population 1400).

Part of the Ceiling

Altar Window

Organ Loft

Outside was a small cemetery with the strangest of paintings which seemed vaguely Pagan.  

All this in a village church!

in nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti

Scheffau - Tyrol - Austria

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music

We went to Soll today - in the Tyrol, Austria.

Lovely country and wonderful people.

We are staying a few miles away in Blaiken

Pension Blaiken

Just dropped in my mail box:

"It is with deep regret that I have to report the death of Sqn Ldr Butch Hamer aged 92."

We used to night stop at El Adem in Libya; as we drove past the Ops Building we used to laugh, because they had never repaired the holes in its walls that Butch had put there in World War 2 when he strafed the German Luftwaffe based there, from his Spitfire.

We got into trouble when we did a 'beat-up' of 'Windy' Wellington in New Zealand ... Butch puffing smoke everywhere from his pipe ... they took a photograph from the control tower, looking DOWN on us, as Butch raised a wingtip to miss a Landrover.... in a Comet 4c!!!!! 

The kiwis loved it ... our bosses didn't when they received a copy of a Wellington newspaper, with us on the front page

He did the low-level flights to see if it was worth building the Nimrod Maritime Rece aircraft (which it was and based it on the Comet). They found seaweed on the pitot-heads which protrude 12 inches below the aircraft.

Comet 4c of 216 Squadron, RAF (1972)

Passing of a legend ... and a good 'playmate' ... the angels will being flying in a new formation today!

Still hanging on!

Not doing any art at the moment. I'm either building my boat - a wooden 16 foot Maine Lobster boat - or editing books.

I was commissioned to edit a book (a second edition medical work) and it went on from there - it's almost a full time job at the moment; I even have a waiting list. 

I inhabit a strange world at times :), never time to grow bored.