After visiting Cairo, Fresno, to me, is quite a nice place to be. I appreciate the clean streets and neighborhoods, and orderly traffic much more now than I used to. I love the friendly faces I see in the Tower District, and there is no shortage of good company lately.
I am looking into a studio in Downtown Fresno at the moment, and I have found a few options to pick from. Im excited to get back to work, and the goal for 2012 is to learn to make frames. After visiting the Louvre, and the Rijks, and other museums of that caliber I have realized how important a good frame can really be. The frame is like a window into the artist’s world. Almost like a gateway into the vision of the artist. I really like this concept, and I think it adds much depth to the artwork.
One of the concepts that I really like about a lot of dutch paintings is their comic-esque qualities. I use this Rembrandt as an example. Here Jeremiah mourns the destruction of Jerusalem. It is hard to tell from this photo, but outside the cave is the small burning city of Jerusalem. So Rembrandt cleverly placed this little vignette off to the side of Jeremiah to show what he was thinking about. Well done Rembrandt. I certainly approve.
I have heard many artists talking at FAA and occasionally I hear them bashing decisions like Rembrandt has made here saying that “he just painted the figure, and then put a background in.” Often times it is said like it’s a bad thing, but I disagree. I think if the background is put in tastefully like Rembrandt did here, it can add many new layers of depth, and make the picture much more interesting. Yeah the background was stuck in there, but there was a purpose for doing so, and I think it works.
Antique Dutch Frame
It wont be long before I settle back in to my new environment that is the Central Valley, and soon enough I will be learning the art of framing, and I should have almost every aspect of this wonderful obsession down. From making wood panels, to stretching and rabbit skin gluing linen, refining my own linseed oil, to making oil based gesso and grinding my own paint, all the way to making professional quality frames. I am very excited for 2012. It’s going to be a great year.
I came across this quotation by W.H Murray, and really found it empowering. It’s all about commitment. Commitment has brought me to many amazing places. Like painting in switzerland for example: One of the many places that painting has brought me...
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
― W.H. Murray
The way I see it. If I never made the bold move to go back to Europe outside of the Florence Academy, I would never have made this painting. I regret not going to more places to paint. We will just have to see what the future holds.
Switzerland en Plein Air 20x30 CM - By Nigel Robertson
Holland is a wonderful country. A bit crowded, but still awesome. I plan on going to Den Haag tomorrow morning to go visit the Maruitshuis. The girl with the pearl lives there. Im excited to see what all the fuss is about. I think it’s a pretty decent painting from what I have seen from the reproductions. The anatomy lesson by Rembrandt is also there. I am extremely excited to see this painting, even with the flaws in the perspective. I don’t know what else to do in the Nederlands other than going to the museums. It should be boring. I have my sketchbook handy though.
The Maruitshuis in Den Haag (The Hague) has a fantastic collection of about 800 paintings. Im not sure exactly how many are on display but its the perfect size museum with am extremely high quality collection of paintings. I love the dutch 17th century for a number of reasons. The paint application and technique, and the meanings behind the paintings. I especially love the paintings based on old dutch proverbs. I love that they loved paintings so much in holland that many normal middle class people bought artwork for their homes. The dutch made lots of artwork just for the sake of making it, where as far as I have noticed other countries weren’t so interested in just making art for the sake of making art. Most other countries stuck to religious art, or mythological scenes. I have seen so much of the religious and mythological genre’s that I rarely get excited about one of those paintings.
The Maruitshuis
I think the last religious painting I got excited about was “Le Christ” by Bonnat. It’s truly incredible. I was blown away by it. It happened to be hanging in the Musee D’Orsay in Paris. I saw this wonderful painting by Rembrandt. It’s absolutely breath-taking in person. Each face is so naturalistic that I felt as if they would blink or say something. Other parts of the painting aren’t perfect, like the drawing of the cadaver for example. It’s too short. The head is also too big. Also in a dissection they would never ever start with the arm. They would have gone through the torso and abdomen first. Rembrandt chose to dissect the arm first because it works better for the painting. It all comes down to intentions in my opinion.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp - Rembrandt
Holland is quite amazing. I found a hostel for 14 euros a night. It provides a sketchy internet connection and the other basics. People in hostels a weird. Really weird. There was one musician type fellow dubbed “That American Bloke” by one of the British kids that was there ended up urinating in the room by my bed. How charming. Thank you American Bloke… Thats the funny thing about all of this. A drunk guy peeing in the corner is something you would see in a 17th century dutch painting. They embrace humanity and accept that people are weird and flawed. At least that’s the vibe I get from it all. The dutch seem to understand that people are weird, and will always be weird, and do weird things, and many people wont accept these weird behaviors. The mentality it seems is “We are going to let the weird be, but we will definitely learn from the weird.” Is this what tolerance is? It seems like it to me, but what do I know. In egypt they freak out if a man kisses a woman in public. It’s sad to me, because I think kissing is a beautiful thing, and when someone gets pissed off at a couple kissing in public it usually seems to be because they are envious of the couple. I have always learned from other people’s examples it seems.
Jan Steen did a great job of illustrating what example’s parents shouldn’t be setting for their children:
"zoals de ouden zongen, zo piepen de jongen zal"
I love this painting because everyone and everything has meaning to it. Notice its obviously daytime and the parents are drinking, and the father figure (which is supposed to be a self portrait of Jan Steen himeself) teaches his son to smoke tobacco, and a nice young age. The wealthier dutch folk loved these sorts of paintings because of they showed a clear example of how not to raise children. Maybe these themes need to be revived. At least thats my opinion. I am very interested in re-visiting some of these themes in the near future. I can’t wait in fact. I studied the frames extremely closely as well, making sure to study every frame that caught my eye. I have become very interested in frames that are more linear but still very complex and elegant. I made quite a few drawings of moulding that was derived from the frames that I appreciated. I want to attempt to make my own in the style of these particular frames.
I saw people swimming in the pond behind the maruitshuis. It was extremely cold outside. It must have been some dutch torture ritual?
I made it to three museums while I was in Amsterdam, ate good good, and had good drink. Its nice that I was so familiar with the place. I didn’t use a map all that much. I didn’t need a map when I walked to the Rijks Museum. That felt like an accomplishment. I also got an audio tour if the Rijks. The day before at the Maruitshuis I had a free audio tour and it really made a difference on what I had noticed. I really appreciated the commentary, and it helped me realize the consistency of the dutch themes. After a while the dutch proverb paintings began to really make a lot more sense to me. I think they are themes that would definitely hold true today and would be executable in a contemporary sense. You see these piles of locked bikes laying around in the Nederlands. I laugh when I see these bikes laying there every single time...
I made a huge mistake the second day of going to the Rijks again, but I made the best of it with the audio guide. I should have went to the Hermitage Museum, but it dawned on me too late. I was about 3:30 when I realized that Maureen told me to go. I guess I am just going to have to come back. I would like to bring a friend along.
After a little over a week in Florence… Actually at this point I don’t know how long I have been in Florence since I got back from Egypt. Was it a week, or a month? It’s difficulty to gauge without looking at the actual dates of arrival and departure. I feel like I had post traumatic stress disorder after going to Egypt and all the madness that went down with Bekkah. I felt like death after Egypt because of the air. I had a gnarly cough, and I was just plain worn out, so I focused on my website http://www.nigelrobertson.com to unwind from Egypt. I do hope you enjoyed the ranting. My mom didn’t. I barely remember writing all that. I was in some sort of trance like state where the thoughts flowed freely. Allora…
Santa Maria Novella - Florence
Florence was pretty awesome except for the fact that I was sick with a cough the whole ten plus days that I was there. I did manage to have fun. Basilio had three parties in a week, and I had a fun going away get together party. It was my turn to cook the most awesome meal in Florence. It was bacon cheeseburger night. Galambanino cheese on the burger with bacon over that with feta cheese over the bacon with grilled shallot and red bell peppers over the feta, and lettuce and tomato over that,with a specially made garlic aiolli spread for the toasted buns. The fries were fried in olive oil with rosemary salt, and finely ground crushed red pepper. I don’t really like to cook only for myself, but when it’s for other people I tend to go a little over the top. Its fun. Everyone was extremely satisfied. The rule in florence is that if you cook you don’t have to clean. Another reason for loving to cook in Florence.
Its costing me a fortune to make my way back to California. At least I have a suitcase full of paintings, and I have completely removed all of my junk from Florence from the past two years. Shipping everything back also cost me a small fortune. It’s not as bad as some of the numbers I have heard from other people. I have no complaints. I am just a bit numbed at the moment.
I still haven’t reached my one hundred plein aire sketches like I have been planning to do. I still have much to learn, but I am already seeing lots of progress. I’ll be posting all the good paintings soon, along with an available works page. I’m happy to be leaving, especially getting to spend a few nights in the Nederlands.
I love flying in the evening because the colors are spectacular
Max took me out to the Depositoria in Florence and let me look for my bike there. It was nowhere to be found.
I originally built this bike from the ground up, paint and all for Bekkah, but the second day of her riding it she crashed and broke her little finger, and never rode it again. I couldn’t let it go to waste so I took it to Florence and rode it for an entire year. Last friday it was stolen off the street. RIP green machine. You were a pretty damn good bike.
I have been in Florence since the 18th of November just visiting friends, getting all my things together to ship back to the states. It’s one of those tasks that you just don’t want to deal with. It means that things are changing, scenery is changing, once again, euros are being spent on shipping costs, energy is being spent. After the whole Cairo thing I have been physically exhausted and haven’t been doing to much but working on my internet obligations. (like this site for example)
I made the horrible mistake of locking my bike up on the street to a pole on the sidewalk for too long. I am guessing the building owner or one of the residents of the building felt that my bicycle was in the way, so they called the police to have the bike removed. which I admit it may very well have been in the way, but not to the point of needing to call the police to cut the locks. A lot of people have nothing better to do other than inconvenience people they don’t know. Its a shame how often people do this to eachother.
I looked up and down the street for the bike thinking I locked it in some other spot, and forgot about it, but soon I realized that the bike was nowhere to be found. I figured out which pole the bike was locked at, and stood there wondering what happened to my bike. There was a wine shop next to the pole where I locked the bike, and I asked the italians that were hanging out drinking wine at 1:00pm “Did you guys see what happened to a green bike that was locked up right here?” They told me the police had cut the lock, and it shouldn’t have been locked up there. Im guessing they may have been the ones to have called the polizia. Rats.
I soon found the foot police who write tickets for improperly parked cars and scooters and asked them where to recover it. He gave me a phone number to call. I called right away but my italian is bad and thats all the police speak. Luckily my friend Joachim speaks great italian and we figured out where to get the bike. Monday ill go pick it up.
I had a feeling that I might not ever see the bike again when I was locking it up that last time. The bike is full of bad memories of Bekkah. I originally built the bike for her from the ground up. She even picked the color out custom from the automotive paint shop in downtown Fresno. I had collected all the parts for over a year to build one of the lightest fastest bikes possble. When it was complete it weight 14.7 pounds and it was Bekkahs christmas present.
Bekkah and I were at Woodward Park in Fresno just the first day ever riding the freshly built single speed bicycle. We had a good time riding around the park on this cool Fresno overcast day, until she decides to quickly ride ahead out of my sight. Next thing you know she wrecks into a center divider in a parking lot. She had a nice case of road rash, and she appeared to have really messed up her right pinky finger. We soon got her all patched up with first aid supplies from Walgreens. She never rode the bike again. I ended up taking it to Florence. Poor Bekkah…
She just seems doomed to me…
If only this bike could talk... Its been through many changes, but the frame that Bekkah and I painted remains the same, only with rust nic's and scratches.
I have been feeling a little bit under the weather, and aggressively trying to get better.
I felt I should write this because many Florence Academy students frequent my blog, and any FAA student knows that Florence beats your immune system down when it starts getting cold. The place turns into a giant freezer box because Florence is made of all concrete, bricks, and stone. The humidity makes winter bone chilling cold. So if you are a sick Florence academy student, or an Angel or Cecil student you may find these remedies useful.
I use a plethora of remedies to get better after catching something in Florence:
One of the most effective remedies for beating a cold is eating a bunch of raw garlic. I also drink lots of orange juice and eat lots of oranges. A mild fast helps as well. I especially try to cut out all sugars because I read somewhere that the cold viruses grow stronger when they are fed sugar. I don’t remember where I read it but it sounds logical to me.
A remedy I like that I learned from a British girl at school is to boil water, and put rosemary in it, and then inhale the steam with a towel over your head. Breathe that steam until there is no more steam coming off the water. Blowing on the water encourages more steam to rise. This works as an expectorant. This remedy seems to really work great for that.
Hot and Spicy ramen noodles also seem to help speed up the recovery of a cold. In Florence you can find very tasty hot and spicy ramen from the Asain Markets. There is one very close to Santa Spirito, and theres another near the Lion’s Fountain on Saint Egidio. The hot and spicy ramen has tons of salt and the spicy stuff will make you sweat, which is good for fighting the cold as well…
Gargle a bunch of warm salt water. Lots and lots of it. This will help kill the things in your throat that make you feel so terrible.
Drink lots of green tea with ginger, mint and orange juice. Avoid sugar. Use honey if you absolutely need to sweeten it. Leave the green tea out at night so you can sleep better.
The pharmacy sells cold medicine, and most of the pharmacists speak english. It helps especially supplemented with these more holistic remedies.
Avoid pizza. Its difficult in Florence. I’m guilty.
I thought this was a good idea to post for the FAA students because when you are in the Florence Academy because you simply just do not have time to be sick. You are attending a very high pressure, expensive school, and you just cannot afford to be sick during school, and you don’t want others to get sick. Don’t be one of those people who spreads sickness around.
If you are going to get sick, try to hold it off until winter break, or spring break. When you get sick its just your body telling you that you need a break.
Yesterday was such a rediculously long day. Bekkah woke me up at 7:00 to say our last goodbye ever. That was sweet of her. After she and Sophia left I had fun in her apartment after she left for work. It was like time stopped those few hours.
I went a little crazy…
This would probably be the last time I ever see Bekkah again. She will most likely get killed in this country, either by getting hit by a car, or stabbed for calling someone gay, or kidnapped and sold into prostitution. I hope none of that happens to her, and I wish her all the best, but lets be honest here: Cairo is a stupid place to be at this point in history. Read the news.
I was picked up from the airport shuttle around 11:45am and began the excruciatingly long journey back to Italy. I first flew to Zurich, Switzerland, Again. I have been there at least three times in the past three months. Im getting too familiar with the airport. I even know where all the bathrooms are, and everyhing. From Zurich I fly to Rome Fiumacino. I ride the Leonardo express to Roma Termini. I had an old ticket that I didn’t time stamp, and once again, there was no man that came through to check tickets. Another free ride.
I arrive at Roma Termini, the main train station in Rome, after this freakishly long day to find that I missed all the trains back to Florence. Luckily this nice I english speaking Italian girl helped me with that. She even said that if she was staying tonight she would bring me back and I could sleep there for the night, but she was staying at a friends house, so I couldn’t come with her. I thought that was still super sweet. We say our goodbyes and I start heading toward a hostel I stayed at before when this guy asks me if I needed a hotel, and of course I reply “Actually yes… I am looking for a place to stay for the night.” The hotel is super nice and its only 50 euros, comes with a bathroom and shower in the room and internet. I lucked out. Thank you god.
In I slept marvelously, and took my time getting up. I pack my things and head across the street to the train staion, and grab a coffee and a sandwich. My ticket back to Florence is 45 euros. Ow. But at least its the fast train. It only takes an hour and twenty minutes. Im feeling pretty good at this point. The italian landscape always makes me happy to see. THe whole ride from Rome to Florence is pretty nice. Old Roman architecture is sprinked about, along with Italian Farm houses and cyprus trees. Its quite marvelous. I wish I could stop the train and paint.
Im glad to leave bekkah behind. She had some great properties about her, but also some really bad properties as well. Her health for example. She thinks she takes good care of her self, but she doesn’t. I haven’t got sick in almost a year and a half because I take good care of myself. Bekkah on the otherhand always feels bad. Always is sick. Always coughing. And her mental health is bad as well. I was often the victim of moodswings and anger management issues. She brought out the worst in me. I could compare her to some sort of bad whiskey. You have a couple shots, you feel good, you have a couple more you feel drunk, a couple more you get crazy and silly, and a couple more you get angry and destructive. And then the next day you end up hung over and you have to drink more to feel better. This is the effect Bekkah has on me anyway, and I do not like it. Im no longer setting for just okay. Im so glad to have left my baggage with her in egypt, and it was worth spending the money to do so. I also got a camel ride out of it all. But nothing more.
Here are some photos from the Journey from the Maadi, to the Cairo Airport:
Under ConstructionNissanApartment BuildingHelmets not needed at 120 kilometers per hour...No helmets, no lights, no music...FroggerJust chillin' (on the side of the freeway. Its the cool thing to do in Cairo.)
The view I painted....Trash everywhere....Capitalism! Fuck yeah!!Another shot of Bekkah's wonderful skyline...And another... Awesome light effect that the burning trash creates. Want to know what it smells like? Set a furby on fire and inhale.Custom made pinatas. I wish I made one for Bekkah... Congrats on moving to Cairo and getting lung cancer from inhaling burning Furby smoke daily...
Who is that? Get a helmet buddy! Oh yeah.. you could care less if your brains were splattered all over the street anyway...
I want this bike. There would be no need for a car. You could carry your whole family! Neat still life objects... FAA students will appreciate this...
Bekkahs Rooftop - Signifying the final peak of our relationship - The apocalypse is beautiful
It was a somewhat successful day here in Maadi, Cairo for me today. It was the usual routine for me, although I came up with the near perfect algorithm for painting such a complex view of Road 233. It is painted from the view of the rooftop of Bekkah’s apartment building. I started roughly at 2:00 after breakfast and coffee. I have been unable to sleep well, so I end up sleeping when I can which is usually when the sun comes up. I don’t understand why I can’t sleep. Perhaps I do, perhaps its something to do with Bekkah, and her mood swings causing me not to sleep. I only had one panel left anyway so so I wouldn’t be able to paint any more anyway unless I worked on the same painting every day. I like the slap dash sketchy style that I paint and I prefer to not continue to push my plein air paintings beyond the initial color sketch. If I feel compelled I will take the painting into the studio in the future.
I began this painting with a thin Transparent red oxide tone over the panel, and I did the drawing in a purpleish tone made of white, French Ultramarine, and alizarin Crimson. After the drawing was established I painted the greens to key the depth of the painting, as well as keying the values. I didn’t touch the sky until later. Usually I key the sky first, and even paint it first, but I felt that it would be a bad choice this time around, because I didn’t see anything epic happening in the sky at this time. I love epic skies, with peachy oranges, pinks and purples with the blue sky peering through, and apocalyptic fires off in the distance. That was my vision for this painting.
After painting the greens keeping the sky in mind I began to paint the architecture carefully with very precise brush strokes. I would maintain the drawing by chopping the shapes with other overlapping brush strokes. This is what I love about painting. Making all the puzzle pieces of nature’s complexity in front of me all fit together. I get a rush from this simple pleasure.
Once the architecture is established I moved to a different spot on the rooftop where one of the most fantastic sunsets unfolded in front of me, and I went for it. I am fairly happy with the result, but I wish I designed the clouds a bit better. Its difficult when everything changes so quickly.
After painting Bekkah and I take a cab to our last dinner together, most likely ever.
In retrospect, I came to Cairo to leave my bad energy between Bekkah and I here. We had a falling out the last night. I don’t ever want to talk to her again or see her again. She wasted two years of my life while I was in school and I can never forgive her for that. If she didn’t leave me ten days before I arrived back home, I would have given her the most incredible life she could have possibly imagined. What a shame how it had to work out.
I leave for Italy tomorrow. I still have the final stretch to make it out of this god forsaken place. I’m sure I will be fine. I can move on with my life now, and I have found the answers that I was looking for. I know have closure with this dead relationship and I am happy to be moving on. There were many lessons learned, and I am glad to have earned such amounts of wisdom.
And this magic carpet changes colors when you see it from the other side!This is the same magic carpet from the other side. I wish it could fly me away...
For some reason I am unable to sleep in this city during the night time. From what I hear its the pattern of the people. Most Egyptians are up most of the night, and then sleep in until the late morning. I don’t know if its true or not, but thats the rumor. I had Coffee at noon, and left Bekkah’s apartment at 1:30pm I went and got a much needed chinese massage from around the corner, and then went into this awesome Bedouin Trader’s shop which has all kinds of awesome things like oriental rugs from all over the middle east, jewlery, antiques, various trinkets, and decorations, traditional egyptian clothing, and much more. I could fill two pages with things that I saw there, and its all pretty amazing stuff. I dont have the room in my luggage to bring everything back, but I wish I did. It was fun to look around.
Egyptian soda. Drink soda! It just gives you diabetes! Alcohol is good for your heart! SO don't drink it! Flawless logic.
After getting back to the apartment, I went up on the roof and attempted to paint the sunset. It moves quickly and was very difficuly to capture. I started too late un-fortunately, but I shall try again tomorrow. I managed to be out during the citywide prayer. It plays on megaphones throughout the city and its one of the most facinating things to hear. The whole big picture of this place is quite amazing, and I would like to make a large painting about cairo, but I wont be able to do it here. I am guessing I will have to resort to photograph reference of the people and the details that I have captured. Everyone is extremely nice here, and I don’t think I would be bothered on the street very much, but I don’t really want to chance it. Aside from that its too much information to paint here. In this case if I were to make a painting that captures the essence of cairo it would have to be done from memory and photo reference, but not actually copied from photos. I feel that meerly just copying a photo would not come close at all to a compsition that was designed from memory.
Ferral Cat eating poisoned cat food...
After painting I came back to the apartment, and bekkah was wearing these super tight black spandex looking pants, that remind me of a girl from Florence Academy that I shared a studio with, who wore the same exact pants. Of course I have to give her shit for it. It was fun how it escalated. I give her but a few spanks, and she obviously likes it, and tries to retaliate by punching me, and pinching me. I let her punch me in the chest as hard as she could possibly punch, but it was uneffective. I kept telling her to punch me harder and harder, but every time I just laughed. It was good fun. The best part when playing with a woman like this is to get up and walk away, and what naturally happens in their brain is they want to play more. It’s this giving and taking away that drives them crazy. And its alot of fun. I reccomend to the men who are reading this to try it. Its a great way to get out bad emotions, and level the playing field if things have gone sour between the couple. I showed my battle scars that she left me and she is very very gratified. I haven’t seen her smile like that. She is definitely a bit sadistic. Not all girls are but she definitely is.
Burnt Volkswagen Golf near Bekkah's Apartment. I told her about it and she said its has been there for months. Go Egypt. Go Bekkah for actually liking this place....
Tomorrow is wednesday, and I go back to Italy thrusday. I cant wait. I also cant wait to get out of here because its so easy to spend money here because there truthfully is alot of great things here to spend money on. And its all fairly inexpensive, which puts you in the mindset of “I can get this too!” and “I can get that also! Its only 30 Egyptian Pounds!” (Five American dollars)
Trash cleanup crew.... Maybe if they weren't sitting around all the time there wouldn't be so much trash everywhere....
The easiest way to convert money is just to divide the Egyptian pound price by 6. You instantly get the rough price in American dollars. I would have never came here if Bekkah didn’t make this wild decision to move her to teach english and get under paid. She keeps getting mad at me because I keep saying “thats only like eight dollars” or “thats only ten dollars.” She gets paid in Egyptian pounds so she really has to ration her money. She gets paid by the day, and usually she is at home at night grading papers, so she isn’t making much. I would roughly esimate $30.00 per day? Im not sure. She is embarrassed to tell me it seems.
Chevy trucks. Built to withstand... Egypt.... Cool egyptian bike... I want it. Its probably a piece of shit. I still want it.
You have arrived at http://www.nigelrobertson.com somehow, maybe we are Facebook friends, maybe you clicked a link on Twitter, maybe you found me in a google search. Either way! Thanks for visiting! I do my best to post fresh new content about, firstly ART, and then everything else after that, like travel, and food and drink, or whats going on with my life, or things that I find facinating, like the refinement of Linseed Oil.
