257 / strong

such strong landscapes, must be heaven for geologists, too

some of it looks like it just happened

found these mud brick ruins rather mysterious

would like to wander more slowly among them

& go slowly through the hardy little towns

with their optimistic decorations

255 / time

This has taken the longest time: went through the photos from Tibet,

to see if I could get a bit more out of them. It was a hot day, 

& the mac got very hot

They were often through glass on a dusty road, at speed,

which is why I want to do a trip that focuses on photography;

to be fair, theres a set time to each next checkpoint, so we 

could not stop much

But then, yesterday, I frittered away hours trying to get into my blog,

my fault, passwords are in a confusing mess.

I like this country very much, though its the big mountains I want to paint

I'd love to see them in different seasons, too

& meet more of the nomads who live in them,

before they're made to settle.

221 / Topkapi

Here at Topkapi, you know that some of the

skills are still alive

as it seems to have a continuous restoration

happening

& its truly an exquisite palace

I keep returning to the marvellous photographs

of Nuri Bilge Ceylan,

it is a Turkey that one glimpses, even as a visitor

& falls in love with, as in a dream

220 / over time

These photos are from what were originally christian churches,

then maybe mosques, & now museums

its nice to think that all the differences calm down

eventually

the great Sinan was born into a christian family,

obliged to convert, & ended up designing some of the great

masterpieces in Constantinople or anywhere

the above mosaic was inside the curve of a high domed ceiling

- hard to reach -

or perhaps even vandals could appreciate it

& I loved these ceilings, too.

204 / slow fade..

In San Miguel de Allende, I stayed 2 summers in 

this beautiful hotel, the Posada Carmina.

A wonderful old Spanish lady ran it. I had a room with this outlook,

& also a corner room overlooking the street.

I was in my room a lot, painting, & came to love the building,

& Carmina

There was a restaurant below, & a cantina next door.
There is a place named Hotel Posada Carmina,
am doubtful it could still be her; it has been 'upgraded',
unfortunately. It was over 30 years ago..

So was the trip down the Yangtze. The print has been a pinkish brown

all that time (dirty chemicals I suppose) so even photos

reflect the unreliability of memory.

I also enjoy to make changes in memory:
more recently, for the 2nd edition of A Recipe for Dreaming,
I used this as part of one illustration.
click to enlarge

172 / seeing

Got some new glasses, really light to wear.

A friend took me to the Art Gallery at Murwillumbah,

where there were pictures from children, on the subject

'what will we look like in 500 years?' 

Really enjoyed many: the wonder full one above,

a fun robot - amazing how different they all were

(impossible to get without reflections)

I thought this one very unusual, somehow.

Lots of different local schools.

164 / seasons

As on the previous post, its a casuarina tree, 

but in a strong wind

as is the wind surfer.

Today all the local beaches are closed:

yesterday a shark attacked a swimmer, who died.

Over winter, the vines have arranged themselves

into a buddha.

145 / Mogao Caves

A brick, in the Dunhuang museum

torches for the watch tower signals

there may have been captions, I didn't see them 

though I like the notes/lists or whatever they were 

paintings 

& sketches

a Tang horse head with stirrup irons

a good copy of one of the caves, at the museum 

yet nothing prepares for the real thing ~

it was really deeply moving 

to be inside the actual caves

look how even the trees have eyes!

Have wanted to see Mogao since about 40 years.

The Dunhuang Academy is doing their best to restore & 

preserve them; the whole site is truly a great treasure.

132 / xian

Particularly liked this tower in Xian, the old capital,

Chang-an. Although much of the old walls, architecture etc

has been restored to varying degrees, this one 

seemed somehow real,

perhaps its simply its beautiful proportions

As usual, I'd have liked to see it then..

Can't tell you any details, made no notes

There was a pleasant garden around it too

125 / three places

Scheduling posts ahead of time is weird:

the photos are from my Tibet trip last May

these are near the 1922 Everest base camp..

I'm actually in Byron Bay as I write,

yet it will be viewable when I'm in China, on a trip

between Beijing & Kashgar. Time travel of a sort.

108 / impermanence

After a long time stored in less than ideal conditions, these pictures

were returned to me. The sketch above was a trial on draughtsman's linen,

I think it was after a visit to the marvellous Borobudur

It's a bit of a shock to see how badly some paper has foxed.

Even worse, the framers who glued the paper 

or card to a backing board, with rubber solution..

Then there's the history of all the moves, with or

without glass; as they were all painted in gouache,

I suppose its amazing that anything survived

sobering..

another version of 

nothing lasts

.....