Primavera and Botticelli

note the grass dotted with wild flowers, the floral motif on the dress of the maiden at the right

 

After so many weeks of dark days and torrential rains and no painterly inspiration, today is splendid! A strange and beautiful day. In the early morning we started out to attend a funeral, alas, but  the sun, ablaze in the most pure blue sky ever,  eased  the sadness of our journey. A brief service. .  . simple . . . a reminder that our existence is temporal, that the joy and beauty of life should be our guide . We had the usual Saturday grocery shopping to do, supplies for the week, etc.,etc. But suddenly I wanted to take a detour. Since we were near one of the most important Medici villas in Florence, we decided to make a stop there to basque a little in the warmth of this premature sun and to see the gardens which, as I remembered, at this time of year are a joy of spring flowers; blue hyacinths, tiny red anemones, yellow daffodils and miniature tulips, white, red, violet, all mixed haphazardly with the grass or in formal rows hidden in  niches created by the  boxwood hedges. Think of the garden depicted in the Primavera by Botticelli. This garden must have been in his mind as he painted.

I wanted to take pictures,  closeups of these flowers, to immortalize details of this enchanted garden but, as usual, no camera! (sigh. . . the story of my life) The next best thing was my husband's cell phone but even that is useless because I can't seem to download them. Until I have better photos, I have posted some that are pertinent to the garden I saw today.

full view of the formal garden

Cold Wax

my first try with cold wax medium

During the past months, after  reading about  cold wax medium in many artist's blogs, my curiosity and desire to try this technique has increased beyond measure . . . UNTIL. . . I was happy to find that artist Rebecca Crowell, http://rebeccacrowellart.blogspot.it/ has published a website treating this material and  revealed  the consistency of the medium including a simple explanation on how to make it. http://www.coldwaxpainting.com/

 What is really a coincidence is that I remembered that I have, in my vast collection of jars, bottles, tins, etc., a jar of this very medium, bought years ago but hardly used, and with another name. I only just put two and two together.
                                                                                  



This is MY jar of cold wax called here"Venetian Medium for oil colors" (Medium Veneziano per colori a olio)  made with beeswax and natural balsam oils, a soft, translucent paste with a luscious odor of turpentine and wax. Behind the jar (in the photo) is a chunk of beeswax that I also had in the studio.

The recipe for the cold wax medium calls for 1/3  beeswax and 2/3 turpentine. The wax is melted over hot water, not over a direct flame, then cooled slightly before adding the turpentine. As the mixture cools down a lovely, soft, paste takes form. And I have tried it finally!!

The beeswax has to be cut into small pieces (a hammer is necessary) to speed up  the melting process and is weighed to create the right proportions.

Then the wax is melted  over hot water and left to cool.




This is the final result. A lovely, translucent paste that   is  used with oil paints and/or natural dry pigments.








                                                 Below are my first trials with this new medium.

                                                   

 I can see why there is so much enthusiasm. The colors, applied one over another, scraped away revealing the underground, create a surface that is thick with matter. The above pieces are details of a larger painting started in the past which I am reworking in this new medium and having a great time just playing with it.

New Website

 I just finished and published my new website  and wanted to share it with you. It has been a long and tedious process but I hope it turned out well.  Would love some input. Now I can get back to the serious part of my life.... painting!!!!

http://contempoaryartist.wix.com/sylvia-b-teri

Valentine's Day

The courtyard of the Bargello  Museum

How really fortunate I am to live in Florence, Italy, where every street and every square takes you through a page of an art history text.  This morning, with a group of friends, I visited the Bargello Museum which houses primarily sculpture . . . and what sculpture!! From medieval masterpieces to works by Donatello, Michelangelo, Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, and Della Robbia just to mention a few.

We are having a mild winter and today, I'm sure, as a St.Valentine Day gift, the sun is shining and the temps were very mild considering that we are in the month of February. This was a valentine from me . . to me!! (and to you!).

Amazing staircase in the courtyard

 Unfortunately, no photographs  can be taken inside the museum, only in the courtyard.

The Bargello, also known as the Bargello Palace, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People) is a former barracks and prison, now an art museum.

The palace was built to house first the Capitano del Popolo and later, in 1261, the 'podestà', the highest magistrate of the Florence City Council. This Palazzo del Podestà, as it was originally called, is the oldest public building in Florence.
 

note the coat of arms on the wall

 It was also employed as a prison; executions took place in the Bargello's yard where my pictures were taken until they were abolished by Grand Duke Peter Leopold in 1786, but it remained the headquarters of the Florentine police.

Fountain decoration in marble

This museum  is a MUST during your visit in Florence.

Della Robbia glazed terracotta rosone

Various coat of arms on the walls of the courtyard

Preparation of the Canvas

Conversation - oil on canvas - 50x70cm

Measuring Space - oil on canvas -50x70cm

For  these (and most all of my paintings) the canvas was prepared using gesso (plaster of Paris) mixed with  rabbit skin glue, the formula for  preparation used by artists during the Renaissance. I was careful to create areas of thick material to inscribe the geometric forms and the   lines of my figures.

Rabbit skin glue comes in a dry granular form that is dissolved  in hot water. When completely melted the gesso is added slowly, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles  creamy yoghurt. Using a spatula or brush it is then applied to the canvas. This preparation seals the canvas (usually linen) and helps it to "stretch". When dry, it forms a protective coating for the canvas where your painting medium, whether it be oil, acrylic, wax, etc,etc, can be applied easily.

Measuring Space Continues

Figure in Space - oil on canvas - 160x80cm

Another diptych. . .larger. . . geometric forms. . .formulas. . .figure. . .construction of space. . .

A Diptych in Book Form

Measuring Space - A Book  mixed media on canvas - 100x70cm

the cover of my book

I decided to create a book, a sort of manual of measurement, that could be hung in many ways, open, closed, in a corner or moveable on the wall semi-open. The idea is the same: formulas, geometric figures, anatomical forms as well as a figure that is hidden in the colors of space.