Getting sicker. You know what’s good for that? Walking 10 miles looking for statues and bridges. Got to get all this done before the body collapses completely.
Early in the morning, we walked along the docks down to Footdee, where Francis Richardson painted Pocra Quay.
I’m not super excited about this view, but it’s doable, in terms of reproducing in a painting.
We sat down for tea and split a donut at Greggs, then hopped a bus to the university. The modern buildings and dorms were as depressing as anywhere, but the campus by the old part of town next to the river was goddamn magical. There were fairy rings of wildflowers and rough stone roads with cottages covered in ivy. The walk through Seaton Park to find the Wallace monument and the bridge of Balgownie followed a footpath through trees and wild garlic.
The walk was not so successful in terms of finding a site to paint, because the monument was under repair and fenced off, and the foliage around the bridge has grown so you can no longer see anything but branches from the place the artist stood. Took pictures for my report anyway.
Brig O’ Balgownie, by Algernon Talmage
Nailed it
The Wallace Tower, downtown Aberdeen
Actually I could still work with this. (The tower was relocated by Marks and Spencers when they bought the building because they didn’t want it destroyed.)
We rode back into town, had lunch at Nandos, and then I summoned all my audacity to stand discreetly by a wall and take sneaky pictures of shoppers as they walked by so I could paint a modern version of James Giles’ personality studies.
Today the congestion has creeped down into my chest. It’s going to be another walk back to Boots to get cough & cold medicine before this thing really gets a grip on me, but I’m almost ready to settle into the room and paint for a couple days anyway. If the meds do their job (we hid all the potpourri and fragrance oils the host had tucked all over the flat, and opened the windows; it feels like this is just allergies + cold weather, but that can still turn into a chest or sinus infection) today will be one last trip out to see Fraser Castle, then Mike is on his own for a few days while I work one of these sites up into the beginnings of a painting. He’s thinking about riding up to Inverness to get a tattoo. If he gets one on his back right before a 22 hour flight, I will laugh and laugh. We head back on Friday.
It is SO not fair that you've gotten sick. As if life was ever fair. But still.
ReplyDeleteI just love this project. It's sort of like time travel with a little magic stirred in. Also- treasure hunt. I can't wait to see what you paint.