2:13 update: a two-fer: while working on the drawing my eye was drawn to a 48x24" collage i started weeks ago. i approached it as a matador his bull, and with gestures, swipes and thrusts i invaded, incised, brushed and rubbed it's surface so that now it looks like this. it's a thing. but is it SOMEthing?
below left: something (in process) 48x24" mixed media on canvas
below right: working on the parade 19 drawing
12:42 update....breakfast with picasso: as usual i had a late breakfast...more like brunch i guess. today i was revisiting the catalogue from a 1994 exhibition we saw at the tate in london: picasso: sculptor/painter. interesting to read the text, below, from julio gonzalez, who quotes picasso as having said to him, re: the period in 1908 when he was making sculpture, "i have never been so content." by the way, what's in the cup is my morning japanese matcha tea. look it up, it has amazing health benefits and a very special taste.
this morning, after clearing the snow from our car (we had a record breaking 12" of snow on christmas and the 26th) i immediately launched into the parade 19 drawing. i'll update you as it progresses.
dersu is second from the left
the real dersu
as i was perusing old files on my imac, i ran across these photos of the actual character that the kurosawa film dersu uzala was based upon: a nomadic, aboriginal nanai tribesman in russia in the early 1900's. based on a 1923 memoir, it explores the theme of a native of the forests who is fully integrated into his environment, leading a style of life that will inevitably be destroyed by the advance of civilization.
it was shot entirely outdoors in the russian far east wilderness, and won the oscar for best foreign film in 1976. it's one of my top 3 favorite films. unfortunately, the copies currently available don't do justice to the stunning cinematography of the original, with it's panoramic views of the majestic landscape. but if you get a chance to see it, in whatever format, DON'T HESITATE!