Rhine River #4

New Art: 

6" x 4" oil of neighbor's flowers

Art Purchased: You might remember this from our fall re-positioning cruise. Purchased from a waterfront kiosk in Malaga, Spain, the birthplace of Picasso. This fan was done by a local artisan in the style of Pablo Picasso. Finally got it up on my wall in the studio. The "other artists" wall. 

Art Found: 

This was one of my first attempts when I started to paint again after moving to Fort Myers. An acrylic on water color paper, approximately 4 x 6. Wanted to learn how to paint palm trees. Recently had a chance to photograph it when visiting a friend. 

Reading:  Just finished The Widow Spy - period biography of the first female CIA case worker in Russia. But first, her CIA husband was shot down in Laos during the Vietnam War. Interesting journey, light read (meaning not as intense as A Secret Life). Started 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson. I love his uTube interviews; however, the book, for me is really dense, meaning I need to re-read some of the analytical paragraphs 2 and 3 times. Started Apostle, not sure if I will stay with it. The Pope Speaks, Pope Pius XII - I have the book because it has a photo of when the Harlem Globetrotter made their first world tour; my Uncle Joe was on one of three college all star teams that traveled as part of the tour and the book has a photo of the team with PP. You can see Joe in the back right, the blond flattop. Since I had it, I read several sections of his writings that interested me. One in particular was: (and remember that this was written prior to 1957 when the world seemed to be a much tamer place: "To breathe in the corrupt atmosphere of great modern cities and live a Christian life without absorbing their poison, one needs a profound spirit of faith and the strength and resistance of martyrs". Couple of art book re-reads such as John Sloan 1871-1951 - you can see his influence on my Mizzou teacher, Frank Stack; Painting In Oils, and Drawing on the Artist Within.

Remember, you can enlarge/open up the photos by clicking on it. 

Listening To: Italia by Chris Botti; Unmasked - The Platinum Collection - 4 discs of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs; Queen's Live Magic - mostly so I could hear Radio Ga-Ga; and The Crown Jewels - a collection of duets between Aretha Franklin and guest artists. 

Rhine River Cruise:  Continued. During WWII, when you look at strategic cities such as Amsterdam, Cologne, Koblenz, Frankfurt, approximately 80 percent of the structures were destroyed by Allied bombs and in combat. Not only by Allied armies but the Germans destroyed, for example, bridges so they could not be chased. I expected to hear negative comments by the tour guides, it didn't happen, but it dawned on me that rebuilding Europe provided jobs for the survivors for the next 30 years, and we paid for it. Moreover, I, the amateur psychologist, think that it provided survivors the opportunity to think that the old structures were the "old" Germany and they were the new generation, not like "them".  Nevertheless, in these cities there is little of the old Germany. Some buildings were built "in the style of" their predecessor, a few were duplicates of, say a 1935 version of a structure, and especially in Frankfurt, many "modern" styles were used. See the Cologne art museum. While Allied planes tried not to harm historical structures such as the Cologne cathedral, our bombs were not very precise. And, in this case, the cathedral was located next to the train station. Try as they might, almost no damage was inflicted on the train station but you can see in the photos what happened to the nearby cathedral. It was almost like they should have said "Whatever you do, don't aim for the train station!" In closing, I guess what I think is this is what happens when you attack our friends and millions of defenseless Jews, priests and nuns, gypsies, etc. 

Cologne:

Cologne Cathedral, one of the top 3 in the world

Goes up and up, reaches for the heavens

WW II destruction

Interior blown out

The old, and

The new - their art museum next to the cathedral

Koblenz: My father's mother, Dorothy Heidger, was raised in the Valmeyer, Il area. Her ancestors came over from Koblenz during their version of a potato famine, around 1854 according our my records. I found 2 meat market/butcher shops and one architectural firm with the Heidger name in this town of approximately 112,000. Hope to contact them to see if they are family. Long-shot, but hey, I'm retired and have nothing else to do. 

This is how small the town was when my ancestors left. 

Town square

I was the talk of the cruise when I re-boarded wearing my new shirt!

typical street

"Advent" building, each day in Dec they open another window.

Tribute to US troops liberation

Waterfront at conjunction of two rivers

Monument to ...

Next blog I will try to finish up the cruise, and should have many new pieces of art from my recent trips. Will be in Saint Louis in October, looking forward to catching up with friends.

Rhine River cruise #3

New Art: 

Remember, you should be able to enlarge the photos by clicking on.

Untitled. This is the first time I painted a piece specifically for a show. It is juried so I won't know if I am accepted until September 25. It will be at the Alliance For The Arts in Fort Myers. The theme is Die de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). 16" x 20" oil on canvas board. The categories will include sculpture, painting, photography, prints, and drawings. I had to research what is celebrated in Mexico, South America and parts of the US. The use of symbols, family ties, etc.  I decided to try a collage approach rather than one view. We shall see.

Art Purchased:

 This is an oil by Doug Michalski, a fellow member of Punta Gorda's Visual Arts Center, unique style. Former art school teacher.

Lemon Bay Garden Club

Humor:

























Listening To:
While painting this week, listening to Chris Botti - Regroovable and the album Italia; Phoebe Snow - enjoyed the words to Poetry Man and the whole package of McCartney's Every Night. I like it more than his version. Tonight I just want to stay in...and be with you.

Cruise - Xanten, Duisburg, Dusseldorf:

The path we took is below. Next up will be Cologne, Engers, Koblenz, and the Rhine Gorge where we cruised past about 18 castles. As I will mention later, we did not dock in Wiesbaden, but closer to  Frankfurt in Mainz

Xanten is a small town founded by Romans in 15 BC. This was the first time I noticed that they have to clarify BC or AD, in the US we don't have to worry about that, do we? Primary site is an archeological park. It was somewhat disappointing in that only the foundations are the real thing - all structures are recreated guesses. And, it was the hottest day - an elderly couple from Bristol had to bail as his pacemaker was set off from the heat. Some enjoyed a bike tour along the river. In the evening we returned to the town for a Lantern Tour with a Night Watchman...some duplication from the afternoon but a heck of a lot cooler. 

Some have asked about the ship. This is the info we received when we boarded. While it will accommodate 138 passengers, we only had 98, which made for enjoyable spacing, whether at dinner, in the lounge or boarding the ship after a land excursion. Low water levels are a problem in the summer months. We had to take an abnormal route from Amsterdam's harbor to the Rhine river, using a lock system. At one point we had approximately 14" clearance. I was told that a cruise on the Danube had to dock and convert to motor coach. The crew was mostly from Romania and Slovakia; The cruise director from Italy.

Avalon Felicity

Residence near the cathedral

Restaurant at the dock as you head in to town

Across the drive from the other residence.

This is their cathedral, restored from WWII

Duisburg:

Here I joined a group for a several mile hike around recovered lands from coal mines. The photo is at the top of a viewing tower. The Zollverein coal mine is the last coal mine in Germany. They are closing this fall as the mine is too deep to work, they will start importing coal from...Australia. Yykes. Much of Europe's steel is produced here. After the hike we were treated to a 45 minute motor coach view of the city. Linda took a separate culinary walk in the heart of the city.

Dusseldorf:

 Only a short distance up river, this is a more vibrant city. The waterfront is active and accessible. We took a hour, hour and half walk around, along the waterfront, into the high-end shopping district, through the city park and back to the ship. We were graced by a visit from our Au Pair, Claudia. She watched the boys when we lived in Maryland outside of DC. She now lives in Munster and has three children of her own. Great visit on board. Best part of the trip. 

Waterfront walking away from the ship

Across the Rhine from the dock and downtown

Behind these buildings is the shopping district

Several buildings had cut-outs with greenery

Photo by Linda; bubble man drew quite a crowd.

Amsterdam Into Germany on the Rhine River

Amsterdam Into Germany on the Rhine:
Remember, you can click on the photos to enlarge.

Amsterdam waterfront from our hotel at dusk

This photo did not capture the magic of its lighting

Iconic "Night Watch" by Mr R. in the Rijks

We took a ride through the countryside, about 30 minutes, to see the windmills. Some still work grinding paint colors for artists and grain. They also make cheese there. I purchased a type of cheddar with a slight, gentle orange after-taste. Very good. It was important to understand the canal system (Miami take note as the sea level rises) and the culture that still inhabits this area. A minor hi light - low lite was the taxi attempting to shortcut the turn into the parking lot as the motor coach made its necessary wide right turn. Approximately 100 cell phones came out to take photos of the damage to the vehicles and the ensuing discussion between the drivers. The motor coach won this battle by the way. 

Museums Visited:

The Sted (Impressionists to today) was my favorite; The Van Gogh was magical, The Rijks was a little disappointing only that it had limited 20th century art; however, it had more than paintings, including some intricate veneered tables and chests, a wonderful library, porceline, and the just sheer volume of works. Nice garden also. 

It's garden

The Rijks

I call this statue "The Naughty Jesus"

We enjoyed a canal tour and walking tour in Amsterdam:

These parked house boats cost in excess of $500,000 and they pay a high rent to dock. 

Typical canal shot

Notice the wavy windows? A sinking feeling.

Not so enjoyable but necessary: 

The Stumbling Stones project is relatively new; it marks the last residence of known Jews who were rounded up to transport to their death at a concentration camp. They are approximately 1/4" thick above the paving stones. Most are in the Jewish quarter/market area. It is an on-going project as information becomes available.

Stumbling Stones Project

Anna Frank house on the left

In closing, some photos of my illegal garden between the condo grounds and the nature preserve - can't help myself. Next blog will cover the overall trip agenda, info on the boat, and stops in Xanten, Duisburg and Dusseldorf. Cologne and Koblenz will probably have their own page before finishing up with the castles on the Rhine, smaller towns, a castle tour, and then finishing up with our day in Frankfurt from where we flew back to The States. 

Backyard summer flowers:

Back In The States

Art Updates:

You can click on the photos and they will enlarge for you, or you can pinch them open if viewing on your phone.

If you remember from a past post, I purchased what turned out to be 9 paintings from the guy who claims to paint 100 per day. For $70, including S & H, he chose the selections. I decided to hang them outside facing the pool since they are on plywood. I varnished them and here they are. 

This month I submitted the Chatahootchie River II oil in the August Members show at The Alliance For The Arts in Fort Myers, and Sunrise Poolside in the August show at Bonita Springs Center For The Arts. You can see those in the last post or two.

Working on one piece for an Alliance show in October. I have never created a piece for a specific show. Working under pressure is supposed to make me grow - we'll see. And, now that I have many, many photos and thoughts from the trip, I need to start putting ideas to paper. 

Weather Report:

You might have heard about the baseball size hail that fell in Colorado Springs while we were on the trip. This is a picture of some damage at Fort Carson:

And Now The Trip:

If you remember, we flew to Amsterdam, purchased several extra nights, and then boarded the Avalon Felicity to cruise up (south) the Rhine River to Mainz, which is a bedroom community for Frankfurt. The Big Money cruisers kept going to Basel or Budapest; some flew or drove to Munich, Berlin, or back to Amsterdam. It was a relaxing pace and nice to not have to change hotel rooms. We took advantage of many side excursions, saw a special person in Germany, and met some interesting cruisers. Linda's brother and his wife joined us. Food was too good and plentiful - I gained 8 pounds in 11 days. So far I have lost 5 of those. I thought I would feature a portion of the trip this week and add more in my next blog. 

Fresh off the plane, a local coffee shop with Dutch Pancakes

View from the shop

Train station at the harbor

Above photo taken from the tower on left side of this photo

Van Gogh, last work on my exit

Along the Amstal River

Along the river

Avalon Felicity