google art project

This amazing project gives access to most of the greatest world art collections, in great detail.
It is possible to zoom right in to see brushstrokes. For example, Seurat is known for his pointillist form of creating colours by little separate marks which the eye then combines into one(ish) colour, and using the google programme shows exactly how he did this, probably even more than if I were standing in front of the painting.

I have been studying optical colour mixing, as it is called, and so this example just comes to mind, but there is SO MUCH more to discover and I am looking forward finding my way around this unbelievable and brilliant (free) facility. It is really interesting for painters in particular.

Have had a busy January, was away in London for a bit catching up with movies, theatre and dance, visiting relatives, recovering from the snowblitz we had in Scotland over Christmas and New Year. Spent lots of time in British Museum while in London. I am convinced many of objects in there still retain their original power of transporting humans to a higher or at least a different world.

I visited the London 2012 site one chilly morning with a group and a well-informed guide. Lots of politics around it, but given good weather on the day, it looks like being a beautifully designed success. The construction is well ahead of schedule apparently.

At present I am enjoying being able to get to my workshop without Arctic equipment, hopefully will not need same again this winter, dare I mention. Much satisfaction this week in doing a one-to-one class in lithography with the highly expert head technician at Edinburgh Print Workshop, although it is still a complicated technique, and I do not for a moment assume my struggle to "master" it is complete.

Will try to get some pictures into this post in due course. Happy New Year to any readers!