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Greetings,

Welcome once again to my Painting of the Week column.

Today we will lean back a few years and grab a painting.

It was just after the time of our first Maslenitsa in Lipetsk. Maslenitsa is the festival right before Easter when Russians everywhere burn 'old lady winter' in effigy. As a non-lover of winter, I think it's a great festival concept.

As Americans we were more than amazed at the scope of the event. We visited the Bykhanov Cad park variant of the festival. The rides were going, dancers and vocalists in folk costumes were doing their part, the shashlik cookers were cooking, people were having picnics on park benches, children were running around with balloons on strings - did I mention the temperature and the snow? What a fun festival!

That brings us to a musician who wasn't necessarily part of the program, but he was making his music anyway. We've come to find out he makes music all over the city, and people just seem to gravitate to him.

--Small sidebar here:  this past Oktoberfest, the cafe we wanted to partake of was booked solid so we hopped on a bus to go up the hill to another. There on bus #315 was the accordion guy with a bunch of friends, playing and singing music. What Fun! And where-oh-where is the camera when you truly NEED it??!!

Anyway, this week's painting of the week is indeed the same man, in the painting Festival Keys.

A bit of color, you ask? You betcha.

And so you mix all that excitement together, and sometimes a painting comes out.  :) Festival Keys. And your link for a zoomable view.

I thank you for stopping by to read!

Whoa! Did I hear one of you say "but what about burning the old lady winter?"

Yes! That can happen too. The following link will take you to my youtube page where she burns in awesome splendor  :)

Enjoy!  youtube link

PS-until I just now watched it again, I'd forgotten all about the greased pole climbing contest.....

Greetings,

You caught that title, right? All Things Giusto?

Let me explain.

Considering the language barrier early on in the adventure, Lipetsk, enjoying normal entertainment venues was (трудный) difficult (!!) to say the least. It seems that restaurants and cafes were an easier wall to surmount. In fact, they became a GREAT form of entertainment.

Let me rave about Lipetsk dining for a moment, please?

Our apartment is within walking distance of several wonderful restaurants and cafes. They employ chefs instead of fry cooks. They make the presentation of each dish an art form. The servers do NOT make mistakes, and they quietly do their jobs, not feeling it necessary to chat you up for tips. They don't say outdoor dining, they say veranda, and yes, most of our faves do that in the summertime as well. And the clincher of course is that it's all pretty darn affordable. An appetizer for two, main dishes, bread basket, and bottle of wine might hit $30 USD. Did I mention the wine would be from Spain or Italy, instead of mass produced California stuff?

Yup, GREAT entertainment!

And the best of the best, in the restaurant/cafe category, Lipetsk? Giustos.

I have a zillion and one reference photos and sketches. They've made it into two paintings, so far. As I said there will undoubtedly be more when I find the time....

Let me share visually please?

Yup, that's Giustos.

And here's one interpretation, with it's handy link to the zoom view  (link)

and a blog post at the time of creation  link  

I will confess that I am having fun going back through this bit of history  :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Karen

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, AND the Painting of the Week.  (a quick link for my Painting of the Week page in entirety)

Yes, still in Lipetsk, but we are getting antsy, just so you know!

When I started this page on my website, I alluded to maybe normal people would have started with the first painting painted in Lipetsk.

By now you know, I went a different route  :)

But here we are with week number two on the screen, and I decided to look back: what WAS the first painting I painted in Lipetsk?

What was impacting me at the time?

The park.

You knew that, right? I have talked about Bykhanov Cad park mostly forever, and probably will, well into the future.

But what a magical place it's been for us during our years spent in Lipetsk., and fitting I think, that when I go back through my archives, the FIRST painting I painted in Lipetsk has it's roots there in the park.

I had written this in 2014:

"How much fun is that?  They sell rides for these little cars, and kids ride them around the big circular flower bed at the center of the park.  They seem to be plenty popular with 4-8 year old boys  :) "

I am happy to report that this painting "Future Speeding Ticket" resides in Nebraska, but here is it's link for a nice zoom view.

It was also the time for my first notes about visiting the city of Penza:

"Tomorrow, we begin a three day journey to&back from Penza.  My muzh says it's a way colorful city, and I'd be crazy not to take advantage of his offer for me to tag along on the trip :)  Ha.  He got me with the phrase "way colorful city"."

But that's a story for another day!

Thanks for reading,

Karen

Greetings, 

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Lipetsk.

I just watched an old (er) Nikolai Blokhin video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnsVsKkJp1Y

As we finish up our 4 1/2 years of living in Russia, and prepare to return to the US, I am wondering how it will be, and how  to deal with, the American gallery perspective of art.

Where a dozen pieces of blue tissue paper crumpled into Hershey's kisses shapes, and lined up in two rows on a piece of cardstock, claims to be art.

Where a grotesque face in garish colors is put forth as cutting edge art - but where at least one of us suspects, that the creator would like to create an image that actually SAYS something, but knows that he/she does not have the skills and training to do so.  Nor the ambition and perseverance to go there.

Where art critics and curators assemble meaningless exhibits, so that they can write/speak great volumes that show their learnedness, our implied lack of same, and therefore, keep their jobs secure.

I see sparks of an ache for something more, something better in American art. I cheer for those artists and galleries who chart their course for excellence. Go watch the video, and feel free to comment back.

I think American gallery visitors deserve something better than pieces of crumpled blue paper on cardstock.

Wow. And it's Monday morning - I must need another cup of coffee  :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Karen