Learned a valuable lesson on Saturday about getting from Harlem to the south of Manhattan - leave your self more time than you think is needed and get the Subway. By all means get an 'express' bus which stops every ten blocks but make sure you know where it's going to let you off! Trying to get to West 8th Street via the Blick Art store on Bleeker St without really being sure of one's bearings is a recipe for getting completely lost. Ending up below 1st Street, then a subway station later somewhere in China Town in the opposite direction than that desired is the result.
The closure of the Bronx Line due to the ongoing Wall Street demonstration and thwarted attempt to march across the Brooklyn Bridge (which resulted in 700 arrests) added to the confusion. Miraculously by following my nose and the crowd of other people I got to NYSS only 30 minutes late.
The second painting lesson was good and I remembered why it is always good to be on time or early - you can help direct the model back to an approximation of the position from the previous week. Not to worry it's a great exercise changing the whole thing again and getting stuck in all over again.
Having seen so much gutsy painting during the week gave the psychological permission to go for it. This week Clintel had books again on Cezanne plus Giacometti. I love Giacometti's painting and had seen a few in the Met. The basis I think to Clintel's passion for painting is the aim to be very responsive in a direct way, unimpeded by cerebral concerns. He mentioned allowing maybe 20 minutes to work out one area and then move across or out from that area. To try and keep the whole composition alive is one of the most important things, and the other is to lay the colour down like it's the only opportunity you'll have. No 'mamby pamby' uncertainty, just respond and move and then respond again. I guess there is the challenge of translating his way of putting his passion for colour and paint into words.
He asked if he could have a go on my work - my students in Albury would understand this - and it was great to see how he handled the paint and then applied it with such gusto and confidence. You learn so much through your eyes rather than only your ears. I haven't taken any images of the painting but it's a great learning exercise and I'm looking forward to next week, our last week on this work. I will be there early ready to be as boomy boomy as I can.
The effort of getting home by one bus then another and another in the cold, wet rain is another story.
No matter, Sunday started out sunny again and our destination was the High Line in West 14th Street. This is a beautiful garden developed along the site of the old elevated railway. I may even get there one day. The Union Square shopping area got in the way. Firstly the Whole Food Supermarket and Cafe is worth a visit - you can find yummy healthy food at a good price and eat it upstairs looking across to the Empire State Building.
Next door is another reality in the DSW (Discount Shoe Warehouse) and Filene's - the bargain basement store that grew into a multi-level string of stores where you are guaranteed a bargain on designer labels.
However after 45 minutes in what turned out to be only the DSW (I never got to Filene's) I put back everything I had piled into a HUGE bag kindly supplied by one of the helpful assistants. I was glad to wait out on the pavement for my much tougher shopping companion. Watching the endless stream of people was much better.
Exhausted we were torn between home and a movie where we could sit for 2 hours. The movie won, the High Line was forgotten and the movie, 'Contagion', featured Laurence Fishbourne of Mod Squad fame, Gwynneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon and Jude law doing a dreadful Australian accent. He was the bad boy in the dreadfully grim scenario about the next world pandemic, a spin off from SARS. But why a Brit was cast as an Aussie bounder was hard to fathom and stomach.
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