Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Abandoned Windmill


Traveling through the rural countryside of Portugal, I came upon this abandoned windmill -- a relic from another age.  Many of these old windmills are now being renovated and used as homes or holiday accommodations.  The interest in organic and natural foods has also led to some of them being refurbished and used once again to grind corn into meal.



"Abandoned Windmill"   10" x 14"   Watercolor






Occasionally I have a studio visitor (grandson) who makes good use of my watercolor setup and shows me how it's done.





5 comments:

  1. Lovely watercolor. It doesn't get any better than visits by grandchildren!

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  2. Beautiful painting. The way you've handled the curved wall - the dark shifting to light -- reminds me of your Portuguese geranium pots. The master watercolor artist Ogden Pleissner did a series of Portuguese windmill paintings in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Algarve region.

    No matter what he eventually does in life, I'm guessing the times in your studio will remain a treasured memory for your grandson.

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    1. Thank you, Steve! I'm a big Ogden Pleissner fan but was not aware that he had painted windmills in Portugal. I will be sure and look for those online.

      Great memories for his grandfather too!

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  3. James, I couldn't find Pleissner's windmills in a quick Google search. They appear in the 1984 book by Peter Bergh, The Art of Ogden M. Pleissner...worth tracking down used or from a library.

    I just entered grandparenthood (twice!) this past year. Looking forward to the girls being the age of your grandson.

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