Wulf's Webden

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30 January 2023
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Van Gogh and Colour

Following yesterday’s post about our visit to the Van Gogh experience, I wanted to return to the subject of his use of colour. In the first part of his career, he used a distinctly muddy palette, almost as if he was dipping his brush in the mud of the lowland fields where he was working. Later on, he established an approach that amplified colour, making vibrant choices that made no pretence at mere representation but stepped straight into expressionism (Van Gogh is widely regarded as the inspiration of the early 20th century expressionist movement).

The exhibition presented two conflicting theories of why his colours were so intense. In the ‘documentary’ section, it was suggested that he was partially colour-blind and painted brightly because he couldn’t distinguish between subtler shades. Poppycock and balderdash, say I. Van Gogh studied colour and the work of the French Impressionists. There were clear precepts for painting in response to what one sees and exploiting the growing understanding of optical science and colour perception. I think that the suggestions he couldn’t see colour is wrong and demeaning to both the artist and to the many who have followed further on those paths.

In another room (the opportunity to make your own artwork after the projected ‘immersive’ experience) there was a quote from Van Gogh about colour. Unfortunately, I didn’t jot it down but it conveyed very clearly that colour was a major strand in his work not because he struggled to see it but because he understood using it as part of the very essence of a painter’s craft.

I’m rather partial to a different theory, which does explain why his sense of colour changed, presented on the Artnome website. They suggest that the data gleaned from his paintings and the locations they were created points to a straightforward explanation. It was simply the move from more often overcast northern European climes to the bright and sunny south of France. I think there was an element of deliberate choice as well but, if you’ve ever spoken to an artist about the value of ‘light’ in different places, the location theory seems to having something going for it.

29 January 2023
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The Van Gogh Experience

Last Friday, Jane and I visited the Van Gogh ‘immersive experience’ in Leicester. I’m a fan of both Van Gogh’s work and digital experimentation so I was surprised to find that I didn’t love it quite as much as I had expected.

Part of the reason was embarrassingly prosaic. The venue, an old church, was not well equipped with toilets. Between the large coffee I’d had for breakfast and the chill of an old stone building, I did find myself on the build up to busting for a pee. That isn’t a fair reason to judge the exhibition poorly although it is a very practical consideration and the lack of facilities wasn’t one I’d anticipated.

It was more than that though. The hub of the presentation relies on projecting images onto surfaces – the walls of the church and other ones that have been added. There were some very impressive graphics, including a lot of trompe l’oeil effects. However, rather than immersing me in Van Gogh’s mastery of the painted canvas, I found that it separated me from that. The still images were relatively small scale and didn’t convey the energy of his painting style; the large, projected ones were too fast moving to dwell on.

Reflecting on what I felt, I decided my problem was that someone else was spoon-feeding me their pre-digested version of what Van Gogh was about. Not only that but their vision missed many points of what has fascinated me about his life. Where, for example, was his Christian faith and his attempts to put that into practice? He was exalted as an artistic ‘divinity’ and, to my eyes, not given his place as a troubled but precious human.

I wouldn’t say it was a wasted visit but I came away with a greater sense of the value of studying an artist’s work either through high resolution digital reproductions (where you can get a sense of the brushwork and technique) and, better yet, seeing the canvases directly.

28 January 2023
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Plough Singaround – 28 January

Another sing-around at The Plough Inn this afternoon. It was a busy session with lots of musicians so, in the end, I only needed to lead on a couple of pieces:

  • Medley: Ain’t She Sweet / Five Foot Two / Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
  • Jolene

I took the ukulele today although Kev had his electric bass so I switched to that for quite a lot of the jamming along with other people’s songs.

The next one should be on 11 February although I’m out at a music workshop on the other side of Leicester that day so I think I’ll be giving it a miss.

27 January 2023
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Frost Patterns

It is a bit chilly again this morning but not as much as last Sunday when I had some beautiful frost patterns on the window of my little studio room:

Frost Patterns - 2
Frost Patterns

There are a couple more to be seen if you click through the image above to my Flickr site. The photos were taken with my Vivitar 90mm macro lens at f/5 and I have done a little post processing work to enhance the sharpness and contrast.

25 January 2023
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Practising to be spontaneous

That sounds like an oxymoron but I think it is necessary. At the moment, I’m pondering how to encourage my worship team to lean more towards more spontaneity but just turning up with a list of songs and saying “I may play some of these but I can’t tell you in which order yet” is too big a step. I’ve been in settings where that was the case but those are typically ones I’ve stepped into. Some musicians, including myself, find it a relatively comfortable approach but, for many, it is a nightmare. Even for myself, my quick-shifting vocabulary is a bit rusty and, if I can’t rely on the rest of the band to cover the gaps, the road will be full of pot holes.

So, the solution is going to have to be working towards practised spontaneity!

24 January 2023
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Thinking While Playing

In a recent discussion thread on the Scott’s Bass Lessons forum, a suggestion was given of producing an audio or video commentary on what is going through your head while playing bass. Here is a video I filmed and edited tonight, showing how I navigated the bass part for Charnwood Concert Band’s rehearsal of Karl Jenkins’ Palladio:

23 January 2023
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Feeding at the Falcon

We had a lovely meal out tonight with my work colleagues and their spouses at The Falcon in Long Whatton. Not only was the food tasty but the portions were generous. I was envious of the fish and chips (whale sized pieces!) although my slightly smaller shepherd’s pie (packed with slow-cooked lamb shoulder rather than mince) was ample after the great big pot of chicken liver pate that came for my starter. Good service too.

22 January 2023
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Scrabbling

In theory, you might have thought I would be the household Scrabble champion. University educated and with a long history of supporting local libraries (or a serious book habit, depending on how you look at it). It is only fair to admit that Jane can beat me hands down. We’ve had a couple of games with one of our neighbours recently too and he has also been down at my end of the scoresheet.

I think this is an excellent example of the value of practise. Jane has spent lots of time playing the game since she discovered a Scabble-esque app on her phone a couple of years ago. Practise, practise, practise and she has the appropriate vocabulary and a keen eye for where to place her tiles on the board.

20 January 2023
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Dutch Oven Bread

One way to bake bread is to use a dutch oven – a heavy iron cooking pot with a lid. The idea is that keeps the bread enclosed in a smaller area and so, rather than trying to fill the whole oven with steam, you can just rely on the water vapour from the bread itself to keep the surface flexible during the expansion stage. If you don’t do that, the bread has a tendency to rise too fast and bulge out in some unexpected place, even if you have slashed it quite deeply.

I tried it today and it did work quite well. I let the dutch oven preheat a bit and I had already lined it with some baking parchment. After about ten minutes, I popped the bread in and put the lid on. After twenty minutes of cooking, I took the bread out and put it back in just sitting directly on my breadstone to finish colouring up.

Generally, it worked well. Total oven time was about the same – longer overall cooking made up for less time spent on preheating. The main downside was the the result was a round loaf – attractive but not the ideal shape for some purposes. I’ll have to see if my loaf tin will fit inside the dutch oven. If so, that would control the shape and perhaps I could batch out two or three loaves at a time, cooking one inside the dutch oven while the previous one is finishing off alongside it?