A Latvian Journey

We arrived at our hotel at around 10pm on 14th September, and had a very late supper. My room was spacious and comfortable, and I sorted all my clothes and belongings before I went to bed. The next day was a busy one. We had a Press Conference at 9am, followed by a visit to the Art School for the allocation of our studios. I found that I was sharing a very large studio with an artist called Heidi P. Next came a visit to an Art Shop, to choose our materials. I was glad I'd brought my own paints, brushes, palette and palette knife, as the choice was limited, and the funds also limited. But I was able to buy some wonderful Russian paints called St Petersburg oil paints.
On the Sunday we had a long trip out into the Latvian landscape, to get a feeling for our new environment. I was glad of this experience because I wanted this sense of place to enter my work. The trip took us to a river for a picnic, to a bread museum (where we tasted homemade Rye bread, and had a huge supper of organic food from the area), and to see the lovely church at Aglona. We walked along a road, lined with sunflowers, and admired ornate, old houses that were part of a museum, and it was like going back in time. Crimson, orange and yellow Cactus Dahlias were bright accents against deep brown earth, and Apple trees encircled small wooden homes.
We were out until late in the evening, and the luscious greens of the landscape were indelibly imprinted on my mind. It is a landscape without fences (unlike Kent, where I live), and colourful houses are scattered across the flat, grassy land like dice thrown across a luminous, green tablecloth. This is a painting inspired by that day's experience.
My next post will describe getting lost in the forest!
('Latvian Journey,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 80 x 70cm. Part of the Mark Rothko Foundation)