ART and SOLE CALENDAR CHALLENGE 

OCTOBER 1, 2015 

 I can't imagine that it's October 1st and here in Central New York, it's feeling very Fall-ish. Leaves are crunchy underfoot and the colors of the trees and bushes are turning into vibrant, rich shades of gold, red, rust and brown...it's the most beautiful of our four seasons.

The beginning of each month is "reveal time" for the ART and SOLE CALENDAR CHALLENGE. This month, our task was to:
1- Keep part of the original art in the finished piece
2-Technique- use water, bleach or rubbing alcohol to remove color to create a pattern
3-Add- add something or use the style of a famous artist. Tell us which artist and why you like him/her.

The October artist on my calendar is American painter, John Singer Sargent (1856-1925.) The picture is a portrait of "Mrs. Fiske Warren and Her Daughter Rachel." Here's the original...

and here's my reworked piece based on the art of  Vincent Van Gogh, brilliant but unstable Dutch Post-Impressionist artist. I love his style because of his bold, vibrant, energetic and confident strokes... confident  in spite of his troubled life.

Thanks for checking in...I hope you'll return for my next posting. Stay well... I wish you a happy heart!
Big Hugs,
abbyj  

ARTFUL READERS CLUB

SEPTEMBER: THE DARK MONK

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 

This is the second book in a trilogy by Oliver Potzch. Amazingly, it's based on the author's historical research into his own family tree. What we have is a Bavarian town in 1660 surviving after the Thirty Years War... medieval times. It's winter and a time when most people are indoors at night. So, when a parish priest is poisoned, no one is witness to the deed or to the sign he manages to scratch into the frost before his final breath. He had fallen dead on top of a crypt, under which was  a hidden tomb of a Knight Templar.

The town's hangman (and alternative doctor,) Jakob Kuisl, ascended from a long line of hangmen before him, is very well versed in untangling mysteries as is his daughter, Magdalena and town physician's son, Simon. Add to the mix, the murdered priest's aristocratic sister and we have the investigators!

The search is on for the parish priest's murderer as well as the alleged "fortune" left behind by the Knights Templar. But this group isn't the only gang after this information and legendary fortune. There's also a team of mysterious and treacherous monks always close behind...and highway gangs of thieves roaming the woods and countryside.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did Potzsch's first book, THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER. The reason... the language used. There were an overwhelmingly large number of "modern" terms... almost modern slang" that fit into a book about TODAY, but NOT 1660! It really took away from the medieval feeling of the book and brought it down for me.

On to next month's book....enjoy your month ahead and please do stop by for regular blog postings.

Big Hugs,

abbyj