Opus Stratum, New Works

New works by Mike Nichols and Leslie Reuther

The Stratum Series is a group of paintings inspired by our four month residence at Harlaxton College in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. The word stratum refers to layered application of material to create atmospheric works. In Leslie's works, repeated application of paint and graphite alternating between tone and text are used to represent the layers atmosphere and landscape. Mike's works are layered applications of charcoal, fixative and pastel.

These new works are now on display in the Great Hall of Harlaxton College in Lincolnshire, England. On display in conjunction with the "Student Art Exhibit" from Spring 2009.

Pictures from Oxford

Paris!

Nightlights












We climbed the tower of Notre Dame!....TWICE! (Cue the 3 stooges theme song)


Views from the top of Notre Dame











Stain glass from inside Saint-Chapalle





Halo much? (Musee d'Orsey)


The Musee de Louvre


Leslie in front of "The Raft of the Medusa" by Gericault


A view from our hotel window :)

More Art!

Leslie and I went back to London, for a second round of museum hopping. Here are some of the image we saw.

At the National Gallery:

Jan van Eyck "Arnolfini Double Portrait" aka "The marriage of Arnolfini"



Raphael Sanzio "Pope Julius II"



Hans Holbein "The Ambassadors"



At the Courtauld Museum.

Edward Manet "A Bar at the Folies-Bergere"



Paul Cezanne "Still Life with Plaster Cupid"



At the National Portrait Gallery we got to see a fantastic exhibit by Gehard Richter. Oh yeah, James Bond er.. Pierce Brosnan was there too.







We also saw some great art in Edinburgh. Here are some things we saw.

The National Galleries of Scotland

Damien Hirst "Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purposes of Understanding"



Damien Hirst "Away from the Flock"

Vertical Edinburgh

Leslie and I had a great time in Edinburgh! It's the most enchanting place we've been to. It took us a while to get the pronunciation down; we practiced saying it the entire weekend :) (eh-din-bur-ah)



Edinburgh Castle from the West Princes Gardens





A view from the castle walls





The plaza at East Princes Street Gardens







Some fine examples of contemporary Scottish cookie-cutter signage.




Edinburgh was full of pleasant sights and sounds. Every few blocks you could find someone playing the bagpipes.



A view inside Scotland's National Portrait Gallery.




Peeking through the cannon port. To signal the time, a Howizter is fired at 1pm, each day, with very few exceptions. Our tour guide said the Scottish are to frugal to shoot it at noon since it would be twelve times as expensive :)




This is a very special place. It is a cemetary inside the castle for the pets of officers.

Belvoir Castle

On Wednesday Leslie and I visted the Belvoir Castle, which can be seen from our bedroom window at Harlaxton Manor. Although the original castle was Norman (11th cent) it has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. The current structure is from the Victorian era and is home to the Duke and Duchess of Rutland.



From our window :)

















Harlaxton from Belvoir Castle!



Henry VIII meet Leslie the first! Leslie is mimicking the painting of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein. :)

London Fog at Harlaxton

For nearly half the day Harlaxton Manor was veiled in mist. Nature's own Gausian Blurr! I snapped some pics for you to see. Enjoy!

Stonehenge

Roman Baths in Bath, England

Museums in Amsterdam!

While in Amsterdam we saw gobs of art! Here are some of the images seen during the Valentine's Day weekend.

The Rijksmuseum

Rembrandt van Rijn "Self Portrait as a Young Man"



Rembrandt van Rijn "Self Portrait as the Apostle Paul"




Rembrandt van Rijn "The Night Watch"



Jacob van Ruisdael "View of Haarlem"



Johannes Vermeer "Milkmaid"



Johannes Vermeer "Little Street"



Johannes Vermeer "The Love Letter"



Rembrandt House Museum
Mostly a historical site; however, they did have a nice collection of his prints. Here is my favorite.

Rembrandt van Rijn "Self-Portrait, open mouthed" (only 51x46cm)



Van Gogh Museum
Lucky us! We were in Amsterdam for the openning of the exhibition Van Gogh and the colours of the night . We were able to see Starry Night :)

Vincent van Gogh "Room at Arles"



Vincent van Gogh "Starry Night"



Vincent van Gogh "Cypresses"



Vincent van Gogh "Wheat field with crows"

aaaaaaand ....we've seen some art ;)

In addition to the hisotric sites, we've been to countless museums. I'm amazed at the number of artworks that we have seen since arriving in England. We've studied and lived with many of them for years; finally we can see them with our own eyes!

So here are some web-images, none of which are mine, of works we've seen, in British museums!! :)

The National Portrait Gallery

Portraits by Master John
Portrait of Catharine of Aragon (first wife of Henry VIII)



Portrait of Mary Tudor, aka "Bloody Mary", and one of my favorite portraits of all time!



The National Gallery, London
Incredible Musuem. However, many of their hallmark works were on loan, but we plan to see them our next trip in.

"The execution of Lady Jane Grey" by Paul Delaroche



"The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist" by Leonardo da Vinci (Madonna on the Rocks was out for happy hour)



Diego Velazquez "Venus at her mirror"



The Tate Britian

Sir John Everett Millais, "Ophelia"
(A breathtaking work that entranced everyone in the room, and one of Leslie's favorite works!)



The Tate Modern

Incredible! While in London, the Tate Modern had one of my favorite painters on display. It was the first time Mark Rothko's Seagrams works were seen together in one room. They didn't look like much at the beginning, but after our eyes adjusted to the dim lighting we marvelled at the rich layers and subtleties. I was particularly impressed by the built up darks, and especially his black which he used in both glossy and matte. His way of toggling between the two created deep dark passages that chill the bones. The effect is impossible to reproduce photographically so I won't even try! So no black paintings on this blog :) However, my caryatid drawing was hughly influenced after seeing them.

Here are some warm Rothko's.

Amsterdam!!!

Amsterdam's identity is informal and very bike friendly. Every corner is a picturesque canal scene.

Can you imagine a Van Gogh painting inspired by this scene?

..






...

Albert Cuypmarkt, the street and market are named for Albert Cuyp, a 17th century painter. Many street names and squares pay homage to painters, how lovely! We were told that attendance at visual art exhibitions and events are highly attended and regarded with enthusiastic support by locals.


Here we are, busting a pose in front of De Waag, one of Amsterdam's oldest landmarks. A plaque attached to its front wall is the earliest in the entire city, and identifies the house as erected in 1488. De Waag is the remaining part of the original city walls in Amsterdam. Constructed as part of the fortification system, it originally served as one of the city gates. When the city walls were disassembled, a market square was created around it and weighing scales were placed inside the former gate.

Mike's Snow Dance:)

York Teasers!

a few previews of our York goodies!

Buried!

The snow came down all night - and is still coming! The most snow here in 15 years (according to the British faculty)!

Finding our Muse

Leslie drew and painted our window this week! I am happy she let me post them :)









Here is a drawing in various stages of completion. It is a sculpted marble caryatid in the green house.

Stage one


Stage two


Completion!


Detail

Snow!

There is a winter wonderland outside our window at Harlaxton! We are using the latest in hi-tech refrigerating/AC systems; keeping our beverages and yogurt chilled and the two of us comfortable in our room.










If you click this image and look closely you can spot our room window. Check the first "Snow!" pic for a clue!









Lion around on job (oh yes I did)

Topper-Towels!

Western Kentucky University honor students proudly display their Hilltopper-Towels in front of Harlaxton Manor.

Today's Drawing

This was started a couple of days ago. Tonight I had a chance to finish it. I'm gonna twist Leslie's arm to post some of the landscapes she has been working on.

There are several hundred putti hangin around this place - they are begging to be sketched. No seriously....hundreds! :)

Belvoir Castle

From our room window, Leslie and I can see Belvoir Castle (pronounced beaver) on the horizon. Can you find it?

This link gives a closer look at Belvoir Castle from the same angle.
www.oldengine.org/members/dolly/belvoir/belvoir%20castle.jpg

The historic town of Lincoln (Lincoln Cathedral)

On Friday we spent the day in historic Lincoln, England.

Shortly after the Norman Conquest (CE 1066), William the Conqueror ordered the first cathedral to be built in Lincoln, England. This dates to roughly CE 1076. The cathedral has been damaged over the years and even destroyed by fires and earthquakes. The structure features several distinct architectural styles which relate to its chronology.

The norman/romanesque style, is evident by the roman-style round arches on the lower levels of the west facade. Romanesque architecture is characterised by round arches as well as massively thick (load bearing) walls and pillars which support the structures. Architects aspiring to create taller romanesque buildings had to support the additional weight with even thicker walls that contained fewer windows. The result is an increasingly bulky and dark interior.

The cathedral's final form is that of various gothic styles. The earliest of which originated in France at the Church of Saint-Denis.

“I see myself dwelling, as it were, in some strange region of the universe which neither exists entirely in the slime of the earth nor the purity of heaven,” ... “By the grace of God I can be transported.”
- Abbot Suger

In this quote by Abbot Suger, the first patron of the Gothic style, he describes the transcendental effect created by new architectural devices (some were influenced by Islamic technology gained during the Crusades). These devices include a pointed arch rather than a round one, which better directs the weight of the wall downward, as opposed to outward. Unlike the Romanesque's thick pillars, the Gothic style uses clusters of thin columns bound together creating lines that lead the eye upwards vertically. Ceilings become lighter by use of the rib-vault. The weight of the roof and structure is directed away from the wall through a series of flying-buttresses.

Used collectively, these architectural devices allow the gothic structures to become taller (soaring upwards towards the heavens) and relatively lighter both physically and visually. Since the weight of the structure is no longer supported by the outside walls, the architect is able to incorporate large stain glass windows, which are used abundantly to fill the interior space with a transcending light.



West facade



Portal on west facade with nordic-esque "animal style" carvings on the columns.(Normandy was inhabited by norsemen/vikings)



View down the Nave of the cathedral




Stain glass windows not only radiated divine light, they served to educate the masses during an illiterate era. Window images would relay information by way of biblical story and sometimes included the history of the cathedral's construction and patronage.


Rose window in south transept

flying-buttress photo by Richard Croft, C.C. image from Wiki

A flying-buttress and pier.

The Historic town of Lincoln (Roman ruins)

In AD 48, Lincoln was a strategic military point for Rome's IX Legion. The name "Lincoln" is a condensed version of the roman words "Lindon" which means foothill, and "Colonia" which is a chartered town for retired legionary soldiers.

Historians believe the IX legion passed beneath these very arches on their way to conquer the northern territories. Although the archways seem fairly short to us, they extend further into the earth a short distance. Approximately 8' of sediment has been deposited since their time, burying all but the tops of the Roman ruins in Lincoln.

Hampton Court

On Sunday we visited Hampton Court, originally built by Cardinal Wolsey. It housed many monarchs and their families including notables such as Henry VIII, Ann Boleyn, Catherine of Aragon, "Bloody" Mary I and a couple royal Charlies!

At lunch Leslie and I ate wild boar stew!

A weekend in London :)

A picture of Trafalgar Square, view from the National Gallery.



"Big Ben" in the distance, view from Trafalgar Square.



Tower Bridge



"Big Ben" view from Parliament Square



St. Paul's taken during an evening stroll

Frosty Morning Photos on Harlaxton Grounds

Full moon tonight!

Leslie had a chance to sneak outside and snap some great pics of the full moon tonight. The fog is pretty creepy.

Jan 6th-9th, First days at Harlaxton Manor

Our adventure begins! After some hiccups at Lambert Airport we finally arrived at Harlaxton Manor. It is spectacular! Lots of greetings and meetings. Friendly faculty and staff have made the beginning of this trip a memorable start.



The view out our room window!



Shake your Putti!!!

There are lots of Cherubs floating around the manor. This room (referred to as the Gold Room) is decorated in the Baroque Rococo style. The house is fascinating as it is a collage of architectural styles.