Not only have I developed a passion for bogs, I have also discovered the limit of my fella’s ability to enthusiastically support the things I love. That limit is bogs. That’s not to say he wasn’t prepared to watch an hour long documentary about them or drive me round the north looking for one I had read about, rather, there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in doing so.
Having said that, there was one bog-related thing I showed him that he thought was pretty cool, and that is the Irish tradition of bog-jumping.
Bogs were important ritual sites in pagan Europe, and there’s many examples of sacrificial victims being deposited in them, to propitiate the gods in some sort of Spring ritual. Over 2,000 bog-bodies have been found to date, that’s because bogs are anaerobic (lacking oxygen), so the bodies are preserved, some remarkably so. I hope you’re not eating breakfast…
This poor fellow, known as the Tullond Man, suffered a triple death. A ritualised way of killing a person 3 times, which, if nothing else, would ensure the job was done. Personally, I’d rather end up a skeleton, than a shrivelled piece of old leather, so I won’t be opting for a bog interment. There’s many other fascinating things about bogs, but I’ll take the glazed look in my fella’s eyes when I mention them as a cue not to subject anyone else to my bog-trivia.
I continued drawing this week, mostly people, and although I’m not having the best fun in the studio, it is getting slightly easier each day.
I also painted here and there, though mostly just testing different techniques, rather than painting a whole picture. As with the previous week, I have been developing a lace-like water technique, with varying degrees of success. Here’s a couple from this week that I quite like. I particularly like the see-through effect.
Also, inspired by the bogs, I have added brown to my palette. Although I haven’t done much with it so far (as I have been concentrating on drawing), I really like it and think it will be a great addition.
bexODESSA 