Finding Home: Reflections on Place and Inspiration

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about “home”. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

Where is home?

As I write this, I am at my desk looking at my neighbors’ property across the street. The day is sunny and warm . . . in the 80°s, a typical Florida morning.

I’ve lived here 36 years, longer than any other place.

The area is beautiful, beaches, palm trees, balmy and clean.

It has been a source of inspiration for me.

Paintings of Florida

Waterway

North Bridge

Squall

Middle Bridge

Trinity Church

Summer Storm

Paintings of the Southwest

The following work is based on the southwest, where I spent much of my childhood and early adult years.

Canyon of Cliffs

Dry Wash

Roadside

Setting Sun

The Difference

Do you see the basic difference?

Distance and Height The southwest work has a sense of vast space and distance and of height. The Florida inspired work doesn’t have that. Florida is flat.

My childhood years were spent where the distance was vast. I could see a long way. Every time I get back to an area like that, I feel a thrill. I am a visual person.

Here in Florida, for the most part, you can see across the street . . .unless you are looking out over the ocean . . . where there is not much to see.

On A Different Note

MORE TO COMEI

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts (www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America and I show work locally at Jennifer Garrigues and Palm Beach FrameMakers in Palm Beach

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list

RECENT WORK

Polignano A Mare

Matera Afternoon

ARCHWAY

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

Life Lesson

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about memories. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

Big Brother

Peter about age 28

For some reason I have found myself thinking of Pete, my older brother. I don’t know why. He died in 2014.

Growing up, I idolized him. I thought he was great.

To him I think I was sort of an irritant. He was nearly seven when I was born, ending his only-child-center-of-attention position. He had to share.

I don’t remember much until I was about five. It must have been a tumultuous time as my father and mother separated twice ending in divorce. My mother remarried and we moved to a small town, Kingman, Arizona, where my half-sister and half-brother were born.

Here are pictures of my older bother and me about that time.

Aren’t I cute? My grandmother crocheted the toy for me. I called it “Brownie”.

Pete came into his own. There were two newspaper routes in town. Pete had both. As a result, he had more spending money than my parents.

He got into photography and had a dark room at the house. I remember him taking time exposures at night of lightning and, later, watching the image emerge in the chemical bath.

He had traps he set in the desert Among his successes, he caught a skunk which sprayed him and the dog. Mom wouldn’t let him in the house until he took off all his clothes.

He built a Soapbox Derby car. The neighborhood kids were envious and he let them ride it down hill. He let me do that once.

He had four- ten (4.10) shotgun and became a good shot., even winning a turkey at a turkey shoot.

I was proud he was my brother.

One of his favorite pursuits was making model airplanes, the kind that came in a kit of balsa wood which, once assembled, was covered with thin paper to form the skin of the plane. Here is a modern version.

He made many of these. They were powered by a rubber band connected to the propellor. Wind that baby up and away would fly your plane.

His biggest had a six foot wingspan. It crashed and damaged the propellor so he made it into a glider by inserting a rock into the nose and launching it into the wind. An up-current caught it and took it up and away. Several weeks later, while out checking on his traps, he came across it broken, hanging in a tree . . . six miles from where he threw it.

All this was magic to me and I wanted to make a plane.

I pestered and pestered.

Finally, my mother told him to help me make a model.

Not too happy about it, he helped me assemble the wings and fuselage . It took time. There were so many pieces that needed glued and assembled. The glue had to cure. takes time. The body had to be assembled and glued — more time. Then the wings — more time.

So, we worked on this after school for several days. He probably did most of the actual assembly. I no longer remember.

Putting the paper on the model was the most vexing as I recall. It had to be done carefully with no tears or creases.

Finally, one night it was done and it was a beauty, a Piper Cub. I was thrilled.

The next day I took it out in the yard. Across the street I saw a girl I knew at school.

I shouted, “Hey wanna see my plane?” as I ran toward her.

My foot caught on a wire hidden in the tall grass, tripping me. I fell on the plane, smashing it.

There must be a life lesson here. I’m just not certain what it is.

On A Different Note

MORE TO COMEI

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts (www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America and I show work locally at Jennifer Garrigues and Palm Beach FrameMakers in Palm Beach

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list

RECENT WORK

Polignano A Mare

Matera Afternoon

ARCHWAY

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

This morning, Palestinian farmers arrived in their land in the town of Yasuf, in the central occupied West Bank, only to find that Israeli settlers have uprooted around 150 trees from the property.

#Eccpcide #EccoTerrorism #WestBank #Palestine #Israel #JewishKKK #OliveTrees

Israel uproots thousands of Palestinian olive trees on Smotrich’s orders

Thousands of Palestinian olive trees have been uprooted by Israeli authorities on the orders of the country’s extreme right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Smotrich said some 3,000 trees were felled on Wednesday alone.

https://aje.news/b1q0x1?update=4557099

#WestBank
#OliveTrees

The Life We Lead

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about being an artist. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

The Arteest!

How Long Did It Take

I’m often asked “How long did it take you to do that?!’

The answer, I think, is that it is not the time. It’s the journey. Mine has been long. I will tell you some of it.

My degree from University of California, Berkeley, was in Fine Arts (painting) and for several years I taught art in high schools. Eventually I left teaching and, not being willing to go through the financial uncertainty many artists endure, I went into the corporate world. In my personal time, I continued to work as an artist, producing and exhibiting. About twenty five years ago the company I was with was acquired and I resumed art as my main focus.

Originally my studio was in a small commercial building I rented. Today it is in my home.

Getting Work Seen

For an artist, getting one’s work seen is always an issue. In the beginning, I exhibited at art expositions in Atlanta and New York.

Eventually, I had gallery representation in Massachusetts, Charleston, South Carolina, several in Florida: Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Jupiter, and one in Los Angeles. It’s a tough business. They have all closed over the years, all but one.

I’ve had my share of success.

In 2007 I was one of nine artists representing the United States in the Salon De La Société Nationale Des Beaux-Arts held at the Carrousel de Louvre. We know it as the Paris Salon.

My painting “Lifeguard” was exhibitied.

It was sold.

Later, I was contacted by a woman who said , I saw your painting in Architectural Digest.

.

She had me do a similar piece for their home in the Hamptons.

Another time a gallery representing me called and excitedly told me that a person had taken seven of my pieces for “consideration”. She was certain several would be sold. We were disappointed when they were all returned.

Some time later a decorator I work with said, “I saw your work in Waterfront Home and Design“. Hmmm!

There were several pages, with my paintings shown, in the rooms being highlighted. That was why they took so many out on “consideration”. They needed decor.

The stinkers! At least they gave me attribution in the text.

Over time I have had my share of exposure.

During the 90’s, limited editions of four of my paintings were sold on cruise ships. Every now and then I am contacted by someone who bought or inherited one, usually wanting to know how to resell it. That is also a tough market.

Remember the television series, The Good Wife? If you watched it, you likely saw my work. Some of my pieces were used in the series.

Today I promote my work through Art Store Fronts (www.ttribby.com) and Fine Art America and I show work locally at Jennifer Garrigues and Palm Beach FrameMakers in Palm Beach

MORE TO COME

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list

RECENT WORK

Polignano A Mare

Matera Afternoon

ARCHWAY

On a Different Note

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

It takes decades for olive trees to grow large and produce olives

We have olive trees here in south of France that go back to Napoleon's time .

Killing these trees is more than just simple act of violence, it's an organized, state sponsored terrorism to starve and ultimately kill those farmers and their families.

#Eccocide #OliveTrees #Palestine #Terrorism #Evil #Starvation #EthnicCleansing #Israel

via @QudsNen

https://mastodon.neometropolis.net/@QudsNen/116469303178941732

The Happy Wanderer

Hello

If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. Today I am musing about travel … in southern Italy. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel,

I’ve been everywhere man!

“I’ve been every where, Man! I’ve been everywhere!‘ Remember that song?

Well . . . that’s not us.

We’ve been alota places but we had never been to the south-east “heel” of Italy, a section called Pulia.

Now we have. Just got home a couple of days ago and still dealing with jet lag.

Our Happy Group

We went on a Tauck tour. It was our second with Tauck and we have been very pleased both times. As you can see, it was a small group.

Pulia

Puglia is different from the more northern areas we knew. Older, very rural and, until recently, not as prosperous. Among other things it is prized for its wine and olive oil.

There are olive trees and olive orchards everywhere, covering acres and acres. The trees have been diseased by a blight of some kind and many of the orchards have lost their trees, trees that were several hundred years old.

There are five varieties of trees and four are threatened by the blight. The orchards are being replanted everywhere we went with the fifth type of tree, however it takes four years for a tree to be productive.

So, when you go to the store and see how expensive olive oil has become, you will know the reason.

Matera

The first town we visited was Matera. According to our guide, it is one of the three oldest cities in the world, cities continuously inhabited for thousands of years.

The mountain on which the city is built is limestone, a material that is relatively soft and can be dug into. The original inhabitants lived in caves. A cave was everything: bedroom, cooking area, toilet, stable, dark, damp and smokey. Where they could, they dug them out to become larger.

Most of the people were very poor. The more wealthy added onto the caves and built out what you see in the photos. Behind the structure you can see, in many cases, is one or more caves.

Here you see caves in the distance. Obviously these were not built out, but my understanding is the area where the city stands was originally the same.

Wine

We visited a co-operative winery. It was owned by the local farmers and had been producing wine for more than 100 years.

These are the storage tanks for the wine. It is sold to other producers to be blended with other varieties to produce the final product.

This was modern, clean and impressive. But not as interesting as seeing how the wine was originally produced.

We went through a maze of rooms, twenty I think. They were all linked to provide a museum like walking experience. But originally each was completely separate, four walls (no doorway) and a ceiling with a small opening.

When these were in use, there would be no doorway, no machinery, just an enclosed room with the opening you see in the ceiling on the upper left.

These were the storage rooms for the wine while it aged. Through the opening in the top the wine would be poured until the room was filled. There were about 20 of these rooms. That is a great amount of wine. Imagine the rooms of your house being filled with wine to the ceiling. Wow!

When the wine was ready it had to be pumped out. Once it was out, a workman entered the room through the ceiling and scrubbed down the walls, and floor to remove the residue. I can only imagine how hard that would have been. No window for air, dark, fumes . . . that must have been torturous.

MORE TO COME

If you like Musings, sign up in comments at the end, and I will put you on the distribution list

RECENT WORK

MIDDAY PIAZZA

GONDOLIERS

ARCHWAY

On a Different Note

I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest

Take a look at my website:

www.ttribby.com

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida