Summer Atlas Part 3
In July I had a vivid dream about the frescoes we saw from Pompeii at the National Gallery of Art in 2008, especially Garden Scene, at the House of the Golden Bracelet. Just the fact that they were able to transport whole walls of the fragile ancient artwork was impressive. What stayed with my memory were the many renderings of birds and plants in the painting, that’s what I saw in the dream. While living in Naples in the early 1950’s we traveled to Pompeii which began a lifelong fascination with its story. My grandfather took me to the top of Mt. Vesuvius. It felt so scary, but safe because I was holding his dear hand. It remains one of the strongest memories of my life. Synchronicity was at play when I found an old etching at the book sale at Locust Grove. Right away I made this map, with some of the botanicals seen in the fresco.
“Naples”, 9×12″, watercolor, drawing, collage by Kathleen O’Brien
For Open Studios I always like to make new work of smaller affordable sizes.
“Dream Message”, 6×4.5″, watercolor, drawing, collage by Kathleen O’Brien
“Wishing Well”, 6×4.5″, watercolor, drawing, collage by Kathleen O’Brien
“Golden Lake”, 6×4.5″, watercolor, drawing, collage by Kathleen O’Brien
“Oasis”, 6×4.5″, watercolor, drawing, collage by Kathleen O’Brien
I also like to continue the tradition of presenting a new card set for the 4 Seasons-4 Directions. I wrote about how the idea was started in this post.
Fifth version of 4 Seasons card set, “4 Seasons of Leaves” by Kathleen O’Brien