Mr Turner: Autumn Views

Mr. T.

From paint to brush

to canvass,

Confident almost impudent

in the destination of the stroke.

Bold, passionate and 

self-assured in the delivery.

Unafraid of opinion 

other than his own .

Towering waves endorse

his sexual ardour.

Lashed and spent

 in the climax of the storm.

The redemptive energy of

the sun  bringing calm and

hope in the midst of chaos 

Sketches remind the eye of 

location and memory

delivers the emotional charge.

Where then  do we store these pictures

if we cannot paint or draw?

For the mind's eye is imbued  with 

spirit and infuses the subject

with persona, lacking the clinical

starkness  of the lens.

Thank you Mr. Turner for your life views;

 of people,  places,  scapes of land and

sea and most importantly for  bringing 

the aura of light upon  

the matter in  hand.

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Last Sunday  ( 16 / 11 ) D. d. and I saw the film "Mr. Turner. " It was a towering performance from Timothy Spall as the painter. He absolutely invaded the screen  and was virtually ' in frame ' for the entire running of the film. A career-defining movement, one feels. A man of few words ( mostly growls and guttural sounds actually) Turner wore his heart on his canvass.

The film,  like the Tate exhibition deals mainly with the last years of Turner's life. They show his relentless energy for painting and  sketching on location. He never missed an opportunity to record his thoughts with  chalks and crayons. He travelled extensively throughout Europe; although possibly for budget reasons, this was only alluded to in the film.

Turner never married , but had two daughters by his common -law wife. He had several dalliances  during his life, especially with a widow  ( Sophia Booth ) who kept  lodgings  in Margate, where turner stayed, whilst at the seaside. She later moved with him to take a house in Chelsea; where she nursed him in his last years.

One could not say that Turner was quite a misogynist, but he never allowed females to distract him from his Art.

To sum the film up:
1 it was enthralling viewing at a steady pace. If you want an action movie visit another screen.

2 the language was superb and rich in tone. You don't hear Impecunious very often in " East Enders " for example.

3 the cast played their roles to perfection. The female parts (Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey and Ruth Sheen) were especially strong
.
4 The lighting ( surprise surprise ) and photography   were of a high order.

So all in all a ***** film.
You are unlikely to be disappointed .

As a final coda to Turner I found this web-site:

Turner Paintings.
 This shows 991 of his paintings and really encapsulates the range and breadth of his canon.

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 Last Tuesday ( 18 / 11 ) The sun was out and so was my camera. Here are some views.

As Turner said " Sun is God. "

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The Christmas Victorian Market is being held this weekend ( 21 to 23 /11) at the Docks Gloucester.

Last night we three visited; only to find heavy rain making the 160 stalls uncomfortable to walk around. However a good local folk group  together with a glass of mulled cider helped to improve matters,

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And so the last week in November comes in view, bringing Christmas nearer. Have an engaging week and show greater tenacity than local  football team  Cheltenham Town who scoring first in 3 minutes  against Wycombe; conspired to have a player sent off; saved a penalty but still managed to lose  1 - 4.

Note the bright weather - not bad for an afternoon rated a 70% chance of rain!

Cheerio for now,

C.k