Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Artist
16 x 14 Oil on Linen
Collection of the Masur Museum of Art

The title of this blog comes from a line in the first act of Puccini's Tosca. A few minutes into the opera Mario Cavaradossi, an artist, enters the Attavanti Chapel where he is working on a large painting of Mary Magdalene. After some small talk he climbs the scaffold to his painting and asks the sacristan, who has been cleaning his brushes, to hand him his palette. "Dammi i colori", give me my colors, he says. Then in the beautiful aria recondita armonia he compares the fair, blue eyed Magdalene in his painting to his dark eyed love Floria Tosca. Before long Tosca arrives at the chapel.....yada, yada, yada.....Tosca stabs Scarpia, the villain, Cavaradossi is murdered in what he thought was going to be a mock execution, and Tosca leaps from the parapet of Castel Sant'Angelo to her death. Passionate, glorious music...how can you not love it......

4 comments:

Unknown said...

This is quite an accomplishment. Painting yourself...painting a landscape. I like the way the shadows are not overdone, for instance in the sleeves. Great work, keep it up.

Anonymous said...

hey uncle tom love the blog and this painting see you soon hopefully!! love you , bye

Karen Winslow said...

Howdy Tom....Thanks for painting! Your work makes me smile! Karen

Anonymous said...

Tom,
I like your blog, I know you are busy but I hope you post something else soon.
Question: if I have pre-primed lead canvas that is too slippery, can I put a layer of rabbit skin glue over it? It is too slick.
Julie F.