The moon rising behind the hill

I can’t quite believe I will have been in Larnaka for a whole month tomorrow.  So far it has been an excellent adventure.  I relish the different-ness of everything, the weather, the people, the language, even the supermarkets.  Some things are made more difficult than at home and some things are easier.  The things that are more difficult,  you can adapt to fortunately, so in general my life is easier here.

This weekend, I, along with Alannah and Hannah were kindly invited  to stay with one of the Foundation students at her home in the hills.  Doris is an American who moved here 6 years ago to retire with her husband.  Unfortunately her husband died not long afterwards.  I think coming to the art college has given her life a new focus and direction that was much needed after losing Jim.  She has a luxurious home in comparison to Harry’s Inn, in fact luxurious in comparison to most homes.  It was delightful to revel in her home comforts. We all took it in turns to soak in her tub, and clean our clothes in her washer dryer.. quite a treat.  All she asked in return was a little heavy lifting.  The other pleasure of being there was to finally be in the countryside with incredible views across the mountainous hills, and the sounds of birdsong in the evenings that I had not heard before.

The Mountains peeking over the hill

Last night I went to see Avatar in 3D at the cineplex.  I must confess I loved it.  Tonight there is a performance night at the college.  There will be music and poetry, should be interesting and fun.  It turns out that my life has become more busy and sociable than it was at home, there is more and more going on every week.  It’s ironic really as I came here to reduce the amount of distractions around me, I’m not complaining though as I’m having a ball.

Gouache on paper, 24 x 32 cms

In the studio I have been busying away following a thread that has been leading me down an enjoyable path.  I try to do an image per studio day.  I have been relaxing into the freedom I enjoy here.  Today’s image is quite a curious one that emerged from just working with the profile from the Filippo Lippi Painting.  It didn’t turn out how I planned, it was very difficult to maintain the figurative basis and to abstract the form.  I will do it again tomorrow and see what happens next.