From the north

The Greek north wind God, strong and violent, is sometimes depicted by a woman, buffeted by the wind.

In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came.

Notus was the south wind; Zephyrus, the west wind; Eurus, the east wind; Boreas, the north wind.

Boreas, 450 BC

Boreas is depicted as being very strong, with a violent temper to match. He was frequently shown as a winged old man with shaggy hair and beard, holding a conch shell and wearing a billowing cloak.

Boreas and his brother winds were often imagined as horse-shaped gods.

Boreas - oil painting by John William Waterhouse

The north wind god, in this remarkable painting (1902) by John William Waterhouse, is a woman, buffeted by the wind.

Study of Boreas - chalk on paper by John William Waterhouse

Boreas, the North Wind - recreated by Inglis

 I've found this digital reproduction by Inglis here: Robzentaur1′s blog, art, ego, acceptance and society

Here is the full painting with the background slightly altered, but retaining Waterhouse’s impressionist brushwork. The face is re-createded to make it stronger and more sensuous. Waterhouse’s original face is washed out and fragile looking. The oil paint is badly cracked. I reworked the upper areas of the shawl to create more of a feeling of flow and movement.

- Inglis

 ✴

Mt Boreas, in the western Olympus Range, Antartica, was named after the north wind god.

Romanticizing marine painting

Two British Frigates

James Edward Buttersworth (1817–1894) was an English painter who specialized in maritime art, and is considered among the foremost American ship portraitists of the 19th century. His paintings are particularly known for their meticulous detail, dramatic settings, and grace in movement.

Source: wikipedia


A ship portraitist who meticulously illustrated America’s Golden Age of Sail, Buttersworth captured a realistic view of sea and sky while incorporating the human element into his work. Buttersworth has long been recognized as a premier maritime artist distinguished by his story telling prowess, as well as his meticulous attention to detail with the brush and palette.

Source: brucemuseum


In order to accent the speed and grace of these vessels, Buttersworth would often elongate the hulls and sails to create a feeling of motion portrayed along a low horizon line. With dramatic skies, churning seas and accurate detail, he ennobled and romanticized sailing ships with what have become historically important paintings that are both beautiful and refined.

Source: vallejogallery

 HMS Brunswick Amidst Other Shipping in the Channel

 Man 'O War

 Out to Sea

 Passing Ramsgate Lighthouse

 The American Clipper

 The Yacht Race

 Around the Point

 Castlegarden

 On the High Seas

 The Alice

 Bound for the Sea

 American Racing Yachts off the East End of Long Island

 American Shipping Displays the Flag

 Coastal Craft in Translucent Waters

 [Untitled]

HMS Sloop Active in Coastal Waters

Delft blue tile

From about 1620 the well-known blue tiles appeared beside the polychrome ones [in the Netherlands]. On blue tiles, the pattern is painted in blue on the opaque white tin-glaze sub-layer. Why in blue? 

About the year 1602 the first blue Chinese porcelain came to Holland as a result of the trade with China.

Antique Annamese oil jar, 15th century, height: 5 cm

Millions of China bowls, jugs and dishes were shipped to Amsterdam by the East Indian Company. From Amsterdam the costly China was further traded through Europe. This Chinese porcelain was much in demand and expensive.

The Delft potters and those in other towns tried to imitate the Chinese porcelain and applied the Chinese decorations to the earthenware they made.

Between 1640 and 1800 Chinese porcelain was most successfully imitated in Delft.

View of Delft - painting by Johannes Vermeer, circa 1660-1661

The potters called themselves porcelain-potters. This was not correct because the products they made were of earthenware. In Europe the process of making China porcelain was not yet known at that time.

The Delft blue became world famous, to such an extend that it became the general name for all earthenware objects and tiles which were painted in the same blue color, even if they not had been made in Delft.

Delft blue is known all over the world.

Source: History of the Dutch tile

Geeky anachronism!

The same overlap

Yesterday, I drew seven swallows, and painted with lightly colored gouache all around.

Oopsi… Grrr, once again, some of the drawings are pretty much (too) close to each other… When will I learn?

By the way, talking overlaply, this is what happened with my lily waters the other day… (The same mistake)

Two mini paintings on the same piece of Balsa wood, two times. Four water lilies, not exactly at the right place, ready to be cut. I tried to save all four but I killed them all.

The translucent rectangle is the shape I would have liked to give to each water lily painting. As you can see, the small overlap forms an impossible space.

If I had known, I'd sacrifice two flowers, and I'd have two. But I tried to save all four and I killed them all.

*Sigh*

Top five

 Howard Hodgkin

 Karen Burns

 Patrick McFarlin

 Robert P Hawkins

Walter Smalling

"Yellow sky" painting, Google images, first twenty six pages, my favorite five, for your pleasure, on a rainy day, Montreal.

When I feel kinda useless and excited, just like I feel right now, I look at yellow sky paintings on the web and share with you the most interesting I could extract from my excitation with two words in mind: why not.

Tomorrow I'll draw all day, under the yellow sky.

Detox water lily

 Barrie Maguire

 [Don't know]

 Elaine Farmer

 Eric Schiabor

 Gwendolyn Faherty

 Igor Pozdnyakov

 Jacqueline Huber

 Laura Martindale

 Rhonda Kraak

 Rob Lawlor

 Rob Lawlor

 Robin Street-Morris

 Susan Christensen

 Titta Inkinen

 Bunny Griffeth

 Godleski Harpswell

 Keith Gantos

Lynn Fischer

The advantages of water lilies
Perhaps the most useful advantage of water lilies is their ability to filter and detoxify the water. In fact, water lilies thrive in water polluted with heavy metals.


Perhaps the most useful advantage of white water lilies is their ability to filter and detoxify the mind! So beautiful.


Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world.  Water lilies are rooted in soil in bodies of water, with leaves and flowers floating on the water surface.