Art Expectations Day 134
Pip is hanging out at the run-down Barnard’s Inn waiting on young Mr Pocket. Pocket finally arrives carrying a sack under each arm and a basket of strawberries. He has been to the Covent Garden Market shopping for some goodies to make Pip feel more at home.
They seem to get along well, laughing while struggling to get the door open. I think they will become fast friends!
I wondered if Covent Garden Market still exists in London after all these years. This is what I found out:
Yes, it does! It is a district in London that currently contains some trendy shops, restaurants, markets and theatres on the eastern fringes of the West End. It was once a small open-air fruit and vegetable market.
It fell into disrepute (brothels and taverns took over) in the 1700s, becoming a well-known red light district of London! The Parliament intervened and by the early 1900s it became a nice place to shop, see a show and gather with friends and family, as it is today.
At one point, a massive, beautiful arched ceiling with green beams was built over a large portion, creating an indoor market and shopping mall. I did this sketch based on several pictures I found. I got out my ruler and attempted some perspective! Haven’t done that in a very long time. And probably won’t do it again for a long time!
If any of you have been to Covent Garden Market, let me know what you thought of it. I would love to go to London someday and check it out for myself!
Art Expectations Day 133
Page 148. Only 264 pages to go!
Pip and Wemmick arrive at Barnard’s Inn where young Mr. Pocket lives. Pip is NOT impressed. (He had high expectations of London – hoping it all to be more grand than his simple village back home.)
He describes the Inn as the “dingiest collection of shabby buildings ever squeezed together in a rank corner as a club for Tom-cats.” Love this description! Sounds pretty bleak – dismal trees, dismal sparrows, dismal cats and houses.
Very colorful language from Dickens on this page 148: “dry-rot and wet-rot” and “rot of rat and mouse and bug”. They find Mr. Pocket’s room up some creaky stairs and Wemmick makes to leave Pip. They shake hands good-bye. Pip will be seeing Wemmick much more, especially since Wemmick is the keeper of his funds.
I created this acrylic painting/collage incorporating some of the dismal, bleak colors used to represent Pip’s first impression of London. Hope you like it! I will soon get back to my sculpture heads and finish those up. So glad Spring is almost here. I’m tired of the bleak, dismal winter weather!
Art Expectations Day 117
Pip heads to town to order his new clothes for his impending trip to London. He stops at the tailor’s shop first. The tailor’s boy, while sweeping up the shop, sweeps right over PIp as if to say he’s as good as any blacksmith. Pip heads to the back of the shop to talk to the tailor, who is also indifferent to him until he finds out that Pip has actual money.
The tailor, Mr Trabb, is eager to start on Pip’s new suit. Wonder if he is just getting one suit? Seems like he’ll need more than one!
I was eager to play with some new washi tape that I got for Christmas. I’ve been eyeing these tapes for a while but had not bought any or tried them until now. So much fun! They come in many many colors and designs. They are more of a paper tape and easy to tear. I found some on etsy at this nice little shop:
http://www.etsy.com/search?q=prettytape&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US
I also did a transfer using packing tape of an old image of a tailor’s shop. These old engravings were called “Trade Cuts” and were used to advertise shops. I love seeing how shops looked back then… how items were displayed on massive wooden counters and in wooden cabinets. No plastic shelving here and certainly no online shopping!
Art Expectations Day 111
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! It’s been a quiet few days and so I have had a little free time. (VERY little!)
Page 111: Jaggers tells Pip he has no objections to Pip telling someone in town about his new fortunes (and his plans to become a gentleman). I assume Pip plans to tell Miss Havisham. (Pretty sure she’s the one behind all of this!)
Back inside, Pip sits by the fire with his family and Biddy. Joe tells everyone what he and Pip have just learned from Jaggers. “Pip’s a gentleman of fortune.” Biddy congratulates him but he detects a touch of sadness. Not sure if Mrs Joe even has a clue about what is going on. (She’d be mad if she knew Joe turned down that money Jaggers offered!)
I’m sure in the next few pages Pip will start his new journey to London and there will be some excitement!
Art Expectations Day 107
“Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is a better.” This is advice given from Jaggers to Joe: speak now if he has any objections on Pip’s being taken away to become a gentleman or hold his tongue forever. This is a pivotal page in the book! (finally) Jaggers says that Pip “has Great Expectations.” A private benefactor has offered to pay for Pip’s becoming a gentleman. The conditions: Pip can never ask or speculate on WHO this benefactor is and Pip must keep his name, Pip.
I decided to paint two dogs, named Brag and Holdfast on river stones. Brag is, of course, flapping his yapper. These were so much fun to do! I love river stones, smooth rocks. I used acrylic paint, then photographed them on top of the spread that I had just read, pages 116-117. I’m so excited to finally see what happens to Pip. I feel sorry for Joe. He’ll be on his own now. Well, except for Orlick, who I think might be evil.
Art Expectations Day 104
Hiding from the LAW
Mr Wopsle tells the stranger in The Three Jolly Bargemen that he thinks the suspect in the murder case (that he’d just read out loud from the newspaper) is “Guilty.” The stranger argues with him, making the poor flustered Mr Wopsle look like a fool.
“Innocent until proven guilty,” says the stranger. They are all too eager, sitting in their comfy, cozy warm bar, to assume that any suspect HAS to be guilty.
I’ve created a collage – no paint today! I wanted the word LAW to be kind of kidden and not easily recognizable at first.
I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving, here in the States. I will try to do at least one other post before Thursday, but it’s a busy week for me, so we’ll see!
Art Expectations Day 103
Pip, at times, believes he could be happy living the life of a blacksmith and settling down with Biddy. But then, thoughts of Miss Havisham and especially Estella, enter his mind and all is lost. He’s very confused, as most kids his age are. I am guessing that this is about 5-6 years after the event in the marshes with the convict. So Pip is probably an early teenager by now. What teenager knows what they want?! Things haven’t changed all that much.
Four years into his apprenticeship, Pip is at The Three Jolly Bargemen listening to Mr Wopsle give a recount of a murder case as he reads out of the newspaper to a crowd. At the end, a stranger questions Mr Wopsle about the verdict. He has an expression of contempt on his face as he asks Mr Wopsle if the suspect is Guilty or Not Guilty?
Here is a little painting of a leaf I did with acrylics and paint markers. I’ve just rediscovered paint markers. I used them when they first came out… in the 80s(?) They work better now than they used to and they allow me to sketch with paint rather than using a brush. Fun!
Will Pip turn over a new leaf and leave the forge, fly away to find Estella? Or will he be able to become content again with his blacksmithing life?
Art Expectations Day 98
Pip recalls turning to Biddy for help in his education and realizes he has taken her for granted. So he offers to take her on a long Sunday walk and talk. It’s summer-time, and beautiful weather, as they walk past the village, the church and out onto the marshes. They end up sitting on the banks of the river watching the sails go by. Pip confides in Biddy that he wants to be a gentleman. She says, “Don’t you think you are happier as you are?” He replies, “Don’t be absurd!”
I created this painting on an old board book panel. (That’s why it has a strange shape!) I first gessoed the panel (it’s left over from a workshop), and then started by painting the marsh scene in the middle. Little Biddy stands on top as Pip reads to her. He thinks he is smarter than her (all his studying has gone to his head… well, you know what I mean). This may be partly because she is a girl and girls often at that time in history didn’t receive an education. Or it could be that he has to study so hard and he never sees her studying.
I’m getting close to 100 days, 100 pages and 100 pieces of Great Expectations art!
Art Expectations 89
Estella Studies Abroad
I created this silhouette in Illustrator and used an old ship engraving as the background. Gave it all a sepia look.
Page 98: Mrs Joe starts to calm down so Pip heads upstairs to change clothes for his half-holiday up-town. (YEAH!) When he comes back down, he finds Joe and Orlick sweeping up and sharing a pot of beer from the Jolly Bargemen. All is fine with the world.
Pip finds himself in front of Miss Havisham’s home, debating whether to ring the bell or flee. He rings, but the gate is not answered by Estella, but by Sarah Pocket. Miss H tells him that he had better not expect anything. He doesn’t (except to see Estella). But alas, she is abroad, studying to become a lady. Miss H asks Pip if he feels that he has lost her.
Where is Estella studying? Maybe France. Hope Pip finds her!
Great Expectations Day 59 Wildflower Guitar
Happy Accidents! As my daughter was leaning over my shoulder watching me work on the guitar last night, her hair swooshed over a part that was still very wet with oil paint. It left a beautiful scratchy mark in the paint that can only be done by accident. She thought I’d be upset, but “NO!” I loved it. After making sure I got any oil paint out of her hair, I tried to replicate the look with my own hair. But it didn’t work. So I used a large course bristle brush in some of the wet areas and got a similar result as with the accident “daughter’s-hair” brush. Yeah!
Since the paint was still so very wet, I could not paint the little objects onto the area that I wanted to. Not wanting to wait until the paint was dry, I decided to try scratching (drawing) the objects into the wet paint. (see above photo) Tried a toothpick first, but it was too small of a point. The handle end of a paint brush worked just fine. I drew in images that I thought about when reading Great Expectations. (These were used in a previous sketch I did.)
Now, what I read today, on page 64:
The stranger in the Three Jolly Bargemen orders rum “all around” at his expense (just for himself, Joe and Mr Wopsle). The stranger is described as wearing a large brimmed floppy hat and under it a tied handkerchief covering all of his hair, if he has any at all. That’s it! Not much today. Probably find out who this stranger is tomorrow or Monday. Have a great weekend!
My name is Julie and I'm reading Great Expectations one page a day and also creating one little work of art (30 minutes or less) a day relating to what I read. Thanks for looking and reading. Leave a comment to let me know what you think!
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