We are still in winter, this much I know despite the light beginning to whisper me otherwise. For I find myself still nombril-gazing, shuffling, wearing that strange perfume, a miasma of this year and that. So I go out searching, scratching the surfaces. Looking for the colors of the past that will stick to the soles of my shoes this spring and those which will fade with my tread as I keep on walking, quietly, for it is that time of year.
As much as I adore dogs; and adore your blog; this is probably my absolute favorite post in ANY BLOG!!!!!! Because it teaches what needs to be "taught"!!!
In the US; just about everyone gets the finishes WRONG!!! They try; they "want the old world look"; but they get it WRONG 95% (or more) of the time!!
There is more to learn in this post than in thousands of other blogs on "design"! This is IT!!!
The colors; the natural pigments, the peeling paint. the one picture of the "peach ochre (they used to mine it out of the ground in Rousillon !!!I bought 75 bags or something; I bought out the entire town's supply of their natural pigment to tint the plaster outside; and color the "limewash" inside on our walls!!! What a difference!! People who know not one thing about design start touching our walls!
People here in the US try to reproduce what they love in Europe; and they fail miserably! Most often; a big part of it is exactly what you have showed us! I am printing it out and putting it in my "IMPORTANT" file! What a gift!!
You have no idea! ( When we were building our house 14 years ago; I bought these old gates with rusted hinges and peeling paint from France; ) my husband says, "Now, let me guess! We are not going to 'fix' them! Right???" Bingo!! YES!!! We Americans (it must be in our DNA) just do not "get" the beauty of the finishes in Europe! We love them when we see them there!
Then something happens! we forget!! We think they need to be "fixed"!!!
When researching building our house; we spent weeks right near where you live ;
and the photos I took (before digital) were of hinges, roofs; doorknobs, shutters! (many like yours! ) That is the authenticity! It was difficult to find the workmen here who understood! The "roofer" who "got it"!! And he did! He said: b "I get it; you want us to DO what all the rest of the people make us come back and FIX"!!!
In a word; as Brooke and Steve so beautifully write about; it is "Patina"!!!
Such a fabulous post!!
Thank you so much!!!
Whoever you are, keep it up, I love it!!!!
Heather, I keep looking at your photo, wondering why it isn't me. I share your interests so much, it's uncanny. I love crumbling surfaces, I've even made a living doing them for my clients in NYC. I have 2 dogs, and a darkly handsome husband. I love Golden Retreivers, trees, and France. Who are you???
What a thoughtful, poetic post! I like the bits of color – in Ann Arbor (and, currently, Columbus!) it is nothing but GRAY! (dark, light, brownish, but gray). And some of us like to hear about doggies endlessly (!!), but it's good to scratch at the surfaces sometimes, too!
Love all the patina in your photos and next time take the men, doggie's like to scratch the surface too!….;)
XXX
Debra~
I like the idea of scratching a little deeper when life's beauty seems to be a bit stingy. The photos are full of interesting textures – fun to look at and imagine where they might be situated.
XOXOXO
beautiful photos. and it doesn't feel like winter when i look at them.
it feels very meditteranean 🙂
when i look at berlin walls in wintertime they are all… (make a guess)… grey! 🙂
but i am not complaining.
without shadow there is no light.
without sadness no happiness.
and without winter no summer.
sending love* julia
I have just started reading and viewing your posts…and join the delighted others!
These photos are really wonderful..the last one ( with the 'nombrils ) is like a piece of jewellry.
Perhaps I see that because , besides being an art dealer…I am a (self-taught) jewellry designer….but then photos are really quite magical…and one can project so many visions on a simple print.
Need to catch up on your earlier posts….so I can speak about Kipling and Ben with some knowledge…and then introduce them to Maxi and Toffe..the two Miniature Poodles who reside with me!
Thank you so much for sharing a moment of your life ……
On my first visit to Ireland, I found myself staring and thinking about the unknown and very distant past as I saw small rocks, moss and lichen embedded in the trunk of an oak tree. This post reminds me of the photo I took of the little scene – I wonder where it is now.
These photos are absorbing.
Sue