All my creative pursuits.
On a trip to Austria in 2022, we visited the 11th century fortress at Kufstein. At a high point overlooking the river and the town nestled below, the ‘palas’ (residential quarters) and the ‘Bergfried’ (fortified tower) would have kept watch over the Lower Inn Valley in the province of Tyrol/
After a lengthy pause, I am returning to the project of sketching portraits of the War Poets of The Great War. It’s been 3 years (!) since I did my sketch of Robert Graves, but I’m back with a portrait of Edmund Blunden, whom I featured on the blog once before. This time I’m including one of his other poems but please do follow the link to the previous Blunden post to read Thiepval Wood and the explanation of it.
Here is my sketch and the photo I used for reference (via Wikipedia).
Les Halles d’Ypres by Edmund Blunden
A tangle of iron rods and spluttered beams,
On brickwork past the skill of a mason to mend:
A wall with a bright blue poster—odd as dreams
Is the city’s latter end.
A shapeless obelisk looms Saint Martin’s spire,
Now a lean aiming-mark for the German guns;
And the Cloth Hall crouches beside, disfigured with fire,
The glory of Flanders once.
Only the four square tower still bears the trace
Of beauty that was, and strong embattled age,
And gilded ceremonies and pride of place—
Before this senseless rage.
And still you may see (below the noon serene,
The mysterious, changeless vault of sharp blue light),
The pigeons come to the tower, and flaunt and preen,
And flicker in playful flight.
Ireland has given me lovely scenes to paint. I’ve had to rely on photos since we’ve been under a 5km [3 mile] limit on travel since December. But now we are free to move about so I hope to get to see more of my adopted country this summer. Here are some of my latest pieces —the only creative things I’ve indulged in during the last few months.
Meg Sorick, Author/Artist 