Yesterday was the last day of the Maxfield Parrish exhibition, and I did finally make it, with my parents, to see it. It was lovely, of course, although there were technical difficulties.

There were some surprises: I didn't know that Parrish used photography and projection for his base images, and distinctly remember being shocked by the idea when some paintings based on projected photos were exhibited in the 1970s or 1980s. I always suspected that "Parrish Blue" was pure cobalt blue, but I had that confirmed... I think the film said Winston Cobalt Blue; there ws also another color of blue he used a lot-- the film gave the color numbers, which I promptly forgot. The secret to those dreamily vivid colors was not color mixing, but the application of layered glazes with pure pigment.

I adore Parrish's work, particularly the "girls on rocks" that he denounced after making so many. I'm also charmed by many of his landscapes, mostly done later. I could identify with the Heinlein character Maureen when she rhapsodized about Tertius as a planet that was like a Parrish painting. I think I'd like to live in a Parrish painting, even with its cliches'-- at least the pretty girls get to play instruments and climb mountains.

I found out from my parents that my sister may be moving. ( family stuff followsCollapse )