Tuesday, June 2, 2009

A restful valley / Um vale repousante


A village stuck in the middle of a valley, between hills of rough stone almost intimidating, and yet how relaxing for the eyes to look at the green surrounding fields... Must not have been easy to turn an ocean of stone into a staircase of fertile land, but the ancestral people's skills have accomplished this feat without a single machine. There was a time when the action of man on the landscape was of no damage, Man and Nature in a team work for mutual benefit. Those times are far gone.
Uma aldeia encravada no meio de um vale, entre montes de agreste pedra que quase intimidam, e no entanto como é repousante pousar os olhos sobre o verde dos campos que as rodeiam... Não deve ter sido tarefa fácil transformar um oceano de pedra numa escadaria de terra fértil, e no entanto o ancestral engenho popular conseguiu essa proeza sem uma única máquina. Houve um tempo em que da acção do homem sobre a paisagem não resultava qualquer prejuízo, Homem e Natureza em trabalho de equipa para benefício mútuo. Esses tempos já vão longe.
Fabriano cold-pressed 7"x5" - 140lb (18x12,5cm - 300g/m2) papel
Available in my Etsy shop / Disponível na minha loja Etsy

8 comments:

nancy said...

This is a beautiful peaceful valley! Very nice.

Paulo J. Mendes said...

Thank you, Nancy. Have a great day and lots of inspiration for your new wonderful palette-knife paintings.

nancy said...

The dreaded palette knife! Thanks for your comments on my painting.

Paulo J. Mendes said...

Your new friend palette knife that will bring you - and us - lots of joy :))

GlorV1 said...

Very peaceful and inviting. The lady is having a conversation with the gentleman. I like that she has her spron on. I wear aprons, not all the time though. To me though, she is standing at the door after making the dough for the bread that will soon go in the oven. She'll fill the valley us with the aroma. Very nice. Enjoy your week.

Paulo J. Mendes said...

Your descriptions always complete so well the scene, Gloria: I can feel that fresh bread aroma, a perfect combination with the sound of the water just below :))

Mineke Reinders said...

There is a harmony between nature and civilization before the time of bulldozers and concrete boxes that you have captured beautifully in this painting. Very peaceful indeed.

Paulo J. Mendes said...

You're so right, Mineke. There are so many places like this where I can see now the damage caused by that creepy combination of bulldozers and concrete... No place for them in my paintings.