The homage to me

Receiving my diploma

Kind words from the Alcaldesa. 

 

Stalemate

Vox party’s hardline attitudes appear to have turned off Spanish voters

Amid internal recriminations over the party’s collapse, the mainstream conservative People’s party (PP) has also been distancing itself from Vox. The PP, which had been expected in the run-up to the election to form a coalition with Vox, emerged as overall winner but is now unable to form a government.

By aligning itself with the far right, the PP has banished any hope of a coalition with conservative Basque and Catalan nationalists, who have supported minority PP governments in the past but will not countenance entering into a coalition that includes Vox.

Pedro Sánchez, the acting prime minister and Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) leader, will attempt to stay in his job by winning a vote in the parliament that requires an absolute majority of 176 of the 350 seats.

As he has no overall majority, this is likely to go to a second vote 48 hours later, when only a simple majority is required. However, he will still need the votes of Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), the conservative nationalist party led by the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.

After nearly six years of self-imposed exile in Belgium, Puigdemont had been fading into irrelevance before the election, which has given him an opportunity to return to the limelight. However, his demands – for an amnesty for all those charged in relation to the illegal 2017 declaration of independence and for a binding referendum on Catalan independence – are politically impossible for Sánchez to accept.

If Sánchez cannot form a government this month, Spain will go to the polls again in December, the sixth general election in seven years.

The homage to me

The homage to my work as a photographer last night with the wonderful paintings that members of the art club produced from selected photographs. The exhibition will be on in the Auditorium until the 31st August. 

 

Just in time

At last the park in Bigastro is finished - just in time for the Fiesta to honour San Joaquin. It looks magnificent!!

A great honour for me!

Homenaje y Exposición pictórica dedicada a Keith Williamson.

En agradecimiento a su labor fotográfica, capturando con su cámara nuestros paisajes, fiestas, tradiciones, etc. el Ayuntamiento de Bigastro y su concejalía de Cultura, en colaboración con la asociación Big-Arte, realizan un homenaje y exposición pictórica a Keith Williamson.

Los beneficios obtenidos de la venta de las obras serán destinados a la Junta Local de la Asociación Contra el Cáncer. 

Four down

 The fourth painting has just been sold. Many thanks to the lady who has bought it. 

Two down

 Two of the ten paintings I have offered for sale have now been taken. That means I have already raised 150 Euros for the local Alzheimer Association. With your help, I can raise more. 

Please help me achieve my target of 500 Euros by buying one of the eight remaining paintings. 

I have suggested prices of 50 Euros for the smaller paintings and 100 for the larger ones but of course you can offer more (or less) if you so wish. 

Update: Three have now gone. 

A dead heat

 After their success in the local elections, the conservative PP must have felt confident that they would win yesterday's general election. A coalition between them and Vox would surely command a majority of seats. The polls suggested the PP would win 168 seats. 

Although the PP gained seats (136 from 89 in 2019), Vox (the only other right wing party) lost seats (33 from 52 in 2019). Together they have 169 seats which is 7 seats short of the number required for an absolute majority. 

As it stands, the socialist PSOE have a better chance of achieving pacts that will allow them to continue to govern. However, pacts with some of those groups could mean that we end up with the "tail wagging the dog" and are thus unlikely to succeed. Pedro Sanchez would need Junts de Catalunya to offer to abstain to achieve a majority. Junts will only cooperate if Sanchez promises a referendum on independence which he won't. 

Unless some miracle occurs, it is probable that Spain will face another election in December - the sixth in eight years.   At least that would be in the cool of winter - some voters suffered 40 degree temperatures to reach polling stations yesterday.

Why

 So why am I offering my paintings for you to buy at a price decided by you?

1. I need the space!!

2. Acuerdate de mi is a charity we may want to make use of in the future. 

3. I've had the pleasure of painting these pictures. Now is the time for someone else to have the pleasure of owning them. 

Don't feel embarrassed to offer whatever you wish. I won't be insulted!! 

An offer you can't refuse.

 I currently have too many paintings to hang on the walls of our house. So some will have to go before I can consider painting any more!

The deal is this: you offer me what you'd like to pay for my work and I donate 100% of  the proceeds to Acuerdate de mi (the Alzheimer's Association here in Bigastro).  

All the paintings are ready to hang with wire at the back. Buyers collect the paintings from my house and pay in cash. 

If you are interested, contact me at keithwilliamson@telefonica.net 

Here are the paintings:

Actualmente tengo demasiados cuadros para colgar en las paredes de nuestra casa. ¡Así que algunos tendrán que irse antes de que pueda considerar pintar más!

El trato es este: me ofreces lo que te gustaría pagar por mi trabajo y dono el 100% de lo recaudado a Acuerdate de mi (la Asociación de Alzheimer aquí en Bigastro).

Todos los cuadros están listos para colgar con alambre en la parte trasera. Los compradores recogen las pinturas de mi casa y pagan en efectivo.

Si estás interesado, ponte en contacto conmigo en keithwilliamson@telefonica.net

Aquí están las pinturas:

Reina Sofia park, Guardamar: Acrylic on canvas 35 x 50 cms  SOLD.

Pine trees at La Pedrera: Oil on canvas 46 x 62 cms SOLD

Flower market in Rome: Oil on canvas 80 x 50 cms SOLD

Herbaceous border: Oil on canvas 80 x 50 cms

Parc Guel, Barcelona: Oil on canvas 80 x 50 cms

Cuenca: Acrylic on canvas 80 x 55 cms

Sorrento, Italy: Oil on canvas 35 x 50 cms SOLD

Selection of fruit: Acrylic on canvas 50 x 35 cms

Towards the Sierra Callosa: Oil on canvas 80 x 50 cms.

Orihuela from the River Segura: Oil on canvas 80 x 50cms. 

Whoopy doo!

 The much cooler temperatures today will be a welcome relief to all. Some may even welcome the light rain that is currently cooling things down. What they won't be pleased with is the mud that is accompanying it. 

An update to a previous post.

 

On your wall

 This is what my painting would look like on your wall. 

In spite of the many highly favorable comments on Facebook, nobody has so far ordered a copy of my painting. I ask myself, "why is that?". Is the picture too large, the price too high or maybe they just don't want San Joaquin on their walls.

The cost of printing on canvas is just less than 38 Euros so the donation to charity is a mere 12 Euros. There is no point in me doing this, if there is no gain for someone. Smaller sizes are not much cheaper because the size I painted this is on special offer. 

I actually ordered one copy which I may end up giving to the Brotherhood of San Joaquin - only if they want it of course!

NB In the photo print, part of the original painting is on the edge of the frame. Also, the original is on a canvas 61 x 38 - the print is 60 x 40. 

Something for the weekend...

 

Not done yet

 Much of the continent is experiencing very hot weather because air is coming over from North Africa.  It had calmed down here following a few days when the temperature reached 40 degrees. 

That is about to change on Wednesday when AEMET predicts a high of 45. 

To escape the heat, you need to go to the coast where it should be up to 9 degrees cooler.

And my entry...

This is the painting I produced for the competition. I was delighted when it was awarded third prize.

It is an interpretation of one of the photos that I took last year of the procession of San Joaquin around the streets of the town. 

The intention is to auction the paintings produced for the competition in aid of charity. 

However, in the case of my picture, it was already spoken for whilst I was in the process of painting it. 

With the permission of the lady who will own the original, I have arranged to have photographic prints made on canvas (60 x 40cms.). 

The cost will be 50 Euros which includes a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association here in Bigastro. 

If you’d like a copy, contact me at keithwilliamson@telefonica.net.

 

And the winner is...

This painting by Antoni Segura was judged to be the winner of the contest for a cover and poster for this year's fiesta.

Painted mainly with pallete knives, it represents the moment when the costaleros raise the paso above their heads as they return San Joaquin to the church.

Art for art's sake

This year, the painting club competed to produce designs for the cover of the book and the poster for the Annual Fiesta. 

The finished works will be on display at the Auditorium from Friday at 8pm.

Included in the exhibition is my painting of the procession last year. 

The club have decided to auction the paintings at the end of the exhibition which will now be the 28th July not the 25th as shown on the poster. The proceeds will go to charity. 

The exceptions are, the winning painting which will be the property of the Town Hall and mine which is already spoken for.

Then, on the 3rd of August, the town hall and the painting club have organised a homage to my work as a photographer. 

Along with 35 of my photographs that will be on display, members of the club have chosen to interpret a selection of my photographs as paintings. 

More details to follow.

A heat wave coming

 A ridge located to the east of the Peninsula, near Tunisia, is inducing a flow of southern component in the eastern half of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, which is already introducing a mass of air, of Saharan origin, very hot and dry, with probable dust in suspension and that is favoring an increase in temperatures. In the coming days, the movement of this ridge to the west brings the mass of very warm air closer to a good part of the Peninsula, except to the northwest and north, which, together with the stability and high insolation characteristic of the time, will give most likely lead to a heat wave episode.

Temperatures will rise in the coming days, and on Sunday it is likely that they will reach 40  locally in the central part of the Guadalquivir valley, 36-38  in other areas of the southern and inland plateau of the Balearic Islands, and 36 in the Ebro valley.

During Monday the temperatures will rise clearly in a good part of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.

Higher-than-normal maximum temperatures are expected in general, exceeding 38 in large areas of the interior of the peninsula and Mallorca and 40 in areas from the interior of the southern half of the peninsula and even reaching 44  in points of the Guadalquivir valley.

The temperatures will remain very high during Tuesday, although with some changes. The intensification of the west and southwest wind will cause a new rise in the peninsular east and the Ebro valley, where, as in Majorca, temperatures can reach 40-42 ; and, conversely, decreases in the west and north of the peninsula. On the other hand, in the Guadalquivir valley, the very high temperatures, exceeding 42  These two days, Monday and Tuesday, are the days highlights of this episode.

For Wednesday the 12th, a cooling off in the northern half and central peninsula is likely, mainly in the Ebro valley, as well as in the Balearic Islands, but not in the southern third where temperatures will continue to be very high.

By gum - that was good

We already knew there was a wealth of talent in Bigastro. Last night some of that talent was showcased at Lo Chusco park.  

First off the dancing - wow can those people move on the dance floor. Ballet to mambo, we were well treated by the individuals and groups that performed. 

Then we had many combinations of the guitarists and percussionists that had come to entertain us.  Tunes included those by Ben E. King, Guns n Roses, Radiohead, Santana and Green Day, even a bit of Muse. There were plenty of Spanish classics in the sets as well. 

A fabulous night of entertainment. 

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