Holding on to Summer, Georges Beuville, and Home Renovations

A friend asked me, "does it feel like everyone's just ready for summer to be over?" To which my reply was, "no. No it does not. NOT FOR THIS GUY."

I do not know where the last two months have gone. And it's not like I'm wondering about this from a place of idleness or vacationly indulgence: we went away for four days total. That's it. And I came home exhausted.

Maybe this is what it's like having a four-year-old child in our lives? Without a kid or a regular nine-to-five, "summer vacation" didn't used to mean much, this is my first in decades. Maybe I'm discounting how much time it takes to water and tend our garden. Maybe I'm spaced out thinking about work when I should be thinking about Kiddo stuff, and vice versa (just today I missed a green light because I was thinking about DD business).

Speaking of business, most of this summer's DD work has been:

• secret conversations and

• secret documents and

• secret poster designs like the one from the top of the last post, and the one I'm sharing here.

All of this will, hopefully, eventually culminate in some Good Things, as I hinted at in a previous post. I thank you for your patience and understanding. I am conscious that I spend a lot of time saying, "eventually, some day, in due course," and if that annoys you, please know it annoys me more. After all, I know what's coming and it looks awesome. I want it to be here now. And if I keep going, it will be here now. So that's what I intend to keep doing.

If you're thinking, "hey TC, stop it with all the hand wringing," look, I'm sorry, I just feel like you all are putting a lot of faith and enthusiasm into this project and I worry I'm testing your patience. It's just the way I am. It's why I like Horatio Hornblower so much, wringing his hands about the potential of doing anything less than his very best.

Anyway, this (below) is a wider crop of the image above, but still not the entire thing, which I hope I can share with you… eventually, some day, in due course. (Please don't hate me.) I'm happy to say they look great alongside the existing "Travel Posters." :)

GEORGES BEUVILLE

Those DD "travel posters" borrow cues from mid-century travel poster design, and speaking of mid-century illustration, a friend turned me on to an artist I hadn't heard of: Georges Beuville. He linked to this video, which I haven't watched yet, but I have enjoyed the posts on this site.

I mean, just look at this composition (below). (From this post.) I love how it takes a moment to decipher. Plus, the way the space is used feels exciting, considering how quiet the scene is.

And I've been thinking about this swashbuckling scene (below) since I first saw it. (From this post.) The painting is so economical, but the mood, the time of day, the feel of the setting, and the action all come across so strongly.

And of course, how could I not:

(Image above from this post.) Look how well that light is captured in brushstrokes that are so free and fluid. You love to see it. (I love to see it.)

Here's another post on Beuville, chock full of links (some of which are actually still live).

FILLING IN THE GAPS

Wait! I do know where some of the summer went: we spent a few days drywalling over our old fireplace.

The people who owned this home before us, they renovated the wood-burning fireplace to add an over-powered gas insert and a hideous mantel.

The gas insert gave off so much heat that even on the lowest setting it turned our little living room into a sweatbox in record time, before automatically shutting off because the temperature was too high. It offered none of the comfortable ambiance one expects from a fireplace. And the mantel was so ugly the room looked better after we demolished it, leaving all the masonry and framing exposed. After we moved our furniture around, it turned out "in front of the fireplace" was the best place in the room to put the TV — fair enough, the house was built in the 70s, when they weren't planning for people to need a place to put a 55" flatscreen.

But we did that demolition a year an a half ago. We're over-due to repair our poor walls, so that's what we've been doing. And as some of you may know, when you don't have the tools or expertise to do a particular home renovation job, it takes time.

Some people might say, "you've just lopped $10,000 off your resale value by removing that fireplace!" To which I reply, "right, but I want to live in a home that suits us," which is the choice we've made. Housing is bonkers. People are crazy. There's a house down the street from us which just popped up on the market. The latest owners have reno'd the whole thing with bottom-shelf Home Depot offerings. Worst of all, though, they painted over the italianate mural on the side of the garage. No, it wasn't a marvelous mural. Yes, it had a dated "family dining" vibe. But that's still the house I'd rather live in.

- - - - -

I hope you're all doing well and that your home is the way you want it to be, whatever that looks like. My next priority is Chapter Six and Seven thumbnails, and I look forward to showing you how that's coming along!

Until then,
I remain,
wringing his hands,

TC