Dakhla Door I enjoy painting doors. It takes the viewer's imagination one step further as they wonder what goes on behind it.
The one above was inspired by a stroll down a country lane in the remote oasis village of Dakhla which is at the edge of the Western Desert here in Egypt.
It was one of those lovely mornings which make you glad to be alive - birds singing, sun shining.
We turned a corner and came upon this wonderful door set into an ancient drystone wall, made from what's known locally as "gereed" which is the hard centre stem of date palm fronds.
The one above was inspired by a stroll down a country lane in the remote oasis village of Dakhla which is at the edge of the Western Desert here in Egypt.
It was one of those lovely mornings which make you glad to be alive - birds singing, sun shining.
We turned a corner and came upon this wonderful door set into an ancient drystone wall, made from what's known locally as "gereed" which is the hard centre stem of date palm fronds.
As usual I did sketches and took a couple of photos so that it was fixed in my memory, then painted it using watercolours at my leisure in the studio.
Old El Kasr Door
Old El Kasr Door
This door was in another oasis village a bit further north in the now deserted covered village of El Kasr, which happily is being preserved as a monument.
The whole place had an amazing atmosphere and you could so easily imagine the previous inhabitants over the centuries.
This door must have seen so much history. The names written in Arabic around it were probably of the inhabitants but in a remote place at that time there would have been very few who could read.
There are also hand prints - most likely made using the natural minerals found locally, though even today they are often made from the blood of a freshly-slaughtered goat or sheep to celebrate a joyous occasion such as the birth of a child.
Luxor Door
Bahraini Door
Doors need not even have to be working.
This one was rescued when I first went to live in Bahrain.
At the time nobody had any sense of the value of antiquities, and when an old traditional house was being bulldozed to make way for the horrible buildings of the 1970s, I managed to buy it from the site foreman for next to nothing.
It's hand carved and probably at least 350 years old.
After a lot of TLC it now lives in our house in Egypt and it's beauty has made it the subject of several paintings. This one is in acrylics and coloured pencil.
S0 start looking for interesting doors in your neighbourhood. It can be a new opening for your art (pun very much intended! sorry!)
The whole place had an amazing atmosphere and you could so easily imagine the previous inhabitants over the centuries.
This door must have seen so much history. The names written in Arabic around it were probably of the inhabitants but in a remote place at that time there would have been very few who could read.
There are also hand prints - most likely made using the natural minerals found locally, though even today they are often made from the blood of a freshly-slaughtered goat or sheep to celebrate a joyous occasion such as the birth of a child.
Luxor DoorI had seen a collection of photos of the many beautiful doors to be found on the West Bank of theNile, so on one of my trips down south I went to seek them out and was rewarded with this lovely one which I painted in watercolours.
Bahraini DoorThis one was rescued when I first went to live in Bahrain.
At the time nobody had any sense of the value of antiquities, and when an old traditional house was being bulldozed to make way for the horrible buildings of the 1970s, I managed to buy it from the site foreman for next to nothing.
It's hand carved and probably at least 350 years old.
After a lot of TLC it now lives in our house in Egypt and it's beauty has made it the subject of several paintings. This one is in acrylics and coloured pencil.
Oh Judy, Judy, Judy !!- what fabulous doors. Its a subject I love and often paint when away from home such as trips to Cyprus, Dominion Republic, etc as well as visits to churches and cathedrals in England. They have a magic all their own with this feeling of mystery. All yours draw me into the long distant past with wonder.
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