Monday, 26 October 2015

Ancient architecture

Hi Everybody!

Here's wishing you all a good start in the new week!

For Art Journal Journey, architecture I have another journal page - what else?

I used a photo taken in Achziv, an ancient site on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, a few kilometres from the border to Lebanon. Excavations there have shown that it was a fortified Canaanite city in the 2nd century BC, and the bay where one can swim today is the ancient harbour, which will surely have seen  historic fleets of boats as described in John Masefield's poem, 'Cargoes':

"Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine."

In the old testament it is described as the Phoenician city of Achzib.

Today it is a national park, with  beautiful gardens and beach, a wonderful place for families to spend a day at the seaside. I made an A3 mixed media page, by painting round the photo and blending it into the background with my scratchy brush.






The quality if the photos is not good - they have been stored on a CD, and the quality has deteriorated.



The cliff in the background shows Rosch Hanikra, the border to Lebanon.











Have a great day you all, take care
and thanks a lot for coming by!



27 comments:

  1. This is beautiful, Val, love how you combined the photo and paint. Great photos, too, hugs, Sarah

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  2. Beautiful page in it's simplicity and colour. Your photographs and historical account fascinate me ... how wonderful this is all part of your life experience. Have a lovely day, Valerie. Hugs, Donna

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  3. Amazing photographs Valerie and so wish I had time to paint another page inspired by one of them but my life is full of non crafty stuff at the moment-perhaps another time eh/

    Love your artwork today and the vibrancy of the colours.

    The whole poem came into my mind and I thought of the 'bad press' Britain got in it. Dirty British coaster with a salt- caked smoke stack trying to compete with a Quinquireme or a stately galleon. So pleased you revived an old memory from early school days.

    Have a great day

    Love Chrissie xx

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    1. We used to love singing that song at school, perhaps because we were allowed to cheer when it got to 'dirty British coaster....'

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  4. Wunderschön ist die Seite ! Sie macht sie wie ein Gemälde! Du hast eine tolle Technik das Foto so zu integrieren, dass es wie ein gemaltes Gemälde wirkt! Herrliche Aufnahmen sind das. Das muss ein traumhafter Flecken Erde sein dort!
    Danke für's Teilen!

    Hab einen guten Start in die neue Woche!
    Bussi
    Susi

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  5. eine wunderschöne seite,sieht echt aus wie ein gemälde,susi hat recht.
    tolle bilder sind das wieder,ein schönes fleckchen erde ist das.
    mein schatzi feiert heute seinen 50 ehrentag,da hab ich wenig zeit zu schreiben.
    wünsch dir einen schönen sonntag heute.

    hugs jenny

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    1. Happy Birthday an Deinen Schatz! Dir auch einen schönen Sonntag, hier ist es schon Montag!

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  6. Love how you did that! Those colors are so bold! It really enhances your photo! And it looks so beautiful there! Nice photos! If they have deteriorated I can't image how even more beautiful it looked.

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    1. It really is a gorgeous place, hope I can visit again someday.

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  7. Wow! Painting around the image really makes it stand out! The photos are beautiful and don't look diminished to me at all!

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  8. Love how you made this awesome page, the radiant colours are a perfect background for the photo.
    All the photos look fantastic.
    Yvonne xx

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  9. Na, du bist aber schon weit herum gekommen! Ein beeindruckendes Bauwerk in deinem Bild - und auch tolle Fotos! LG Ulrike

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  10. This is a nice way for me to start my day. Stunning art page and incredible photos of land far away. Thank you. Have a great week.
    Nicole/Beadwright

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  11. Herrlich diese uralten Gemäuser mit den großen Natursteinen,tolle Fotos und deine Seite dazu sieht auch klasse aus. Schön wie du das Fotomotiv eingebettet hast in eine gemalte Landschaft.
    Liebe Grüße
    Sabine

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  12. Thank you for sharing this exotic and (for me) far away place liebe Valerie.
    Your journal page is beautiful as are your wonderful photos!
    oxo

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  13. I love your journal piece. The sky is so bright and the bricks so golden. And you know I'm a fan of your photos. Hugs

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  14. beautiful page Valerie and such interesting photos of another part of the world!

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  15. Your art page is beautiful, Valerie, and so are all of those photographs. I really like the big wheel-like rock. Are those shark fins in the background?

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  16. I've always loved that poem. Clever how you have painted round the photo, that's very effective.
    I said before, I rather like your older photos, some of them have a flat painterly look, especially noticeable in the sky.

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  17. I can't believe I missed this entry. Even your old, deteriorated photos are far better than anything I snapped in my old camera. The way you incorporated it with the rest of the painting is wonderful. Very clever. I think I need one of those scruffy brushes, because you did a fantastic job with the painting.

    I have a love of palm trees, especially since they don't grow here. Like your area, it gets too cold for these tropical trees. So any time I see one, I fall in love. Thanks for sharing these and the wonderful tropics and beautiful area that is new to me.

    I was clueless about the poem alluded to by others, so did an internet search. What an incredible poem by Masefield.

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  18. My curiosity got the better of me, and I found out the round stones are actually grinding stones. Totally awesome photos of that one.

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  19. your journal page just shines Valerie! Love all the exotic scenery of the photos too!

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  20. Love the way you are using your photos in your art!!! Great selection of photos today too :)

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  21. old cities like this are amazing
    considering how they came to be
    what went on there
    and the stone beauty lives on today
    thank you for sharing

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  22. Wow that is so clever how you have incorporated your photo into your artwork Valerie - and the colours are bright and cheerful. Love it! I'm always in awe of how you use and put colours together. Thoroughly enjoyed looking at your lovely photos of places I could never go (I'm afraid of flying).... Gill xx

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  23. The colours in this page are wonderfullly vibrant! You may not be so happy with your photos but I must say I love them! Chrisx

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  24. Wonderful page today. I often put too much on my cards and projects thus I like the verse "Less is More."
    Your photos of Achziv are marvelous. How fortunate you were able to visit this historic site. It is so sad that some of our ancient structures are being destroyed for no good reason at all.
    Hugs,
    C

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