The Remains of the Day
“The Remains of the Day”
Coloured pencils on Arches Aquarelle smooth. 36.5 x 30.8 cm. February 2019.
Venice: November 2018. It is nearly 4 pm and the sun is already inclining westwards. I am going west as well, plodding back towards my apartment, happily worn out. But then…a light bulb moment…
I see a vision which causes me to stop and ask myself, “What if I point my camera lens into the sun?”
The sun is poised above Punta della Dogana and Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, shining directly into my eyes.
I raise my camera, quickly compose and then close my eyes against the glare as I click, click, click.
The air is all haze and halo, evaporating some objects while solidifying others (including people) into dark abstractions. Sea mirrors sky – blazing here, sparkling there. A seagull has swooped into my view. Perfect.
There are approximately 90 minutes of daylight left. I will be back sitting on my bed by 5 pm scrolling through photographic images on my camera… ‘Here’s a good one.’
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The two drawings from this day are bookends – starting with “Early One Morning” (07:50) and finishing with “The Remains of the Day” (15:50). Matthew (husband) came up with the titles – the first being a Celtic folk song and the second, a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Early One Morning
“The Remains of the Day”
Julie Podstolski - Abstract Realism 
What spectacular lighting! and a great composition. Brilliant! (word play too)
The spectacular lighting was the sun. The word play was Matt’s. I’ll take credit for the composition.
Great post 😁
Thank you!
Beautiful work, the sunset, Julie! X
Thanks, Camilla. And lovely for our old group to catch up the other night.
Your artwork is remarkable! Each piece is detailed without the detail ! Lol
Thanks, Kathleen. What a good way to put it – detailed without the detail. I will have to make a note of that in my art journal.
Julie, I love your work, it’s amazing…I especially love Remains of the Day…I think it’s one of my favorites!! Kathryn
Hi Kathryn, I’m delighted for The Remains of the Day to be a favourite. Thank you for saying so.
Fabulous piece, Julie .. love the title too! Jules
Thanks for the endorsement, Jules. Much appreciated.
Julie , what a truly gorgeous picture . The way you have captured the light is masterful ! (or mistressful if you are gender sensitive . ) One of your best .
Love , Judy R.
Oh dear, Judy, several people who know me and my art very well have said that this is my best piece ever. It is a bit intimidating to hear that. This is going to be a hard act to follow…
just lovely !
Thank you, Miss G.
Finally looking at this one Julie, but still on the small screen of my phone – I want to see it in detail! I especially love the sky on this one, the multitude of colour, as it is at this time of day. The reflecting lights in the water are a perfect counterpoint. The lamp stretching up into the sky takes us up there, into the lovely evening light. Beautiful.
Hi Julie, I love your art so much. Just can’t stop looking at them. I find it so challenging to achieve soft focus background with coloured pencils. I bought some oil pastels (Neopastel and Sennelier) but don’t know how to apply them smoothly. For large areas do you use your fingers for blending? The colour gets muddy quite easily. I wish you could show us how to do it in a video. I really really admire your work Julie! So beautiful!
Hi Ella, thanks for your comments. I apply oil pastels using a bristle brush. But it is just as easy to do soft focus with coloured pencils only. It is all a matter of the pressure you apply with the pencils. Lots of soft light pressure for loose blurry areas. I use a dry bristle brush to blend large areas of colour – and then put more coloured pencil over the top. While many artists show videos of their methods, it isn’t something I do. Cheers, Julie
Thank you so much for your reply Julie. I’ll give bristle brush a go:)