My father is a modern art dealer. Nat Leeb was one of the artists he represented for many years. I remember Monsieur Leeb, when I was 16, trying to give me an impromptu drawing lesson: you observe for ten minutes, he said, then draw for one.
This was always my favorite Leeb painting, all my growing up. My father told me that Leeb had been one of the last proteges of Claude Monet, when Monet was an old man and Leeb a young one. Leeb became, not an Impressionist, but a Colorist: see, Dad said, in this painting, there is a house at the top of the cliff, with the ocean below, see how the light interacts with them.
Echoes from what Leeb had said to me: observe for ten minutes. Then draw conclusions as to what you’re seeing for one.
I have not succeeded yet in getting a good picture of my necklace, with its leaves and fine curls of silver across the top of the leaves. It wasn’t till after I’d finished that shawl, which stretches easily to 20″ wide and went down to my knees, that I saw: it looks like two women, each dressed with a shawl wrapped around them, reaching across the expanse of earth, the distance of the turquoise stone, to embrace each other above it.
The silversmiths make a cast and then create a number of pieces from that cast. I am quite pleased that a twin to my necklace is now up for sale on dineh’s ebay site–and that the starting price is higher than mine was two weeks ago. Very good.
