Tudors All The Way Down

[Bongo]

Looking for a good spot to paint, I came across a block of Tudor houses and was reminded of a story about how:

A Tribal Chief explained to an Anthropologist that the earth did not reside in space
but rested on the back of a large turtle.
"But what does the turtle rest on," asked the Anthropologist.
"Another turtle," replied the Chief.
"And what does that..." before the Anthropolist could finish -
"It's turtles all the way down," exclaimed the Chief!

It was Tudors all the way down (the street) I set up and except for a few dog walkers, no cars or people came by the whole time I was painting. That was cool with me, but creepy at the same time - like the Truman Show, or an episode of The Twilight Zone.

the sketch:

Making progress - going with a crop

"Tudors All The Way Down"
Oil on 16"x20" panel, cropped to 10"x20"

comments welcomed

 

[Enyaw]

Atmospheric depth of field and broken color would enhance your production. I admire your wanting to learn such difficult students. I like the skyline and feel of the piece.

 

[Bongo]

Atmospheric depth of field and broken color would enhance your production. I admire your wanting to learn such difficult students. I like the skyline and feel of the piece.

There's no atmospheric depth because it's clear skies and the picture plane is only about 30 feet deep. There is broken color in the sky, the roofs, the shrubs, the pavements. I left some areas of color field because I wanted to emphasize the sameness between Tudors and the "storybook" feel.

I admire you finding nuances in painting the same subject over and over.

 

[Artyczar]

"It's turtles all the way down,"

I love that!

I love the storybook vibe on this one, for sure. It reminded me of a page in a storybook before I read that you typed that. I can see this piece in all types of galleries, and used for all kinds of illustration. And I love that there are no people or cars. Since most of the houses are painted relatively the same, it makes me wonder if there's one of those community councils in place that vote on house paint colors.

 

[Terri]

This definitely has a storybook feel, and I approve! Even though they're a little different, I like your decision to make them all the same, it enhances the storybook simplicity.

Fun stuff!

 

[snoball]

♫And they're all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same. ♫♪ Great job on painting them, Bongo!

 

[Bongo]

Waye, Ayin,Terri, Snow, thank you much! I made them look more alike than they are. There are no community councils here that I'm aware of other than for condos. There are quite a few Tudors scattered over Seattle, -was a fad in the 30's. Most people who buy them want the Tudor vibe and keep them relatively original.

The "turtles all the way down" has many attributions, don't know where it originated. But it's a way of signifying infinite regress.

 

[Jo Castillo]

I like this. It is like a book illustration. Fun to see. It is kinda weird that no one was around. ....

 

[Donna T]

I'd never heard the turtle story and I love your Tudor interpretation! They really hang together as a group give a real feel for the time they were built.

 

[Bongo]

Jo, Donna thank you!

 

[Joy]

Having a science background, that title was click bait for me! Great interpretation of the subject. I always associated the "turtles" story with Bertrand Russell and an older lady in the audience. Apparently that is one of the interpretations of such, as noted in the Wiki link here.

 

[Bongo]

Having a science background, that title was click bait for me! Great interpretation of the subject. I always associated the "turtles" story with Bertrand Russell and an older lady in the audience. Apparently that is one of the interpretations of such, as noted in the Wiki link here.

Joy, I originally read the turtle story a long time ago from some source Greggory Bateson maybe. And it read something like I told it. Before I made my post I googled "turtles all the way down" - and the Bertrand Russell attribution came up.

I have to call bullshit. Bertrand Russel gave a lecture in astronomy(not even his field at all) to an audience so illiterate as to believe the turtle myth?? There is just no universe where this could be true.

 

[Joy]

Joy, I originally read the turtle story a long time ago from some source Greggory Bateson maybe. And it read something like I told it. Before I made my post I googled "turtles all the way down" - and the Bertrand Russell attribution came up.

I have to call bullshit. Bertrand Russel gave a lecture in astronomy(not even his field at all) to an audience so illiterate as to believe the turtle myth?? There is just no universe where this could be true.

Yeah, I get your excellent point. Although it's not totally unbelievable that one audience member could have "eccentric" ideas. I can think of a few classmates in medical (podiatry) school that were really "out there" and it is unbelievable that they graduated.

 

[Bongo]

Wikipedia also has the same scenario but with William James giving the lecture to the turtle lady. These lectures that you have to be a doctoral candidate and win the lottery to get a seat.

How could you dress up this old hackneyed story - I know let's raise the stakes - let's change it so one of the greatest minds of the millennium is giving a lecture in one of the most advanced fields in science, when this student, no lets make it an old woman, yeah that's the ticket, this old imbecilic woman, sashays up to Mr. Smarty-Pants-Nobel laureate- Order of Merit -Principia Mathematica author and tries to set him straight with the stacks of giant turtles in outer space holding up the earth theory.

Oh man that's so much better than the "primitive and the anthropologist" yawner. Guarantee every Tom, Dick and Harriet will be regurgitating this without citation, - only person who will never mention it, of course, is Bertrand Russel (since it never happened).

 

[Artyczar]

Hilarious.

 

[ntl]

I like this--it is so much a naive piece! Yes, illustration, kid's book, etc, including even calendar art! Really nice!

 

[Bongo]

....I can think of a few classmates in medical (podiatry) school that were really "out there" and it is unbelievable that they graduated.

Joy, you're right - it's only because there are some "out there" graduates that people accept as possible the turtle-lady-and-the-professor story.

NTL - thanks much appreciated.