Feluccas on the Nile
© Margret E. Short 2011, 12×5 Oil on panel
Lessons from the Pharaoh’s Tomb, Part Two
Feluccas on the Nile, is inspired by a lovely warm January afternoon sailing around an island near Aswan while watching the sun create long dark shadows across the dunes. As far as the eye can see the feluccas elegantly glide over the water carrying select cargo just as in centuries past.
This graceful sailing vessel is motor-less and relies on the Egyptian southerly winds to push it upstream. These winds build during the day and subside in the evening while the current of the river is used to sail downstream. There are 2 or 3 triangular shaped sails (lateen) which capture the optimum amount of wind for propulsion.
This particular composition is a composite of several photographs taken that day. Few colors were needed to capture the hazy warm atmosphere. The two shadowed sails to the left were painted with the ever popular red iron oxide with the addition of ochre, madder, and black. I tried to use as little blue as possible, even though the sky was a bright blue. It seemed best to add lots of warm ochres and yellows to create the feel of the arid desert warmth adjacent to the River Nile.
We enjoyed our trip on the river just as Cleopatra, pharaohs, emirs, and sultans of the past.
Galerie Gabrie, Pasadena