“In a mud pool at the sea salt mines near Bourgas, Bulgaria, locals gather; he applies the mud from the pool and then stands upright until it is dry, only to take a dip in the nearby sea. Afterwards he has a relaxing swim in the 30cm of water in the salt mine (80-90 per cent pure salt).”
Bulgaria Provadiya and Solnitsata are ancient towns believed by Bulgarian archaeologists to be the oldest in Europe and the site of a salt production facility approximately six millennia ago. One of the uses of the salt was to feed it to cattle for better beef and milk production.
Oftentimes a painting tells a story. Having stood and sat in front of an Old Dutch painting dating back to 1600s, many images come to mind.
Each painting has a different story to tell, especially the 16th Century Dutch, who painted real life images of everyday living.
The above painting is taken from a photograph of this phenomenal salt miner in Bulgaria, who, after chopping out rocks of salt each day, would strip down outside the salt mine, and then cover his body with mud while standing still in the freezing cold until it was dry.
Thereafter he would plunge into the freezing sea before going back into the mine to relax in 30cm of salt water once again.
No doubt he was well preserved!
Looking at the painting, you will notice the reddish tinge to his complexion, it could be from the cold or it could also be from the salt.
The late afternoon sun catches the high points of his face as it heads for the horizon, as on his nose, between his brows, a little at the top of his cheekbones, his bottom lip and chin. The sun creates a yellowish tinge, bringing another colour to his face.
Although he looks healthy, it is difficult to determine his age; he could be old and well preserved, or he could be middle-aged and have the early whitening of hair due to the salt.
There are many wrinkles in his skin and yet the skin appears to be of a middle-aged man. One wonders again if it is the result of the salt drying out the skin, which has caused all these fissures in his face.
Many artists enjoy painting a face with a story.
Every detail, shade, crevice and wrinkle is carefully executed with a sense of achievement. Also, the effect of the smoke, or perhaps vapour escaping from his mouth is another challenge to achieve.
Often young artists want to make every painting ”their own”.
They want to paint ”out of their heads” as they say. There is no such thing.
You can paint from memory, or straight from the countryside, but how do you capture a beautiful bird who only allows you a glimpse of his beautiful plumes before flitting away?
Therefore, we have cameras to capture these incredible moments.
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