Monday, July 28, 2008

White Greek house with rounded edges

I'm finally scanning my sketchbook from Greece. These white houses on the Cyclades seemed to be made of either bricks or rock and cement concretions covered with plaster or stucco and whitewashed or painted white. We saw some being built and some being repaired. One thing I noticed right away is that all the edges or corners of these houses, which make villages on the island rocks and hills--villages that reminded me of stacked sugar cubes--are rounded. It is interesting to try o draw this, when we are used to the sharp edges on the buildings we are familiar with.
Someone told me that the rounded edges on these houses were supposed to stop the sea winds from whistling all the time. The wind does blow fairly consistently. And they said it doesn't work.

3 comments:

  1. This is wonderful! Lucky you! I would love to go to Greece! The white houses, the ocean..... Thank you for your comments on my postcards. :) Marva

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  2. What a great blog! I love it from the name down...

    My daughter sketches like this. I've often envied her free and creative way with pen and ink, and now that I've read your post, I see there are reasons for architecture with rounded corners. Having always wanted to travel to Greece, she somehow knew, I guess...

    Now I'll treat myself to more of your poetry and sketches.

    Barb

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