A few months ago, we all felt that we lived in uncertain times, but I suspect none of us had any inkling of the uncertainties which we face now.

I’d like first to express my support for each of you in what you’re having to go through at the moment. I wish that there was more that I could do to help you and others to cope with all these difficulties, and to ensure that you remain healthy and well.

What I think I can do here is offer you a little escape, whether it’s into the art and artists which I cover in the Painting articles, or into Mac technical information, or even the occasional riddle, perhaps. I therefore intend trying – as much as I can – to keep publishing here a steady stream of articles.

I aim to publish at least two articles every day, seven days a week, one on painting and art, the other on Macs and related technology. Although I don’t operate a strict schedule, this is what you can expect:

• Monday, 0730 UTC (UTC+1 from 29 March) a Mac/technology article, 0900 solutions to the previous Mac riddles, 1230 a Painting/art article.
• Tuesday-Friday, 0730 a Mac/technology article, 1230 a Painting/art article.
• Saturday, 0800 a lighter Mac/technology article, 0900 weekend Mac riddles, 1230 a Painting/art article.
• Sunday, 0800 a weekly roundup/OpEd on Macs, 1230 a Painting/art article.

There are also more than five thousand previous articles for you to explore and enjoy.

Painting

We have a major anniversary looming on 6 April, the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death. My series of articles looking at his work starts here.

On 20 April, I will be commemorating the centenary of the death of Briton Rivière, whose paintings will probably be unknown to you.

The next major anniversary after that is the centenary of the death of the Swedish figurative painter Anders Zorn, on 22 August, for which I will be writing a substantial series looking through his work and career.

If you’re looking for serials and long reads, I have several available. Starting points include:
Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, a swashbuckling tale of love, chivalry and magic across Europe (27 episodes, with another 4 to come)
Dante’s Divine Comedy, in 32 episodes
Bocaccio’s Decameron, in 10 episodes
Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered, in 14 episodes
Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in 85 episodes
Ovid’s Heroides, in 20 episodes
Plutarch’s Lives, in 31 episodes

There’s a full listing of painting articles by subject here.

Macs

There’s a full listing of articles by subject here.

I have a lot of completely free Mac software available. It doesn’t carry adverts or try to steal your personal data.

Here is the downloadable PDF version with links to all the product pages:
AppSelectionChart

If there’s anything more that I can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask, either as a comment here (preferred), or by email to h [dot] oakley [at] btconnect [dot] com.

May we all stay well and healthy.