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Weathered wooden bench below shuttered windows on a whitewashed house in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, photographed during a quiet summer spa stay.

Another New Morning for the Same Old Sod

Where Time Stood Still

In the summer of 2023, I treated myself to a three-week spa stay in Bad Tatzmannsdorf. I ate vegan food, lost some weight and returned feeling better. A vintage car is never going to become a racing car again. But a refurbished classic still has its appeal, or so I am told.

Before leaving, I had made another painting for my Reduce series. Looking at the yellow patches, I was reminded of an idea I had once encountered in a remark attributed to Picasso: a spot of yellow can become a sun in a painting. The question still interests me. How little is needed before a patch of colour begins to suggest something more?

Another New Morning for the Same Old Sod, a sparse ink painting from the Reduce series with yellow patches, black brushstrokes and green traces, asking when colour begins to suggest a sun.
Another New Morning for the Same Old Sod — ink painting from the Reduce series.

A Quiet Morning in Bad Tatzmannsdorf

It is a small, quiet place: the sort where, as we say here, the fox and the hen say goodnight, and the pavements are rolled up by nine. That suited me perfectly. These snapshots give an impression of my walks in and around the resort.

Some show the open-air museum, where old houses and farm buildings preserve something of rural life in southern Burgenland. Others are simply things I noticed along the way: a bench, a patch of shade, or the surface of the water.

Sunlit grass and fruit trees in front of small historic houses in Bad Tatzmannsdorf
Weathered wooden bench beneath two windows with dark shutters on a whitewashed wall
Table with a white cloth, ceramic jugs and a vase beside a window with red checked curtains
Two sheep standing in the shade beside a timber building
Wooden bell tower among thatched buildings at the open-air museum in Bad Tatzmannsdorf
Old farm buildings at the open-air museum in Bad Tatzmannsdorf.
Rounded stones, tufts of grass and an ivy-covered mound in a garden
Purple flower spikes in front of dark water dotted with pale floating specks
Blue sky and leafy branches reflected in golden-brown water
Pale floating specks and reflected light on dark water, with reeds at the bank

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37 responses to “Another New Morning for the Same Old Sod”

  1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
    Zettl Fine Arts

    Merci beaucoup, Christine! 💝

    Reply
  2. graham mcquade avatar
    graham mcquade

    Have a relaxing stay, Friedrich. It looks like good sketching country – maybe good enough to inspire an abstract painter. PS, still unable to enter a like.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you very much, Graham! I know. sometimes it’s hard to like me 🙂

      Reply
  3. Spira avatar
    Spira

    In search of peace of mind and body… seems like the place to experience it.
    May the sensation accompany you through the coming year.
    Btw, impressive as modern cars may be, they got nothing on a 356, 550 or an E-type.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you! Yes, it is really a peaceful place with pure nature. Also on my plate 🙂 I don’t know much about cars – not even about myself 🙂

      Reply
  4. Maryanne avatar
    Maryanne

    Gorgeous work!
    The spa sounds fantastic. I’m vegan too and it’s a great lifestyle for health, animals, and the planet. Thank you!

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you very much 🙏 it was a new experience for me.

      Reply
  5. swabby429 avatar
    swabby429

    This looks like a lovely respite from our crazy world. I feel a calm nostalgia around these images.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      I can’t say if it is less crazy there but it seems they missed a few decades 😎☀️

      Reply
  6. The Sicilian Storyteller avatar
    The Sicilian Storyteller

    Outstanding post, Fred, and your line about vintage cars is excellent! Guten tag!

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      You are so kind! And though you are still young you understood the vintage car thing 🙂 🙂

      Reply
      1. The Sicilian Storyteller avatar
        The Sicilian Storyteller

        Haha! Watch who you’re calling “young”! 😂

      2. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
        Zettl Fine Arts

        😎🙏☀️🌹

  7. Mike and Kellye Hefner avatar
    Mike and Kellye Hefner

    Ah, peaceful and relaxing, Fred! What a charming place. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thanks a lot! Yes, I sure enjoyed myself – nothing else to do there anyway 🙂

      Reply
  8. Ashley avatar
    Ashley

    Excellent! A rejuvenated Friedrich! I think we could all do with some of that pampering 🙋‍♂️

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you Ashley! Let’s hope this lasts for a while – until steaks and pizzas are in charge again.

      Reply
  9. Rosaliene Bacchus avatar
    Rosaliene Bacchus

    A return to a more tranquil and simpler lifestyle. Perfect for healing and rejuvenation. Your latest “reduce series” still remain out of reach for me as an artistic expression of the essential. I’ve a long way to go yet in connecting with the essence of life that unites all lifeforms.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you Rosaliene for your unvarnished comment! Some people like oysters, some can’t get them down 🙂 Seriously, Asian concepts can be difficult for us Westerners to understand, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying to understand them. To balance this out, next week I’ll show an image that you might like, although at its core it’s very similar. The picture should then also show whether I have learned something from my reduce series.

      Reply
      1. Rosaliene Bacchus avatar
        Rosaliene Bacchus

        Friedrich, my unvarnished comment comes from an appreciative and open heart <3 Right now, I'm currently awash with all kinds of emotions, so well expressed in your Painting #3 from your blog post "Metaverse (III): the beginning and the end." [https://zettl.blog/2022/04/metaverse-beginning-and-end/]

      2. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
        Zettl Fine Arts

        Thank you Rosalie! I’m always pleased when I get honest answers. “Feeling awash with all kinds of emotions” is an unavoidable thing in the world we currently live in. It seems all the more important to me personally to occasionally immerse ourselves in spheres in which personal emotions are allowed to rest.

      3. Rosaliene Bacchus avatar
        Rosaliene Bacchus

        Working hard at getting there 🙂

  10. 6qsite avatar
    6qsite

    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Reply
  11. Dominik Alexander avatar
    Dominik Alexander

    I love the smiling house 😊

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you Alexander! Probably not everyone recognized it as a smiling house. But you’re an artist, so it’s not surprising. 🙂

      Reply
  12. babsje avatar
    babsje

    Sumptuous post and photos from the spa
    Your painting that appears with this caption “another new morning for the same old sod” is stunning. Thank you for making time to share this post with us!

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      You are very kind and I appreciate your words. If there were herons there, it would be a nice spot for you 🙂

      Reply
      1. babsje avatar
        babsje

        Herons would have been the icing on the cake. You chose a lovely spa break.

  13. Edith avatar
    Edith

    Du wirst Picasso auf jeden Fall gerecht, die Umsetzung ist grandios.
    Und der Ort wirkt paradiesisch. Es klingt, als hättest du dich rundum gut erholt.
    So soll es sein. Du weißt, auch Oltimer können langsamer, Hauptsache, sie kommen immer an….
    Dir einen feinen Sonntag
    mit Herzensgrüßen von mir zu dir.

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Ich weiss es wirklich zu schaetzen, liebe Edith, dass Du Deinen Urlaub unterbrochen hast, um mir den Bauch zu pinseln 🙂 Ja, Oldtimer sind eh nicht umzubringen, wenn man gelegentlich den Lack poliert.

      Reply
  14. Carlos Menéndez avatar
    Carlos Menéndez

    Wonderful pictures!
    I like it!

    Reply
  15. Cindy Georgakas avatar
    Cindy Georgakas

    You always transform yellow spots to the sun dear Friedrich! Exquisite post, pics, lighting and message. Happy you took heed and got away to care for your soul. Amazing what a little fresh air and good food does to restore the engines that fire. 💕💗💕

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you so very much 💓🙏 Your kind words are the fuel for my 6 cylinder 😀

      Reply
      1. Cindy Georgakas avatar
        Cindy Georgakas

        You’re so welcome. Ha, ha, ha. Happy to oblige❤️

  16. Mari Nicholson avatar
    Mari Nicholson

    My sort of place and I’m envious. Like the paintings also!

    Reply
    1. Zettl Fine Arts avatar
      Zettl Fine Arts

      Thank you very much! Yes, a good place to get a little distance from the hustle and bustle of big city life.

      Reply
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