Nedko Solakov

On the Train, 1977

oil on canvas
size of painting: 56 x 53 cm
size of work: 90 x 120 cm

This is a very strange canvas, I clearly tried to prime it myself, but the holes in it are too big. Otherwise, I am visibly influenced by M.B. At that time I mainly used the train to go home to Gabrovo. There was one at 5-something in the evening, that arrived in Gabrovo around 11 o’clock at night. Six hours of jostling and swaying. Crossing the Balkan Mountains was very tedious, especially in the winter, when beastly heat blasted from beneath the fake-leather seats – dry heat, no less. That must’ve been when I got the idea for this painting. But it’s not a winter scene – the vision in the corridor flaunts a summer dress.