Roses encore...

 

  

Here are two more roses from the roses series.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

 

 

Shakespeare was right of course.  His insight speaks to me of joy.  Just go with it.  It doesn't matter why you are happy, just enjoy the rose, the day, the grandchildren.

Lately, I have approached religion that way.  I used to need to study and understand Kant, Hume, Sartre et al, which I did.  But in the end it was not helpful to someone over sixty.

I now just acknowledge my awe in the face of all the unanswered questions and humbly take my place in the human race, where we all sense the power of those unanswered questions.  I have lost the conceit to think that I will ever answer them.  So there is no point in arguing about it.

And so with religion, I now throw in my lot with those who understand our need for group faith and the hope that it all has some higher meaning. Faith is a place where the human race has always been.  I accept that and the comfort it brings.

And it doesn't matter which faith.  That is not the point.  Faith is not a matter of being right.  It is a matter of acknowledging that we don't know.  So there is no right or wrong faith.  They are all right.

It is a funny old world and one filled with vast mystery.  I think sometimes art gives us glimpses of meaning.  At least I hope so.

It's art fair time at the harbour condo complex, dudes

 

Summer brings outdoor art fairs everywhere.  A town near me is getting ready with blue striped tents and marquees with empty plywood walls, waiting to be hung with arts and crafts.

It's like a farmers market for boomers, only instead of fruit and veg, it's art.  It's all consumable.

I figure there is more art for sale now than at any time in the history of the world, as boomers settle into retirement and one or two last kicks at self definition.

Next will come swollen church rolls as attendance climbs with boomers looking to make that one last ascent into consumer heaven to see what God has to offer them at a good price and without too much effort and in a, you know, certain style.

More new ones of the new ones

 

  

 

New people to photograph

 

 

I've always photographed people.  Over the years I have built up a rather large collection of people pictures.  That isn't unusual.  I suspect most snap shots are people in one form or another.  Kodak built their business on that fact.

So it is always nice when a new person comes along.  It changes all the dynamics and provides new occasions to make different pictures.

Artisitic visions formed by time and the warm Italian sun

 

Siena hillside

  

Pitti Place, Florence

When we were in Siena in 2005, I made a photo of a hillside.  I loved the view, but I hadn't been able to translate what I found so interesting into a watercolour until now.

When I looked at the hillside, I saw large villas, monestaries, homes and other old buildings tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the hill.  The rocks were steep and dangerous.  The trees were ancient and formed into artisitic visions by time and the warm Italian sun.

There is a strange man wandering around the garden with a camera to his eye

 

  

  

  

More stuff from the garden

Bangin' away on the wet leaves

i always like to keep my headlines germaine. I continue to shoot the garden, particulalry the wet green leaves of the iris and peony.

Some wags might construe today's headline to refer to a procreative sojourn in the rain forest. But no, it is an apt metaphor for a photographer shooting hundreds of wet pictures in an effort to get some in focus and well composed.

It's a bloody good thing I'm not still shooting 8 X 10 inch film at $2 per shot. It would be several hundred dollars of frustration at this point. But digital makes us prolific and perhaps careless, not unlike an ever rising stock market.

Inside the outside blog

 

  

 

Well I don't know...

I could call it  "a few new ones"...  But I use that title every time!

It sounds so limp.  How can I make an intellectual connection between these three new images?

Well one is inside the house and the others are outside.

That's it!

Images from a calm day at the lake

 

  

  

Magical mystery light bathes the lakeshore

We were returning home along the Lakeshore when I noticed the light was rather spectacular. It was not sunny and it was not cloudy. There was a high cloud cover that blocked out the sun but it was not a dark cloudy day. There was a strong luminosity, rather like my northern window. It obliterated all the shadows yet left the colour saturated.

I thought it might make a brilliant black and white photo so I drove home to fetch my camera. I made a 13 by 19 inch version and I think it works well.

Then I drew it and tinted the drawing.

This is a picture of a good friend's house that just looked stunning in this light.

I often make my house portraits taller and thinner because I think it gives them a certain magical dignity; like standing up proudly for a family portrait.

Venice facades speak volumes

I was looking at some watercolours and then I started doodling. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was drawing scenes of Italy.

It's not hard to get sucked into the reverie. Even the old, crumbling walls of Venice palaces have an elegance that we just don't have today.
I know we must progress and that art moves forward. But it is hard for me to look at Bauhaus design and this Venice facade and think for a moment that Bauhaus architecture is anything but boring. Sure it is a strong philosophical idea about form and function. and maybe it needed to be said. The towering skyscrapers of Johnston and Van Der Rohe and their ilk dominate cities today.

But when I look at what the princes of Venice did, I think they had a vision and confidence that makes some of the modern architecture seem very dull. We build 100 storey buildings because we can. The Venetians couldn't. But the Venetians appear to have had all the money in the world and they chose to build with their hearts and vision.

We build with technology and a kind of 20th century hubris; a kind of mechanical muscle.

The Venetians did use muscle. When a head of state visited, they would take him to the local ship yard, near the Doges palace and show him an empty bay full of wood and workers and plans for a war ship. At the end of the day, they would take him back and show him a fully completed war ship, that had been built from scratch that day. The Venetian navy dominated the know world. I suspect the visiting prince thought twice about attacking Venice. Of course that was the idea. They showed strength that was overwhelming so they wouldn't have to use it.

Unlike Bush who showed that his strength was a kind of weakness because he couldn't finish the job; couldn't win.

Let's hope this economic downturn will bring us back to a more artistic vision, a gentler way of treating ourselves and our world. Perhaps we may even discover art and spirit again. It has been missing for five decades.

Hatz

When I worked in journalism years ago, we were instructed on the cardinal sins of layout :  Never create a headline without a verb, preferably an active verb.

Another taboo was spelling incorrectly or typos.

So today, around a photo of headgear, I give you a double taboo boo.

Blue blue moon

 

 

It was a full moon and everything was blue.  Bizarre.  That must be where the phrase, "blue moon" comes from.

I wouldn't have believed it but the camera settings were correct.

Calm lake in colour is rich in blues

 

  

  

Three variations on a theme

The lake pictures also worked in colour.  This lake is particularly badly behaved so it was almost surreal to see it at noon with no waves.  One often sees calm on small lakes before sunrise, when the weather vectors doze.  But this lake is located in a valley and the wind whistles down from the west into the bowl and can cause havoc.  It often traps and sometimes fatally overturns unsuspecting tourist boats: the many faces of nature.

Sunny, bright and no wind in sight

 

A perfect day at the lake

It was one of those rare days where the lake is calm at midday.

Lilacs; a work in progress

 

I decided to do a large acrylic painting of the lilacs back lit in the north window.
I like the way the bouquet is just a shape against the light. I think the masses of muted colour will be interesting set against the bright light patches of white and cream.

We'll see.

Here is a sketch of the idea.

Poppies are popping

I confess, I am longing for Italy

 

 

We had some friends over on the weekend and one of the wines we served was from Italy.  When I read the label, I was transported back to Tuscany.  Speaking Italian is like singing.  It just feels great.  There is a rhythm that carries me away.

So I got out the painting I did of the espresso bar in the Vatican (yes, you heard that right), our dishes from Siena and some other bits, and did a still life photo.  I don't know if I prefer the colour or black and white.

Shots from recent days appear

 

  

  

I have been shooting lots of pictures, but I am getting used to some new software and settings.  So I have screwed up LOTS of pictures.
Here are a few that work.
The top image looks like Europe but is Toronto Canada.

And of course, there are more gardening images:  Big straw hats and raincoats and more lilcas.

I tired something new with the lilacs.  Usually I shoot a subject against a dark background.  With the lilacs I tried shooting a dark subject against a light background.

DOUBLE click to see bigger and in detail.