After a couple days of rain and wind, the sky made a perfect canvas for nature to create art that stirs something inside of me. And, everything is turning bright green. The birds are happy, I’m happy.
The Perfect Canvas
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This morning’s sunrise at Pineridge Nature Area -
Being an artist
Backlit feathered reed grass on campus “Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.”
John O’Donohue -
What is my work?
Looking close at nature and its ability to create “My work is Loving the World.”
Mary OliverI believe nature can create visual art that brings pleasure to my soul. I’ll even say it creates art that touches all of the senses; smell, touch, visual, audible and taste. Could it be that nature is the ultimate artist? As Mary Oliver ask do I participate as an artist with nature in loving it, respecting it, protecting it?
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Practicing the practice
Practicing her pencil drawings I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious to all that photographers whose images possess character and quality have attained them only by continued practice and total dedication to the medium. –
Ansel AdamsLast week I posted an image of a young artist practicing his craft at a local coffee shop. Yesterday afternoon I took this image of a young lady practicing her craft at the same coffee shop. What is interesting about this young lady is she is drawing from a book that I assume to be a textbook. While the young man was creating the character from the muse within him. So, I practiced more courage and my photography by asking the young lady if I could take a photo of her practicing her practice. She agreed.
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The Artist
The Artist “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
Pablo Picasso -
The Artists Hands
The Artists Hands This past weekend a woman sat across from me at one of the local coffeehouses I patronize. After sitting down I noticed she pulled out a small sketch book from here purse and began to draw. Her hands and the task of sketching immediately perked my attention. After interrupting her she agreed to allow me to photograph her hands as she sketched. This then led to a short conversation and a chance to share something about one another. A camera has the potential to allow for new encounters. Thank you, Betty!
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Artist in Washington DC Life always comes out of death. The present rises from the ashes of the past. The future is always possible for those who are willing to re-create it.
Joan Chittister -
Time on the River
The Artist Time in nature can be for healing and calming the soul. While on my drive up the Poudre Canyon the other day I came across two people who were finding time in nature, one and artist and one a fly fisherman.
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Inspiration
Winter Storm Along Colorado Front Range “The best and only thing one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.”
Steven Pressfield -
Shadows
Flower Shadows While walking through the hotel lobby I noticed these small vases with flowers on each table. The morning sun was coming through the eastern windows and casting these wonderful shadows across the table. There were many colors and types of flowers but the subject of my eye was the shadows. I focused and pressed the shutter. Now I have a visual image of that shadow knowing it could be used on photoblog. Shadows are a subject my eye is drawn to, why?
Checking out Wikipedia I found that from a mythological view an unattended shadow or shade was thought by some cultures to be similar to that of a ghost, a flicker of a life unable to end for some reason. It is also believed as an alternative construct that shadows are in fact a representation of God’s presence around an object; like a halo. Early eastern beliefs also play to this theory. For example, Vishnu (a prominent Hindu god) would appear to help followers by assisting with tasks by lending some of his extra arms to assist the burden of the person. Well, maybe but I’m not going to go there.
I believe nature to be the greatest artist we will ever know. It creates and recreates continuously. Shadows are one of it’s greatest forms of art. It is created when some object blocks the rays of a light source and creates a two-dimensional silhouette. When the subject blocking the light source moves the shadow changes and , likewise, when the light source moves the shadow also changes. Nature at its finest. A shadow can create the feel of mystery to an image.
