There is the purist in me that says a photograph should never be changed from what the camera took. To change it means I cannot take a picture in the first place.
Another part of me that realizes there is such creative potential in photography – especially digital photography. And, in some situations, it is the only thing that makes a dismal photo worth looking at. For me, color and contrast are always attractive. Together, both change mood, season, emotion, focal points.
Today, I went out to the local botanical garden around noon. There was not the least bit of interesting light, only shadows. I wanted to see what a new lens could do, and was too lazy to get out when the light is particularly nice (meaning get dressed and out the door before 7 a.m.!). The intention was to see how well the V1 does creating panoramic pictures on manual focus – important to learn as the camera is highly automated. A couple came out okay, but they were truly boring to the eye. So, color manipulation and such – the art of post processing.
First of all, apologies for the big copyright in the middle of the pictures, but hopefully it will act as a deterrent to theft. Probably not.
That said, I have been working a lot on just thinking about painting, and how to do it without creating a big mess. Patience and mindfulness and focus are necessary. These are not my virtues.
I’ve been looking at videos, re-reading books, and reviewing palettes and formulae for colors. I have also been working on drawing and brushwork. Sumi-e does help, as the movement of the brush, even with color, still plays an important part in creating a painting.
There are other tools for painting as well. I used some watercolor pencils for fine lines, as seen in the onion. I used pencil drawing to lay the foundation of the nude.
The Conejo Valley Botanical Gar4den has on longterm loan seven statues from the Morris B. Squire Art Foundation, a philanthropic nonprofit established by Morris Bear Squire, an artist who lives in Santa Barbara. A number of them – seven specifically – have been installed throughout the property, and three have been placed in the Kids’ Adventure section. I have seen two of them, but did not really check them out too much, as I was in pursuit of butterflies.
Statue at the Gate
This is the one right inside the entrance of the garden, and I am rather amused by it. There is something rather fun about it. It’s a dreadful photo of it. The colors are what I like, and now that I look at it a bit more, I recall the leaves at the top also caught my eye.
Sculpture is rather an elusive like-don’t like thing. For one thing, at home, I think of 3-D art as something needing to be dusted. Given my aversion to housework, which gets done out of necessity and vanity more than an overwhelming need for cleanliness, that is the first thing that comes to mind. How can this be easily cleaned? Solution: hose it off.
That aside, just having artwork in a garden is always a risk factor. What is the art, where is it placed, how does it work with the environment? And then the eternal question of “what is art?”
For now, I have only glanced at this sculpture. I saw another in the garden I did not like, but that is because there were people in the sculpure, painted on, and rather amateurish. Snobbery on my part, but the fact is, people do not hold much appeal to me when painted onto a statue. I glanced at that one and walked on.
Yesterday, the real art in the garden was the garden itself. I love that place – so many wonderful plants and trees and paths to follow. Flowers are blooming like crazy, and the butterflies were flitting around. I sat on a bench, and just watched them. I have forgotten that beauty of the butterfly because I am too busy running around after other things, not chasing butterflies in the woods like I once did. There were more Monarch butterflies than any other but I did capture another orange one.
Small Visitor
Yesterday was so much fun – time to look and think and watch and do. Home, then, to lie in the sun and listen to an audiobook. Been awhile I have actually done nothing. And then I even got out my spinning wheel and some dark brown Shetland to spin.
I cannot say that working with a computer and software is any form of art. Maybe it is, but I don’t see it. To me, the computer is a tool, and mastery of the tool is one way in which art can be created. Writing and designing the software is an art – it requires a vision and a goal, and like art, software evolves and changes, sometimes for the best, sometimes for the worst. (A lot of times, software becomes increasingly kludgy as it evolves.)
This is what I mean . . . here is an original picture, below, of water lilies taken at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Water Lilies
This next image is edited in the pixel bender filter in CS5.
Water Lilies and Pixel Bender Filter “Oil Paint”
Finally, this is the same image, with increased contrast added in CS5.
Water Lilies – Pixel Bender Oil Paint – Increased Contrast
Is any of this art? Or is it just manipulation? I don’t think I would ooh! ahh! over any of these, nor would I pay good money to hang these on the wall. But, they are fun to do!
With sensing a bit of accomplishment in the field of photography, it is beginning to take a place for me in the world of creativity. I am beginning to see what I could not see before. This ability to relate to photography pools it into other arts, specifically, painting. Consequently, I am re-reading about and re-evaluating the works of Georgia O’Keeffe, and as an extrapolation, the life and works of Ansel Adams, both whom I admire as artists.
Georgia O’Keeffe – Blue & Green Music – 1921
Their creative viewpoints resonate with my own. While I doubt I shall ever meet their productivity, or creativity, I can appreciate their work as individuals. What interests them interests me – looking at landscapes, parts of things, plants. The natural world in color and in black and white, both lush and sensuous, and stark and contrasting.
Ansel Adams – Church, Taos Pueblo – 1942
In particular, I like the fact they do not put people in their works. I cannot think of a single painting by O’Keeffe in which there is a person; few photographs by Adams include individuals. And that is not to say I do not enjoy images of people, but it is more likely I am not going to go out of my way to pursue then. People like Kirk Tuck and Vivian Maier are wonderful photographers, both of whom photograph people. Kirk works often in his studio, but also does street portraiture; Maier, on the other hand, was a street photographer at its finest.
I may at some point venture out to take pictures of the random person, but for now, the textures and colors of the world around me intrigue me enough to focus on them. And perhaps I shall begin painting again – my period of apprenticeship in photography may be ending.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 