American Gothic, painted by Grant Wood in 1930, is one of the most iconic and recognized works of 19th century Americana. Here is a great photo of the models for American Gothic, Nan Wood Graham and Byron McKeeby. The photo was shot in 1930. Wonderful!
A month ago, I splurged and bought an Asus Transformer Infinity TF700 Tablet. It has all the bells and whistles and am very happy with it. Today, I tried out some sketching with Autodesk Sketchbook application, a very powerful app.
It’s a nude, so I’ll display it after the fold…
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These Turret shells are from the Turretella genus of sea snails that prefers living on muddy or sandy bottoms.
I believe that they were used as a sort of currency in ancient times.
A simple still life with some white flowers, an empty Patron tequila bottle, and some black velvet.
I shot this for Project Flickr… the theme is “Rule of Thirds”. It’s pretty minimal, but I like minimal!
I set it up my “new” taboret that I found at a second-hand store. Just realized… ‘my new taboret’ rhymes with ‘Raspberry Beret’… I may have to paint it!
Listen or download Raspberry Beret for free on Prostopleer
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” Elliott Erwitt
I’ve often looked at Elliott Erwitt’s photos with much admiration. His philosophy has become my mantra when looking at just about anything. Photography has changed the way I see things. Seeking that part of an ordinary scene that is unusual and mostly unnoticed. Looking for the photo within the photo. Seeing the tree rather than the forest.
Here are a half dozen examples of his work… enjoy!
She is Maya
An illusion; She hides truth from the unaware
A shadow; She reveals but a hint of truth, what is real
A glimpse; She teases with a brief look at truth, the true beauty of reality
A perception; She joys in teasing the senses, creates thirst for truth
A vision; She allows a fleeting awareness of truth’s loveliness
I long for Her reality, Her true beauty, seeking what She hides.
She opens her veil to me, my untrained eyes catching a hint of the truth She covers.
Oh, for the fog to clear from my eyes, to reveal all that is reality,
To know Her secrets, to penetrate Her enigma, to savor the reality She enshrouds.
She is Maya
~Written by James Milstid
I happened upon an article a few months ago about reality. I’m not Hindu, nor to I pretend to be at all knowledgeable about the Hindu beliefs, but the article mentioned the goddess Maya and it piqued my interest and prompted me to write the poetry above
Maya is the goddess of illusion, or as some would put it, delusion. Each of us perceive reality in a different way by putting our own spin on it. Our perceptions cloud what we see and think. Hindus strive to see the true reality, without the veil of human perception. Maya is all that we “put on” the true reality. Seeking Maya’s secrets and knowing of her allow us to see through our perceptions.
We shroud true reality every day. It’s simply a part of our nature. It’s interesting that the ancient Hindus understood this and strive to see through Maya’s veil.
When today’s technology is used to “improve” masterfully created artwork from the past, the results are normally disastrous. The old form of manual creativity flowing from mind to eye to brush to canvas is an intimate engagement that yields results no computer could ever duplicate even in the hands of the most skilled graphic designers.
There are exceptions.
Greek artist Petros Vrellis took the iconic panting of the night sky over Saint-Rémy in France and applied a combination of creativity, interactivity, and subtle enhancements to bring the painting to life in ways we’ve never witnessed before. Using openFrameworks, an open source C++ toolkit for creative coding, Vrellis takes one of the most famous interpretations of movement and flow ever created and allows it to realize the extent of its motion.
Instead of desecrating the masterpiece, it is brought to life.
Fragrance of the Lemon Peel by Ilya Zomba, Oil on Canvas, 1997, Courtesy of Zombart
Von Johin is one of my long-time favorite artists. He’s had a successful career in the music industry, but now chooses to play only in Second Life.
Major and his best girl, Harris, attended this fan-appreciation concert on February 4, 2012. And what a concert it was! A three-hour marathon, Von played and sang his heart out. Many of the songs I’d never heard him sing before. Much to his fans’ delight, he seldom adheres to the normal one hour time slot and this was no exception!
You can friend Von on Facebook… http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1493545055
These vids were from the live fan-appreciation concert… just crank up your speakers and enjoy!