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Posts Tagged ‘illustration’

in the face of an angel

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 8, 2013| 5 Comments »

This scene is a detail from the Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris stained glass window, David’s Charge to Solomon, 1882.  The window, designed by Burne-Jones and executed by Morris, is located in the baptistry of Trinity Church in Copley Square. I was drawn to this particular section because of the colors, the incredible drapery of the cloth, and the faces of the women.

The faces of these women and apparently the faces of many of the women in Burne-Jones’s post-1860’s artwork all have a similar look.  They are likely the face of his great love and muse, Maria Zambaco.  She appears to have been the muse for many of the Pre-Raphaelite artists.  This wikipedia article gives a broad overview of the Burne-Jones/Zambaco relationship, but I must say that this Oxford Today article referencing Fiona MacCarthy gives a much richer picture of a complicated man, his many muses and the influence of his art.

Study by Burne-Jones, c. 1870

Study by Burne-Jones, c. 1870

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“I can’t wait to cut it up!”

Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 7, 2013| 5 Comments »

Those are the magical words that collage artist Zoe Langosy will sometimes say after viewing my nature-themed photographs.  Most recently they were uttered after showing her the following image from an impromptu hike through the Blue Hills, of deep golden light falling upon a stand of birch trees.

It is my continuing pleasure to view such images through Zoe’s eyes, to learn how to see textures and patterns, and then to imagine how such textures and patterns can become part of a larger work with its own story.  The story of this woman on a boat and a coyote, you will have to wait for Zoe to share as she continues with this work in progress.  Stay tuned! Meanwhile, you can read this post about how we’ve collaborated in the past. And you can see more of her art on this Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LangosyArts

 

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woody in flight

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2013| 1 Comment »

A little wooden butterfly scotch taped to a piece of vellum that was taped to a sunny window.  A bit of fun on a Tuesday morning. 😉

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paper scissors glue

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , on November 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A bit of paper glued down to another surface.  Collage is simply that, and so much more than that, at the same time.  I’ve certainly come to appreciate the vision and intricate work involved with collage through my ongoing collaboration with artist Zoe Langosy. More to report soon about our next collaboration for 2013.  Meanwhile …

* here’s a wonderful essay by artist Camille Martin writing about The Collaged Brain in Talking Writing Magazine

* here’s a vintage post highlighting an early collaboration with Zoe as she took simple branches and sea shell images and wove them into cloth.

* you can also read more about Zoe’s creative process in this interview.

 

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sandy inspired watercolors

Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2012| 2 Comments »

Meanwhile as I work from home today because of Sandy, it is fascinating and inspiring and a wee bit fear-inducing to watch the rising winds dance with the oak tree that towers above the house.  The leaves fall to earth in a beautiful golden brown spiral.

Somehow it seems more right (excuse the bad grammar) to try to capture what I see with other tools besides my camera.  I may feel differently over the course of the day as the light changes with the approaching storm, and the action outside my window is such that I want to capture as much as fast as I can with pixels instead of calming watercolors.

We shall see what the evening holds.  Meanwhile have a good, safe day, folks. 😉

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ephemera

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged , , , , , , , on October 26, 2012| 2 Comments »

I recently sent my young nephew a paper object (a train).  I warned his parents that it was coming through the mail, and that I did not expect it to last more than one gleeful scream and then be forever changed as strong young hands enjoyed an ephemeral object.  And that was okay.  I wanted to give him a gift that could be enjoyed in the moment and not worried about preserving.

These ephemeral works I created as a gift to myself … and probably to my neighbors below.  I could not sleep and decided I should stop pacing the night away.  And so I sat and found some paper and pens … and some leftover lip gloss and decided to see what might end up on the page.

 

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bright glass beautiful walls

Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 23, 2012| 3 Comments »

Well, while in Dublin, I have to admit that I did take pictures of a few other things besides leaves and letterpress.  Even on the rainiest of days, the interiors of the churches were beautiful to view as subdued light shone through stained glass windows and fell upon lovely murals.

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Food Images Inspired by Yozo Hamaguchi

Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, Photography, Publication Updates, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 6, 2012| 16 Comments »

I am pleased to share that Alimentum Journal is featuring a set of my food photographs inspired by Japanese artist Yozo Hamaguchi.

Even before my extraordinary journey to Japan a few years ago, I had been intrigued by Japan and its culture, especially depictions of nature in print and on cloth, and as expressed in music, words and images.  But visiting Japan awakened my senses to food as visual art object.  Further research introduced the works of Yozo Hamaguchi, who inspired a whole series of photographs.

The Hamaguchi-inspired images can be viewed in the Alimentum Art Gallery HERE.

And you can view the full gallery of images on my website HERE.

Bon apetit! 😉

 

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on a rainy day, paint

Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 30, 2012| 6 Comments »

For most of the day, a rainy day with little light coming in through the windows.

A perfect time to sit with old paints and new bits of board …

… and to imagine what might be seen on a brighter day.

Tomorrow back to the photography and writing, but it is fun to play with other forms. 😉

 

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Unexpected Treasure

Posted in Books I Love, Inspiration, On the Road, tagged , , , , , , on May 21, 2012| 2 Comments »

So on Sunday I was walking down the street carrying dirt and clay pots and various seeds.  The sun was beating down.  I was hot and tired and hoping I didn’t trip and break the pots before I reached home which seemed to be a million miles away.  I came to a fork in the road and for whatever reason I took the left fork — a path different than the one I had taken before.  Along the route I passed a table set up on a small front yard, and on the table were those most magic of items — used books.

They were not in great shape to say the least, but there was a lovely antique-ness about the mound on the table and the ones just visible in boxes across the yard.  Most had dark non-descript covers.  A young man kept trying to put books in my hands, flipping to the colorful lithographs inside.  A lot of science scenes.

But it was the German children’s book that caught my eyes with its fading colorful cover.  When I cracked its bent frame, crispy yellowed pages slid into my hands, but all the pages appeared to be within.  I tucked them back and flipped through as gently as I could, enchanted by the imagery inside.

German I do not read and so I will have to find a translator to help me make out the title and cover page information.  An 1880’s creation for sure, combining short story and myths, and even a play at the end. Some images are clearly signed like this one by C. W. Allers …

… but most are not.

More research to be done on the contents, and to learn how to conserve such a literary treasure.  I’ll be sure to share what I find. 😉

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