Arthur Gilmore - Watercolors

My watercolor teacher, Arthur Gilmore is having a show at the Piermont Flywheel Gallery in Piermont, NY from May 8th to May 25th. If you are anywhere in the area plan to stop in and see the show. Arthur is a fabulously talented watercolorist and a great teacher! If you find yourself in Suffern, NY on a Tuesday night you should plan to take a class with Arthur. He teaches all levels and is wonderfully patient with me even when my job keeps me from class for months at a time. I'll be back to class soon Arthur (I promise)!

Digital Art

I was cleaning up my images directory on my computer recently and was reminded of another time in my life when I work full time in a photo lab's digital imaging department. During those days (1996-1999) everyone in the department was playing with all the new imaging tools. One of my favorites was a landscape rendering program called Bryce. You may remember it I believe it was used to create the graphics for the original MYST computer game (I am really dating myself now) anyway I really enjoyed this other creative outlet. Although at the time to 'render' a hi-res image for printing often took me overnight on my pore old Pentium 60 pc. I was able to create some cool stuff. Here are a couple of examples of some of the scenes I created.

Springtime in Suffern

I got up early today and planned to trek out to the Harriman State park to take photos. As I was getting ready I noticed the explosion of new flowers on the trees in my yard and captured a few images. Here are a couple for you to enjoy. I really liked setting up and shooting in my own yard.... It was a luxury to have a cup of coffee and bare feet while I was shooting. It is a great reminder that Art is everywhere you just need to look for it, even when you live in suburbia!

My Apologies

Friends -

no I did not get swallowed up whole by the earth or anything else like that. I have been out of the blogosphere for the past two weeks as work has been insanely busy. I'm not complaining... in fact I am very happy to have this job, but it did put some of my other pursuits on hold.

But now back to our original programming... Did any of you see Sunday Morning this week? There was a segment on photographer Greg Crewdson. His images are amazing and disquieting scenes like this one. He shoots what look like simple moments in time... but are elaborately lit and staged scenes. His style is more like a cinematographer than anything else I can define... but the result leaves me haunted and wanting to know more about the "characters" in his photos. The impression I am left with if much like that f viewing an Edward Hopper painting. This work is a polar opposite to my own where he employs a big production for each shot and flirts with (but never gets caught in) artifice or a contrived feeling. I wait for nature to present herself to me and only me and allows me to present what I find to others with my camera. Even though very different I really admire these images and how much they make me wonder. You should see them for yourself!

Carl

Mountain Blue Bird

Hello Fellow Artists:

I am quite happy this week to have put aside my agonizing over what photos to put in my portfolio for the CCA review in May and found myself working on my painting again.

My thanks this week to Stacey Huston and her EXCELLENT blog A"focus" in the wild. I was inspired by one of the images on Stacey's site and she was kind enough to allow me to take a stab at painting it. The photo she took was of a lone Mountain Blue Bird on a branch on a frigid morning.

Here is my first attempt at it in my sketch book. It is not quite as good as Stacey's photo, but it has a charming quality of its own. I will paint another one this week and see f I can get it just right. If you want to see the original photo you'll just have to wander over to A "focus" in the wild.

Keep on Making Art!

Carl

More Images for Your Consideration

Hello Again fellow Artists,

Thank You all for your comments and support as I go through the process of narrowing down what 5 images to use to showcase my vision for portfolio submition for membership in the Cape Cod Art Association. Here are a few more I am considering. What are your thoughts?

Carl

The Contenders

Hello Fellow Photographers and Painters,

As I said yesterday I am going to submit a portfolio of my photos for consideration of membership at the Cape Cod Art Association. My photos will be in the May portfolio Review and I'll take stab at submitting paintings in the fall.

I must submit five recent original pieces. I am posting the first seven contenders here. Take a look and give your thoughts. Go ahead I can take it. If there are pieces that should come out to strengthen the submission or if I should go back and look for more don't be afraid to tell me. Criticism is how we get better.

An Embarrassment of Artistic Riches

As an Artist [Painter and Photographer] I thank my lucky stars everyday for where I live and was born. Growing up in the Hudson Valley and close to the Catskill Mountains, I have been surrounded by natural beauty my entire life. Whether it is the wild natural beauty of the Hudson and the Catskills that drew Thomas Cole, Frederick Church and the other Hudson River School Painters here in the 1800's or the current crop of painters and photographers working today there is so much to draw inspiration from. Every trail I Hike and park I visit reveals vistas that are new for me to explore as well as sites made famous by those before me.

Two of the outright masters of photography capturing the beauty of this region are Nick Zungoli and Hardie Truesdale. Both have books about the region that are just amazing and inspire me to get out and shoot and paint as often as possible. Thank you both for the beauty you have been able to capture. I don't know Mr Truesdale personally, but I have taken a workshop with Nick Zungoli on nature photography and the digital work flow and find him to be an excellent teacher and amazing photographer. I will take more workshops with him in the future. Both are masters of their medium and have produced images that have inspired me and taken my breath away for years. I highly reccomend you looking for their books and photos.

Keep painting [and taking photographs]

Carl

I Have Given Myself a Deadline

Hello Fellow Artists:
No more mucking about. I have given myself a deadline and am forcing myself to take a critical work at my photographs and paintings. I have decide to submit my portfolio for review and consideration for membership in the Cape Cod Art Association. I will be submitting a portfolio of five photographs for the May portfolio review and then I will submit watercolors for the fall review. This makes the most sense as I feel closer to ready and have more strong work to pick from on the photographic side. This will give me the summer to finish up my painting portfolio. Wish me luck?
I'll be putting a bunch of photos up in posts over the next couple of weeks for you my friends to help decide what to submit. This will be scary, but I hope it will stimulate some conversation as well.
What do you do to raise the bar for yourself when you need that jump start? Both in Art and in the other area of your life?

Keep Painting and Photographing,
Carl

BLAH

Hi Friends and Fellow Artists:
I am glad I painted on Sunday! Today was GRAY and BLAH. There was nothing that inspired me to paint. That and being at work for 11 hours. Who's got the energy to paint after that. I wont bore you with work details... we all have to do that and I would bore you. I am looking forward to painting this weekend. I have nothing on the schedule except art and a few projects around the house.

Keep Painting!