Monday, January 19, 2009

Palace of Fine Arts - Abstract


Palace of Fine Arts - Abstract

Sunrise - Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco



The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco is beautiful anytime of day.... but when the sun first comes up and the golden light starts glowing on the dome and and then across the columns it is simply magical. I posted these two shots I got this morning to give you an idea of how beautiful it is... I will post more images of the Palace of Fine Arts later this week when I get home and am working from my computer.
Keep Makin' Art!
Carl

Street Light San Francisco


Early Morning in ChinaTown.

San Francisco Reflection

While I was in San Francisco Thursday morning I had the chance to explore a little bit. I was fascinated my the TranAmerica Building. It is an icon of the city's skyline. i wanted a little different view of the building though. While I was down by the embarcadaro I got close to the building and noticed the triangular concrete support pieces by the base. I started focusing on those and found a spot where the reflective glass behind the triangles was showing off a great view of Coit Tower and the hill around North Beach. So here is my interpretation of a reflection on the TransAmerica building.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Offline

Hi Gang,

I'll be away from posting for about a week. We will be spending time with family and attending my niece's Bat Mitzvah. I'll try to have some cool images to post on my return...

until then... Keep Makin' Art
Carl

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Fractal - The Long and Winding Road


My Fractals are turning into Rorschach Tests for me. In this one I see a winding road in the mountains.... What do you see?

Holly in Snow

One of my favorite times to take photos is the day after a good snow fall. If the sky comes up clear and there is snow or ice cling to the trees you can get some great photos. Careful exposure is important. You don't want to overexpose the snow and get blown out whites.

I was able to get a great shot of these Holly Berries with snow on them today. I am still hoping the birds come out to play and have their photos taken!

Keep Makin' Art
Carl

Sunday Sketching

Hello Fellow Artists:


This morning I got up and decided to do a watercolor pencil sketch of a Chickadee I photographed a few weeks ago. I am really happy with this one. It kind of captures the little bird. It was the second attempt of my morning. The first looked rather like a 3rd grader had drawn it and badly to be honest.

The lesson here is if you don't get it right the first time. Don't give up... Figure out what you did well and what you need to improve and take another shot at it. You'll be glad you did. I know I am.

It can be tough. A bad sketch or painting can RUIN my Sunday, so I am really glad I took another pass at it and won't be agonizing over it.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Sunday Drawing

Hello Fellow Artists-
I gave in to the warm toasty bed and watching Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. After all I had trudged out in the cold yesterday for the photos at Reeve's Brook. So I was not feeling particularly guilty until this afternoon. Still wanting to remain warm and not go outside again. I opted for something different. I decided to do a pencil drawing of the tufted titmouse I had photographed the day after Christmas. Any of you who frequent my blog know I don't post many (maybe any) pencil drawings. Today I felt like working in pencil. It is part of my resolution to draw more this year to do more drawing. I am looking into a weekly figure drawing class down at Hopper House... I'll keep you posted when I get to that. For now though here is the drawing I worked on this afternoon.

I stopped while it still sort of looked like the wonderful bird I had photographed. I might even try a watercolor of him one of these days.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Reeve's Brook - Harriman State Park

Hello Fellow Artists-
I am not certain what my favorite moment of this morning was. It could have been when I set out in the early gray light of morning from Reeve's Meadow. It was a cold morning (but not too cold.) I had the trail to myself and could hear Reeve's Brook babbling in the distance ahead of me. They day was full of promise. It could also have been when I got to the brook and was once again taken by it's beauty as I wandered from spot to spot along the trail finding location after location to photograph. I have gone to this spot dozens of times in all seasons and have almost never suffered the let down of a morning with no great photos to show for it. The morning light came up clear and the brook had plenty of spots with ice and water running over the rocks for me to pick from. My favorite moment could have been when I fired up my computer, sufficiently warmed up and a cup of coffee at the ready I dove in to start my review and editing. As the images came up on the screen even in their raw state I realized I had a another successful morning. Honestly if I had forgotten my camera and just hiked it would still have been a fine morning, but then I could not have shared these images with you. I hope you like them and they inspire you to get out there with your cameras and shoot the glorious views that winter can show you.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl