The Light. The Lens. The Love.

Still Life: The Light. The Lens. The Love. July 2014

The Light. The Lens. The Love.
Truly a labor of love to create this still life portrait.

We all have our challenges to create our art work. Yes. I believe it.

These roses were a gift from Anne P., a friend and a client. I loved them when they were freshly presented to me. But since that time they had been moved around several times and were no longer fresh when I finally had the time and the natural light available to create the still life.

As always, I experimented around with 10 different variations of light at sunset aka "the golden hour" and finally fell in love with this one.

I hope it is obvious that the lens theme spanned a variety of technological eras.
All of which I've lived with and loved at various times. Even my iPhone had to get in the picture because that is my image capture device now more often than it should be.  And I wanted to bring in my oldest camera because the camera, like the roses, were past their prime, but both still loved, nonetheless.

See the Beauty As We Age

Since February 2011 my husband, Karl and I have hosted a monthly gathering called the Art Salon For Fertile Minds.  Essentially we have recreated the essence of art salons from the 1920s in Europe and later occurring in the US.  Until very recently, we were truly a discussion group.

At the suggestion of our member, Becky W. and the enthusiastic support of some of the other members we are now adding in a "show me" element.  We are adamant that we are not there to "critique and criticize" people's work.  We allow the show me element as another way to deepen relationships, get to know each other and have a greater appreciation for each artist's talents and artwork.

At the February 12, 2014 gathering we showed "art from the heart." Members brought poems, paintings, photography, collage and more.  I showed images that were true labors of love and important to me. 

Still Life: Valentine's Roses, February 2014  (available for purchase)

These roses were a delight to receive from my husband, Karl for Valentine's Day and later, to photograph.  For several days I moved them around the house to capture the sunrise light and sunset light and also to enjoy their aging process.  This still life on our library table was the final one and my favorite because the flowers had started to brown around the edges which give more texture and definition to their whiteness.

Isn't that a bit like real  life?  We change over time and hopefully develop a new beauty as we age and start to brown around the edges.

I hope you agree.