The Chills - Peter Bjorn and John

Wow, I'm sorry I haven't been sharing lately ... buzy days. But here's something for you to listen to. I've been listening to Peter Bjorn a lot lately. What have you been listening to?

 I'll be missing for a bit, but I'll be back soon with something for you to look at. I promise.

Struggle Towards Art

I used to think painting was hard and photography easy, but then I learned how to paint, studied the rules of composition and color -- and painting got, not easy, but easier. I thought that painting was the only true art, and that photography wished to be an art. But then when I picked up the camera, I learned that on top of all the rules of color and composition, there were all these technical aspects, totally different from painting, that made a picture come out or not. Photography could be hard too? What they share in common is that a picture or painting is only good when you have good light, you can arrange a good composition, have some nice colors to work with, and the  planets align just right. And have some killer software to manipulate the picture. Where they differ is that with photography, when you go hunting for pictures, things present themselves to you, catch your eye, and, using all the skills you have, you record it to the best of your ability and then manipulate it until you get something that speaks to you. With painting, the canvas presents nothing to you. You have to present something to it. My hope is that I can find some way to bring the disciplines of these two arts together somehow. I don't want to paint from pictures; rather marry the two ways of thinking that occurs with each. What I have learned is that both painting and photography are true arts, and they both demand something of us, as an artist or as its audience.

Color

I've been missing painting lately. A lot. Yet I didn't have anything in particular that I wanted to paint ... until I saw Pantone's Fall 2011 Fashion Color Report. And I decided I just wanted to paint all of them, so I flouted the technical rules of good painting, and covered a previous painting with honeysuckle as a foundation for all the other colors. I have only a rough idea of what I want the finished canvas to look like, but for now it feels good to be painting again.

Relator - Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson

Have a lovely weekend, my friends!

I Am Number Four

My sister Loranne worked on this film. She's kept the story very secret from me, but I can guarantee it's going to be an edge-of-your-seat sort of movie. It opens in theaters Friday. Please go see it.

Windows

I like windows. And doors. And chairs. But this afternoon as I was walking around, I only noticed windows. So, here you go ...

Zoom.

I recently bought myself a zoom lens and, immediately after buying it felt a sense of regret. I've always prided myself with making the most of of the tools I had. I even ignored it completely for a few days after it arrived, and I really like my kit lens, so why would I go and complicate things with another lens? (It makes me crazy when I hear about people who need the latest, coolest racing bike/binoculars/sewing machine/camera equipment -- and then never use it!) Finally, I took it out for a spin and wanted to kick myself for not getting one much sooner. I'm pleased with the range I can get with subjects near and far.

How many lenses do you have? Do you use them all?

Sweet

For our first Valentine's Day years ago, when we were first dating, I made my husband a batch of chocolate truffles, which he graciously enjoyed and shared with me. Only later did I learn that he doesn't really have a sweet tooth. I now keep a stash of emergency chocolate on hand for myself because we just don't have dessert at our house.

I admit that I am guilty of what my husband accuses me of; I'm really hard to buy for. I have more perfume than Cleopatra, and my tastes in clothing can run a little unusual (and I know better what looks good on me -- and what really doesn't). For me, chcolate, roses and champagne will do just fine, thank you. But I got him something he both wants and needs.

What are you giving your Valentine?

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

*Card from Igloo Press in Worthington, Ohio. I just love them.

Signs

After a few weeks of harsh temperatures, today felt nearly tropical, so I went out to hunt down a few signs of Spring.

Recently, some friends had us over for a lovely dinner (Hi, Mindy & Stephanie!). They'd just had their kitchen renovated, and one of them pointed out to me that her favorite part of the granite countertops was the areas that revealed depths beneath the surface. That stuck with me. I liked that a lot.