The Beauty That’s There for the Taking
This week my eye was drawn back to abstract shapes and compositions in the urban environment:
Here are a few of my photos from downtown Edmonton:
Blue Sky Corner
Shades of Blue
Commerce Place Entrance
Gold Block on an Inclined Plane
Sky-high Gridlock
I never cease to be amazed at the beauty that can be seen if we just slow down enough to look at what is around us.
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion (day 10) – Bringing it Home
Monday November 19th, 2007: All good things have to come to an end and today was the end of this excursion. Unlike my adventuresome journey here via the train, the return trip would be much more mundane (and quicker).
I was awake at 5:30 and soon up. I had a quick breakfast and packed up my gear so I’d be ready for my ride at 9:20 to the ferry
My gear packed and ready to go
I had a few minutes for one last look around the place I’d called home for 7 days – Fridas Villa, the wonderful Frida Kahlo themed B&B.
Fridas Villa coffee table
A decorative Frida throw
The bathroom sink
After a short ride to Fulford Harbour, I was soon on the ferry for the trip to Swartz Bay.
beside the Fulford Harbour ferry terminal
the "Skeena Queen" that would take me from Fulford to Swartz Bay
Farewell view of a misty Salt Spring from Fulford Harbour
After the uneventful ferry trip, I took a taxi to Victoria International Airport. There I had a few hours to kill before boarding for my 1 hour flight back to Edmonton. It was sad to be ending this wonderful trip but it was very satisfying to be headed home to family.
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion (Day 9) – Last Day
Well here I was, Sunday November 18, 2007, the last full day of my vacation/painting excursion on Salt Spring Island. I wanted to make the most of it but I had so many thing that I wanted to do, places to discover and revisit, that I didn’t know where to start. I did start off leisurely though – sleeping in a bit more than was normal, then having some hot chocolate beside the fire and cooking up some scrambled eggs for breakfast.
It was not raining this morning so I was definitely heading outside but I was unsure what to do. On the one hand I would like to do some painting on the other hand I could go out with my camera, cover a lot more ground and collect reference photos to use later for paintings back in the studio.
Photo taking is what I did – with a vengeance. I finished off my second memory card (started a 3rd) and depleted all of my batteries (again). I followed what were becoming familiar paths – heading down to Beddis Beach and then continuing on to Cusheon Creek. Wanting to explore a bit of new territory, once down by the creek I took the trail to the right, east, towards the ocean rather than starting my trek upstream as I had been doing.
Trail in Cusheon Creek forest
Macro photo of growth on rain forest log
Cusheon Creek in motion
Discoveries on the forest floor
I never did reach the ocean outlet on this hike. The trail seemed to fizzle out but like they say “it’s not about the destination, its about the journey” and the journey this day was good – good for photos and good for the soul.
After the journey in the valley I was back to Beddis Beach (yet again):
A favorite subject on Beddis Beach
Grasses landscaping property above the beach
View north from Beddis Beach, Salt Spring Island (2007 Nov. 18 13:30)
It was at this point that I had filled my memory card so I headed back up Beddis Road to pick up a new one from “home” before continuing my photo gathering walk up Beddis Road.
Mushroom beside the road
Water drops on a spider’s web
Peeling bark of an Arbutus
Edge of the farmland
A narrow lane off the road
Sheep in a field off Beddis Road
Heading back to Fridas Villa , I couldn’t help but go right past it down to the beach again for one last visit. By this time it was getting dusky but that just lent yet another mood to this favorite place.
November moonrise looking south from Beddis Beach
A wide low-tide Beddis Beach late in the afternoon
It seems I should end the story here and with that serene last photo but it was still only 5 pm on this last day. That evening I did take one more shot at painting (inside of course, at the kitchen table).
My "kitchen table" studio set-up from earlier in the day
I worked on a variation of the abstracted piece I’d done the day before. I wasn’t too happy with it though – the light didn’t seem right. Finally I painted a quick little landscape, just to use of the remaining paint on my palette, then cleaned up my painting gear and packed it away. I spent the rest of my last evening with a soak in the hot tub and some time beside the fireplace – it doesn’t get much better than that.
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion (Day 8) – Rain and The Fritz
Saturday November 17th – ahhh the weekend. Well actually not that big a deal after a relaxing week. It was raining pretty heavily this morning so I hung around the Villa for awhile, thinking and writing. Before long though I could stay inside no longer so I walked down to Beddis Beach. After 6 days on the Island with daily visits to this beach I wasn’t growing at all tired of it – partly because of the many moods it presented. The mood on this rainy morning was one of peace. There was something very picturesque about the way the distant islands fade into the clouds, the clouds into the sea. I also found some interesting trees on the beach with some great forms. The photos taken that morning were some of the most inspiring of the trip and resulted in a few paintings back in the studio.
View from Beddis Beach on a rainy morning
A tree extending off Beddis Beach
After an hour or so in the rain, I walked up the road to the Villa to dry out in front of a nice fire
A rainy Beddis Road
The rain continued through the afternoon so I just stayed inside and painted, working on three small pieces. I also had the opportunity to visit Carl and Tracy’s studios to see their art work. Tracy Harrison and Carl Borgstrom are the owner’s of Fridas Villa, the B&B where I was staying. Tracy’s work included abstract paintings and some wonderful works in clay (she also had a couple of kilns o-site to fire her work). Carl is a masterful woodworker.
That evening I was able to catch a ride to the Fritz Movie theatre at Salt Spring’s Central Hall. Playing that evening was “Across the Universe”. With a great soundtrack of Beatles music, I really enjoyed the film. It was also such a treat to attend a movie in this small community theatre, where everyone seemed to know everyone and the popcorn was served with ral butter. Also delightfully unique was what showed before the main feature – instead of the usual loud trailers, there was a wonderful slide show of photos of the Island.
Once back to home base. I still had time for a soak in the hot tub – and the water was good and hot this night and the stars were wonderfully bright. So nice…
Although it had been a mostly rainy day, I managed to have a good one, with a variety of experiences. I ended up taking only 30 photos all day but those rainy morning photos ended up inspiring a mini-series of paintings back in the home studio, including this one:
"Grey Sky, Grey Sea", oil on canvas painting by Randall Talbot
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion (Day 7) – Mountain Hike
Friday November 16 (2007) marked my 5th day on Salt Spring Island and the 7th day since I left home on the train. It would turn out to be another day without any painting but with many reference photos being collected.
The day started off slow. I spent most of the morning reading and did finish Salt Spring (History of an Island). It was a good book that really gave me a good sense of how this island had developed over 150 years.The island has had its challenges and issues – it is more than just the idyllic Canadian paradise that it seems today.
I ended my morning with a trip down the road to Beddis Beach. It was an overcast but peaceful morning, the water was calm. I didn’t stay too long this time. As I headed back past the community orchard, there were a group of people doing some clean up.
Orchard clean-up
A Winding Beddis Road
The afternoon I set off on a hike. I started back up Beddis Road – taking photos of everything from fallen leaves to mushrooms to sheep.
Sheep off Beddis Road
I turned off Beddis Road and continued walking up the side of Cusheon Lake Road, then up on Stewart Road to Peter Arnell Park. There had been a fair bit of climbing but the view from the top was breathtaking. At the Park I headed off road onto the park trails – rather narrow and mountainous but very peaceful.
View from Peter Arnell Park
Hiking trail in Peter Arnell Park
Around 3 PM, I knew I’d have to start heading back in order to beat the early sunset. Little white diamond markers guided me back to the road where I began my descent. It was about a 200m drop from the peak of the park down to Fridas Villa driveway. When I did get back to the driveway I just continued down another 40 m – back to the beach. I spend another hour there, watching a black lab playing fetch and wandering around (taking photos of course).
Beddis Beach late on a November Afternoon
After all the time outside on this afternoon I was feeling chilled and looked forward to a soak in the hot tub. Unfortunately for some reason the tub wasn’t hot enough this day. My next choice for heat was a nice roaring fire – unfortunately I was getting more smoke than fire this evening. I guess there are days like this but overall it was a pretty good day!
Patterns – more iPhoneography Explorations
I continue to explore the Salvador “lens” on the Hipstamatic app. I haven’t yet got it figured out to the point that I can predict what the image will look like but I came up with some interesting images today. All of these have strong symmetry thanks to that Salvador lens.
These images may look like they came from some exotic carpets but they are all from outdoor photos taken a dark grey day. I used the PS Mobile app to increase the color saturation and image contrast.
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion (Day 6) – Mouat Park
Thursday November 15th, 2007 was a different day (another one)! I was able to use a vehicle for a day, which extended my travel range. In fact it would give me an opportunity to get to the top of Mt. Maxwell – someplace I had never been.
First stop though was Mouat Park, just on the edge of Ganges. It was a wonderful walk through a rain forest complete with huge trees,moss, ferns and a little babbling stream.
Creek in Mouat Park
Large trees in Mouat Park
After this little hike I made my way to the Embe Bakery just a few blocks away. There I treated myself to not one but all of my favorite bakery treats: a Danish, a brownie, an apple fritter and a cinnamon twist. Then I began the drive up to Mount Maxwell – back up the Ganges-Fulford Road then onto Cranberry Road to begin the ascent. I drove up the winding road past some beautiful landscapes. I would have stopped to take photos but it has started to rain. Then the unexpected happened. About one third of the way up, the windows of the car began to fog up – badly. I had to stop and wait for them to clear (a bit) then decided to abandon the trip to the top and just head back into town.
Back in Ganges, I spend a few hours wandering around, visiting the docks and shops and of course taking photos. Among the stops were Teddy Bear’s Takeout for fish ‘n chips, the Ganges Tea Shoppe and a bookstore, where I bought Salt Spring (History of an Island).
Plane in Ganges Harbour
Boats in Ganges Harbour
Palm trees in Ganges
At 3:30 I started to make my way back “home” and the rest of the day was uneventful. My evening was quiet. It was pouring rain outside and I was inside by the fire, reading the very interesting Salt Spring history book. I started watching a DVD movie but ended up falling asleep and calling it a night – with just 3 more full days left on Salt Spring Island.
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion (Day 5) – Plein Air by the Creek
Wednesday Nov 14, 2007, my third full day on Salt Spring Island. It is a cool, overcast day but painting in on my agenda. I load up my gear and head out to the Cusheon Creek area that I had scouted out the day before.
Set up for plein air painting near Cusheon Creek
I painted a couple of small studies focusing on the creek, the orange leaf litter and the green trees but I was not happy with either one. Admittedly I had not been doing much plein air painting recently and I was feeling very rusty. Still I hoped that I had captured something of the feeling of the area that I could use, along with my reference photos, to create a decent painting back in the studio. By the time I had done the 2 sketches, the 5 degree temperature had made me feel quite chilled, so I was happy to head back to the villa for lunch (and to warm up by the fireplace).
After lunch, I headed back to the creek area but I didn’t take my painting gear, electing instead to hike with my camera and collect more reference photos. I want to explore a different portion of the valley this time so I walked up to the end of Creekside Road and then descended into the valley and hiked back along the creek – trying to follow it all the way to where the creek empties into the ocean. Unfortunately the trail seemed to fade away and I never did get all to way to the coast. Nonetheless I had a great walk and captured another 100 photos of the area.
Stripey Tree
Cusheon Creek
Deadfall across the creek
That was pretty much the day. After dinner I started reading Emily Carr’s book Hundreds and Thousands. Emily Carr of course is from Victoria and painted coastal landscapes that inspire me and are reminiscent of some of the landscapes that I’ve been experiencing on the island.
As the rain came down during the evening I decided to fore-go a planned hot tub soak but I did do a bit of painting. Set-up on the kitchen table I reworked the “Trees” painting that I had done earlier in the day, down by the creek.
Trees of Cusheon Creek - oil on hardboard (8" x10")
(Incidentally, I used only palette knives for all my painting on this trip)
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion (Day 4) – Close to Perfect
November 13th (2007) – this very well may have been the best day of my trip. The morning was magical and the day was one of joyful discovery. I awoke around 6, just as it started to get light outside. As there was no storm this morning I decided to head down to the beach to catch the sunrise. I was out the door by 7 and at the beach 10 or 15 minutes later. The beach is, not surprisingly, deserted and it is much wider (perhaps 5 meters now) than when I visited the day before. I watch the eastern horizon glow and brighten for about 15 minutes before the intense sunlight slides above the distant mountains and clouds. The scene is beautiful and peaceful and I just close my yes and let the sun bathe me – ahhh.
Sunrise from Beddis Beach, Salt Spring Island (7:20 AM November 13, 2007)
Still considerable run-off from the storm crossing Beddis Beach
Calm waters at Beddis Beach
With the sun shining on me I am warm – so warm that I take off my boots and wade into the water – just to say I did (the water was indeed breathtakingly cold).
My sensible boots wait for my return
I could have stayed there on the beach much longer but I had things I wanted to do, so just after 8, I headed back up to the Villa and had some breakfast (croissants with butter and strawberry jam and some hot chocolate).
Steps up through the garden to Fridas Villa (yes, Nov. 13th)
As pleasant as my morning was, that was just the start. Tracy and Carl (owners of Fridas Villa) had mentioned that there was a nice rain forest not far away and paying a visit was my plan for the rest of the morning. Access to the Cusheon Creek rain forest is gained by following Beddis Road south to where it intersects with Creekside Drive. a little way along on the left (south) side of the road is an access trail.When planning out this trip I was aware of a little beach near by but had no knowledge of this little gem of a lush green wilderness area just a 15 minute walk away.
I started down the little trail from the road and was soon blown away by the beauty – lush green trees, moss and ferns and a vibrant orange carpet of fallen leaves; a charming little creek and wooden bridges crossing it. I started snapping photos and kept going until I had completely exhausted my camera batteries – over 200 photos in an hour and a half!
A Bridge over Cusheon Creek
- Ferns of the rain forest
- Spirirt Guardian of the Rain Forest
I had taken a number of decent photos and with many that could be used for painting references but for now I was done and headed back home for a bite to eat before my next adventure.
It was finally time to get to the whole point of this excursion – PAINTING! I loaded my plein air gear into my backpack and returned to Beddis Beach. I set up at the south end of the beach looking north at a scene that included beach, ocean distant land. I was working on an 8 by 10 inch (20×25 cm) panel using oil paints and a fairly natural palette of colors.
painting sketch, north from Beddis Beach (SSI)
It was a nice sunny afternoon but I was disappointed that I was unable to capture that in my painting – it seemed very flat, in terms of values. Partly discouraged, I did not start another painting that afternoon – besides, I had another mission to complete before darkness.
The day before, on my walk to Ganges I had noticed a cheese farm just a short way up Beddis Road. After dropping off my paintings supplies I walked up to Moonstruck Cheese Farm where I bought a Camembert and a chunk of Tomme d’Or. I grated some of the Tomme d’Or on the pasta that I made for dinner and enjoyed the cheeses though the week.
In the evening, I did a bit of thinking about my painting, what worked and especially what didn’t. I thought a lot about value scales and the limitation of recreating the full scale of nature with paint pigments. I reminded myself that the absolute values on my painting will necessarily be different form the value of something exposed to direct sunlight. I also spent some time thinking about my use of white paint in my paintings – for a long time I had shunned it but now it was back in my palette (for better or worse?).
I had started my day catching the sunrise on Beddis Beach and dipping my feet in the ocean. Now, I ended off the day taking advantage of another of the great amenities at Fridas Villa – a hot tub in the back yard. A luxurious half hour soak under a wonderfully starry sky was a perfect ending to a great day!
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion – After the Storm
6 AM – Monday November 12th, 2007 and I am awaken by the sound of the power going out. It is back in a few minutes, then out again and it would remain off until around 8. Fortunately I was warm in bed and had no place to go and no time commitments. Listening to the radio (hand-cranked rechargeable battery powered) I learned that the storm had knocked out power all over southeastern British Columbia and the worst was yet to come. The winds were supposed to peak around noon and total rain accumulations to be 100 mm (4 inches) – probably not ideal conditions for plein air painting.
I did get up around 7:30 and got a fire going in the fireplace. When the electricity returned I made some pancakes and then sat back with some tea and relaxed – a bit of reading, a bit of writing, listening to music and some contemplative staring out of the window.
Rain on the terrace and deer across the driveway
Around noon, the rain stopped, the winds disappeared and the sky began to clear. It didn’t look bad at all so I headed out for a walk down Beddis Road towards the beach. Before the beach, I stopped off at the community orchard and wandered around taking photos:
Community orchard
Gazebo at the orchard
A colorful tree stump at the orchard
I was overwhelmed by the colors I saw, here particularly but on the coast in general – such a contrast to what I had left 2 days earlier in Edmonton. Here the grass, the ferns were so green, the fallen leaves such a rich rusty-orange. I felt wonderful and inspired and was taking tonnes of photos! After the orchard stop, it was across the street and down a short path to the beach. It was less than a day since my first visit to Beddis Beach but already it had changed.
The disappearing Beddis Beach
There was not much of a beach to be seen on this visit. Being near high tide the beach was disappearing from the ocean side and after the rain of the last night there was continued heavy runoff that turned the land side of the beach into a stream. Nonetheless was still a beach and it was still worth a visit. Walking back “home”, my camera continues to get a workout as I saw all kinds of wonderful color and textures that I had to capture:
Crab apples
Wild blackberries
The afternoon of my first day on the island, I walked in to Ganges, the main town in the centre of the island to pick up some cooking supplies. It is about 7 1/2 kilometers from Fridas Villa to the town so it was about an hour and a quarter walk each way. Not a problem though, I love walking, especially to explore new places and I would have an opportunity to take lots of photos. I walked along the side of the relatively quiet Beddis Road past delightful forested areas and farmland (with the last kilometer along the busier Fulford-Ganges Road).
Salt Spring Island sheep
Old farm building
Afternoon sunlight on roadside trees
The islands from a high point on the road to Ganges
The narrow road
Back at Fridas Villa, as the early evening darkness descended, I warmed up an Indian combo plate for supper and rested my walking-weary feet and legs, while watching a movie. That was the day – a good day but I was starting to feel guilty about not yet painting.
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion – Settling In
The first day of my November 2007 adventure to Salt Spring Island was the train journey from Edmonton to Vancouver (as described in an earlier blog post). I arrived at Vancouver’s Pacific Central station around 0830 on a Sunday. On this, day 2, I continued on towards my destination of Salt Spring Island. I would need to catch a ferry but first I would need a bus to Tsawwassen. Fortunately the bus terminal is co-located with the train station and the bus travels via the ferry to Victoria, so I buy one ticket that will cover my transportation from the Vancouver train station all the way to the Fulford Harbour ferry terminal on Salt Spring Island.
Vancouver bus terminal
Fortunately I had an hour or two between train arrival and bus departure so after I had bought my ticket, I had breakfast and then strolled around, enjoying the coastal humidity and greenery, before finding a bench upon which to sit and wait for the bus loading time. The next part of the journey went very smooth – I got my luggage onto the bus, got a seat and rode until we were on the ferry at Tsawwassen, an hour or so later. Once on the ferry it was off the bus and time to wander around the big boat. I headed up to the deck and back to the stern as the ferry began it’s trip across the Georgia Strait, through the Gulf Islands and to Swartz Bay ferry terminal north of Victoria.
BC Ferry at Tsawwassen Ferry Port
As it was November 11th, Remembrance Day in Canada, so I paused at 11:00 to remember. With the overcast skies, cool sea breeze and very few other people around, it was a solemn and memorable moment.
Canadian flag at stern of BC Ferry
I always enjoy the ferry trip between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, especially as we move through Active Pass, the narrow channel between the Gulf Islands of Mayne and Galiano. After an hour and a half the ferry arrived at Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. Shortly before arrival I made my way down to the vehicle deck to pick up my luggage from the bus. Then I made my way back up top to join the pedestrians walking off of the ferry.
At the Swartz Bay terminal I found my way to another, much smaller, ferry that would take me on a 35 minute journey back over to Salt Spring Island .
The small ferry to Salt Spring Island
As we approached the Salt Spring I was reminded why I love it there. I could see natural beauty of the mountains, veiled by low clouds and there was a touch of autumn color on the shore too. Then of course there were reminders of the quirky and creative nature of this place exemplified by the floating domicile in the bay as the ferry approached the Fulford Harbour dock.
Approaching Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring
I was met at the ferry terminal by Tracy Harrison and Carl Borgstrom, proprietors of Fridas Villa and given a ride to their home. Attached to their home is Fridas Villa, a self-contained one bedroom suite that I had reserved for my stay. It is located on Beddis Road just a short walk from Beddis Beach and (as I would discover) a number of other wonderful locales
After a day and a half on the rails, waves and roads I was ready to stay put. By the time I got settled in to my home for the next week, it was already mid-to-late afternoon (I was on holidays and not paying much attention to the exact time). There was however a little time (i.e. daylight) left for exploring the “neighborhood”. I headed down the road towards the ocean, past a friendly looking community orchard and down a little trail to the beach. Being late afternoon it was already cooling off and there was a bit of a wind but the beach was very refreshing and comforting. I spent some time strolling up and down the gravel beach soaking in the atmosphere and scouting out possible painting locations. I would return to Beddis Beach everyday over the coming week and come to see it in a variety of conditions.
A blue view from Beddis Beach (looking east)
Beddis Beach, Salt Spring Island (looking north, November 2007)
After this brief walkabout it was starting to get dark so I headed “home”, finished getting settled in and spent the evening resting in front of the fireplace. The next day I wanted to get down to work!
A warm and welcome fire in the Fridas Villa fireplace to end the day
A Salt Spring Painting Excursion – Getting There
It was November 10, 2007 that I set off on a solo artistic adventure. I might have called it a holiday but I would get some strange looks. Summer holidays in Canada – sure. Winter Holidays (especially to play in snow ) okay, but November, to the west coast, at the start of the wet season? Well maybe I’ll just call it a work trip.
The plan was to spend a week painting on Salt Spring Island on Canada’s west coast. I expected to do plein air painting so my pochade box was a key piece of the equipment that I had to bring with me – along with a tripod to hold the pochade, a small stool to sit on and a canvas backpack to lug it all around. In order to transport this stuff (and a wooden case for my painting panels) to the coast I needed a big case. I thought about purchasing a commercial shipping case but in the end I shopped around and bought a suitcase big enough( but not too big) to be dedicated to these art supplies. Along with this large (and heavy) case I had a smaller backpack to carry my clothes and personal effects.
The first day was a travel day – getting from Edmonton to the coast. My preferred mode of transportation is the train so I boarded “The Canadian” in Edmonton on a Saturday morning for the trip. The journey would take nearly 24 hours crossing half of Alberta, through the mountains and across British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. The train was a couple of hours late leaving Edmonton but we were on the rails by mid-morning on our way to Jasper. There is not a whole lot to see on this first leg as the November landscape in Alberta is pretty bleak – dried grasses and leafless trees. It was however a pleasant enough day and I just relaxed by settling into my coach seat, taking a deep breath and watching the world go by.
View from train, west of Edmonton
By later in the afternoon as the train approached Jasper National Park, bits of snow could be seen at the sides of the track and once into the Park, snow could be seen at the higher elevations of the mountains.
Lake and snow-capped mountains in Jasper National Park
We arrived in Jasper and had an opportunity to de-train and wander around the town a bit but because we were already running late, the stop was not as long as normal.
Jasper Station, The Canadian and the Rocky Mountains
Baggage wagons at Jasper
Waiting to re-board "the Canadian" in Jasper
The departure from Jasper was late afternoon ( little after 4PM) and it was already getting darkish with the sun having dipped below the surrounding mountains. Unfortunately this meant I wouldn’t be seeing much of the scenery and I certainly wouldn’t be having any photo ops (or so I thought). Within an hour it was dark but still I kept my eyes and little Pentax camera pointed out the window looking for light and interesting sights.
Rather uninteresting view within the coach
Surprisingly inspiring low-light landscape from the train
Throughout the evening and into the night I would take photos from the window of the moving (or occasionally stopped) train. The long exposure and movement did not make for very good traditional photographs but I loved the abstraction, the effect of the mysterious, blurred motions.
Silhouetted rail car at night
Night scene from the train
Photo that inspired the "Rolling Through the Night" painting
Many of the photos I took that night served as inspiration for my Night Train series of paintings. I did not sleep very deeply that night – between trying to get comfortable on the train seat, the distractions and just the excitement of being on a journey – but I didn’t care. I recall waking up many times through the night as the train passed through a town or a small station. I would wake up briefly, snap a photo or two then drift off again. As night became early morning The Canadian was rolling through the Fraser Valley, back towards civilization. Between the lightening sky and man-made structures and lights a number of photo ops were presented. Again a number of these photos (still not much on their own) served as inspiration/references for some abstract paintings.
A bridge, lights and the dawn near Vancouver
Vancouver-area bridge at dawn
This leg of the journey ended around 0830 in the morning as The Canadian (which I had been on for nearly a day but which had departed Toronto four and a half days earlier) pulled into Vancouver Pacific Central station . Stepping onto the platform I was struck by that unmistakable west coast humidity and the relative warmth (compared to Edmonton in November).
Platform at Vancouver Station
The next leg of my journey would be a bus to the ferry but I had a bit of time to grab a bit of breakfast and stroll out to the front of the station. A treat it was to see green grass and even some shrubs with leaves (us prairie folk are easily impressed by this time of year)
Vancouver's Pacific Central Train Station (2007 Nov 11)
Next: a bus, a couple of ferries and a car ride to get to my destination on Salt Spring Island – for the real start of my adventure.
Revisiting (repainting) Candles in the Rain
I don’t often (probably never have) replicate one of my own paintings, but this week I did (kind of). I have in the past, painted a series of studies where one paintings will be the basis for another (usually larger) one. In this case though, I have taken an old painting and made a much smaller version. Curious?
In a recent blog post I wrote about one of my personal favorites of my paintings: Candles in the Rain from 1992. I mentioned how I didn’t think I’d ever sell that one. The original painting was 20 by 24 inches (51 x 61 cm) but this new one is just 4 by 6 inches (10 by 15 cm) which is a standard postcard size. This one will be for sale!
So what is the special occasion to inspire me to paint this small version of an old favorite and offer it for sale? It is the Twitter Art Exhibit in Norway, that I spoke about in my Oct 23rd blog post . Basically, artists from around the world (who are part of the Twitter community) are sending postcard-size works that will be sold to raise funds to buy children’s books for a local library. David Sandum, a local artist there, is the creative and energetic genius behind this big project. Note that there are expected to be over 140 works in this show!
It was a challenge to me to work on such a small scale when in recent times I’ve been pushing myself to work on larger paintings. Also challenging was going back to acrylic paints after having worked mainly in oils recently. Even the subject matter and style is a bit different from my recent work. Nonetheless, it came together and I am happy with the result. In case you are wondering , no it is not a stroke for stroke replica of the original. I retained the major elements and tried to replicate the feel but if you were to compare the two side by side you would spot the differences (size difference notwithstanding).
So here it is:
Candles in the Rain (2010)
… and if you happen to be in Moss, Norway in December perhaps you will have an opportunity to purchase it and add it to your collection.
It’s Hip to be Surreal
The last few days I’ve been exploring a new add-on to the Hipstamatic application for the iPhone. The new “Salvador 84” “lens” pays homage to the surrealistic art of Salvador Dali. I’ve been taking many photos and trying to figure out what exactly this app does so that I can control and use the effects for my creative purposes.
All of these images were taken from a single exposure, just one push of the “shutter”, The application obviously created a 2nd image from the original and superimposes it over the original. There is a degree of rotation between the two images and there does seem to be a delightful element of randomness to the process.
Here are a few of my early explorations of the “Salvador 84” “lens” :
Salv Portrait
City Hall Clock/Bell Tower Reflected
The first 2 photos shows a vertical “reflection plane” straight down the middle of the image.
With other images things aren’t so simple. In this next image you can see a slight rotation (maybe 20 degrees) and an offset between the original and secondary image.
Street Corner
Pyramids
“Pyramids” looks like it could have been composed of 3 or 4 or 5 images but again it was just a single shot. It is clear in this photo that the app has created a second image which has been shifted diagonally down but with no appear any rotation between the two. This image is the only one of this posting for which I used the DreamCanvas “film” that is packaged with the Salvador 84 lens.
Split Pigeon
“Split Pigeon” was an interesting, surreal surprise in that the crack between the paving blocks seems to go over and split the front bird.
Go - Don't Walk
This final image “Go – Don’t Walk” is simple enough to show the original and duplicate image with a change in size, intensity and a significant rotation between the two – but interesting.
In all of the images in this post I did do a bit of post-Hipstamatic-processing in terms of adjustments to contrast and color saturation
This is a fun add-on to the Hipstamatic portfolio that can certainly yield some creative results – I just want to learn better how to predict and/or control what happens. Next I intend to experiment with taking multiple photos of the same scene to see if there is some random variation in the way the application processes each image.
Randall Talbot - Artist 