033020: Staying Home

It’s hard to be enthusiastic these days about most things, at least that is what I’m often  finding. Fortunately, though, a rare glimpse of sunlight broke through the dreariness the other day, enough to get me out the door with my camera. Doing was what was important, not so much results.

So, today a mix of things out my studio door – fossils (of course), rocks, etc. Just some things I decided to focus on, to find some solace in such a strange time. Best wishes and stay well!

Mollusc With Brachiopod Tiara

Brachiopods with Lichen

Cephalopod

Rock Flame

Brachiopods

Another Brachiopod

Yet Another Brachiopod

Brachiopod Potpourri

( A note regarding brachiopods. There are over 12,000 fossil species recognized. These marine invertebrates have existed on this planet for roughly 550 million years. The ones seen here are 385-387 million years old)

Shale

Gnarled Wood

 Rough Skin

Grate

Industry

Thanks for the visit. Be well.

022720: My New Phone

Well, new to me at least. My old phone died a few weeks ago and, of course, it needed to be replaced immediately! (How could any of us survive without…!) While describing the new one to a friend I referred to it, not as a phone with a camera, but rather as a camera with a phone! It was a genuine slip of the tongue. It was also quite accurate. I suppose this is nothing new but I am continually amazed at the rates of advancement.

Today was my first opportunity to play a little with this new camera/phone – just a stroll around my studio on a foggy day.

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Never thought I’d ever post a cat picture – “Jack”

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I’ll close with a couple of paintings that are works in progress:

Untitled 1 (60″x36″)

Untitled 2 (80″x65″)

 

Thanks for the visit.

011620: Gastropods Part 2

The response to last week’s selection of Devonian gastropods was such that I thought it worthwhile to present more gastropod images – some of the ones that did not make last week’s cut.

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Thanks for the visit.

010920: Gastropods

A good friend of mine is currently writing about gastropods, Devonian ones in particular, for a chapter in a book. He recently asked if I could provide some of my gastropod images to accompany his work and I happily agreed.

That got me to scour my libraries. I managed to come up with these ten (and many more). As they accumulated in a folder I began to create other categories – particular favorites being one of many.

So today here are ten different looks at the local 387 million year old gastropods.

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The remaining five images are from that other new category – personal favorites – a subject that I might dip into more and more as time goes by.

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Thanks for the visit.

121219: More Devonian Fossils

Another selection for you today – all local 385 million year old invertebrate fossils. I’m too busy today with the hearings to add any more to this post. I hope you enjoy today’s images.

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I’ll leave you with this pic of my latest painting. Not sure if it will stay this way. It seems like they never do!

Thanks for the visit.

120519: Trilobites and Others

This week’s post starts with three images containing trilobite parts. In this particular area it’s rather difficult to find entire, whole trilobites. So finding something like the impression of a trilobite eye (in the opening image) makes for a very good day in the field for me!

As is usually the case, the remainder of fossil images displayed today are local (Hudson Valley), all dug up by me, and all 385 million year old marine invertebrates.

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Snow finally arrived a few days ago and it looks like it will be around for a while. My first thought was to cut a path to my studio sitting down there in the woods. My second thought was to focus my camera briefly on the newly formed shapes that surrounded the studio.

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Thanks for the visit.

112119: Old is New

It’s been hard to focus on the blog this week with all the hearings going on. I did have the time to put together this grouping of images that have been sitting in my earliest fossil library – images that had not ever been addressed before. So, even though they were originally shot twelve years ago, it was only yesterday that I finally got around to processing them.

It is a mix of various fossils – all Devonian marine invertebrates (387 million years old) and all found locally.

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Thanks for the visit.

110719: A Small Variety

Some new images today along with a mix of other recent work. The opener, taken upon my return from a trip out of town, seemed to capture that mid Autumn feeling – leaves are down, colors are fading, and a fog suggesting increasing grays.The images that follow have no main focus – just a variety of things I’ve been playing with lately.

Fossil Mix

Mixed Media

Two details from a recent project on Galileo

Jupiter Moon

Gastropod

Brachiopod

Brachiopod drawing

Autumn

Flowers

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These two are the result of mirroring:  flowers…

…and part of a large conch. It almost looks like a polished wood sculpture.

Double Yams, entwined

Double Buddha

Thanks for the visit.

103119: More From the Quarry

I must admit that I have been captured by the random beauty resulting from the mineral oxidation of shale at my local quarry.

It’s pretty easy to spot the colors amidst the blue grays and blacks of the piles of broken shale.

Generally, the red, orange, and yellow stains clearly stand out. And, like most anything else, some of the stains are pretty ordinary.

But, upon closer inspection and with some discrimination, some of the stains create visual delights!

I keep saying to myself that I’ve found enough and may have played this one out.

But then, as I review some of the recent images, I look out the window, notice that the sun is shining, and I’m out the door for yet another trip to the quarry. We are already in mid Autumn and there will be fewer opportunities before winter sets in.

And, when the colors begin to fade along with the onset of dreary gray winter days, I’ll go back to picking fossils from the other layers where they primarily reside.

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I’ll close for today with a shot from my perch in the quarry. Piles of rock everywhere, fall colors and the Eastern Escarpment of the Catskills.

Thanks for the visit.

102419: Fall Colors

I drove up on the mountaintop the other day to take in the fall colors. Ended up visiting friends and found myself more interested in their “local sights” than the leaves!

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First and foremost was the barn.

Two views of the same window – from the outside, and from the inside at the tool bench.

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A blurred treestump above and white birch with clothespins below.

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Back here outside my studio, falling leaves are hiding the many fossils that lay about. I did, though, find enough to occupy myself on a fine fall afternoon!

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Thanks for the visit.