060718: Remembering Italy

 

My son called a few days ago, telling me about the wonderful first visit he and his family are currently experiencing in Italy. And I couldn’t be happier to hear all about their adventure. So, with all that going through my mind, and with a serious desire to be there myself, I have opted for the next best thing – my photo libraries! Today’s post scratched that itch (for the time being!).

I started off with some trees – the opener is from an olive grove near Assisi. The image immediately above is a very old tree in the garden surrounding Leonardo‘s home and birthplace in Vinci.

Doorway, Florence

Spello, Umbria

Street Shrine, Florence

St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice

Entryway, Trastevere

Vegetable Stand/Barge, Venice

Flowerpots, Trastevere

Private Driveway, Tuscany

Gondolas, Venice

Rome

Souveniers, Assisi

Dress Shop, Venice

Santa Croce Basilica, Florence

Thanks for visiting Italy with me today!

0528: The Joys of Technology

This morning I got up and drove a few miles down a peaceful country road to my studio as I do every day. But somewhere between I seemed to have taken a wrong turn and landed in Technology Hell! Don’t know how it happened. Maybe some retrograde planets. Maybe some form of karmic retribution. Or just maybe it simply happened to be my turn.

We all have those days, hopefully not too often. But between the phone company, power company and other assorted interests, my “quiet country road” turned into a parking lot for loud, oversized heavy equipment. And all I wanted was to be somewhere else.

Fortunately, my photo library was there for me and I was able to calm down by revisiting wonderful places I have seen. So here today is my calmative. From the top are three images from the Adirondacks, Umbria, and Spoleto. The result of my “deep exhale” follows.

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Tuscany

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Fisk Quarry, Isle La Motte, Vermont

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Paris

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Chaco Canyon. New Mexico

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Eastern Montana

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 Florence

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Florence

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Notre Dame, Paris

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Eiffel Tower, Paris

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Rome

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Ithaca, New York

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It worked. I am quiet and content now!

Hopefully, you enjoyed it as well.

Thanks for the visit.

 

0129: Winter Work

I know, I know – it’s winter and it’s supposed to be cold! I know too that every moment of one’s life is to be cherished. Make the most of every day, etc., etc. But 20 degrees warmer certainly would help!! Thankfully, the studio is warm and there is plenty to keep me comfortably busy.

Cephalopod

Two groups of images today, all from browsing my libraries this past week. The first  is a selection of various fossils I dug up within a mile or two of my studio. It’s a bit more diverse than usual. I hope I have identified them properly. Please let me know if I am in error.

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Leptaena

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Brachiopod and Trilobite Eye

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Brachiopod

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Shard from Rugose Coral

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Brachiopod and Gastropod

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Rostroconch (?)

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Next, an odd mix of images from Rome – not your typical vacation pics – a handful of faces, (an erotic Madonna followed by three dead guys), and a couple of puzzlers that seem to hold my attention. (The first is a store window and the other a fountain in the Trastavere section of the city.)

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One last one from Rome – I can’t believe I’m actually posting a “cat” picture. What the hell – if he can ride that moped he’s ok with me!

Thanks for the visit.

1218: Year End 2014

With Christmas and New Years Day falling on Thursdays this year ( I usually post on Thursdays) this will be my last blog of the year. And, as it has become custom for me, I’d like to use this opportunity to post images that proved to be personal favorites of mine over the past year.

Some of these images will be appearing in upcoming shows next year – the abstract/concrete above and my geological “thunderbolt” below.

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Seems that a series of circles and arcs caught my attention, thanks in part to some well-positioned gastropods.

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Last in this series of arcs is this image entitled “The Navigator” – a multiple exposure image of an astrolabe at the Vatican Museum in Rome.

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There is a pattern developing here – a pattern of patterns – from the Abstract/Concrete series…

…to my Swarm series…

… to the patterns in Nature – in this case rocks in the middle of Kaaterskill Creek.

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Local brachiopods

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A wonderful saxophone-shaped cephalopod

Last, a quiet setting atop Platte Clove.

Best Wishes to all of you this Holiday Season.

And, as always, thank you for the visit.

0220: Acceptance

My thanks to a few of my friends (you know who you are) who have, at various times over the past month, suggested that I may be a tad too cranky (downright surly, even) in my reactions to the winter we are currently experiencing! The fact that I hear the same crankiness in choruses at large is no excuse. Complaining about the weather may just be the silliest and most futile of efforts, unless, of course, one is referring to the climate changes that are affecting the entire globe. For today, though, it’s more about the mundane realities like shoveling, drying wet socks, etc.

So, instead of complaining, I decided to “live in the moment” a bit more (never a bad tack) and appreciate the surroundings – just a minor shift in perspective. And that brought the camera out and that led to a walk down to Kaaterskill Creek. And that led to these two different views of the creek and the traces of a passing animal.

And a drive to get my morning coffee led to this hill of moguls? erratic golf ball dimples? Rather, it’s a pile of tires covered in snow.

Last, but not least, a stop down the road for these two views of a neighbor’s shed.

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Late in the afternoon a few days ago, on one of those “too cold to be outside” days, hard sunlight raked across part of the studio. It gave me a wonderful opportunity for some creative play – simple fun with shadows.

The first two – plastic water bottles against a bowed background. And the third – parts from an old film projector.

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Hopefully, if the snow melts this week, I’ll be back with some fossil images. I have bags full of crinoid pieces begging for their moment in the spotlight! Until then, I’ll leave you with some snowless images from Rome.

Borghese Gardens

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Gardener’s Shed

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Roman Bath House Ruins

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Courtyard with Early Artifacts

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Ancient Roman Wall

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Street Shrine

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Flower Vendor

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Thank you for the visit.

0123: Plodding Along

Winter sunrise through my bedroom window this morning. It’s during those early morning hours, with temperatures as low as they have been, that I find it particularly challenging to break free from my warm and cozy bed to face the day! That’s more a simple observation than it is a complaint (or even an irritant, for that matter). During the worst that Winter offers, I live in a warm home. Unfortunately, that is not the case for far too many.

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I’ve been busy lately with applications and proposals for the upcoming year – a task that has me sitting at the computer (right next to my indispensable portable heater) – trolling through my photo libraries and previous posts, looking at fresh combinations of images to piece together.

Early results are promising. These two images sprung from a series of scientific devices I photographed at the Vatican Museum.

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This trolling managed to also take me through my recent Italian images, giving a second look at some of the more offbeat images I had already passed on. Here are a couple that require a closer look:

In keeping with my Street Shrine series I couldn’t pass up this version of the Madonna – a childlike pencil scribble – the simplified version, if you will.

And then there was this street sign – I’m not exactly sure what it represents. But I’m sure it means something to someone.

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This next group of four images are the result of nervous energy, I am sure. While waiting to give a talk at the Natural History Museum, my back-and-forth pacing in the back rooms led to these:

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I’ll finish off today’s post with a few more images from my sessions at the Museum of the Earth and PRI‘s immense collection:

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Thanks as always for the visit.

A New Year Begins

I don’t know about you, but I must admit to having a rather sluggish start to the new year. Much to look forward to and be excited about yet the winter “blahs” seem to have settled in. Perhaps it is the result of the polar vortex and all the misery that accompanied it. Or perhaps it’s just that seasonal cabin fever thing that can be remedied with a few warm sunny days.

Some artist friends of mine had a back-and-forth on Facebook the other day all about that seasonal lack of energy and creativity. So apparently I’m not the only one. But I do always have this blog to post – and that keeps my hand in the process, whether I’m bursting with creativity or wondering if the creativity had permanently departed! And thanks to the wealth of images in my library that I never had time to explore I always have fresh images or, in the example above, fresh new doors to open and work to explore.

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So I present an odd mix – images that may or may not work well but certainly worthy of exploration. Here is a strange, hidden landscape – a heavy fog hides the Umbrian town of Spoleto from an aerie high in the hills to the north.

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In case of emergency Break Glass! This from a private park in Florence.

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Florence graffiti.

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Two back alley outdoor workplaces in Rome.

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Close up of Rome basilica.

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A new entry to my Street Shrine series. In this case graffiti that has the same effect as the larger, more lavish shrines found on many street corners.

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And now something I have wanted to revisit. This fossil series was made on my last visit to the Museum of the Earth and PRI, located in Trumansburg, New York.

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Thanks for visiting.

More images at www.artmurphy.com

Subscribe at my homepage artandfossils.wordpress.com

Year’s End 2013

Kaaterskill Creek passes within a hundred yards of my studio – a pleasure to view anytime of year. Yesterday it looked like this.

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We’ll be on the road this holiday season so this will be my final post for the year 2013. As I reflect on the past twelve months I must acknowledge the good fortune I have experienced, all thanks to the wonderful people I have been fortunate enough to meet. Many people to thank. The following images, personal favorites of mine from 2013, often reflect the kindness of others. I am most grateful for their interest and assistance.

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My thanks to everyone at the Catskill Center in Arkville. This image was created while participating this past summer in their Platte Clove Artist-In-Residency Program.

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A product of Paris – part of the Mohawk-Hudson Regional Show currently on display at the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls.

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Auctioned off for “Hungry For Music“, a group that raises money for kids who can’t afford musical instruments.

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My thanks to Susan Butts and Derek Briggs at the Yale Peabody Museum who opened their doors to my camera. The twin “portrait” of crinoids was the result of exploring their backroom storage shelves.

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And this image of crinoid ossicles, looking like a pile of buttons, was a favorite at my show this past summer on Isle La Motte in Vermont. These were fossils found there at Chazy Reef, some of the oldest I have ever photographed. My great thanks to Linda, Donald, and their friends and associates for the fine reception they gave this work.

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Tile floor at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

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Thanks to my friends, both old and new, with whom I shared in a wonderful project that led to a successful and well-received show, Small Town Parade, held at SPAF in Saugerties. It was an honor to share the experience with them.

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A surprise find on the road, just outside Cooperstown – Wood Bull Antiques.

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I met a guy on the street in Hudson one day. This box sat in the back of his pickup truck. He saw my interest, snapping away from the curb, so he gave it to me. Thanks again whoever you were.

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A friend gave me this old rusted bicycle seat. Seeing it there, sitting in my drawer, conjures up thoughts of the Hindu God Ganesha.

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My favorite gastropod, sitting in my Devonian Drawer with metal mesh salvaged from a burned down factory.

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An empty studio in Florence. Even empty space looks great there!

None of these images from Italy wold exist were it not for my dear friends who invited me to exhibit with them at the Natural History Museum on Florence. Many Thanks!

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Rome Building Lobby

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       And, finally, a misty hilltop in Tuscany. To all my Italian friends “Buon Natale.” And to everyone else, Best Wishes for a safe and peaceful holiday time and Good Fortune for 2014.

And thanks, as always, for your kind support and interest.

1212: Beacon This Weekend

I’m happy to report that these two images from my Street Shrines series was accepted into a juried show opening this Saturday, December 14 (6-9 PM) at the BAU Gallery in Beacon, NY. It is my first opportunity to show work there and I look forward to the event. The title of the show is Saints & Sinners – seemed like a good fit!

I dropped the work off last weekend – my first visit to Beacon in a long time – and was I ever impressed. A lot of fine galleries with terrific art. It is also their monthly Second Saturday gallery walk. So if you are in the area please drop by.

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Like the rest of the eastern states, we here in the Hudson Valley felt the shiver of early winter the past few days. The snow and ice provided opportunity, as it almost always does, for fresh shooting prospects. I’m not quite ready for the cold just yet so I ventured only as far as my various piles of fossils and props that surround my studio.

These slabs are all full of fossils and, when reduced to simple shapes, now look more like some cemetery in a dream…while metal springs, like the bare tree branches, pick up a nice coat.

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I also took the opportunity to throw a few prints from my “rejects” stack out into the snow and rain – don’t know where this might lead – but it has possibility. The fossil, by the way, is a rugose coral – one that I have used a number of times.

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The cold weather is also helpful in keeping me in the studio – and that is allowing me to chip away at all of my recent images from Italy. Not much in common with these new ones. They just caught my eye:

Stairs, Spoleto

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Street Stall Stitching, Florence

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Construction, Uffizi

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Orrery, Vatican Museum

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And one last image from a recent stroll through the town of Hudson – sculpture from industry!

Thanks for visiting.

More images at www.artmurphy.com

Subscribe at my homepage artandfossils.wordpress.com

1121: Textured

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This small group of Pliocene fossils, found while in Tuscany, continue to capture my attention. I have already shot them a number of times and they still seem to have more to give.

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I’ve been adding to my “backgrounds” collection. So, now along with piles of rocks surrounding my studio, I’m developing a pile of rust scraps and other odd assorted items that I can turn to when in need of a different backdrop for certain fossils.

And thanks to a few days of good weather I’ve finally returned to old ways and managed to get out and dig for new treasure – also a perfect time to break out the new backgrounds.

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This trace fossil came with its own textured background. I was out the other day on a hike with my friend and neighbor, Harry, when he discovered this rock in a heavily quarried area. Too big to carry back to the studio, so it was shot on site. Those curved lines are the result of a burrowing animal looking for food 385 million years ago.

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Back at the studio,with a fresh bag of fossils, I found myself pulling out all kinds of props, trying to see what might work best with them. From there pictures began to unfold.

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Out came my favorite prop, the erstwhile Devonian Drawer, this time sans Devonian, and used with an odd but intriguing antique object. Thanks, Lenny. If you really miss it you can have it back!

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One of the Italian fossils sits comfortably (lower right) with some animal bones.

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I’ll finish today with some contemporary Roman textures.

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The walls there seem to have stories to tell.

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Thanks for visiting.

More images at www.artmurphy.com

Subscribe at my homepage artandfossils.wordpress.com