Window Sketch

I came across this rough little sketch that I must have done on an airplane as it was scrawled on the corner of an in-flight magazine crossword page. It's probably at least five years old, so it's a wonder I still have it. It was probably inspired by my first trip to Europe, as I purchased a cheap set of drawing pencils and sketch pad from the Tate Modern museum in London. I then made a few sketches from various hotel windows of the rooftops and cityscapes of Paris and Amsterdam. I remember even doing a couple on the way home from memory, the images still fresh and imprinted in my mind. I got the idea much later to do a painting or series of paintings from the perch of a window, but brilliantly, I thought, including the elements of the window as well. I never got beyond the sketching stage, but eventually came across similar ideas in a couple early 20th Century French paintings. In fact, there was one from a famous artist I wished I could recall, that was an almost identical recreation of my sketch. Perhaps it was just to say, "Hey, look at me. I'm in a fancy new tall building, looking down upon the masses." I'm sure it sounded more elegant in French.

After writing this, I suddenly realized I have actually consciously continued to work on this same theme to the present day. As I may have previously mentioned, over the last ten years I have traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada on a weekly basis, often finding myself in high-rise hotels. Also, I may have mentioned my penchant for exploring the alleyways and nooks and crannies of urban life. I have amassed an extraordinary amount of photos and videos showing voyeuristic views from windows above onto the City/town below, and in some cases, from below, with planes and such passing overhead. I have always intended to assemble some kind of photo/video collage of this, but I think after awhile and without a particular goal, it began to seem overwhelming...or perhaps I'm just, once again, lazy.

B & W photography (Part 3)

These two pics I'm especially proud of and had completely forgotten about. They are based on a sketch I made on a cocktail napkin (I'd love to also find) I had intended to turn into a painting. Instead, I realized it would be quicker to take photos. They were taken in the house I had just purchased in Phoenix, so I date them circa 2005. You may note that the strange look of the walls are due to an awkward attempt I made of a "fresco wash," apparently to make my kitchen resemble an old Tuscan one. The title of the photos are "She Loves Me" and "She Loves Me Not."

B & W photography (Part 2)

These next two are again from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco circa 2004. There is an old oval track that people use for jogging or racing bicycles around. There are some incredible wooden bleachers that have withstood time and the elements. I don't think this is the Polo Fields, but it could be. It's the perfect place for a young gentleman to have the wind whip about his handlebar mustache as he races his penny-farthing or French Automoto, in hopes of catching the eye of an ingenue seated aside the track.

B & W photography (Part 1)

No catty rants or philosophical ponderings this time. I was going through a box of pics the other day that I hadn't looked at in a couple years. I've gone through several "film photography" phases throughout my life, the most recent in 2004 and then 2006-2007. I found a few I really like that I wanted to share. It's hard to believe that they were on the same roll, since some were from when I lived in San Francisco, and some shortly after I moved to Phoenix. I think it results from shooting half a roll, and then neglecting that particular camera for a while. Enjoy!

This first photo was taken in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco circa 2004. It's quite idyllic and reminds me a little of Monet's "Water Lillies" paintings. It looks as if it was taken in the early 19th Century and there should be women with long dresses, hats and black umbrellas milling about. I wish I would have taken more of this spot, but this is the only one.

Pictures of Buildings

I've gone through periods of time throughout my life when I've been obsessed with photography. Since I've traveled constantly the past ten years it is a perfect creative outlet. I've always admired architecture from ancient ruins to modernist skyscrapers, even though I don't know enough about the topic to engage in intelligent discussion. The only architect I have any sort of opinion on and absolutely hate, is Frank Gehry. He seems like a one-trick-pony, whose garish, bordering on obscene, buildings would have done themselves a favor and stayed in the conceptual design phase, like some of those haute couture runway fashions or prototype cars, that are meant to shock and gain attention, never to see the light of day. Perhaps I miss the point, falsely assuming that one of the purposes of architecture is to blend somewhat within its surroundings, instead of becoming an annoying blister upon the landscape.

Okay, enough about that. I had no idea a rant was about to occur and I apologize. Anyway, so I've taken some interesting photos of buildings from around the world over the years. I particularly enjoy capturing the nooks and in-betweens of buildings, e.g. alleyways, fire escapes. However, I've never kidded myself, as I'm sure, no matter how cool they might look to me, it's nothing that hasn't been seen in countess coffee table books.

This brings me to another point I'd like to discuss. A number of years ago, a talented photographer friend, who is currently also a pro photo-journalist, had a gallery show of a series of pics he took on a trip to South/Central America. They were very good and professionally matted, framed, etc. His prices were very reasonable. However, as I was acting as DJ and co-curator, a woman asked me if the photos were, "film or digital." I told her they were digital and she upturned her nose and snobbishly said, "Hmm...that's too bad." I asked what she meant by that. She replied, "I would have been interested if they were film." I was stunned and didn't know what to say. I used to be a bit of a snobby purist myself in the analog/film/digital debate, but at that moment, that feeling began to disappear. Yes, "the medium is the message," as Marshall McLuhan wrote, meaning that the form of the medium embeds itself within the message, creating a relationship that influences how a message is perceived. However, if the woman had to ask, it meant that she wasn't sure, and if she wasn't sure, then the medium shouldn't have mattered, right? She was interested in the content, the substance of the art, yet she was constrained by some notion of "real art=film vs. digital=amateur." This was about five years ago, so perhaps the increase in technology and prevalence of "digital" in our society, it has become more acceptable.

Hipster-matic or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Retro-Techno-Picture Craze

Fifteen months ago I took a month or two off of work when my daughter was born. Even though I had enough vacation time accrued, I still found myself a part-time job to pass the time and make some extra scratch as a bouncer/parking-lot attendant for a local bar. Most of my time was spent sitting in a parking lot reading and drinking Guinness out of a thermos. However, one night I took the accompanying photos with my phone using a free app I downloaded. They look cool in a mysterious David Lynchian way, but I never looked at them again until now. A good friend and professional artist has actually sold prints using his camera phone pictures, but I just don't have the heart to do that myself. I like to think that the key of art comes purely from the intent of the artist as I may have mentioned before, but it just seems too easy when technology performs the brunt of the effort or perhaps the effect that makes it aesthetically "cool" or interesting. I don't know. Perhaps I'm just making excuses again to justify laziness of putting a project together.

Accidental Narcissism

Apparently it's been awhile since I've last posted, as I had forgotten how to login to my own account. In the process, I inadvertently subscribed and became a fan of my own blog; an empty wine bottle near me may have contributed. However, I now swallow my pride and mention this for two reasons:

1) I am not trying to bolster my subscriber-ship 100% (and by that, I mean, adding one.)

2) Now that I'm logged into my account, I cannot figure out how to remove myself from the aforementioned subscription. (See all above).