Fantastic Ferris Wheel at the Topsfield Fair

Fantastic Ferris Wheel at the Topsfield Fair
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is from a photo I took at last year's Topsfield Fair. Heather and I had made a spur of the moment trip to the fair; neither one of us had ever managed to get there, and we loved it. So recently we've been talking about going back to the Topsfield Fair this year. (It opens today.) I felt like a kid again to be there, remembering great times at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo as I was growing up. Because the Topsfield Fair is in Massachusetts in October, you can see that there's a backdrop of bright fall foliage. Tonight I cropped this image out of a larger photo of the midway. Then I added color to make the ferris wheel show up against the sky and to convey the excitement of a fantastic day.

Green Foothills Red Sun

Green Foothills Red Sun
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here's another of my acrylic watermedia paintings inspired by memories of Colorado. Although there are a lot of spectacular mountain views in Colorado, the foothills have their own beauty, with sparse vegetation against the slightly pink earth that is the basis of the state's name. I grew up looking at these foothills, as our family drove from Pueblo to Colorado Springs or Denver and back.

Woods in Late Afternoon

Woods in Late Afternoon
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today, on a walk, I used my phonecam to try to capture the late afternoon sun as it hit the trees. This image gave the best sense of the sunlight behind the shadows, just out of reach. I decided to capitalize on the natural blurriness of the phonecam, so I adjusted highlights, midtones, and increased the saturation. I decided to take my cue from the impressionists, who didn't worry about crisp edges. After all, it was the gorgeous light that I was after in the first place.

First Red Leaves

First Red Leaves
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I used my phonecam to take this picture of the first red leaves of the season when I was at Long Hill this week during a sunny, warm fall day, much like today.

Rainy Walk in Dublin

Rainy Walk in Dublin
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

It has been raining here today, and here's a picture to match the weather. This is a picture from my first trip to Dublin, the only rainy day of a three-week trip. I believe this is an alley near Grafton Street. Rain is usually disappointing for travelers, but it does make for some interesting effects in photos. Tonight, I cropped this image to center on the geometry of the alley and adjusted the contrast to make the most of the light, reflected from the shop windows onto the wet walkway.

Purple Grapes

Purple Grapes
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I saw these purple grapes on the arbor at Long Hill this week, so I took a picture with my phonecam. Tonight I cropped the image just a bit for the sake of the composition. No matter how often I go to Long Hill Gardens, there is always something new to see. Sometimes the changes in nature over time are subtle (a few weeks ago, the grapes on the arbor were green) but small changes are worth noticing.

Rose Hips (Digital Gardening)

Rose Hips (Digital Gardening)
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

One very warm day this week, Heather and I went to Lynch Park with the dogs. While we were there, I used my phonecam to take a picture of the rose hips on the beach roses. Tonight as I was cropping the image for posting, I noticed that some of the leaves were shriveled and gray, no doubt from the summer heat. So I opened the image in Painter IX and through the magic of digital chalk, got the leaves to green up again.

View of Mountains Through Trees, Portugal

View of Mountains Through Trees, Portugal
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I have been editing pictures and tonight I cropped this image from a photo that I took during a trip to Portugal in July of 2001. I took this photo from a car on a switchback road that wound through the mountains, and I tried to capture the view while moving at high speeds. The strange and beautiful Portuguese landscape was worth capturing, but I could only get a glimpse of it through the trees. Seeing things at high speed is just the way it is now. So often I wish I had more time for a trip, for a conversation, for a visit. But we can either regret that the time we have is too short, or we can take the brief glimpse we get and make the most of it.

Portrait in Progress, Preliminary Sketch as of September 22

Portrait in Progress, Preliminary Sketch as of September 22
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today I did some work on this sketch of my friend's father. I re-worked the eyes, using some earlier photos to get a better idea of what the eyes should look like. (In the main photo I am using as a source, it's hard to see the eyes clearly behind the glasses.)

View From Sterling Castle, Scotland

View From Sterling Castle, Scotland
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Tonight, I was looking through my photos and found a photo taken from outside Sterling Castle in Scotland during our trip last summer. Tonight I decided to take a mini-vacation from the here and now, and edit the photo. I cropped the image so more detail of the mountains and rooftops could be seen. When I was there, like everyone else I took a lot of pictures of Sterling Castle, but it is also interesting to get a different perspective, to see the view from higher ground.

Turquoise Sky

Turquoise Sky
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Time for an image inspired by the Colorado mountains. This was done on the computer in digital chalk, using Painter IX. Whenever I see a blank page (or blank screen), my first instinct is to draw the contour of the mountains.

Zinnias Zoom

Zinnias Zoom
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Yesterday at Russell's Orchard, I saw two bunches of zinnias in glass vases sitting near the counter. I loved the color, so I took a picture with my phonecam. Because the background was very cluttered, I decided to crop and enlarge. The image became almost abstract as I zoomed in on the zinnias.

Apples at Russell's Orchard

Apples at Russell's Orchard
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This afternoon, I went with Heather to Russell's Orchard in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It really was a treat, with so much to see and do. Many of the people there were taking the hayrides out to pick apples in the orchards. We didn't do that, but I did pick some apples with my phonecam, and here they are.

Two Boats at Chatham

Two Boats at Chatham
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I have spent the day reading about fish, so here is an image to match. I took this photo several summers ago, during a trip to Cape Cod. We stopped at Chatham Pier and watched the boats come in an unload their fish. Tonight I rotated and cropped the image (making sure to keep the bird on the left). The color needed to be corrected (as in chartreuse sky), so I did a little digital editing, but kept the pastel range of the colors (pink boat, purple railing). Every so often, art is better than reality.

Connemara Landscape

Connemara Landscape
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Tonight at a dinner the conversation turned to Ireland, and I mentioned the strong impression Connemara made on me, where people were sent to farm. It is hard to imagine the hardship here without driving through the area. When I got home, I cropped this image out of a photo I took last summer during our trip to Galway. It is not always easy to imagine the hardships of others; but it is important to try.

Morning Glories

Morning Glories
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this photo two days ago with my phonecam, while I was out for a walk in the morning. It has been nothing but gray skies and rain all day, so I decided to post these morning glories as a sunny antidote.

Portrait in Progress, Preliminary Sketch as of September 14

Portrait in Progress, Preliminary Sketch as of September 14
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I am going to paint a portrait of my friend's father, and last night I started a preliminary sketch, which is still a work in progress. I'm not satisfied with the resemblance yet and I know that I didn't quite catch his eyes, but I thought I would post the drawing as it is so far. Although the portrait is going to be a painting, I decided to start with a pencil sketch, working from a photo that my friend e-mailed to me. Last night, as I was drawing, I started to get a likeness -- but it looked more like my friend than his father! So I made some small changes and adjusted the width of the face. I hadn't really seen such a strong resemblance before, but then you do see differently when you draw.

Peach Tree in Massachusetts

Peach Tree in Massachusetts
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Yesterday on a morning walk, I passed a peach tree in the neighborhood. The peaches smelled delicious, and the color was great, so I took some pictures with my phonecam. (Apparently some birds agreed with me, so I had to do a little repair work on one of the peaches with Painter IX). It's unusual to see a peach tree in Massachusetts, but this transplant from the south seems to be doing just fine. I've been thinking about the evacuees from New Orleans who were flown to Cape Cod without evening knowing their destination. They had a very warm welcome in this cooler climate. I hope that they do well here, just like this peach tree.

View from Ferry between Belfast and Stranraer

View from Ferry between Belfast and Stranraer
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Tonight I cropped this image out of a photo I took last July, from the high-speed boat between Northern Ireland and Scotland. (Can you find the reflections from the window of the boat?)The boat was packed with people from Belfast going out of town during marching season. People were heading out in all directions, and Belfast was going to be nearly empty for a week. The high speed ferry is amazing and the scenery is great, but still behind it all was awareness of why everyone was leaving Belfast for a few days.

View of World Trade Center from Empire State Building

View of World Trade Center from Empire State Building
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

On a visit to New York City in 1988, I took an elevator to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, which is where I took this photo. (I went alone, but managed to arrive at the same time as a very large group of tourists from Japan, and I enjoyed watching their enthusiasm about New York.) The original version of this photo included some of the Japanese tourists, but last night, I cropped this image out of the photo to focus on the view of those beautiful twin towers.

Princeton Fantasy

Princeton Fantasy
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I am reading THE RULE OF FOUR, a novel set at Princeton. The time I spent working at Princeton really makes the novel come alive for me. Although it's fiction, the details are quite accurate. So tonight I am posting this photo which I took on the Princeton campus before I moved to Boston. Like the novel, the details of the photo are accurate, but I too have departed from reality by opening the photo in Painter IX and using digital watercolor to add color to the sky, trees, and roof to make the roofline more visible.

Zinnia in the Sun

Zinnia in the Sun
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here's another late summer flower, a pink zinnia. I took this picture with my phonecam last week during a morning walk, and tonight edited the composition to focus on the pattern of the petals and the sunlight.

Blue Skies Over Pueblo (After the Rain)

Blue Skies Over Pueblo (After the Rain)
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I took this picture several years ago in Pueblo, Colorado. I was visiting and went to see some old familiar places with my aunt. This is a view of the mountains from the college just outside of town. It was summer, late afternoon, and of course, it rained. As the sky cleared, I took this photo. This is the view of the mountains that I had growing up. Tonight I cropped this image out of the original photo. (There was too much clutter in the foreground, and an unfortunate bush in the wrong place. . .hmm, no pun intended.) Anyway. The composition looked better, so I opened the image in Painter IX, and used some digital chalk to clean up a few little distractions against the green at the bottom of the picture. I also noticed traces of raindrops against the sky; the lens must have gotten wet in the thunderstorm. I was going to use Painter IX to remove them. But then I decided to leave the raindrops alone; they belong there. The rain is part of the picture.

A Touch of Fall

A Touch of Fall
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

On a recent walk, I noticed these flowers that were everywhere, and took a picture with my phonecam. Are they called brown-eyed Susans? I am not sure. But they look like fall flowers. I decided to post them today because the overnight temperatures have been cool, and in the morning, there is definitely a touch of fall in the air.

Rooftops of Lisbon

Rooftops of Lisbon
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I have been catching up on editing my photos. Here is one that I took in Lisbon during a trip to Portugal in July of 2001. I have been reading about earthquakes, and thinking about Lisbon. Lisbon came through the great earthquake that Voltaire wrote about in the 18th century. When I was in Lisbon, I saw the old houses of the Alfama, the 18th century buildings that appeared as Lisbon was rebuilt after the earthquake, and the very latest contemporary buildings at the site of the Lisbon Expo. You can see the mix of architecture in this photo. Maybe, despite everything, New Orleans and its residents will be able to rebuild, too.

Grapes on the Vine

Grapes on the Vine
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today Heather and I took the dogs for walk at Long Hill Gardens. It's a great place to watch the seasons change, and is different every time. There is a grape arbor there, and the grapes look ready to me! I took some pictures with my phonecam, then cropped the image to focus on the sunlight on the grapes, making them sweet.

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a picture of bougainvillea, a flower that I have seen in Portugal, Mexico City, and New Orleans. (In fact, I included some in the drawing of New Orleans that I posted yesterday. ) I love the color of bougainvillea, and it reminds me of some great trips. But in fact, I took this picture of bougainvillea with my phonecam in Beverly, Massachusetts, in front of a local flower shop that I often pass on morning walks. This week, there was only one bougainvillea plant left. The seasons are changing. It's time to post this photo.

Big Easy

Big Easy
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today, sitting in Starbucks, I began to sketch on my Clie (PDA), not really knowing where this was going. But I started to draw this image, based on impressions of the French Quarter in New Orleans, working from what I remember from my visits there. Later, I cleaned up the image on my computer with Painter IX's digital chalk, and am posting in tonight for a great city.

Streetcar to Garden District

Streetcar to Garden District
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a picture of the streetcar we took to the Garden District during our most recent trip to New Orleans, during April, around ten years ago. Tonight I scanned the image into the computer, cropped it to focus on the streetcar, and pulled it into Painter IX to add a little green to freshen up those leaves. (Green is the color of hope.)

Thinking About New Orleans

Thinking About New Orleans
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I have visited New Orleans three times. On the most recent of those trips, over ten years ago, I took this picture of Mel, looking at the city skyline from the deck of a river boat. I try to post an image related to what I am creating, doing, or thinking about each day. So I am posting this image tonight because New Orleans has been on my computer monitor, on my TV screen, and on my mind most of the day.