Self-Portrait with Bridal Veil

Self-Portrait with Bridal Veil
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This self-portrait was part of an assignment in a collage class a few years ago. We were to create three self-portraits from materials that reflected our identities. This is the first of the series. (The second is "Self Portrait in Maps," posted on May 3. The third was a my baby picture in a bonnet, stenciled in powdered sugar onto a pan of brownies. The class ate it up, literally, but I will post a photo if I can track it down.) The four images at the bottom are me at different stages of my life, and were the basis of the series. The image under the veil is a sketch I made using using the most recent photo as a reference (me, in my fifties).. The plastic veil actually lifts up. This collage is meant to be funny, but it has its serious side. First: marriage is a decision to go through time with someone. Second: the woman under the veil, the baby in the bonnet, and the woman with gray hair are one and the same. And third, if you are getting married, don't forget the ring, but even more important, don't forget your sense of humor.

Just One Guy at Giant's Causeway

Just One Guy at Giant's Causeway
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Bob and Evan went to Giant's Causeway today, so I am posting a picture I took there during my trip to Northern Ireland last summer. You can see the size of the beautiful rock formations in reference to Mel, who agreed to this special guest appearance on my blog. In the original photo, two other tourists were walking on the path behind him. Today, I pulled the image into Painter IX and through the magic of digital editing, managed to convince them to visit the Causeway some other time so I could have this picture of Mel, hence the title. Their (painless) disappearance makes for a better composition, and makes this a nice souvenir for Mel of his time in Northern Ireland.

House as of June 7

House as of June 7
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here's another update on the painting for my friends. I have worked on the upstairs windows, the sidewalk, and have added porch steps. I spend a lot of time just looking, trying to find and correct any problems now. In a few days, I will paint flowers around the house, and maybe even some vines. But first, I check the structure. Artists agree with what carpenters say: measure twice, cut once.

Bower in Belfast Botanical Gardens

Bower at Botanical Gardens
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

I am posting a Belfast photo because my cousins are there today, touring and visiting Mel. I took this picture at the Botanical Gardens last summer during my trip. Tonight I cropped the image to enlarge the view of the flowers and used a square format to emphasize the repeated pattern of squares made by columns and beams. There are many beautiful places in Belfast and Northern Ireland.

House as of June 5

House as of June 5
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here is an update on this painting for my friends. I am still concentrating on checking perspective, making sure things are in the right place before moving ahead, so I worked some more on the upstairs window on the rear of the house, and added some detail to the porch. I also lightened the sky, blocked in the sidewalk, and added some shadows to the lawn. It pays to take time now to get things right. Make haste slowly, my father would say.

Spirea in the Morning

Spirea in the Morning
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

On my walk this morning, I saw that the spirea was in bloom -- just when I needed to see it, because there will be spirea in the painting I am working on for my friends. I took a picture with my phonecam for reference. But I liked the soft image of spirea in the morning light, and thought this photo deserved its own moment in the sun, so I am posting it here.

Leuven Fantasy

Leuven Fantasy
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today, Mel is at a conference in Leuven, a place I have never visited, although this is Mel's second trip. This morning, I was looking through images of Mel's first trip there several years ago, images that were familiar because I recently loaded them into the computer and edited them. When I found the image of this amazing building, I decided to do a collaborative piece using one of Mel's photos. (Don't worry: the photographer has given me permission, carte blanche.) I edited the image to eliminate some problem areas and cropped it to improve the composition. The spires were almost invisible, so I used Painter IX's digital watercolor to add some very pale color to the sky, and added a touch of lilac to the spires and the roofline on the left. The building looks like something out of a fairytale, but I call this a fantasy because it is digitally modified, and because it lets me use my imagination to travel to a place that I have never really been.

House as of June 2

House as of June 2
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is the latest version of the painting I am doing for friends. It's a lot of fun to share ideas about this project. Over the past few days, I reworked the rear upstairs window, and changed the position of the gate. With most elements of the house in place, today I worked on light and dark values to make sure the house "reads" as an object in space. There are more changes to come and details to add, but in art, as in life, it is important to not to lose sight of the basics.

Manhattan Fantasy in Bryant Park

Manhattan Fantasy in Bryant Park
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This image is of the fountain in Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library in Manhattan, an amazing park that is full of surprises. I took this picture two years ago, about this time of year, when we made a weekend trip down to pack up the Newark apartment because Mel would be going to Belfast. Yesterday, I came across the original photo, then cropped it to focus on the curving lines of the fountain and the trees. I noticed that one of the buildings in the background had disappeared into the sunlight, but with a little digital watercolor in Painter IX, the building reappeared. But that's the only fantastic part of the photo; the fountain exists, and although you might not believe your eyes, Bryant Park is real.

Portuguese Street in Shadows

Portuguese Street in Shadows
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

It's time for another picture from Portugal. I took this picture several years ago during my first trip to Porto, but didn't even see it until recently when I rescued it from obscurity -- literally. I took the photo around sunset and the image was so dark that it hadn't been printed, but was on the disc when I recently loaded it into the computer. I cropped it, enlarged it, and adjusted the light until I could see what I had. The soft and grainy image seemed to capture the sense of the old streets, where colors and edges are softened by time.

House as of May 30

House as of May 30
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Over the past two days, I have worked on this painting for my friends. I enlarged the side porch area, worked on the fence, and added a porch swing. There are more adjustments to come, and colors at the rear of the house are not the final colors, just place-holders to indicate where things are in space. As I learn more details and receive more family pictures, I am coming to understand a place I have never actually seen. (I am using a black and white photo, supplemented with later photos taken when the house was white.) So when I finally received some old family snapshots, some of which were in color, I had the strange sensation that something I had painted had come to life.

Lilacs at Long Hill

Lilacs at Long Hill
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today I used my phonecam to take this close-up of lilacs at Long Hill Gardens. The lilacs' familiar scent immediately transported me to the house where I grew up. (Do lilacs do that for you?) My grandmother's lilacs were the backdrop for many family photos. Even now, whenever I see lilacs, I have to get in close and inhale their perfume.

House as of May 28

House as of May 28
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is the latest version of the painting for friends. I have recently done a "demolition and renovation" of the rear of the house. I am painting from an old black and white photo in which the back of the house is obscured with vines. To my eye, the vines and shadows created the optical illusion that the rear of the house was at an angle to the front. Recent photos finally helped me see the structure: a classic case of painting what you see versus painting what you know. This is now a composite that reconciles seeing and knowing, old and new. I adjusted the perspective slightly to include details that matter, even though they might not be visible from this angle, strictly speaking. Visual illusion in the service of emotional truth.

Corcovado at Sunset

Corcovado at Sunset
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This was taken during our trip to Brasil in 1994. Today, I scanned it into the computer and edited it for composition. Rio de Janeiro and Brazil are such magical places that it is hard to leave, even if you aren't born there. Maybe that's why the Portuguese language has the most powerful word for homesick: "saudade". And maybe that's why they say "ate logo" (see you soon); they know you will come back to Brazil, sooner or later. And we will. . . I will soon post pictures from our trip to Goiania and Brasilia. . .

House as of May 27

House as of May 27
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here is today's version of a work in progress, a painting for some friends. The long-distance dialogue continues, with e-mailed photos of elm trees, and as well as old family pictures that show details of the house. My friends have made several trips to take additional pictures of the house as it looks now, too. It is fascinating, and worth doing. In fact, a photo that I received in today's e-mail clarified the structure of the back part of the house, so tomorrow I will be doing some demolition and remodeling as I rework the back part of the house. But it will be quick and painless. No dust, no noise, no building permits: just paint.

Beach on Stormy Day

Beach on Stormy Day
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Boston is having a spring Nor'easter, the kind of storm that brings us wrap-around blizzards in the winter. Today, the temperature is in the forties, with high winds and rain. So I thought I would post an image that goes with the weather. I used my phonecam to take this picture of the beach on the North Shore on another rainy day, about three weeks ago. Although the weather was not as severe then as it is today, even in this image you can see how stormy weather transforms the coast into something mysterious and wild.

Lagoa in Rio de Janeiro

Lagoa in Rio de Janeiro
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Today I scanned in and edited this image from a photo taken during our 1994 trip to Brazil. It's a view of Rio's Lagoa and Corcovado from a vantage point half-way up Pao de Acucar. I remember how lucky I felt to be there. My Brazilian connections have lasted for years, but began with coincidence and random events. As a result, over the years I have tasted mango and guarana, learned the meaning of churrasqueria and feijoida, made brigadeiros and olhas da sogra, danced samba, listened to tropicalismo, and even learned Portuguese. More important, I learned to respect the potential in coincidence, because fantastic things can happen if you keep your mind and heart open.

House as of May 23

House as of May 23
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This is a work in progress. Tonight I worked on this painting for my friends and blocked in trees, upstairs windows and back part of the house. I am not trying to match the original colors of the house yet, but am using color to indicate location of objects as well as light and shadow. For example, the brick walls will not be this color in the final painting, but the red may show through a bit. Right now, you can see yellow and purple in the trees, which I am using to block in light and shadow in the foliage. Later you may still be able to find yellow and purple there, but only if you are looking for them. . . .

Beach in Rio de Janeiro

Beach in Rio de Janeiro
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

To celebrate connecting and re-connecting with Brasil, here's a photo of Rio taken in 1994 during our trip. Today I scanned the image and cropped it to improve the composition. In Rio, we stayed in a hotel not too far from the beach, in Mauro's old neighborhood, so it was easy to meet his family. And the location also made it easy to re-connect with family of our long-time friends from Goiania. The trip to Brazil was far too short, and the trip to Rio just a blink of an eye, but my Brazilian connections are "for keeps"

Sketch of Elm Tree

Sketch of Elm Tree
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

This morning, I sketched this elm tree, using colored pencil sticks. There aren't many elm trees around anymore, but there were elm trees planted around the house I am painting for my friends. I have a black and white photo of those trees, but there are only a few leaves on the branches. But my friends have sent me some photos, and I used my phonecam to take pictures of an elm tree that found by accident while I was out walking one morning. I like the colors the sun makes on a tree and the play of light and shadow on the ground.