Quiet Witness on a Snowy Day

The beauty I see around me leaves me speechless. Sometimes I just like to pay homage, bear quiet witness, and fill my cup with beauty.

Today we took a two-hour walk in the snowy woods, surrounded by peace, scenic snowy scenes, and a tangle of living things groping their way to the promise of new growth. I'll publish more of my photos from our trek, if I find that they have enough exposure. I was shooting with a small aperture for depth of field, but the ice and snow made it difficult to manage my tripod. And those hand-held shots are tricky, especially when you have to watch your footing!

I wish you a warm and cozy night. Before I close, I just want to thank my dear friend Anna at My Only Photo for posting my image from my last post, on her page. Anna is a terrific photographer, mommy, and friend. Thanks, Anna!

Image and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Shoreline Magic

Shoreline Magic - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Please give my photo your vote!

http://tinyurl.com/yjh694t

I've never entered a local photo contest before, but it seems like a good idea! I will really appreciate your vote! Thanks for your support.


Image and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Windows to the Soul, or Souls Past and Present

The Morbid Details - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Taken Over - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Windows of an aging public institution, overgrown with vines, patched, boarded and abandoned, conjure many tales. I think windows and doors have always been iconic for the human species: they are among the archetypes or unconsciously-associated symbols that help us interpret human behavior and navigate the mystery of our existence in the cosmos.

It's no surprise then, that windows such as these have an almost horrific and shocking impact. At least, that's how I feel when I gaze at them. One has to wonder what went on there, in this abandoned complex of buildings at King's Park Psychiatric Hospital, on the grounds of what is now Nissequogue River State Park, and what spiritual forces may have been left behind. One doesn't have to believe wholeheartedly in ghosts to acknowledge that we haven't disproved their existence. Whose spirit might roam these grounds? Would you want to meet them? And perhaps most importantly, will we ever achieve a really humane society?

I posted some other shots taken at this site, last year. I love capturing these vintage/urban shots in spite of the fact that they usually don't evoke positive emotions. But they tell stories, and they have so much character. How well they mark the passage of time and the passage of the human stream, along with it! If you click on the photos you will see more of the details, like the shroud effect of the plastic sheeting on the top image, and the poignant gesture of the vines, in both shots.

At times, contemplating images that reflect a darker side of our collective reality, may make us appreciate the lighter side of the human condition. Things like love and beauty. Do you agree?

Images and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

My Latest Abstract Acrylic Painting: "Island Interlude"

Island Interlude - c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

I dance with my brushes until something happens. What happens is that colors and shapes interact to please my eyes. Some friends and relatives keep telling me to paint realism, because "that's what sells." But I don't paint for money; I paint for the love of it. I feel great joy each time a new visual experience is born, and I would not give up my excitement for anything. It's our passions that make life worth living. Of course, I do love a good sale!

What are some of your passions, that you couldn't live without? Besides pasta and coffee and chocolate, this is....

NOTE: I call this painting "Island Interlude," simply because I have to give my pieces a title. You will find in it, whatever you find in it. To me, it has a Caribbean feel. It's 14 x 20 inches, done in acrylic on Arches watercolor paper. I'm beginning a series of paintings on watercolor paper because of the cost of canvases. The heavy Arches paper takes the paint quite well and because of my savings, I can afford to sell these paintings at a lower price.

Image and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Envisioning a Web of Light

Web of Light - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Today was gray--a raw, damp, winter day. The solid stripes of snow slathered on the north sides of all the trees we saw along the roads we drove, had not yet melted or been blown off the bark by the wind. The dirty but otherwise undisturbed snow-cover gave the landscape a formidable look, reduced to a blatant, cold contrast of black and white. It was a day bereft of color and warmth. Snow and ice-sheathed and chilly, without a trace of color to behold in sky or forest, without the generous wafting scents or caressing breezes of spring.

Old Man Winter really is a stingy curmudgeon! I had to close my eyes to find an image that was warm and inviting, and I remembered summer days spent dangling ankles in river water and staring into endless reams of light thrown upon the lake by the nurturing sun. I came home and had to upload this image, to remind us all that warmer, more gentle and affirming days are on their way....

Impressionistic images like this are among my favorites. I could spend hours or days filling my "cup of beauty" with the shimmering patterns of sunlight on water and the pebbles underneath.

Image and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Some of My Art News....

I don't want this blog to be about me. Primarily I want it to be about art, nature, poetry, and ways of looking at things. I'm sure you've noticed by now that my primary emphasis has been on the magic and beauty of nature. But I have to sneak in tidbits of personal news from time to time. So here are a few items of my news.

I and my friend Alberto D'Assumpcao, whom I met several years back at the ArtWanted site, are featured on the home page of the ArtsCad site today. My piece is the Abstract Expressionist painting (above) I call "After the Storm," which you may or may not have already seen. It's a small world, even in cyberspace. If you have time, visit Alberto's site to see his beautiful Constructivist paintings.

Also, I'm pleased to be one of the Showcase Winners for February at the ArtSlant site, for "Untitled Gray," below. I'm in the "abstract" category.

In other personal news, I have taken down my photos from Urban Coffee and today placed a painting in a group show at the Art League of Long Island. The show represents the work of my independent study group, beautifully orchestrated and mentored by accomplished painter Stan Brodsky.

"CHASING THE RIVER" is a documentary film produced by Jay D. Kuntz, an independent videographer with over 30 years experience, who in collaboration with others has won numerous awards. I want to thank Jay for requesting permission to use my quote on "texture," which he found on Robert Genn's Painter's Keys site, in his film, along with quotes from many experts and luminaries in their respective fields.

And most of all, thank you to Chris Dunmire at Creativity Portal, for her good will, terrific enthusiasm and creativity, and for supporting the cause of artists and creativity in general!

Other than that, I'm busy painting, blogging, and working with both stock and art photos--and goodness knows, my house is showing it.

To my wonderful blogging friends whom I cherish, I'll get over to visit you just as soon as I can. You are the reason I keep this blog going, even though I seem to have less and less time for it. I've shared with you, learned from you, and been inspired by you. And for that reason, getting to know you has been precious to me.

All images and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.