Bark Abstraction: Art on Trees

Barkreation - Image c Lynda Lehmann

The rough and irregular bark of a Southern Pine resembles shingles or a jigsaw puzzle and creates a lively abstract pattern.  I find exquisite beauty in the articulated and varied surfaces of tree bark. Nature moves us in unexpected but exhilarating ways.



Note: You can click on each photo to see a larger version. All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites listed in my sidebar if you would like to see my paintings and more of my photography and digital art, or make a purchase.

Stairwells and Other Quiet Spaces That Pique Our Spatial Sensibility

The Banister - Image c 2012 Lynda Lehmann

Seeing this stairwell caught me up short, with the repetition created by the stripes on the carpet and the repetition of the uprights. I also love the division of space and the negative areas created by the turns in the banister and stairs. Looking at this staircase brought out the child in me: the one who was fascinated by the spaces in between the monkey bars!


Is there a special place or half-forgotten nook that piques your childhood sense of excitement and adventure, and your spatial sensibilities? The child in me would love to hear about it!

NOTE: You can click on each photo to see a larger version. All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites at http://LyndaLehmann.imagekind.com/ or http://www.absolutearts.com/lyndalehmann/ if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. You can find a list of my other sites and links in my blog's sidebar. Or google my name for more links. I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Slats and Dips

Slats and Dips - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2010

All images 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.

Lilliputian Dream

Lilliputian Dream - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Conglomerate - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Amber and Green - Image c Lynda Lehmann

I try to think outside the box. One way to do this is to envision myself living in an "alien" place, a locale or fictitious setting with which I'm not at all familiar in real life. Another way is to envision myself being of another scale, as big as Mt. Everest or as tiny as a Lilliputian. By doing this mental exercise I stimulate my imagination and refresh my perspective on my own little life in the context of the universe.

The photos above give us a glimpse towards the microcosm. The top one can be seen as a lush landscape of sunlit moss and woody furrows, that would be a challenge for any Lilliputian to navigate. The middle photo presents a rocky terrain of steep and foreboding cliffs and crags. The bottom image could represent a rough terrain of ruts and crevices covered with forest, that would also require great skill for any homunculus to cross.

For those of us who live in the United States, it's Thanksgiving week, time to revel in the joy of family, friends, and luscious meals. But I'm of the mind to give thanks every day. I cherish all of nature, the large and the small, the majestic and the mild, to be savored with all my senses. Okay, I don't mean I'm going to literally "taste" bark and lichen, lol.... But I rejoice in the splendor of tiny details I see around me all the time. From bark, pebbles, moss and lichen, to a pine needle resting precariously on a boulder or some other natural surface whose relative mass and solidity contrast its slight and attenuated form.

All through the year, as well as during Thanksgiving week, I give thanks for all of it: the holiday rituals and the whole world that is my oyster. I wish you joy and good fortune this holiday week. And more than that, may your senses be replete every day of the year.

All video 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.

Layers

Texture is the most enduring and ubiquitous underpinning of form:...certainly a calming, meditative and appealing world for both the eye and mind.

Texture is everywhere we look, and nature's paintbrush is capable of stunning feats. I hope you enjoy the rough-hewn beauty of tree bark as much as I do.

Image and text c Lynda Lehmann.