Ice Abstract: Nature's Subtle Palette and Dynamic Design

Ice Abstract - c 2011 Lynda Lehmann

Nature never fails to fascinate.  In every season, in every kind of weather, at every time of day, intricate patterns and textures captivate the eye.  My prize for walking the beach on a bitter cold day last week, besides almost-frozen toes, was this view of cracked ice along the side of the road.  I think it makes a beautiful abstract.  
I'm forever marveling at how accidental arrangements can be so arresting and gorgeous.  The Earth's natural processes produce patterns, textures and designs that outdo the best capabilities of the human hand and eye.  
What have you seen in your locale this week, that made you feel blessed with the serendipitous beauty of nature's grand design?

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission. All rights reserved. Please visit my primary site at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/gallery if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog!

The Nature of Pine Bark: Beauty in Every Line and Pore

The Beauty of Pine Bark - Lynda Lehmann c 2009

Looking for and finding natural beauty, is my life. It carries me through my days, cushioning me from life's disappointments and the tragedies of the human condition. I remember the day I walked around the shore of Echo Lake State Park in New Hampshire, snapping photos of tree bark. I approached this tall pine, among others, on a crowded beach, and stood just a couple of inches from the scabrous and meandering bark. The people sunning on the lake shore literally stared--no doubt they thought I had escaped from the "loony bin." What IS that woman doing, standing with her nose stuck against the trunk of that scraggly, old pine? (Smirk...)

I've always had to explain to people how and why I LOOK at things with great interest. I've been asked in recent years,"Why are you always looking up?" The answer, of course, is that I find great inspiration in the trees, sky, and clouds. And why shouldn't I? Chances are, those particular acquaintances might be more concerned with contemplating their navels.

I remember WAY back in my college days, when I carried an apple home from the dining hall at Penn State and a roommate made a quip about "pseudo-intellectualism." But I was in earnest when I commented on the form and exquisite color of the apple. Of course in those days of upheaval and rebellion, we questioned everything. Especially the "Establishment," the "military-industrial complex" and the other stale institutions of the status-quo. Now, in my ripe old age, I realize that more than anything, we have to question ourselves, as the basis for any positive change. Transformation begins with our own perception and intellect. We have to take responsibility for who we are, for our own attitudes, actions and reactions, before we can change the world.

I'm lucky that simple beauties change the world for me! If this means I'm a "simple" person, I'll take it. I think I'm blessed to find the beauty and mystery in small details some other folks might be "too busy" to discover.

NOTE: I did tweak the above photo a bit, to bring out the hues that were already there, in the pine bark.

All photos 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.

Garden Harmony

Gossamer Peach

Garden Harmony

Sometimes the scenes in our gardens are of such harmony and grace as to be truly an inspiration, even among the weeds or wildflowers that may take root there.

Not only do our gardens emerge and bloom in predictable patterns, year after year, but they delight us with unanticipated surprises, as well. I think we should be thankful for both the predictable beauties, as well as the continual serendipity of unexpected combinations to delight the eye and calm the soul.

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.

The Devil's in The Details, And So is Sublimity

Light Play, Sweep of Clouds

Little Secrets of the Forest

Water

The Details

Bark Abstract

Primeval Patterns

Barkscape

Lichen Painting

Textures in nature abound. To me it's a miracle just how many variations on a theme exist on every tree, every boulder, every expanse of water or sky. Infinity is manifest on so many levels. The details are there everyday to please our eyes and lead us to the recognition of forces so much greater than ourselves. Like variations on a theme or algorithmic permutations, the symphonic display of colors and surface markings is the calligraphy of the cosmos. Above you see sky, clouds, water, rock, and several views of bark and lichen. Each entity carries endless potential for changing form, surface character, or other properties. Our cup is always full with dynamic and ever-changing forms of beauty--if we will see them.

I can't begin to imagine how much more beauty and diversity of form exists in the vast world that is beyond my little sphere, but that makes the excitement and promise of mysteries to come, even greater.

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.

Sea Foam and Stones

Sand Furrows with Stones

Wet Rocks at Water's Edge

Washed Up

At Rest Within the Streaming Tide

Foam

Sea winds whipping
water to foam,
refresh my soul.

Bright pebbles, steadfast
through time's turbulence,
teach patience.

Rugged beach, wild with
brine, bird and breeze,
renews me.

****

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.

Reaching for the Solstice

We walked on a beach along Long Island Sound this past Sunday. The day was overcast, so the colors of the day stood out. I'll be posting "Beach Foundlings" from that day, man-made or altered objects found on the beach, and a variety of more natural beach images, in coming posts.

Today I'm sharing just this image of a hill facing over the shoreline and water. The woods were finally showing signs of color, emergent green and amber evident on slender veins of new growth. The air was soft and not too cold, and I was taken with this view of the fertile pre-spring arbor: ready to burst with life, replete with possibilities and energy of fresh growth and brushy splendor. So delicate, yet full of awesome power...

Life renews itself in Spring, and with the changing of the season, comes new hope.

My most fervent hope is for our survival on our magnificent green, blue, and amber planet.

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.

Signs of Life After Winter: Sand, Stones, Gulls, Shells, and Foam: Visual Notes from the Beach

Companions

The Preening Puddle

Timeless

Interior

Colony

Codependency

Bubbles, Sand, and Stone

Beauty Underfoot

I wanted to share these images from yesterday's beach walk with you. I hope you enjoy them. I certainly enjoyed all the teeming and emerging life forms that I saw on the beach, before it began to rain on us!

I am postponing the next Bussana Vecchia post to share these with you. And I have more of these beach images to come, including a wonderful performance of a preening ritual by the seagull seen above. But first, I have to find a file format converter to change my movie from MOV to MPG format, in order to edit it. Can you possibly recommend a video format converter? I appreciate any input on this, as I do love the video and want to post it. It's much better quality than my last one.

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING, EVERYONE!

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.

A Hint of the Wild Places: Dimensions of Opulence and Mystery

A Hint of the Wild Places

Dimensions


Opulence


The fullness and fertility of early summer are evident in every blossom and in this lush rose.

Above, green leaves frame this vibrant blossom beautifully, and hint at secret dimensions.

At the top, a Monarch perches on a sunlit wildflower. Nature is always beautiful in form, color and glowing light, even if the butterfly you want to capture won't cooperate by standing still!

Flowers are the sexual parts of plants, but they are more than that. New dimensions to explore, the intricate architecture of nature to revel in, symbols of the season of growth and fertility, the magic of color and scent in our universe. Perhaps most importantly, they play a significant role in the food chain.

Blossoms are full of that alluring mystery that gives us little shivers--the recognition of something miraculous going on in the process of nature's unfolding.

Here on Long Island, we've been blanketed by a dirty crust of ice and snow for a couple of weeks now, with unusually chilly temps and a cutting rawness to the air. So I wanted to do a post that would remind us all of spring!

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.

Harmony

Just like the complementary colors (magenta and green) in the quietly unfolding leaves of this beautiful plant, the human soul is capable of great harmony. In a meditative state of mind, peace and affirmation may become as real and present as the unassuming, quiet glory of this foliage. Image c Lynda Lehmann.

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.

Variations on the Surface of a Stump, Between Light and Shadow, Etched by Time

Etched by Time

Between Light and Shadow

Variations on the Surface of a Stump

I enjoy close views of nature's colors and patterns. These intimate views are like little secrets, waiting to reveal themselves to open eyes. I never realized until I read one of Robert Genn's articles at The Painters Keys site, on the art of Miksang, that this art form had a name . This is how the art of Miksang is defined by Wikipedia:

Miksang is a Tibetan word meaning "good eye" and represents a form of contemplative photography based on the Dharma Art teachings of Chögyam Trungpa, in which the eye is in synchronisation with the contemplative mind. The result of this particular perception of the world, combined with photography, produces a peculiar and open way of seeing the world. Miksang pictures tend to bring the observer back into the original contemplation state of the author of the picture. The pictures can bring one back to a purer perception of reality that is often neglected. Miksang involves nothing fancy, no special setup; only a visual capture, in the proper state of mind, of everyday's reality.[1]

I didn't know, until I read Mr. Genn's article, that I had been practicing Miksang for most of my life, even in my childhood days when I ran in the open fields and waded in the bubbling streams of rural Pennsylvania! It seems like I've always been fascinated by the textures of rocks, sea shells, flowing streams, snowflakes, weathered man-made surfaces, ropes and fibers, desert sands, etc. I could go on and on about the things that excite me visually. What are some of your favorites?

I dedicate this post to my fellow bloggers whose love of nature feeds my own, and gives me courage. You know who you are!

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.