Beauty in Demise: An Example of Paradox and Dichotomy

Beauty in Demise - Photo c Lynda Lehmannn 2014

This is a studio setup inspired by some beautiful, lush branches of an orange tree that a good friend brought me to photograph.  I did a series while the leaves were still lush green, with bright, juicy oranges and delicate white blossoms attached.  
A week later, when the leaves had dried out and withered, I was stricken by the beauty/ugliness dichotomy and how the simple curling of individual leaves conjures "life" as a whole as well as some possible bird or animal forms.  I then contemplate "the wholeness of things," as I like to call it, when one example or kind of form evokes another, at another level of being.  From atoms to cells to tissues, organs, and organisms, similarities abound on a grand scale.  From the micro level to the vast universe, underlying principles that can't be articulated but only vaguely perceived, bind the cosmos into that elegant "Oneness" that scientists and quantum physicists refer to. 
If you would like to read a book that explores formal and functional similarities in biology and the greater universe as well, and will pique your sense of wonder, you might want to try The Lives of a Cell, by Lewis Thomas, M.D.  It's a fascinating read that affirms Dr. Thomas' subtitle: Notes of a Biology Watcher.  And it will give you prickles of what C.S. Lewis calls the feeling of "the numinous," that exhilarating and just slightly eerie feeling of awe and wonder that informs your spirit and lets you know that you in your humble human capacity, can still perceive great and mysterious things that are beyond our full apprehension.
I tried to arrange these leaves to get the most pleasing negative space, because I have always enjoyed negative space as well as the forms contained within.  As my painting style has most often been frenetic, full of furiously looming form and texture, working with photography to achieve a more minimal composition is a welcome move in another direction.  Have you done any minimal drawings or photos or penned a "minimal" poem lately?

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.

Heart of Mystery

An ornamental kale that to me, embodies the heart of mystery. Or said another way, the essence of Creation. Quiet, unassuming, and indescribably beautiful.

Image and text c 2007 Lynda Lehmann. Unmatted print, 8 x 12 inches on professional archival photo paper or canvas, available at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/.

Autumn Dazzle

I count among my blessings the freedom to enjoy nature's beauty a little bit each day. That's why I try to remember to carry my camera when I walk.

Today was blustery and cold, but the sky was an intense blue and the sunshine pouring over everything lit the trees on fire. I often miss seeing the peak color, but I managed to see some of it today. I will savor the glow long after this gorgeous, blazing afternoon has faded into dusk.

A picture speaks a thousand words. I hope you enjoy these photos, as I enjoyed taking them. I also hope that everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving felt blessed with warmth, good food, love, and spiritual riches.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these images, you will find them for sale as matted archival prints on my site at www.lyndalehmann.com , and eventually on Imagekind and Art.com as prints that you can purchase plain or matted and framed.

The Winds of Autumn...

chattering people

hear their own voices,

ignoring the wind.

-lynda lehmann

I was looking for serenity and found it in the waving, wind-blown branches of stately oaks and maples. I was carrying only my tiny point and shoot, as I so often do when I walk in my neighborhood. So the quality could be better. But the wind will speak to you, just the same.

If you listen closely you will hear a dog barking and birds singing. But mostly, you will hear the sound of the wind rushing through the boughs. Thanks for stopping by and sharing autumn with me!

Text, images, and video c 2007 Lynda Lehmann.

Primeval Wood

The woods deep and dark, beckon with a play of sounds, smells, and textures, calling us to open our senses and refreshing our spirits. Deep inside us, there's a chord that is touched in each of our hearts; we know by instinct that this tender arbor is a sacred place, where life begins and ends in a tapestry of ever-unfolding beauty and mystery. Light and shadow preside over the blossoming and waning, the pouring forth and fading away, in an immense and awesome saga of life.

Image and text c Lynda Lehmann. "Primeval Wood" is available at www.lyndalehmann.com .

Center for Fine Art Photography Exhibit

The Center for Fine Art Photography has several exhibitions per year. The current exhibit is "The Art of Digital Imagery," which is a real-time gallery show at the center in Fort Collins, Colorado, and posted online as well.

My digital photograph "Water Tapestry" is part of the show, which you can see at: www.c4fap.org/exhibitions/2007Digital/index.htm

I took this shot in the fall, on a sunny morning when I found clusters of colorful leaves floating on the dark lake surface. The contrast between the dark water and the color and form of the leaves, and the gold-green color and delicate form of the pine needles, made a lovely tapestry, I thought. I've posted "Water Tapestry" before, but now you can see it in the show.

I hope you enjoy the Center for Fine Art Photography exhibit. I know I did!

Please visit http://www.lyndalehmann.com/ if you want to see more of my work. You can buy my work there or at Imagekind, at LyndaLehmann.Imagekind.com

WATER TAPESTRY

I took this shot of multi-colored leaves and pine needles scattered on the dark lake surface, in the Sebago Lake region of Maine. Autumn was approaching and the leaves had just started to turn. The first ones had already fallen. I cropped and adjusted this image in Photoshop, and only slightly tweaked the beautiful colors of the leaves. Nature never ceases to amaze and inspire me!


"Water Tapestry" was accepted into "The Art of Digital Imagery," the Center for Fine Art Photography show in Fort Collins, CO, this June. Only 50 out of 300 images were chosen for the show. The exhibit will also be posted online, and I'll post the link when it's available.


"Water Tapestry" is my best-selling photographic print! To see more of my work, please visit http://www.lyndalehmann.com/, where I have hundreds of images to chose from. Image c Lynda Lehmann.