Low-Lives or Elegant Beauties?....The Organic Splendor of Lichen, Revisited

Branching with the grace of trees; sparkling with the light of stars; spreading with the hope of life; imbued with the energy of Creation; pastel-colored like fairies and rainbows. What am I talking about? LICHEN, of course!

Welcome to my "Garden of Earthy Delights!" Here are some recent macro shots of majestic trees whose bark presents a cornucopia of smaller lifeforms. They represent a microcosm of organic form that rivals the beauty of any flower garden. Form, color, infinite configurations: the peaceful symbiosis of bark, moss, insects, and lichen defy the hungry eye to ignore them. At first glance you might feel these shots are redundant, but if you look closely, you'll see a great variety of abstract compositions!

I LOVE photographing lichen. I think that some of my Abstract Expressionist paintings reflect my fascination with the kind of bursting forth of life force reflected in the orderly disorder of lichen!

If these images awaken your sense of wonder and you'd like to view more of them, please visit my "Living Surface" Gallery at Imagekind.

NOTE: Please click on any image to see the enlarged version.

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.

Enchanted Forest

Of course this is not a forest at all. It is, rather, a hardy ornamental kale struggling to embrace the sunshine and endure through cold winter days. Although this week has been relatively mild, last week's temperatures in the Northeast USA were formidable!

When I saw this kale bursting with life, exploding its violet tones into the afternoon light, I had to look at it close up. That's when I saw magic in it, and had to shoot it on my way to the car, even though we were pressed for time and on our way to visit my mother-in-law.

Looking at this image in Photoshop later on, I saw a bizarre yet beautiful landscape there, a full forest of exotic foliage in alluring tones of green, auburn and violet. So I HAD to work on it and post it, to share it with you.

I haven't been making the rounds these past few days, but I hope to do that tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a happy and creative weekend!

The Artist: “Tortured Soul” or Joyous Participant? Examining the Stereotype

I've heard it said that artists are unstable, unreliable, flaky, unreasonable, quirky..... The list of negative personality and character traits often attributed to creative people seems endless. But I know many people who are bitter, negative, moody or withdrawn, and they are not artists! Likewise, I know many artists who have balance and perspective as very evident traits in their personalities, who at the same time are capable of great creative vision, passion, and works of commitment and imagination.

For me, art and design have been a source of joy in my life since the time, long ago, when I first played with "Colorforms" as a small child. Viewing the art of other artists, both the great and the less well-known, and doing my own art, has seemed to elevate me above the ups and downs of the everyday world, and to lift me beyond whatever sadness or despair I might feel.

I would make the point that there are people in every field of endeavor who are evolved, stable, self-aware, and competent, and also in every field, those who are self-indulgent, biased, regressive, or just plain "insane." For this reason I dislike the stereotype of the artist as a"tortured soul," and don't accept it. Though I will concede that some artists may produce their greatest works at times when their equilibrium is upset by human suffering, either their own or other's, I believe that many artists are very conscious of peace and social justice issues, and are often outward-looking and active in the pursuit of solutions.

In fact, most artists I've known love to share and communicate as well as enjoy all the immutable and ubiquitous beauties of the world. To the artists of the world I say: Ignore the stereotypes and create in joy!

To read more of my thoughts on the creative process, please visit: www.LyndaLehmann.com, or read my articles on Creativity Portal. All text c 2006 Lynda Lehmann. The image above is "Souls of a Restless Sort," done in ink on vellum. I always loved biomorphs, so this is one of my favorite drawings. Prints are available at my site listed above.