I have just submitted five pictures to a specialized art site for review. It would be great to get some comments here, especially as it concerns a consistency of style – I hope this selection conveys some of that.
Speechless Again
Hidden Kisses
Elle-Beau Room
Season This Moment
Fine Feathered Friends
I suppose this is another “show & tell” post, so first a little telling.
One thing I enjoy about abstract art is that once in awhile you can create something that looks very different hung in various ways . . . viewer reactions vary with each one.
My latest piece is like that. I noticed this aspect when it was almost done and I’d like to show you here. The first picture is shown how it was created. The second is simply the same as the first but flipped around. The third shows the exact same picture but turned 90 degrees.
I began with a picture that was part of another picture of mine. In other words it was a small piece of a larger picture which was them enlarged. I often do this, and one original picture can eventually became several entirely different pieces. Think of it like those Russian nesting dolls, with smaller ones inside the larger ones. In this case the final picture is the fifth smallest doll.
When I take a portion of another picture in a way it becomes my beginning canvas, though it is not a blank one. Then I begin with a very simple idea, “What if I do this?” So I start and it really does become a creative journey, like sailing into uncharted waters. Once again there were more of those unexpected pleasant surprises. Now here are the pictures:
Nesting Instinct – Shown as created.
Nesting Instinct – The original flipped over.
Nesting Instinct – Shown sideways.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention . . . once again the original involved an image of leaves.
As much as I enjoy the process of writing, sometimes a person needs to just step away for a bit. Lately I’ve become much more drawn to art, no pun intended.
I’m lucky that way. If I trust my intuition I can easily move from one form of expression to another. For example, for more than a few months I let my art rest while writing Dawn at Last. I also left it alone for many more months while trying to navigate through the promotional storm called book marketing.
Those waters have calmed for now and Dawn at Last feels like a pearl waiting to be discovered . . . still. That’s perfectly fine for now, especially given my new and renewed journey into art.
I’ve sailing on a new boat too! It’s the online cruiser called Fine Art America. In case you haven’t heard of it, the site is a great place for artists to showcase their work, and to sell it. While I had my own site for many years, Fine Art America has a structure that offers much more than I could do on my own.
I know a few artists on there and they are very happy with the service, and most importantly the quality. It’s very much like a mini-Amazon for artists, though I’d say it’s a lot more user-friendly. While there are tons of artists on there, the clutter is no where near what it is on Amazon. Perhaps that has something to do with artists having the option of having their own website within Fine Art America?
I hope you will visit me there sometime soon. It’s a fun break for the eyes – one of my dearest writer friends recently told me she “felt like a kid in a candy store!”
Anyways, here is my latest introduction – I have so many works in progress – so new introductions are coming fast these days. It seems I’ve now outpacing the snail for a change!
Enjoy, and please don’t hesitate to share what you like.
Given Her Advice – My latest introduction on FineArtAmerica
Well it’s Monday so I suppose it’s time for more about Einstein’s travelling at the speed of light? It’s tempting because not a day goes by where I’m not thinking about related topics. In a recent post – Light Surfing and Chasing the Big Ideas – I mentioned a film called How Albert Einstein Discovered e=mc2. In it the notion of matter being fixed in the universe is brought up, though I can’t remember whether Einstein is the first to come up with that theory.
When you understand the thinking behind that it’s hard to dispute it . . . a fixed or finite amount of physical matter floating around the universe . . . the question remains as to the order of thing!
But then there seems to be this leap of logic as much as a leap of faith. One may extrapolate that if there is a fixed amount of matter then the universe must be finite. That’s a huge conclusion . . . it can lead to notions of a beginning and an end, an ever-expanding universe and so on.
The funny thing is, even if matter is fixed (finite) that still doesn’t mean that it can all be counted or measured.
I find that funny in a Zen kind of way because of a bit of a paradoxical nature about the finite and the infinite.
Einstein grappled with all of this when he tried to understand unity in the universe. It’s really all there in the irony of infinity . . . an infinite universe can neither expand nor contract . . . there is a total and complete oneness about that. For me it also brings a sense of peace and calmness . . . reassuring in some inexplicable way.
Also, like icing on a cake, the fixed nature of an infinite universe is perfectly congruent with the theory of a fixed amount of matter . . . double layers of icing for the truth that none of it can be fully measured, yet so nicely understood!
Other than that, I’d like to let all of you know that I’ve moved my art over to Fine Art America. I’m really glad to be making this move, should have done it long ago. They do an excellent job and this move will allow me to devote more time to creating, not to mention the ever-expanding requirement of my social media activities!
There is some new art on my new site as well. One of those pieces is shown below. Finally, here is a link to my Gallery page on Fine Art America. Please do me a favor and use those share buttons, either on this blog or on the gallery page. Since you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading this post . . . and as always, it’s nice to hear your comments!
Sweet Dreams – Now available on Fine Art America
The Hunted (Cropped) – another play in progress.
I watched a very articulate documentary tonight, Surviving Progress. It was largely cathartic as it touches on so many issues, thoughts and concerns that I’ve had for years now. It’s about the human condition and presented honestly in the context of nature. If you decide to watch it, be careful as it can be disturbing. It was a little that way for me, and I’ve been studying this subject matter for about nine years now. I don’t write much about it because it’s frankly too depressing in many ways.
However, this film doesn’t come across that way . . . sobering yes, disturbing yes, yet still with a calming eloquence about it . . . the humanity of the those involved somehow shines through much of the horror. Oddly enough, there is prominent mention of the question, “Why?” and I mean that in the broadest sense. For years now I’ve viewed that as an almost dangerous question – a very mysterious one – and perhaps ultimately part of our collective Achilles heel?
Coincidentally, today also marks a day of the release of new scientific findings and warnings concerning climate change. This too struck a nerve, one that runs deeply in all my creative endeavors. The strike came by a statement made by a scientist on the news, “We’re running out of time.”
Such a simple statement perhaps it summarizes our entire predicament . . . our distancing from Nature and the absence of balance within it. I’m still amazed by how few people make the connection between time and gravity – they are inseparable – if we are “out of time” yet gravity continues, what does that say about us? Again, I no longer want to ask “Why?”
I’m sorry this is maybe a sad post to read. Still, it’s what’s on my mind. As a person who loves art, especially the process, I can’t help but wonder if it still has meaning anymore . . . have we passed a turning point that way too? More and more it just feels that way, though I wish it didn’t.
Finally, in the spirit of time, I’m going to post a little bit of writing. It’s from my first novel, one that will never be published. After I writing it I knew that these 121,000 words were not the right ones to launch upon the world, or even a few hundred readers! Still, it was a wonderful confidence booster and there was a lot of joy in the process.
Like Dawn at Last it has its tender moments. Since completion I’ve always felt like the only thing that really mattered were the words in the last two paragraphs. Somehow even these few words made all the rest worth writing, unpublished and all. They make me smile and I find peace in them. Since the book will never exist, here is my precious ending . . . perhaps you can use your imagination and fill in the rest . . . the past of it or the future? Or both?
Here’s how it ends, and once again it has something to do with love. Without it why survive?
They remained in their upward gaze, into this and every night’s darkness, and though their eyes did not meet, a common smile spread from her cheeks through his cheeks. It began to rain softly, only a few drops here and there. Still no words were spoken, though Lance wanted to share his thoughts with her. He was thinking of all he had been through, the beauty he found in the mysteries of the universe, of love and peace. The joy of knowing mixed with the agony of explaining, like finding love in a drop of water and trying to pull it out, just to hold it and say, “See.”
At that moment Suzanne turned her gaze toward his face. She saw a raindrop on the side of his cheek and naturally she cupped his hand in hers, leaned forward and kissed his cheek on that very spot, saying simply and softly, “Voici.”
My Sweet Dreams
The oddest thing has happened. It began happening nine years ago and last night it became official.
Back in 2005 is when I began exploring digital painting. Even then this new, personal style was emerging – a combination of abstract drawing, then scanning various things from nature, then more drawing on-screen, and then fusing it all with light as my palette instead of paint.
When your art is done on a screen instead of paper or canvas, essentially that’s what your doing – working with light instead of paint. There’s actual quite a difference and it has to do with light and our perception of it. Art done on a screen is viewed with emitted light. In other words the light comes from behind the picture and towards your eyes. That’s very different than a canvas painting, where the light is reflected back from the picture to your eyes.
When I first started I knew that some day I would need to sell some of my art in order to keep to doing more of it. I wanted to make it as affordable as possible, so naturally I thought about electronic formats. I used to daydream about large, flat screens hanging on walls, where fans of my art could look at a wide selection of it, have it hanging there on their wall, switch it, or turn it off and on at their will.
In that way there is no need to print the digital creations – the pieces would look fantastic in the medium – and it would be very affordable original art! This is really very similar to what is happening to book publishing in the age of electronic books, though the price difference with the art is even more pronounced.
Last night that dream came true when I published a special illustrated edition of my novel, Dawn at Last. Instead of wall-mounted screens you can see the art on hand-held ones, on laptops, tablets and so on.
There are eleven original pieces in this edition, each selected to go with various parts of the story. They are all set for full-page viewing and placed at the end of selected chapters. I didn’t just whip these up over the weekend. It’s been a nine-year work in progress. In fact there are a few pieces that have more hours behind them than the novel, and that was a four-month process for the first draft!
I’m not showing you any of the art here, but soon I’ll be announcing a surprise about these eleven pieces and other art that I’ve created. However, the picture at the top is somewhat representative of what’s in the special edition – it also links to the book on Amazon. The picture at the bottom links to the same book on Kobo.
So there you have it. Almost a decade ago, in one of those serious family discussions about politics and other world problems, I made a promise that someday I was going to quit my job and doing a little writing. I did quit, then did a lot of art, and then a little writing . . . I’m glad I did so.
Anyone For Chess
A picture I did many years ago called “Wind Surfying”.
There’s something that really grabbed me about the most recent review of Dawn at Last. Maybe it’s the part about writing from the heart? Maybe it’s the reflective quality? If you wish, you can read the entire review here on Ionia Martin’s Amazon review of Dawn at Last.
There are some big picture issues that I only lightly touch in the book – this post is more about these issues than about Dawn at Last. It’s about the kind of stuff Einstein and others liked to ponder. There is so much more to write about, but not necessarily in fiction.
The other night I watched a wonderful NOVA docudrama, How Albert Einstein Discovered e=mc2. It is not just about him. The story covers the lives of a handful of scientists and thinkers over the span of more than a century, so in a way it is one account of the history of the ideas behind the components of the equation: energy, matter and light.
The individual stories are portrayed in an overlapping way, almost blending into each other, though in many cases the characters are completely unknown to each other in the personal sense. Speaking of personal, The individual stories are alive with humanity, including their many sacrifices and their intimate relations . . . muses more than sounding boards?
I also learned of some remarkable women, at least two of whom I’d never heard of before – I’ll leave it for you to discover them by yourself. All in all it is a film full of pleasant surprises.
My favorite part, the one that gives me an intellectual tickle of sorts, concerns a discussion between a young Albert Einstein and an unidentified lady friend, while on a stroll. He ponders what it would be like to travel alongside a wave of light . . . light surfing, so to speak! What happens at such a speed? In a way he wonders how one would think of time in such a travel. For example, in the film he asks the young lady whether one could see one’s mirror image in such a condition.
He states that light in our normal condition light reaches our face, then the mirror, and then back to our eyes so that we can see the reflection of the face in the mirror. However, while travelling at the speed of light he contends that the light from his face would never reach the mirror. He asks whether he is then invisible.
This is the place where I begin my own zooming, and for me this is a ton of fun!
First, Einstein liked to think in pictures, which ties in nicely with this mirror scenario. Because of the situation he would not be able to see his mirror image, yet the encased mirror would have its own image, travelling in different light a few feet ahead of him. However, even if he could see it, he would only see the casing and a blank mirror . . . in one sense he has become selfless?
Second, Einstein firmly believed that the speed of light is the fastest speed in the universe. That poses the following dilemma. In his mirror scenario he must have the mirror in his hand and then extend his arm to put the mirror a few feet in front of his face. However, in order to do that his arm must move ahead of him – in fact for this motion to occur the arm must move faster than the speed of light, which according to him is impossible!
Now here’s where things get really interesting. In such a circumstance it seems that he would not be able to see anything at all. I wonder too whether his other four physical senses would be functional. Still, assume that he would be able to think – to use his mind’s eye. Hans Selye did a number of studies concerning sensory deprivation and it seems the mind becomes quite hallucinatory in such a condition. As such, in a way the ego disappears, one loses control of one’s self – again, selfless in a way?
Where am I going with all this? Consider that a selfless man is actively light surfing, time seems non-existent, so he is kind of completely in the moment. Yet his mind is working, playing all kinds of tricks on him. Ideas come. They arrive.
In order for ideas to come – to arrive – they must travel much like that arm holding the mirror must travel. In other words, ideas can move faster than the light.
This relates to something I touched briefly on in Dawn at Last . . . what guides the light? It also relates to that age-old question of what comes first, the chicken or the egg? In either case, first there is the idea!
I will be writing further on this topic of ideas, tying it in more with some of my other writings, but in essay form as well as in story telling. I’ll also be writing more about love . . . if you’ve read Dawn at Last you know I believe in love in a certain way . . . something timeless, yet faster than the speed of light. It’s very real, selfless and enduring . . . somehow the butterflies know this in their own marvelously fearless way!
A smart and sexy romance, perhaps the kind your mother doesn’t want you to know? Chances are she will love it too, even though this is definitely not old school shenanigans!
Modern day Victoria, BC sets the stage for Donna Belauche, a professional intimacy counselor who keeps her client list short and her list of friends shorter. Life is far from fun and games for Donna. In her quiet time, it is not her work that brings her to the brink of madness. It’s the weight of her past – so many deep secrets – almost crushing her. Holding love at arm’s length, she pushes men away, even one who especially adores her.
That’s when she wrote in her journal, “genuinely kind and charming,” but next to that she added “perhaps a little dangerous…be very careful.”
As she pushes love away, Donna devotes her free time to the pursuit of a different kind of passion – a hobby involving tulips, a creative exploration of women – an exploration of what some call sinful, and yet others divine. She is not alone in this project. She and her partners do it all in the name of art . . . but have they taken it all too far?
As wonderful as it seemed, still is it even okay, or was it all just decadence? Yet such a sweet decadence, as fresh as the first drop of honey.
Some say this book is controversial because of its characters – interracial relationships, unconventional pasts, and affairs between lady friends who are oblivious to the label, “lesbian romance”. They see nothing unusual in any of it. For them it is just how they live. There is Ben, the house painter who will paint most anything, and a server named Sunni, with a thing for buns. Along with three others, they manage to help Donna find her way, almost in spite of themselves. They don’t realize how important each is to the other, especially to Donna, as she scratches away at the ties that bind her.
The lives of these misfits twist together like vines – never knowing exactly where they will wind up. Through all the intertwining, love offers up one amusing surprise after another. Then, on one final night – three men and three ladies – everything finally comes together. Lives are changed forever . . . but for the better? How does one ever really know? At last, is it ever just about love?
Exciting and Adventurous – The intersecting plot lines led me on an adventure, an intriguing blend of humour and mystery.
Fresh and Amusing – The humor and wit throughout is really enjoyable. The interracial relationships feel very contemporary, and say a lot about love in today’s world.
Breath-taking and Sexy – The intimate scenes are seductive, making me want to be involved – a wonderful adult romance.
Complex and Mysterious -The emotional journey is challenging. It took me through many stages before emerging at the other end with my own thoughts and revelations.
Dangerous and Raw – There are times in the book where I sensed an element of risk and it heightened the experience.
Entertaining and Evocative – Overall the book is fun. It’s a wonderful adult romance. The story, themes and characters stayed in my mind long after I finished the book – waiting for the sequel now!
There’s a lot of playful mystery in “Dawn at Last” – six main interweaving characters.
It’s taken a lot of time and effort, but it was worth it.
Over the past month or so I’ve made some changes to my novel, previously published as Sunni Knows, but renamed Dawn at Last. By the way, did you know that apparently The Great Gatsby was once titled Trimalchio in West Egg . . . yes, books do go through title changes.
The content is mostly the same, with a little refining of the first chapter and a little addition to the ending. It seems that while my fans loved the book, for many the original ending felt unresolved. It took a lot resolve to fix that, but I’m glad I did – the ending is now more exquisite . . . at last.
You can see the new cover over to the right side – if you click on it, you will be taken to the Amazon page of Dawn at Last. I don’t mind saying that it’s fantastic and really goes with the tone of the book. A huge thank you goes out to Sandra Parlow, a wonderful lady and an excellent photographer. She allowed me to use some of her photography – the basis for the imagery on the cover – you can easily find her amazing work on Google+.
I’d also like to thank an anonymous friend for her musings and guidance throughout this process, the extent of which could fill an entirely different book!
Finally, it will about a week before Amazon has the “Look Inside” feature working – after that you can read the first 10% of the book for free. That should take you about half way through Chapter 3 – The Grape Squishing, although that’s a bit of a tease because by the end of that chapter things start getting a little juicy.
In the meantime, if want to get a feel for the book, I’ve posted first chapter on my Facebook Notes, and here’s the link to that: Chapter 1 – The Ending Begins .
One thing I love about my kind of painting is how unpredictable it can be.
Last night I had a wonderful time polishing up colom, putting the finishing touches on it . . . for a comparison, see My Saturday Column – Pardon the Typoh! I lost track of time and almost packed it in when I was done at 2:30 in the morning . . . but I didn’t.
colom – finally finished!
As often happens when I’m finally finished a picture, such as colom above, I’ll spend a little more time just playing with it – this where life becomes unpredictable – at 3:00 in the morning, after playing with a few effects, a little magic happened. The picture below is what I’m talking about . . . it’s still untitled, but I really couldn’t wait to put it up here, and soon it will also be on my site.
Finally, the funny thing is that I went to bed last night thinking about how much this new picture ties in to my novel, Dawn at Last, at least in the emotion of it all. For a minute I thought perhaps it would make a great cover, but I’m not really sure about that.
If I ever do a hard cover version though, I’m sure it will include some of this art as an appendix, or perhaps I will call it a heart – a book should have a heart, right? 🙂
lawrence grodecki 