NEWS AND VIEWS
Having just returned from an extended trip to Acadia National Park, I am still catching up with messages and what else has been going on back here. One nice find was this wonderful write-up about the 2-person show I am currently doing with painter Richard Harrington at Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville, NJ. The article appeared in a special Friday supplement of The Times of Trenton
Nocturnal Shore
**************************************************************
I was on duty at the Artists’ Gallery on Saturday. As one of the partners running this attractive space in Lambertville, NJ, being the manager for the day makes it feel like my gallery. First, I enjoy being around the work of the talented and creative people who accepted my application to join them a little over a year ago. Also though, I enjoy being able to meet the patrons, collectors, and art-lovers who come through our doors.
I can speak about the work of all the Artists’ Gallery artists. There is a vicarious thrill to connecting collectors to the work of any of our artist members. Of course if someone has stopped in front of my work, I am able to speak to them in a personal manner as well.
I have found a slightly different audience at the gallery than at some of the art and fine craft faires in which I participate. As a result, I sometimes hang different work at the gallery. One piece which has been at the gallery for weeks and has received positive comments, sold while I was there this past Saturday.
A Maryland couple purchased the piece. It’s an image I made at dusk on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We talked about the image and what I was trying to convey. We compared our experiences while at the Outer Banks and spoke about the elements of the image that attracted them. It’s the kind of interaction that makes being an artist so personally rewarding at times.
It seemed like many of the visitors to the gallery on Saturday were from out of the area, Lambertville can be like that. In any case, Pastel Sea, which had a finished size of 22×28, is hanging on a different wall now.
****************************************************************
During my trip to the Outer Banks of NC last week, we had several clear evenings. With a moon lit beach, I began to consider basic landscape compositional practices. The light reflecting off of the ocean was great and I knew that with a longer exposure that moon lit water would become liquid silver. What I wanted was an interesting element on the beach itself that could anchor the image and place context to both the beach and the night-time setting. What I found, was a “star”. OK a starfish to be exact.
I selected an exposure that was long enough to “light” the scene including the star which was on a darker part of the scene. I also needed a bit of surf action to add that silvery liquid element. The previous wave met the starfish and drew some sand back from under it. This gave the starfish the feeling of being a part of the ocean and not just a stagnant prop.
Working at night is tricky, even with good moonlight. Focusing in such minimal lighting is challenging as is visualizing a final image, especially when that image has moving parts (the waves). But, as soon as the idea struck me, I had to give it a try.
(c) 2010 Paul Grecian
***************************************************************
Watching Hurricane Earl on television as it’s just offshore of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, I feel for the people who are being forced to leave the Outer Banks and their homes. Parts of Route 12 can be difficult even in good weather and driving in miles of traffic congestion has got to be scary when you know a storm is coming. I wish all the evacuees the best.
I am thankful that we had calmer weather during our stay around Duck, NC last week. In fact, toward the end of the week we had a few starry sky nights that allowed me to do some work on a moon-lit beach. The combination of moonlight and artificial light sources from the beachfront properties, made for interesting and evocative conditions.
This image was made looking north along the beach in front of where we were staying. The houses are all lit with their interior lights and the beach is a wash with moonlight. I tried several different exposures using the Bulb setting and counted out loud while holding the button on the cable release. Using a Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 17-40mm L lens wide open at f4, this was about a 15 second exposure. The RAW image was then processed in Photoshop CS4 with levels and perspective adjustments made. I was pleased to see a very clear Big Dipper evident in the sky, but a close look shows a sky full of stars. Still, the Big Dipper is iconic and I emphasize that constellation in the image to make it as clear as I remembered it.
Outer Banks, NC at Night
**************************************************************
After a week at the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I wanted to have one more sunset at one of my favorite spots on the barrier island – Corolla. On the sound side, behind Corolla Lighthouse, I worked with various birds and with reflections of the sun in sound waters. The sun was bright orange, pink and yellow as it set - a ball of color that itself made for an interesting abstract subject.
As families and couples arrived to watch the last vestiges of color in the sky, I was asked by one young couple if I offered prints of my work. I gave them my website which was typed into a phone (I didn’t have cards with me and of course now, every phone is a memo pad).
During my week in North Carolina I used pre-sunrise light, sunrise light,
Corolla Sunset
afternoon and evening light, sunset light, the light at dusk, and moonlight. During the next days and weeks, I will spend time editing and processing images and sharing them as I can. Several will become part of a new selection of images available in print form.
For now, these two images are from my last evening at OBX (August 27, 2010).
Dock and Duck, Corolla, NC
*************************************************************
I’d say the fairgrounds were a good 2 degrees cooler than surrounding towns. Never quite hit 100 where I was (though my car told me the parking lot was 107!!!). Actually, several people purchased a print from me and had me keep it for them to pick up later in the day. They spent most of the day at the festival drinking, eating and enjoying some fine music and looked non-the-worse for wear at the end. Really enjoyed themselves. I also was asked by a young girl to critique her horse drawings which were quite good and to pet a small boys dog. All in all, not a bad day.
My first sale was of a print titled “The Gathering”. It’s an image I made at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
************************************************************
Recent Comments