Austere

The process of packing one's life into neat little boxes stirs forgotten memories of days past. While packing books recently I came across a stack of flash cards that I used to study for the Verbal Reasoning section of the GRE. Contrary to the section title's name, the test examines very little of your verbal reasoning skills, but is rather a vocabulary test in disguise. Accordingly, I had made flash cards with the hope of increasing my working vocabulary. As I was reminiscing over the words an idea struck me as I was preparing to drop the stack of cards in the rubbish bin. I had never learned the vast majority of the words on those cards. A word a day is all it would take. If I were to bring a flash card to work each day I could greatly improve my austere vocabulary. I've made a bit of a game of it with a friend from work. Whoever is able to work the word of the day into their spiel first wins the day. Today's word was Austere -markedly simple or unadorned; stern and cold in appearance or manor. It wasn't an easy word to work in to my presentation, but I took the day. (My friend isn't competing well. Does she not realize that the contest will prove to facilitate her learning better than simply hearing the word and definition?) I try to practice the word throughout the day. Below you will find the words of the day for the past week.

Abscond (v) -to depart secretly.

Aberrant (adj) -straying from the norm.

Alacrity (n) -eager and enthusiastic willingness. 

Anomaly (n) - deviating from the normal order, form or rule.

Approbation (n) -an expression of approval or praise.

Arduous (adj) -strenuous, taxing, difficult.

Audacious (adj) -daring and fearless; contemptuous of law, religion, or decorum. 

Preface

I present to you a page out of my Journal (albeit with editing), dated January 2005. The title of the entry is Preface, being the first entry of "Book One of the Volume of My Life".

"For some reason, unknown to myself, I have a fascination with books. Particularly books with blank pages. One might thumb through such a books and gaze upon its empty pages and see nothing, think nothing, nor feel anything. I, on the other hand, will pick up a book that is void of markings, as if it were a precious treasure in my hand. I have purchased many of these beautiful books with no particular purpose to its end. Contained within the empty pages I envision a potential of what those pages might hold: My future, my thoughts, my ideas, my poetry, my life. It is my journal, my diary, my mind."

Silliness

It was shortly after Christmas five years ago. My brother's friend had just received a new camera and he needed models to test out his new toy. Steve and I willingly volunteered. As I was going through some old photos today I happened upon our silliness, and thought I would share for your enjoyment. 

How cute, a monkey.

Watch out! We have a ninja in the house.  

Ahh, the ninja's archnemesis. 

Who will win?

Oh snap, my sword is no match for the ninja's katana. 

The ninja lunges! But I will not go out without a fight. (Um, I don't know where that sign in the background came from. Well, actually I do. The corner of 21st south and 2400 east, but how it came to reside as a halo above my head, I'm not sure.)

 A mortal blow to the ninja's heart. He be dead.

"He who lives by the sword dies by the sword." -The Good Book

But wait! The ninja has been reincarnated as a desperado. 

This one's serious for revenge. 

He doesn't look so dangerous. 

 But maybe...

he's a little crazy. And crazy is dangerous. 

 He's about to make an attempt on the sultan. Security, cease him!

The King of rock n' roll lives. 

And he sure knows how to jam. 

Yep, I was born in the days of the 80's big hair bands.  

The difference is I make this look good. 

It's not a matter of reaching the end, but in feeling the music throughout. 

Convictions

Harry Potter 7 pt. 2 was finally released to Red Box this week. Admittedly, I've never liked the movies for how much they are lacking from the books, or for the elements that change between the pages of the novel and the projection on the big screen, yet there was a line in the movie today that I don't believe was penned in the book, but I quite liked it. Remus Lupin in the final battle says, "It is the quality of ones convictions that determines success, not the number of followers."

Detour

On my travels home today I took a detour to a rural community housing one of the State's prisons. It almost seems odd that they would build a prison in the middle of nowhere, but I guess no one wants a prison in their back yard. Yet the distance does make it difficult for those who are housed far away from loved ones. Visits are rare and the inmates find themselves starved for the sight and sound of family.

His grin was only as his could be, uniquely his with indescribable elements that are difficult not to return. It was wide at the sight of his brothers. We have never been close, yet we are family, and blood means something. Despite having many moments where neither knew quite what to talk about, the two hour limit passed quickly. At the guard's call for the visit's end, suddenly there is so much more to be said that hasn't been spoken. Yet it isn't words that he longs to convey, but emotion, and it is emotion that he longs to hold onto as bars and then space slip between him and the love of family. He doesn't realize it, but I understand exactly how he feels, despite the differences in our own personal prisons. I should be better than I am at writing, but I let months and months pass between letters. Would I fare as well as he has if I were in his shoes? I  think not. I'm contemplating visiting on Christmas day, which is also his birthday. Previous to today I was thinking of spending the day with the children at the hospital. Last Christmas was one of the most depressing days of my life (such thoughts that day...) that I thought I might find a way to distract myself this year. Turns out that Christmas lies on a Sunday, my official volunteer day, but now I question who is in more need. The unfortunate children who are spending their Christmas at the hospital, or my brother who will be wroth with depression for the absence of a wife who does not love him and the children he never sees? It isn't a day to spend for my pleasure, but maybe I can ease the pain of another.

Colours of Spring

"Colours of Spring" gives representation of the vibrancy and life of Spring, as the world comes out of the long and dreary of Winter. Accordingly, you will find this piece to liven up the room with the bright and richly textured flowers popping out from the surface of the painting. I chose the dimensions of the painting with the idea that it would best be showcased above the archway leading into a room, inviting guest to feel enlivened by what lies beyond. It began as simple painting that I intended on completing in a single session working wet-in-wet, or alla prima. I wanted a bright painting with spontaneous brush strokes. I painted a rainbow of colours, from deep alizarin crimson to the jewel like French ultramarine. After combining primaries to make secondaries I placed dabs of titanium white paint directly from the tube on to the canvas. I then proceeded to spread the white paint into spring flowers, creating a tint of the colour below. The idea was that the background colour represented fields of flowers that blended together on the horizon creating a single mass of colour, while the flowers in the foreground were close enough to distinguish.

Original composition.  

The unfortunate nature of oil paint is that it leaves your painting vulnerable to the environment for an extended period of time while the paint dries. As a result of my negligence to protect the painting during this critical time a thick layer of dust was cemented into the wet paint from the air conditioning vent above. I was rather dissatisfied with the results so I sanded the painting and began afresh. Yet, I could not simply repaint it as I had before because I had used thick paint, resulting in obvious brush marks that would not match between the old and new. To solve this problem I decided to magnify the textural difference between the flowers and the background by using a palate knife to paint over the flowers. To create variety in the flower's colouration I painted the flowers in two steps. I first painted a dark colour creating the flower's outline, and then I painted a lighter colour above, allowing the two to mix as I spread the paint with the palate knife.

Flowers layers.

At this point my simple flower painting had become much more complex, and what was suppose to have  been completed in a single painting session was taking multiple painting session, with over 100 hours invested into the final piece. 

Spring flowers: Poppies, daises, daffodils, grape vine, pansies, crocus.

As the painting progressed over months I began to develop new ideas to incorporate into the piece. The painting represented the vibrancy and life of Spring, yet how could I represent the life of Spring without including the diversity of life that the world contains. Thus I chose to accent each panel with a complementary colour of life. In the end, I arrived at a much more dynamic painting.

"Colours of Spring" 2011
Oil on Canvas 12x48"

Close up of poppies and daisies. 

Close up of praying mantis. 

Close up of dragonfly.

Close up of daffodil and grape vine.

Close up of butterfly.

Close up of lady bug.

Close up of pansies and crocus.

Close up of butter fly.

Close up of bumble bee. 

(Did you notice the ants crawling around the painting?)

Oil Colours:
Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Indian Yellow, Sap Green, French Ultramarine Blue, Prussian Blue, Dioxazine (Windsor Violet), Burn Sienna, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, Titanium White, Iridescent White.

Colours

The way our lives are illuminated can drastically change the colours through which we see. In the shadows of dreary winter life is far more cold and blue than the bright warmth of a summer morning. The same life under a different light and season is not truly the same life at all. Our intellect has the ability to imagine what it will, rather than what is. As we consume with all of our senses the euphoric nectar and splendor of the lilly we cannot but help to visualize the purity of the Madonna in its white petals, yet those petals in a different light are not white but a dingy grey. Colour is a property of light, and as such the colours of the world are constantly changing with the changing of the seasons and the passing of the day. What we truly see, therefore, may not be what is perceived, rather it is relative to the illumination by which it receives. The colours that I see are not the same colours that you behold, for I see them through a different light and life than can be illuminated through your eyes. My colours are unique, as are yours, but they are ever changing...