Rush of Water, Hiss of Foam

Sorry to repeat myself, but I think I've made a great improvement here, over my last post. This is a cut and edited version of my latest amateur beach movie. I've put back the original soundtrack with wind and water sounds. I hope you enjoy it. When the music pauses, listen to the waves!

I loved making it, and hope to learn more about the video editing software. It's on my long list of goals....

Thanks for your visit and for sharing this with me!

Video c Lynda Lehmann but available on YouTube for embedding. Re-posted from "Peripheral Vision" blog.

Sibilant Songs of the Shoreline: Surf, Shells, Seagulls, Sand, and Sky

Early Bird - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2010

Winging It - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2010

Feeding Time - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Alone Among Strangers - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Anticipation - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Blue Sky, Blue Water - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Nested in the Sand - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Gull Walk - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Beach Baubles - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Inevitable Beauty - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

What's sibilant at the seashore? The hissing of the foaming surf, the shrill screeching of gulls, the satisfying intervals of silence and solitude.

Okay, you've got me. The words I've used to DESCRIBE those natural phenomena are instances of sibilance, whereas the phenomena themselves, are not.

Nevertheless, every time I go to the beach with my camera, nature reveals her little secrets to me, sights and sounds and smells (there I go again) that fill me with joy. It seems that by looking through my camera lens, I've made a pact with beauty. Each time I see more than the time before. No exotic foreign scenes, just everyday sights of the shoreline. Each time, I feel so rich and enriched: my cup of beauty is full again!

I see the entire animal kingdom in the clannish squawking chatter of the gulls, moving mostly in unison against the waves, in vigilant outlook for their next meal. I see the cosmos in a brightly colored scattering of shells, the treasures of ages in a golden, iridescent conch half buried in the sand.

It's an addiction. Framing an image in your viewfinder or LCD screen can do two things. It can actually insulate you from the walking/hiking experience because you loose yourself in the intention of getting satisfying photographs to document the experience you're only HALF having, lol....

Or, by the concentration of your focus on aspects and segments of the surrounding environment, you actually sense and see MORE of it! Most of the time it's a wash (no pun intended) and what I lose in the directness of the experience, I'm compensating for by the poignant visual moments--those shining little moments of thrilling epiphany--in which I entirely lose myself. Nature spins its magic around me and I'm in FLOW for as long as I go with it.

At one point I had hundreds of gulls taking wing around me--and for a moment I was immersed in a universe of fluttering wings whose "whooshing" sound filled the beach and drowned out the crashing of waves and the hiss of sea-foam. (As you can imagine, I was immensely grateful that none of them dropped on me...)

I watched in awe (through my lens) as one sedate gull was knocked over backwards by a wave. He had to use his wings to straighten himself and scramble back into his sitting position. If a gull can look surprised and flustered, I think he did! But maybe I'm anthropomorphizing too much....

I've been carrying my tripod lately. It becomes quite heavy to lug over long distances on sand or muddy trails. But it's worth the benefit of better photo quality--and I'm finally training myself to carrying it religiously. I've been shooting at narrow apertures, as small as F 11 and even F 16 on sunny days, to facilitate depth of field. Although JPG noise continues to be a problem, even when I use a noise filter in the processing.

Here are a few of the many images I shot the other day. My favorite shots are "Anticipation," "Nested in the Sand" and "Blue Sky, Blue Water." My greatest joy is finding beauty and tranquility in everyday scenes, including local beaches and parks. Most of us are fortunate enough to have a park, or a stretch of forest, or a garden, somewhere nearby. Do you have a favorite sanctuary where you habitually go to find natural beauty and peace?

NOTE: I would like to thank all those of you who voted for my photo in the Newsday photo contest. I believe the winner had literally thousands of votes, and was a shot of a child hugging a marine mammal. I haven't been able to find it again to verify this, but it was an adorable and heartwarming photo, well deserving of the votes.

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of 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.

Windows to the Soul, or Souls Past and Present

The Morbid Details - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Taken Over - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Windows of an aging public institution, overgrown with vines, patched, boarded and abandoned, conjure many tales. I think windows and doors have always been iconic for the human species: they are among the archetypes or unconsciously-associated symbols that help us interpret human behavior and navigate the mystery of our existence in the cosmos.

It's no surprise then, that windows such as these have an almost horrific and shocking impact. At least, that's how I feel when I gaze at them. One has to wonder what went on there, in this abandoned complex of buildings at King's Park Psychiatric Hospital, on the grounds of what is now Nissequogue River State Park, and what spiritual forces may have been left behind. One doesn't have to believe wholeheartedly in ghosts to acknowledge that we haven't disproved their existence. Whose spirit might roam these grounds? Would you want to meet them? And perhaps most importantly, will we ever achieve a really humane society?

I posted some other shots taken at this site, last year. I love capturing these vintage/urban shots in spite of the fact that they usually don't evoke positive emotions. But they tell stories, and they have so much character. How well they mark the passage of time and the passage of the human stream, along with it! If you click on the photos you will see more of the details, like the shroud effect of the plastic sheeting on the top image, and the poignant gesture of the vines, in both shots.

At times, contemplating images that reflect a darker side of our collective reality, may make us appreciate the lighter side of the human condition. Things like love and beauty. Do you agree?

Images and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved. Reprinted from "Peripheral Vision" blog, by Lynda Lehmann.

This is the first in a series of paintings of trails I have explored on horseback.

Happy Trails No.1 Griffith Park, California

4x6 Watercolor on Montval 140# paper

My Latest Abstract Acrylic Painting: "Island Interlude"

Island Interlude - c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

I dance with my brushes until something happens. What happens is that colors and shapes interact to please my eyes. Some friends and relatives keep telling me to paint realism, because "that's what sells." But I don't paint for money; I paint for the love of it. I feel great joy each time a new visual experience is born, and I would not give up my excitement for anything. It's our passions that make life worth living. Of course, I do love a good sale!

What are some of your passions, that you couldn't live without? Besides pasta and coffee and chocolate, this is....

NOTE: I call this painting "Island Interlude," simply because I have to give my pieces a title. You will find in it, whatever you find in it. To me, it has a Caribbean feel. It's 14 x 20 inches, done in acrylic on Arches watercolor paper. I'm beginning a series of paintings on watercolor paper because of the cost of canvases. The heavy Arches paper takes the paint quite well and because of my savings, I can afford to sell these paintings at a lower price.

Image 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.

Envisioning a Web of Light

Web of Light - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Today was gray--a raw, damp, winter day. The solid stripes of snow slathered on the north sides of all the trees we saw along the roads we drove, had not yet melted or been blown off the bark by the wind. The dirty but otherwise undisturbed snow-cover gave the landscape a formidable look, reduced to a blatant, cold contrast of black and white. It was a day bereft of color and warmth. Snow and ice-sheathed and chilly, without a trace of color to behold in sky or forest, without the generous wafting scents or caressing breezes of spring.

Old Man Winter really is a stingy curmudgeon! I had to close my eyes to find an image that was warm and inviting, and I remembered summer days spent dangling ankles in river water and staring into endless reams of light thrown upon the lake by the nurturing sun. I came home and had to upload this image, to remind us all that warmer, more gentle and affirming days are on their way....

Impressionistic images like this are among my favorites. I could spend hours or days filling my "cup of beauty" with the shimmering patterns of sunlight on water and the pebbles underneath.

Image 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.

Baby Snow Leopard

Most people can tell that I love wildlife just by looking at my paintings. Animals are a beautiful and precious gift from God, and the world would be a bit boring without them.

This is my latest painting, Baby Snow Leopard. It is a 16x20" oil on stretched canvas. Sides painted as a continuation of the painting, so no frame needed. You can find it on my website and etsy shop shortly.

Reference photo by photographer Daniela Pintimalli, you can view her work here.

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Have a glorious and Blessed day.

Work in Progress....

Hmmm...been a bit quiet here lately, I better let you all know what I have been up to !
Most importantly I took last weekend off and went to stay with my gorgeous cousin whilst enjoying a bit of a shopping spree! That out of my system and truly relaxed and refreshed, I have returned to finish preparing for a really exciting event beginning this weekend at Seiner's Bar in Perranporth, Cornwall. The Spring Art Exhibition begins this Saturday and I have been invited to exhibit-yey! I have some new paintings ready for the show so will update this week here on my blog with some 'in progress' photos, followed by shots of the completed pieces and then hopefully some photos from Saturday's launch night-very exciting stuff! This photo is a snippet of the first layers of a mixed media painting entitled 'Steeped in Inspiration'....I am so pleased with this, can't wait to share the whole thing :) More tomorrow!

Vargas painting from blog tv 01/28/10

The Beautiful, Beckoning Wood

The Beautiful, Beckoning Wood - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

The arbor gleams. Trees gesture, dance and sway, playing with the showering gold of sunlight. Vines crawl and meander, yet always ascending. Textures pop and reflect the underlying vitality, setting the precedent for "Form." Wood wet with past rain glistens orange and lush vines play a rich green counterpoint. Shadows vignette the drama, and my heart leaps joyously into the cauldron where Creation plays out its evolving domain.

Note to My Readers: I want the above paragraph to stand alone, hence this note. My husband and I walked on the Long Island shoreline the other day, enjoying the sunshine and the January thaw. I was serendipitously graced with this image on the way out, at which point I was resolved to my day's photo-taking being over. It was getting late and the light was fading from the part of the shore we had been walking on. But we emerged into the sunlight and there it was: one of the most beautiful forest scenes I have witnessed: the bright side-lighting, the moisture on the trunks that brought out the rich colors of the bark, and the complements of orange and green. I hope this image brings to mind for you, some of your favorite moments of encounter with nature. I'd like to hear about them!

Image 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.

HELP HAITI NOW!

The human condition leaves much to be desired. Now we have the Haiti earthquake, reminding us that none of us are immune to natural disasters. Death is the great equalizer.

To me, it’s important to hang on to my values in the face of disaster and in spite of personal trials and tribulations (which of course pale when compared to the more dire scenarios unfolding around the globe).

I think, for all of us, when there is tragedy in the world, it's important to do SOMETHING to help! If you can’t rush off to a foreign land to rescue people, help your ailing parent or neighbor. Or make a donation, however small it may have to be....

As the death toll in Haiti rises, and we are numbed by the scope of the tragedy, let's get our minds and hands in gear to make donations. If you think you are poor, envision being a small child sleeping in the chaos and rubble of the street without parents, food or water. Send money for a blanket or a few gallons of water!

CNN has an extensive list of organizations who can help. I just made my donation to the American Red Cross. You can do it by phone or online. I did mine online in about one minute's time. I only wish I had done it yesterday. People are suffering.

Let's send more than love and prayers. There's no time to waste; lives are waning.

Let's start the New Year with empathy and compassion. Here's a link where you will find many choices of organizations who will send aid.

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/

All 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.

TAWNY Mixed Media Fairy ACEO

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN MY ETSY STORE! PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE!
'TAWNY' is a mixed media work. It is the regulation ACEO size 2.5" x 3.5" and is presented on ultra-smooth bristol board white card. This design is an original pen and ink drawing with artist fine-line pen and professional artists' pencils and markers and plenty of TLC!

This piece has also been sprayed with a light fixative for protection and longevity.

What are ACEOs???? ACEO is the acronym for "Art Cards Editions and Originals". An ACEO is a small piece of art that can be defined by it's convenient 2.5 x 3.5 inch size. (Standard trading card size)
ACEOs are VERY different from trading cards however, because they are CREATED and traded or sold by artists. All my ACEOs are absolute ORIGINAL pieces of art! (Some artists choose to sell prints of their work -'editions' )

ACEOs are created in any medium available in the art world. Artists are creating them in ALL kinds of styles and varieties. There are no rules limiting the artist, outside of the size dimensions. ACEOs can be framed, propped, used as bookmarks,grouped together in larger frames......use YOUR imagination! Trading Card notebooks, sleeves and holders can all be used to display them.

watch me wreck a painting in under 7 min VW painting

I just haven't painted in dogs years..argh i's also the biggest thing I've ever worked on 2 x 4 feet!
Just going to upload a video of it... be kind it's in progress

Music:
"Waiting to Come Back Down"
by jaspertine
http://ccmixter.org/files/jaspertine/...
2008 - Licensed under
Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

Rockin' Out

Unexpected Yellow - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Arizona Mineral Abstract - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

I love rocks. Rocks in any form. Little shards, rounded pebbles, mighty boulders, and vast canyons--they all resonate with me. It's as if I can feel their solidity, their might and permanence. They give me a feeling of being anchored to the great mysteries at our feet and in the more vaporous elements of the atmosphere around us. They make me feel strong. They are enduring and completely OF the earth!

In our everyday lives we may see rocks as inorganic, consisting of minerals steeped and birthed in the heat and power of the Earth. But if one believes in quantum physics and the concept that everything is energy, one must believe that rocks too, consist of and emit energy. (I am speaking of rocks in a metaphysical sense. As for the emissions of radioactive elements, now THAT is another subject altogether....)

Here are a few photos of boulders I took in Arizona's Tonto National Forest. Not only do the rocks resonate with me in some enigmatic energy way, but their surfaces are a feast of form and color. Abstracted realism is one of my favorite forms of photography, and these boulders make powerful abstracts in their own right. It's just amazing, how much beauty is embedded in flowers, plants, trees, animals, air, water, fire, and yes, rocks!

Again, my eyes rejoice in what my camera can take away from majestic natural scenes filled with mystery and surprise. Every day is a gift of vision and inspiration.

Layered Rock in Tonto Forest - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Sanguine - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

And here is an example of the total package--a macroscopic view of multiple microcosms, a vast panoramic landscape supported by rock. A canyon is a universe unto itself.

Red Rocks Ridges - Lynda Lehmann c 2010

Note: This is my first post in the New Year. I want to wish everyone health, prosperity, and happiness in 2010 and beyond. And for all of humankind, peace on Earth. May beauty fill your cup and lead you to your fulfillment, whatever its form. And may we find a way to justice, for all people.

All photos 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.

Treasure Box in green....

Fiber art Treasure Box in gorgeous green, now available in my store for sale HERE! This one is a real beauty,please follow the link for more details .....

The Nature of Pine Bark: Beauty in Every Line and Pore

The Beauty of Pine Bark - Lynda Lehmann c 2009

Looking for and finding natural beauty, is my life. It carries me through my days, cushioning me from life's disappointments and the tragedies of the human condition. I remember the day I walked around the shore of Echo Lake State Park in New Hampshire, snapping photos of tree bark. I approached this tall pine, among others, on a crowded beach, and stood just a couple of inches from the scabrous and meandering bark. The people sunning on the lake shore literally stared--no doubt they thought I had escaped from the "loony bin." What IS that woman doing, standing with her nose stuck against the trunk of that scraggly, old pine? (Smirk...)

I've always had to explain to people how and why I LOOK at things with great interest. I've been asked in recent years,"Why are you always looking up?" The answer, of course, is that I find great inspiration in the trees, sky, and clouds. And why shouldn't I? Chances are, those particular acquaintances might be more concerned with contemplating their navels.

I remember WAY back in my college days, when I carried an apple home from the dining hall at Penn State and a roommate made a quip about "pseudo-intellectualism." But I was in earnest when I commented on the form and exquisite color of the apple. Of course in those days of upheaval and rebellion, we questioned everything. Especially the "Establishment," the "military-industrial complex" and the other stale institutions of the status-quo. Now, in my ripe old age, I realize that more than anything, we have to question ourselves, as the basis for any positive change. Transformation begins with our own perception and intellect. We have to take responsibility for who we are, for our own attitudes, actions and reactions, before we can change the world.

I'm lucky that simple beauties change the world for me! If this means I'm a "simple" person, I'll take it. I think I'm blessed to find the beauty and mystery in small details some other folks might be "too busy" to discover.

NOTE: I did tweak the above photo a bit, to bring out the hues that were already there, in the pine bark.

All photos 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.

Pear and Cherries - Oil Painting

Pear and Cherries is another of the small color studies I've been working on. It measures 8 inches tall by 10 inches wide, and it's on gallery wrap canvas.

Pear and Cherries, oil on canvas, Jean Levert Hood ©2009

Don't miss my website for my oil paintings! You can find me on Twitter and Facebook, too!

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Sole Mates

She's a high class gal, he's just a working guy, but when you are *Sole Mates* stuff like that doesn't matter. (ok so it's a little corny but I couldn't resist..lol) Wouldn't this make a great card though? If you agree, click >>HERE<< which will bring you to my Redbubble site where you can purchase a card with this photo on it, or even a 16x12 framed print.

Fabric Art Album Handmade Book

Entitled 'Happiness', this gorgeous new fabric album is crammed with tags and embellishments and measures around 6" square.
Perfect for mementoes and keepsakes this would make a lovely gift or an inspirational journal for a creative mind!Currently available for sale HERE if you would like to view more details and further photos of this tactile piece of art.

TRANQUILITY mixed media original canvas painting

This mixed media canvas painting is entitled 'TRANQUILITY' and measures 10" x 10" x 1+ 1/2" .Currently for sale in my etsy store PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT,
the work is lightly glazed with a soft gloss artist's varnish to seal and protect.
Sides are fully painted in rich matt black as part of the work so a frame is not necessary.
A lovely calm piece which would look adorable with any decor,vintage or contemporary.
A very attractive addition to your own or a loved one's art collection.
Please do check out my other listings for further works!
~ Commissions are also welcome! ~