Summer's Coronation

This subject is located only minutes away from our Gallery and home. I pass it many times during the course of daily comings and goings.... usually with scarcely a glance of interest. But two days ago late in the day.... my eyes caught sight of this piece of drama. Filled by excitement... I turned around... drove home... grabbed my camera and raced back to try and "capture the moment." But the moment had passed... as those fleeting moments of dawn and dusk have the tendency to do.

I immediately downloaded the image from my camera and sat surveying the "caught" image. At first, I was bitterly disappointed with what was in front of me... but as I surveyed the STRUCTURE... which first attracted me to this place... it was still there.... certainly not with the dramatic lighting effects... and not even without distracting elements that offended my eye.

But the physical essence of what attracted my attention remained.... and the longer I looked the deeper my memory reached back... until the glorious sunny moment flickered... then rekindled the rich colour and pageantry that I sensed in one glance as I drove past.

I grabbed a 20x24 inch canvas and toned it with Mars Black acrylic and left it to dry overnight... knowing that the rich colours and dark contrast would set the tone for the drama that I wished to create. This was one of those paintings that fairly stated...."painted itself"... from start to finish. Many refer to this as a zen state... and in my own mind, it is essentially that.... meditative. At no time was there any hesitancy... or hurdle to be jumped. In retrospect... I believe that this state arose out of the fact that "The Idea" was fresh... and that the process began and ended in almost a plein air fashion.... "done like dinner"... in under three hours.

The other contributing factor was the fact that "I" owned the process... making decisions based upon deep experiential feelings and creative choices... rather than the reality of what was recorded in the photo. The camera is a great tool to assist in creating... but it does not in any fashion possess one single ounce of creative spirit. It is limited by the fact that it will never have emotion to add to the picture-making programmes it possesses.

I am including both the jpeg of the actual site... and my interpretation... "impression" of that fleeting moment. I leave "You" to judge for your Self which is more appealing... regardless of a faithful direct rendering of the scene!

"Some artists show a reverential attitude towards the natural world. Nature is something to learn from and, at best, to emulate, with no thought of manipulating, much less commanding it. The best you can hope for, perhaps, is to, in Thomas Eakin's phrase, "sail parallel."

-The Artist's Mentor
Inspiration from the World's Most Creative Minds
Ian Jackman, editor

Fair Summer Sailing... To ALL!