Staked Down in Blue Bell, PA
This weekend you can find me staked down on the campus of the Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, PA. This lovely campus is a great setting for the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen show now in it’s 4th year at this location.
Among my new prints is this image of a red fox in tall golden grasses at sunset. Using a large aperture telephoto lens (Canon EF 500mm F4.0 L IS with a Canon TC1.4X), I was able to create an image that had painterly softness and the kind of visual isolation that I enjoy in wildlife imagery.
Red fox are such beautiful animals, and the tall grasses were a perfect setting with which to work visually.
Red Fox in Golden Grasses
******************************************************************
Tags: restaurants, peddlers village, bucks county, bucks county pa, doylestown, washington crossing, antique shopping, crayola factory, pennsbury manor, hotels
Yes I’m a sucker for a rainbow….
The color was magnificent and my first thought was to isolate a section of the rainbow against the sky.
(c) 2011 Paul Grecian – Photography
As I walked up the street I saw that if I positioned myself correctly, I could place the rainbow right into a chimney. The red star that hung on the side of the house adds additional visual interest and plays on the theme of astronomical phenomena. I can’t decide if the color is entering or leaving the chimney though.
A mockingbird made its presence known to me which became another subject to place within a frame strong with color!
(c) 2011 Paul Grecian – Photography
*************************************************************
Tags: wineries, washington crossing, restaurants, peddlers village, bucks county pa, doylestown, pennsylvania, crayola factory, history, bucks county
Out of the Studio and into the “Studio”
Title page
Typically when I speak of being in the studio, I mean the space where I print, mat, and frame my work. But in some respects, the natural areas where I create new images is also a studio. In the October issue of Professional Artist magazine, I write about getting away from both kinds of studios and getting involved with other aspects of being an artist.
During the last several days, I’ve been able to get away from the printing/matting/framing studio and into the image-making studio. That’s pretty important also.
Professional Artist magazine, October 2011
******************************************************************
Tags: crayola factory, history, wineries, hotels, peddlers village, pennsbury manor, doylestown, bucks county pa, pennsylvania, antique shopping
Sometimes rain isn’t so bad…..
If you were to ask me about it, I’ll usually tell you I can do without the rain. That probably means I have a art/craft show coming up. But yesterday the rain (and fog) was just what I wanted. Visually, I like what rain and fog do to the landscape and the moodiness it instills in my images. I like working in the rain if the wind isn’t blowing it too hard. I like the subtle pastel tones it creates in distant landscapes and the rich wet colors it gives to foliage.
(c) 2011 Paul Grecian
Rainy days are usually spent indoors so they become especially interesting and evocative times to be outdoors creating images if I can. I use a weather-proof camera and lens combination – the Olympus E5 and an Olympus 50-200mm lens. It’s just plain fun to work in the rain with electronics and not worry about it! And it’s fun to be out there with a camera when just about no one else would be.
These two images were made yesterday.
(c) 2011 Paul Grecian – Photography
*************************************************************
Tags: antique shopping, crayola factory, wineries, hotels, sesame place, peddlers village, doylestown, new hope, pennsylvania, bucks county pa
Rainbow’s End
A new print that I introduced at the Artists’ Gallery show I did in August is this image of a rainbow made near my home in Bucks County, PA. When I saw the rainbow out my rear window, I knew where it was that I wanted to be. A nearby church has a field behind it’s property that offers a clean view of the sky. Being able to get to a predetermined location when ephemeral subjects like rainbows present themselves is very important. I grabbed a camera and a single lens (Canon EF 28-135mm) that would give me the range of focal lengths I thought I would want.
I composed this image as the sun was still high enough to light the tree and allow me to work hand-held. I composed tightly so as to emphasize the tree and chose a perspective that was low to the ground (also emphasizing the tree). The low perspective also allowed me to compose without any extraneous elements thus simplifying the image. I was able to find a position that had the rainbow reflection fall into the tree creating a relationship with it visually.
I titled the image “The Promise” so as to speak to the “promise” that rainbows make that all storms will clear (hope) and that calm is not far behind.
"The Promise" available matted to 16×20 ($79.)
******************************************************************
Tags: restaurants, hotels, doylestown, antique shopping, bucks county, crayola factory, bucks county pa, pennsbury manor, new hope, wineries
Chadds Ford Days – Outdoor Show
In a field across from the John Chads house and on the grounds of The Barn Visitor’s Center, this little show is in the center of historic Brandywine Valley.
Chadds Ford Days is about art and craft and music and food. Shows hours are 10-5pm both Saturday and Sunday.
"Cairns at Last Light"
**************************************************************
Tags: new hope, antique shopping, bucks county, hotels, crayola factory, doylestown, pennsbury manor, washington crossing, pennsylvania, sesame place
Thinking about geology today
Today I experienced my first minor little tremor of an earthquake. It was interesting if not a bit disconcerting. It got me thinking about geology, which got me thinking about rock, which sent my mind back to Maine where I spent a week this past June. The geology at Acadia National Park is laid out for everyone to see and also offers some unique geometry with which to explore visual relationships, line, shape, and contrasts.
One of the images I made in Acadia is all about shape, texture, and contrasts. It’s an image of a single, perfectly formed, oblong rock against a weathered piece of driftwood (actually it was large 15 foot span of beached tree). Since the day was overcast, I had no shadows to deal with and so there is a softness to the light resulting in soft edges and transitions. A slight blue cast is present in the wood which adds the needed color contrast. The roundness of the rock and it’s speckled pattern also contrast with the crack lines of the wood. Somehow I find the image to be peaceful and a bit mesmerizing. I’d love to hear what you think.
Rock and weathered wood
***************************************************************
Tags: peddlers village, hotels, history, new hope, bucks county, crayola factory, wineries, restaurants, sesame place, pennsylvania
“A Sense of Place” Continues……
There is still plenty of time to get over to the Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville, NJ and take in A Sense of Place. This two-person show featuring the oil paintings of Materese Roche and photography by myself, continues through to September 4.
One of the images that I introduced at this show is of a wooded area where I made prominent one particular tree. What drew me to this tree was the placement of it’s few remaining brightly colored fall leaves. I composed the image so that the remaining leaves almost suggest the flickering of a flame. The early morning light was dim so that I could add a sense of mystery to the woods by exposing for the highlights. The tight composition I created emphasizes the tree and specifically adds symmetry to the image.
I made this image that I have entitled Monogahela Wood, in the Monogahela Forest of West Virginia during a trip with a friend. West Virginia is a beautiful state and one I certainly would like to get back to.
Monogahela Wood
********************************************************************
Tags: pennsylvania, doylestown, history, peddlers village, sesame place, antique shopping, pennsbury manor, restaurants, bucks county, crayola factory
Collaborative Art Was Well Received
As part of our two-person show at the Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville, NJ, oil-painter Materese Roche and I each unveiled a single artwork that we created based on a common image. The common image was one I made in Acadia National Park this past June. I gave Materese a converted Raw file that did not represent my finished work but which gave her a sense of the location and light.
At 6:00 during the evening of the Opening Reception and with a full room of people, we both uncovered our interpretation of the scene having each not seen the other’s work. The response was more than we could have asked for. While it may have been a bit of theater, it was also a lot of fun. Both pieces sold quickly.
The image below is my final work. The 14×20″ print which was framed to 22×28″ is entitled Cairns at Last Light and was made on Cadillac Mountain at Sunset. Working on a tripod of course, I used a Canon EOS 5d mark II camera with a Canon EF 17-40mm L lens with polarizer and neutral-density, graduated filter to hold back some of the light in the sky.
"Cairns at Last Light"
***************************************************************
Tags: new hope, antique shopping, restaurants, pennsylvania, pennsbury manor, hotels, bucks county pa, bucks county, sesame place, crayola factory
Custom Order Garners Positive Response
At shows, I occasionally receive requests for a size or frame that I do not have with me. In those cases I do offer to create the size and frame combination requested. When Alexandra came to the Kutztown Folk Festival, she knew what she wanted. I however, didn’t have the combination of matted print size and desired frame style with me. In fact I wasn’t even sure I had the frame she wanted in stock or that I could get one.
Luckily, I did have the frame style she wanted and was able to ship her a finished piece exactly to her specifications. That felt good. But what was even nicer was Alexandra’s email to me after receiving her finished artwork.
She wrote -
“Hi Paul, so happy to receive my framed artwork! It arrived beautifully and is just awesome!! I can’t believe you were able to get the walnut and black frame!! Thanks a million! It was my pleasure to do business with you. Thanks very much, I know that I will enjoy my artwork for many years to come!”
The print Alexandra chose was Snow and Sand matted and framed to 18″x24″
"Snow and Sand"
*****************************************************************
Tags: new hope, hotels, crayola factory, restaurants, bucks county, wineries, doylestown, antique shopping, peddlers village, bucks county pa