17 January 2013

Capturing shadows



On sunny days, I'm always happy to see that first sliver of sun light up the studio wall (shown in the upper left image), and it was my inspiration/starting point for January's 'addendum' to the ROY G BIV challenge: classic black & white. The silhouette cast by the Paperwhites I mentioned in my last entry also enticed me, but good old fashioned sunlight has been hard to come by in the last week, and they began to shrivel before I got to fully explore their potential. When I saw that the forecast called for rain every day this week—which would make shadows a scarce commodity indeed—I took along my camera on an errand-session on Monday so I could photograph a few splashes of black & white that my daughter and I had noticed on an outing last week (yes, she is also keeping her eyes open for me each month). Just as Montepulciano obliged for 'VIOLET' in November, black & white was in abundance in the streets of Florence, and it wasn't hard to find a thread to hold together the collection of images.

But then the grey blanket of clouds began to dissipate for a spell on Tuesday, so I balanced a blank canvas adjacent to the studio window and, between bursts of sunlight, started grabbing random objects to create shadows. The sun played a fast-paced game of hide-and-seek with the clouds, testing my patience, but soon I slowed down and started to enjoy the process itself: as always, there's plenty to capture the imagination in the little street below, and the swiftly moving clouds created some magic moments of their own.

All images below are shadows on canvas—with the exception of the leftover paper cuttings, which are scattered on a piece of Fabriano Ingres. I am quite enamored by 'scraps' from projects, and took quite a few photos of the paper strips, but the shadows weren't very striking compared to the effect of the larger objects projected onto the vertical surface of the canvas.


Waiting for the sun to strengthen the shadow of my pruning shears...



A few items in the studio: drafting brush; paper strips leftover from trimming a project; scissors; T-square & triangle...



Things from around the house: lamp; gingerbread man cookie cutter; hangers...



And the Paperwhites...

 

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The images from Monday's excursion are so different in spirit that I will post them tomorrow (though here's a peek)...


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And, meanwhile, another idea for capturing black & white came to mind; they will make a good introduction to one of the elements of my 12x12 project, so I'll post them in a few days. Here's a sneak peak...


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{I am still collecting names for the one-year-on-Blogger drawing. In case
you didn't see my last entry, anyone who leaves a comment or emails me by
the end of January will be eligible to win the item of their choice from my shop.
At the time, the end of January didn't seem that far away, though now I'm
realizing how long a wait is actually is! Thanks for your patience...}

8 comments:

  1. Lisa- As always, you are so imaginative! I love the shadows and am amazed at the contrast on the blank canvas. Also enjoyed the sequence where the sun was "playing tricks" with the pruning shears. Happy to hear that your daughter is helping out too!--Julie

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    1. Thanks, Julie! It was very interesting to watch how the shadows changed - and, at times, completely disappeared - as the sun was alternately revealed & obscured by the clouds.
      - Lisa

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  2. You created such beautiful rhythms with the shadows on your canvas! I think the pruning shears are my favourites but it is hard to choose. The fact that some of the shadows are sharp while others are fuzzy adds great interest to the images and also a sense of time. I love your Roy G Biv creations.

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    1. I enjoyed your shadow play in some of the b&w challenge photos as well, Ersi!

      Graphically speaking, I'm attracted to the boldness of shadows at their most intense, but the softer edges are also appealing...especially, as you say, because they show a sense of time. And in the case of the paperwhites, I like how the fuzzier edges allude to their delicacy.

      - Lisa

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  3. Stunning! The whole post is so graphic and bold - just love it!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the graphic quality of those shadows, Fiona...I just LOVE the intensity of a really strong shadow, especially when you can actually watch it emerge!
      - Lisa

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  4. Simplicity = beauty.
    Here, at present, I think I'd have to call any such shots "beige" or sepia at a stretch, since all is dust!

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    1. I can certainly relate to the concept/presence of dust (!), and maybe that's one reason that being able to create such a clean, crisp effect on a canvas is so satisfying!
      - Lisa

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{Sorry about enabling word recognition, but I'm hoping it will alleviate the spam.}

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