This picture made me think of Sting’s song ‘Fields of gold’. It´s wheat he sings about, but this comes close enough. Heard him sing during his show last December. Loved it!
But even the master can´t beat the voice of Eva Cassidy. She makes me want to walk through the fields forever
Ameria
Our local photo club has a project: To create a piece of art photography inspired by David Hockney. I love these kinds of challenges, and dove into the Hockney universe. In turn, Hockney was inspired by Vincent van Gogh, so I dove into that universe as well and looked at it through the eyes of Hockney.
First piece is inspired by the double (or actually triple) portraits ‘My parents and myself’ and ‘My parents.’ I decided to look for the fragile state of existence of my father, age 95, and his sweetheart, age 93, and the relationship between the three of us in their shrinking and simplifying, schematizing world. Alzheimer has got a firm grip on him; yet the beautiful bright colours make life look wonderful
Floating away into the wonderful world of Jugenstil and Art deco. That is another way to go back in time. I love this period of more than a century ago, when books were written with words that had a life of their own and paintings offered a dreamy world where miracles were just about to happen. This portrait was taken almost two years ago, and needed the time to grow into this aquarel style
Peter Westenbrink from Utrecht is an extraordinary artist. Right now his art is flying in orbit around the globe in the International Space Station, where a box contains numerous small pieces of art, made by artists like Peter.
He asked me to make a poster of him and his art. The concept he created himself, in the style of his other works (take a look at his website www.boutkunst.nl). I merely did the handwork: the photography and the editing in Photoshop.
The objects are a reference to the first word he learned to read at school. The teacher had these wooden tablets with images and a word, like the one on the picture (which in reality is approximately 50 cm in length), and the first one was: Moon! He transformed that idea in a piece of art the size of 1 cubic centimetre, the maximum size. All art in the space station will return to earth later this year, and after that another mission awaits. The aim is to go to the very moon itself, to create the first art exhibition on the moon. Lots of arrangements still have to be made with NASA and all, but the goal is clear. You can see it hanging in the sky every day.
Addendum
Just got a message from Peter:
“Coincidentally, the work of art (along with 63 more) returned to Earth today (January 11). At 11:19 a.m. our time, the space capsule splashed into the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida. The attached photo was taken at the landing site, shortly before landing on 4 parachutes. You see the spacecraft falling from the sky like a fireball (heat is released due to the friction with air particles in the atmosphere).”
A few weeks ago a fellow photographer from Amersfoort gave a presentation on Saul Leiter. Famous New York fashion photographer. Besides his professional work he did a lot of street photography. Educated in the arts and painting, he was looking for a dialogue between colour and remarkable compositions. People are always present in his work, even if it is just a hand or a foot. At first glance, many pictures seem failed, for the main subjects are often only partly visible or blurred. Then it starts to dawn on you. His aim is not to get a nice picture of a person, or a perfect eye-pleasing frame. His aim is to create space, tension, contrast of light and a clash of colours.
So on a rainy night I went out to the city closest to Hollandsche Rading, Utrecht, to try and look with different eyes. Not his eyes of course, for his life was completely different from mine. But my eyes, trying to look as a child to lights, colours and people. The result is a kind of impressionist winter series.
There it was: the red umbrella, so often present in Leiter´s New York pictures.
Tot ziens
Christmas Eve in the streets of Alkmaar
Line 50 Utrecht
Time for a smoke
Photoshoot for the start of a new business, in the woods near the studio in Hollandsche Rading
Af en toe komt iemand met een leuke vraag.
“Ik wil graag zo’n portret met bloemen op mijn hoofd. Maar dan wel met mijn eigen gezicht, want ik wil geen vreemde in mijn huis.”
Et voilá. Een portret in de stijl van de oude meesters.
Ik ben benieuwd: Hoe zou jij jezelf terug willen zien?
Dit is vermoedelijk mijn favoriete bosbewoner: de boommarter. Echte, wilde natuur, zomaar in ons eigen Nederland. Het is alweer twee jaar geleden dat ik er voor het laatst een zag. Vorig jaar vond ik wel een bewoonde boom, maar nét te laat. Het gezin had de boom waarschijnlijk de week ervoor verlaten, te oordelen aan de latrine. Nu zit het moertje er nog. Vandaag tenminste – het zal niet de eerste keer zijn dat een gezinnetje van de ene op de andere dag verdwijnt…
Vandaag een groot deel van de dag gepost bij het nest, om te kijken hoe het staat met de gezinsuitbreiding. Het moertje kwam één maal buiten kijken, en hield het daarna voor gezien. Niet zo spectaculair, maar in het nest waren de jongen te horen. Ik gok dat ze over één of twee weken zo ver zullen zijn dat ze het nest verlaten. Het is te hopen dat iedereen dan de hond aan de lijn houdt.
Zo´n lange dag in het bos geeft altijd nieuwe ervaringen. Bijvoorbeeld de koolmezen en boomklevers, die geregeld langs komen om de latrine te inspecteren. Ik vermoed dat daar wel wat insecten te vinden zijn.
Ook leuk zijn de toevallige ontmoetingen met andere bosbewoners. Zoals deze rode eekhoorn, die even stil hield om te kijken. Verrek, zit daar nou een mens? Ja zeg, het is echt een mens! Nou ja, rustig doorlopen maar, en doen alsof ik hem niet heb gezien…
De Portrettenmaker 