A mysterious tree

I discovered this tree in a forest. It appears that the sides are painted white. I can't imagine anyone would have trekked into this forest with a can of white paint to do this. The only other possibility that I can think of is the tree attempting to appear thinner. A freak of nature or an Andy Goldsworthy at work?

Late summer grasses

All summer these grasses have grown in very uniform lines but recently the wind has blown them every which way.
At least I think it was the wind.

Babe's Honey Farm

I visited a honey farm yesterday and while I took quite a few photographs, strangely none were of bees.

My First Birthday

I celebrated my first birthday by, I am told, walking for the first time. I like to think that I toddled out into a field although in reality I was probably carried there and plopped down. But however I arrived there it was then and has always been a place that I love to be. In a field, surrounded by grasses and wild flowers, close to the water, is perfection for me. At the age of one I knew where I wanted to be. 

Moss Street Market

The neighbourhood market is in full swing now. Produce, food, crafts and live music make it a fun destination every saturday morning. Last week edible flowers encased in clear packages looked pretty and ready to adorn a salad.

Blake Matthews

June 28, 1910 - January 13, 2000
My father would have been 100 years old today. He lived a long and good life, dying just a few months before his 90th birthday. He was a gentle man, quiet and witty. He loved skiing, dancing, camping, sketching, big band music, desserts and sherry. He worked as a salesman most of his life but told me once that he would have liked to have been a draftsman. I could easily imagine him in that profession. He always sketched and we spent many lovely times together drawing outdoors. This pen and ink drawing was done by Blake's son-in-law, Gordon Pritchard.

Singular Objects-The Broken Bowl

I keep this bowl on a shelf in my studio, an example of the beauty of imperfection. It is very old and at one time in its long life it was broken. Whoever owned the bowl then thought it worthwhile to repair. At that time, before the advent of epoxy and polyester resins, the method of repair was the use of rivets or metal clamps fitted through drilled holes to hold the broken pieces together. This method seems to add more destruction to an already damaged item, the contrast of materials...metal against delicate china, is striking.
And yet, despite the unsympathetic restoration, I love this bowl. It has survived, with help. If I had broken the bowl I would have trashed it. At one point in my life that is what I would have done, but not now. I am thankful to the person who thought that this broken bowl was salvageable. It is still beautiful. perhaps even more beautiful now. And it is something that I treasure.

Camouflage

When I looked at this photograph I was surprised to see how the tree trunk blended in with the surrounding rocks, lichen and moss. I can't decide if it is the tree or the background that is camouflaged.

Ghost Trees

The branches are coated with lichen making the trees appear ghostly white although they are very much alive and about to burst into leaf.

Trees and Fences

Late winter is an excellent time to photograph one of my favourite subjects...trees and fences. Recently I have been thinking about why I am so captivated by this subject. I think it is very simple, I admire the tenacity of nature, the strength to overcome barriers and adversity. I can learn a lot from looking at a tree and a chain link fence.

Pen and Ink Drawings

I have recently been going through some of my old artwork. It is helpful for me to look at what I have done in the past, to see how my drawing has evolved. I used to do freelance illustrations for magazines, advertising and brochures. Drawings of plants and food were always my favourite assignments and that is what I began to specialize in. Because these drawings were for reproduction I worked in pen and ink, using a technical pen....a Marsmatic made by Staedtler. The nibs, which could be bought separately, ranged in size from 3, 2, 1, 0,00,000 and 0000. I was gradually using a finer and finer nib and when I reached 0000, the finest available, I began to think that I might have become a little obsessive. I found it amazing that a droplet of ink could actually come out of the nib but reproduction became a problem, the line breaking and appearing disjointed. I have since stopped using a technical pen but it is fun for me to see these old drawings. Maybe it's going against my nature but I would like to work in a looser way and that is something I constantly struggle with and work towards. Maybe not wearing my glasses and a  glass of wine might help, I'll give it a try.

The Forest Floor

I have been looking up at trees and missing what was at my feet.
The pattern of a bracket fungus on a fallen log was right there.
All I had to do was look down.

Tree and Chain

Rock Tree Wall

Trees and Ropes

An urban tree draped in heavy rope, no idea why.
I liked it for the contrasting textures and because
it is a mystery. And another tree decorated with a
frayed rope.

Trees and Surroundings

The relationship between trees and their surroundings is a theme that continues to interest me. As with any relationship, the arrangement between nature and a man made structure is continually changing with aspects of adjustment, compromise, patience...a struggle for dominance. Naturally I am rooting for nature, in her sometimes slow determination and sometimes in her more energetic need to overcome and obscure obstacles.
Because I live in a city, the trees that I observe on my walks do not stand alone, they are but one element in relationship with their surroundings. It is this relationship that is of interest to me.

Harling Point Rock and Chain

My daily walks are usually within a five kilometer radius of home and since I live close to the ocean approximately half of that radius is water, so unless I am out in my kayak what I find and document is found in a relatively small area. And yet almost every day I discover something new and exciting. This is a photograph taken in Harling Point, a place that I return to again and again. It holds a feeling of serenity and mystery for me.

The Darling Snowdrops of January

Here is my interpretation of the Darling Snowdrops of May, done in graphite and watercolour.

Drifts of snowdrops line the paths and lanes that I walk along. I like the contrast in this photograph, the roughness of the tree bark, the pattern of pinecones and the delicacy of snowdrops.

Snowberries

White snowberries floating on delicate stems have
an ethereal beauty in the winter months.