Monday, September 22, 2008

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION ON THE COAST!
"AtMoSpHeRiC RuMiNaTiOnS" goes ON LOCATION...
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CAPE ARAGO STATE PARK, OREGON--At the end of an idyllic afternoon snapping pictures on the Oregon Coast, "Atmospheric Ruminations" came upon a genuine legitimate professional artist who was applying his craft to the Visible Scenery around him, and Your Chief Ruminator was on hand to witness the action, live and direct, AS IT HAPPENED. That 'Chief Ruminator', namely ME, then was able to use ultra-enhanced DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY to provide a unique (well, different, at least) union between the artist's perceptive qualities and my Digital Camera's own brand of technological capabilities, resulting in a veritable blend of comparative combination, and posted here for you all to WITNESS. (Talk about a Big Buildup; the rest of this post had better be good, huh?)
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This afternoon, while stumbling up and down the coast, hoping to catch some Really Groovy Sunset Photos, I came upon ultra-professional artist JEFF HORN, a resident of Somewhere, Southern California (now, now, no 'booing' of Californians, okay?), and there he was, just a-paintin' away, doing his level best to depict one of the most beautiful settings in the known Universe...and I thot, How Cool It Would Be, to capture a picture of a person capturing a picture. So, I, the Chief Ruminator, cautiously approached this Craftsman of his Craft, and timidly asked him if I could take a picture of him painting what he was painting, kinda expecting to have him shoo me away because, of course, we all know about that elusive intangible known as "artistic temperment", but he graciously allowed me to capture him in The Creative Process...
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In the photos below, you can observe The Artist At Work, capturing what I like to call "The Cape Arago Tree" (startlingly original title, eh?). When I first came to this part of the coast in 2002, I took a Polaroid (Yes, Polaroid, one of those old pop-outta-the-camera photos) of This Very Same Tree that appears to be losing its ongoing battle with the ever-blowing coastal breezes which blow virtually all the time. After the first photo (a 'perspective' shot, I guess), I crept a bit closer, hoping he wouldn't swat me with his paintbrush, and took the 2nd photo over his shoulder. And he just kept calmly painting away...
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Pretty good, huh? He definitely knows his way around an Easel. And, these photos should put to rest the axiom that says something to the effect of, "we all see the world according to our own prejudices and frames of reference, so no two people ever see anything the same way", blah blah blah...in short, what I think is "green", you might see as "red"; if I see something "round", you'll think it's "oblong" or whatever. Well, All That flotsam is Just Pure Bunk, because the Tree that I saw with Mine Own Eyes was the same Tree on his Painting, and He put that very same Tree in his painting, using His Own Eyes and His Own Perception. Oh yeah, the brush and paint came in handy as well. But, How about that: People actually seeing things the same way. Maybe this is the way to achieve World Peace? Ahem...
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Now, there is always the fear that I'm over-assuming with all of my non-malicious over-statements. There is always a chance that I Got It All Wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. However, The Proof Is In The Pudding. (I don't know what the hell THAT means, but it sounds good...I do know that I've never eaten Pudding that wasn't Pudding, so Pudding must be Pudding, I guess, regardless of what's been Put In The Pudding?) But there is a chance that I have Distorted The Issue, through my reckless attempts to Describe The Situation. So I leave it for Your Eyes To Behold...
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Above, the Artist's Rendition. At Left, a Photo I took. Now, your Chief Atmospheric Ruminator (that would be me/I) couldn't accomplish a painting anywhere near that good over several lifetimes, and I assumed Mr. Horn had been diligently trying to portray every excruciating detail of the landscape in order to achieve the results that he achieved to achieve here. I asked him if he'd been out here all day, and he told me, "No, I've been painting for only about AN HOUR AND A HALF." Gosh. I'd say he's Pretty Good. I do believe that I Have Met The Next Immortal Artist Of Our Times. People like him Make It Look So Easy. But then again, The Great Ones Always Do. It's all I can do to draw a straight line (or a circle whose ends meet).
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Yet, when I looked at his painting from a close-up perspective, it looked 'rather 'abstract'; but when you back away from the painting, all of those brush-strokes meld themselves into something that Looks More Like My Picture than My Picture does. He told me that he was using a sort of American version of "Impressionist Technique". In short, everything comes together to make the picture. So he sees the image, but paints an approximation of that image, which ends up looking EXACTLY like what he was painting. And I call that True Talent. Peerless. Thank you, Mr. Horn, for Letting Me Into Your World for a little while. Very interesting!
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Jeff Horn, the Artistic Artist who Paints Paintings, evidently has a website located at http://www.hornart.com/, and I believe he can be contacted through that address, which would be a good thing, since I promised to send him copies of the photos I took...
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Finally, before you escape my clutches, I wanna let you know that I've posted over 40 new Oregon Coastal fotos in my Oregon Coastal Foto slide-show (link at left). Consider that Fair Warning...

5 Comments:

Blogger MarmiteToasty said...

Wow, what a great artist.... all along the Cornish coastline and even a little inland the short trees and big shrubs lay back from the years and years of sea winds... its a sight to be seen, and when next I venture down to cornwall I will take loads of photos to show you...... seems like you have a lovely time observing the artist.......

x

2:54 PM  
Blogger Mari Meehan said...

Wow Dave! What a lucky man you are indeed! I followed the link and his works are exquisite! You, a man of great talent in your own right, to be able to share with some time this artist is just wonderful!

6:57 PM  
Blogger Lil ol' me... said...

Marmie and Mari, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I'd spent the entire afternoon hiking up and down trails, blissing out from the sun and this encounter with the painter just kinda 'capped' the whole day. I did enjoy observing him and questioning him about his craft. I've thot about trying to paint someday. My mom began painting at age 65 and she got really good at it.

The only thing I'd disagree with, Ms. Dogwalker, is that I'm not especially talented or even very good at very much of anything; I just kinda bump along, drifting like a cork in the river. My best times lie in the unpredictability of things, where I Find Things Out. A true right-brained person in a left-brained world.

And Ms. Marmie, I don't know how close you are to the shore, but I guarantee you'll feel better about things if you can get to the shore on a semi-regular basis.

9:23 PM  
Blogger Mari Meehan said...

I beg to differ. You are a walking encyclopedia about music and musicians. That may not be a gift as much as thorough knowledge of a field you love - but in that area you are indeed incredible. So there. Lol.

3:16 PM  
Blogger Lil ol' me... said...

Well, Ms. Dogwalker, I'm not very good at taking compliments so I'll just say 'thank you'...

11:04 PM  

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