6:30 PM: today in the studio was devoted to logistics. i didn’t have the energy to paint; i was mentally preparing for a zoom i had at 3 regarding my august show in carbondale & i knew immediately afterwards we had our jour fixé with dear friends, always a delight. i made brownies, we brought non- dairy chocolate fudge ice cream and they added raspberries to the mix, which looked like this.
leaf shadows
this morning we took our trail walk. as we descended, we walked past a rock i had noticed on several previous walks which, at this hour of the morning, had some striking leaf shadows on it. i took a few steps back and said: today is the day i’l photograph these beautiful shadows, which i proceeded to do.
i told the story to our friends just now as we were eating and drinking together. i showed them this photo, which i hadn’t really looked at. nothing unusual. and just now, as i posted it here, i saw 2 rocks, one of which, in the background, had the leaf shadows i was so excited about. the one in the foreground however….what are those black leaf shaped marks? they look too dark to be shadows. what else could they possibly be? i don’t get it! i’ll have to study them more carefully. the ones on the rock in the background have the distinct look of shadows. but the one in the foreground? it’s a mystery. they are simply too dark for shadows, and the texture of the rock doesn’t show through, as it does in the background rock. now those look like shadows should, right? my painters eye is confused, and i can’t wait to get back to that spot on our sunday walk. until then, it will remain a mystery.
BELOW: on the left, the rock i saw & thought i was photographing. and on the right the mysteriou rock with the impossibly dark shadows. the lighting conditions are exactly the same.
