Close-Up I: Vincent Van Gogh

I like to look at a painting up close, to see how the artist created the effect.  This week we will look closely at some works in Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum.

 Vincent Van Gogh painted numerous self portraits in his short but productive career.   This is -- according to the sign next to it -- an unfinished self portrait painted in Paris, in the period when Van Gogh was moving from his earlier dark, earthy and rough Dutch style to an emerging and exuberant Impressionist style.

Looked at up close, the painting looks almost careless to me.  See the whitish blob in the left eye, the pinkish stroke that protrudes too far into his mustache, and some blue blobs in the cheek and temple.

But, stepping back, it works just fine, don't you think?

To anticipate questions, the Wadsworth permits its owned works to be photographed handheld and without flash.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Red Vette

Lombard Street is that steep street in San Francisco with eight hairpin turns.  If you go to San Francisco with a camera, you have to take pictures on Lombard Street.  Most of your pictures will be of other photographers taking pictures of still more photographers.

Many men with hot cars cruise down Lombard Street, preening for the photographers.  Whatever floats your boat.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Coit Tower

This is the third and final photo in my short series about electricity.

Photo editing software lets us remove wires from our photos, but I don't do it.  They are part of the urban environment.  This October photo of Lombard Street in San Francisco, leading to Coit Tower, shows a cobweb of wires.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Fort Myers Again

This is the second in a short series about electricity.  See the differences in this scene during daylight when no electricity lights the scene and at night, when the scene is possible only through the magic of electricity.

In December I showed these lighted cylinders on the main street of Fort Myers, Florida.  I didn't identify the sculptor, and I said that the letters seem to be nonsense symbols.

My bad.

They are called The Caloosahachee Manuscripts, by the sculptor Jim Sanborn.  One cylinder tells (in the Creek language) the story of the migration of three Indian tribes that settled southwest Florida.  The other cylinder lists, in Latin, the names of Florida plants that Thomas Edison tested when trying to find a native plant from which rubber could be made.  (Edison wintered in Fort Myers.)  The complete story is here.

Thanks to my friend Tash of Palos Verdes Daily Photo for researching the sculptor and the meaning of the letters.

If you like photos with reflections, click here.

Electricity

Even though we take it for granted that the lights will go on when we flick a switch, everything about generating, transmitting and distributing electricity safely and reliably is remarkably difficult and complex.  This is part of a major substation.  It is admittedly not very pretty.  I wanted to emphasize the complexity.

On the first day of each month, CDP bloggers post photographs on a theme.  The theme for March is "electricity."  Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.