My friend, the fantastic New York photographer Philip Maier, has just released a fascinating book about Union Square.
Phil’s photos capture the past 20 years of New York history in this focal point of Greenwich Village. His artistic vision will touch you with humor, joy, grief, sadness, and his tremendous love of the city and the resilient, creative people who live here.
Scroll down Phil’s webpage to a link to download the book for free. Phil also gives you an option to donate to a charity if you wish.
If you want to purchase a photo from the book, don’t be shy about reaching out to Phil. He’d love to hear from you.
I’m thrilled to be taking an online master class in photography with Annie Leibovitz, along with students from all over the world. She is a fantastic teacher, and so inspiring. I have been working very long hours this fall, and having this class in the background of my mind has kept me sane and connected to the creative joy in my life.
Lesson number 3’s assignment was to take a photograph of an older person in my life, ask if they have photos of when they were young, and then see how the younger photos inform me when I’m photographing them now.
I asked my friend Lew McFarland, who’s post-80, to sit for this lesson. He brought out photos from his babyhood, boyhood, his Grade 12 graduation photo, and his photo when he was ordained as a minister in his early 20s. It was fascinating to hold these impressions of who he was as a young man, starting out in life, with his face and attitude now. Of course, no person has only one side, and it was a challenge to go through the photos to find one representative picture. I chose 3, to show different aspects – joy and mischieviousness, stark beingness with a tinge of apprehension, and then this seated photo, which seems the most Annie-esque–showing him in his chosen place in the world for this stage of his life, a sub-penthouse apartment in Chelsea. It is moving for me to consider the course of his life, and the complex and still vulnerable man he has become.
I took this photo series to capture the invitation and mystery of rosy golden sunset glow. The golden light infuses everyday domesticity with the mystique of a heavenly garden in Persia, inviting you to enter into a world of serenity.
Those of you who’ve seen my first Shadow Play will recognize the star player. There’s a new star on the scene, too, and he’s very surprising.
Nostalgia – the crowd favourite at the exhibit. Psyche was a close second.
When I contemplated taking the step of offering my artwork for sale online, Ella Fitzgerald’s version of Love for Sale came into my mind. Hence this post’s title. However, the two are not so far apart, as creating art is an expression of my heart that has a component of love in it, whatever else might be part of the stew.
Now that I’ve had my first exhibit, the next logical step seems to be to offer my work for sale to a broader audience. So it’s official. If you saw the video and liked the creative inspiration that arose from my photo series Shadow Play, I invite you to send me some money and make one or more of these images your own.
Since the series is about playing with an image and seeing its different moods, most people found it hard to pick just one that they liked the best. So I am going to offer variable pricing based on the number of pieces you select:
One shadow play: $99
Bliss: $59*
Two shadow plays: $149
Three shadows playing: $219
Five: $359
All 14 shadows: $879
You will receive the artwork printed on glossy photo stock, 8.5×11.
To expedite shipping, I will mail the pieces unframed and ready for mounting. I’ve adjusted the prices accordingly. I suggest using a 10×13 frame, but you can do whatever you like with the piece once it’s in your hands!
Contact me if you’d like to put my shadows on your wall.
P.S. The grand-daddy print, 7 ft x 9 ft, ink on canvas, is $1,900.
* Because everyone deserves bliss!
This grand-daddy version of the image is the original uncropped version. There are details at the left and right sides that I cropped for the miniature series. Jon is not included!
I am currently on an inspirational visit to New York. I loved this artistic bulletin board in the East Village. (A little older than Vancouver’s East Village, but with some of the same spirit of the urge for expression.) There are layers of comments added as one artist responded to another. I especially liked the suggestion to look up Eckhart Tolle. A Vancouver guru, infusing the streets of New York!
I am very excited to announce that my photo series Shadow Play has been accepted for exhibit at the Havana Art Gallery!
Please join me for the opening reception on August 9, from 4 to 7 PM. If you can’t make it to the reception, the exhibit will run from August 6 to 19, so you can check it out another day.
What is the difference between the substance and its shape? Is it an absence of light, a reflection of light? The shadow seems to reveal new potentials for the object. New possibilities, alternate realities. A hint of magic, hidden within the ordinary.
The Heart Sutra in Buddhism includes the statement “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.” A shadow is empty, yet it has form. Perhaps a single shadow is a doorway into understanding deep universal truths.
The creation of this series was a playful act, form arising spontaneously from emptiness, yet never really existing. From light and shadow waves to eye, electrons, neural circuits, to pixels and bytes to dots of ink on paper, the final result is a tiny form, reflecting the inconsequential temporariness and changing insubstantiality of a shadow on a living-room wall.
In addition to writing, I am fascinated with light and colour. Shadows have really been catching my eye lately. Here is the result of a photography experiment I conducted yesterday. In this series of 14 photos, the shifting colour tones and emphases on different elements of the image evoke different moods, from somber to playful to compelling. [Check out post about the exhibit of this series at Havana Art Gallery.]
L’Ouevre was the title of the 14th novel in Émile Zola’sRougon-Macquart series, first published in serial form in 1885. I once wrote a biography about Zola for a writing class. Interesting how this word popped into my head two decades later as I was thinking of names for these images!
As I prepare to pass Monkey Valley into the safekeeping of new owners, I would like to celebrate and appreciate the many people, events, and moments of the past 13 years at Monkey Valley. This page shows some of my favourite photos from this time, taken by many friends and family members, and some by me. My apologies if I don’t remember and credit the right people on every photo. Let me know!
Click any photo to see a bigger version. Click the Back button on your browser, or press Ctrl-Left Arrow, to return to this page.
My heartfelt thanks go to everyone who helped in my mission to live in the wilderness. I wish I had pictures of you all to put on this page. Thank you for all you’ve done. And much gratitude to all the visitors who came to enjoy this special place with me, both human and wild (and maybe a few wild humans).
Me in 2001, near the southwest corner post. Hugh McMillan
Hugh, the amazing one who saw the potential and supported my dream, working with me tirelessly for two years to get Monkey Valley up and running, 2000
Guess who owns Boardwalk & Park Place! And all the railroads!
Bullet hole in lock – the lock reigned indestructible, but the chain did not.
This is one of my all-time favourite pictures. I know, I’m a nut. First, for putting the chair on the roof to begin with, and second, for taking a picture of it!Me and Angela planning the ChiRunning and Yoga retreat. One of us is goofing around!
Me and Ange. Joe Charron
Donald guarding the ChiRunners
Mealtime after a hard day of play
The yoga part of the retreat. Everyone is clearly exhausted from all that ChiRunning!
The house in the woods. Angela James
Winding creek flowing down the valley. Joe CharronNootka rose. Joe CharronBefore I put the siding on the house, 2001
Snowy meeting room (back in the days when I had to go out onto the roof to get cell phone reception), 2008Adah & me & Indian icecream, 2008. Kim Ashley
The soap berries we made it from. Kim Ashley
Fence in creek. Joe Charron
6 fabulous runners after swimming in Missezula Lake and then running home. Joe Charron
Tent city. Joe CharronTwo fab dishwashers – Joe and Darch
Butterfly, 2009. Munro Sickafoose
Dandelion beauty. Munro SickafooseParhelic circle. Munro SickafooseTwo grouse, 2009A moose in the upper meadow, 2008
I love this one of Monkey and the totally ridiculous mouse trap I made, 2001Angelic bull, 2009No trespassing, 2012Cloud shadow on house, 2009
Creek at sunset, 2000
The corner of Dillard and Loon Lake, 2008
Hypnotic fire, 2011
Monkey Valley moon, 2008Winter sky, 2006Setting intentions at the Medicine Wheel retreat, 2005
Snowy tracks, 2007
Wildflowers, 2003
Inquiry group (Marvin, Keith, and me), 2004. Dorrie BrannockMy dearest friend Dorrie, eating lunch at a picnic table in Merritt after a “Nature and the Four Directions” retreat at Monkey Valley, 2006. May her spirit be at peace.
Dean’s egg salad sandwiches – a realtor picnic, 2012
I added a new entry of photos from the past 12 years at Monkey Valley. Check it out!
As I offer this property for sale, I would like to celebrate and appreciate the many people, events, and moments of the past 12 years at Monkey Valley. This page shows some of my favourite pictures from this time, taken by many friends and family members, and some by me.
