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From My Art

Seguy Hidden Butterflies
originated from a photo I took of a Bear Claw Plant. I could not believe the plant was from this part of this world. My imagination took over and I saw the flower having wings of art deco butterflies, melding together, with large insects crawling under the foliage.

From My Art

This is first my painting in 20 years. Having drawn and painted all my life it came as a surprise that it has been so long. I am pleased to be part of Art Focus Group and painting again. As a practicing artist I was part of the active art scene painting murals and exhibiting in group shows in Victoria. I later focused on graphic design and illustration. Most recently my creative endeavors have been behind the lens and on the computer.

I was reinventing my painting as I went along. The process felt arduous. I wanted to express movement, master colour blending, and bring aspects out of the depths of the shadows. I also wanted to show brush strokes but stay tight expressing texture and mood with a limited colour pallet. It took more than a year to paint (with 6 months on hold trying to figure out what to do next). I had to relearn acrylic paint, mediums and brushes. At one point I realized it could be years to finish with the detail I had in mind. I went to a Seguy book of prints I had in my personal library: the book pages were stuck together from some point in my past when books in a box got wet. Since the book as it was unusable and I am an ardent recycler I began to cut out silhouettes of butterflies and put them on the canvass blending them in to the leaves just like camoflage as I seen in my mind’s eye when I photographed the Bear Claw plant and my imagination wandered.

At opening night I was approached by woman who liked my painting. Family and friends have asked questions about the artwork as I went along (mostly they could see the results as I progressed) but she was truly amazed by the painting and intrigued by the creative process. It was an odd experience for the first time, having a fan. I am proud to be the winner of the People’s Choice Award, my painting being appreciated and voted by my neighbours and fellow artists at the exhibition.

About E. A. Seguy or Eugene Alain Seguy. He was one French designers at the beginning of the 20th century, working in both the Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles, he published many design folios utilizing the pochoir technique, a printing process that employs a series of stencils to lay dense and vivid color. I used prints of butterflies from his Papillons & Insects both issued in (1924)

Democracy has been in the forfront. As people that realize their dissatisfaction with institutions that given the financial sector huge bailouts and the 1% grows richer and richer they have taken to Wall Street and a movement has grown. David Suzuki states the economy is just a means to something else. If we want to stop climate change we need to make the enviroment part of the equation. Carbon Credits? By putting a value on greenhouse gas emissions, businesses can leverage new investments in infrastructure, innovate new technologies, and develop energy management systems to unlock the value of efficiency and conservation. Stop serving the corporation agenda! And some of the 1% have started to listen.
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-reflects-increasing-frustration/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DavidSuzukiFoundation-ScienceMatters+%28David+Suzuki+Foundation+-+Science+Matters%29

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/david-suzuki-occupy-wall-street.php#ch01

I had the opportunity to enjoy the festivities of a beautiful day in Metro Vancouver. View the photos of The Sapperton Street Festival in New West with street entertainers, artists and vendors of all kinds.

Margaret here, the photographer behind the lens, behind Metro Photo, and now… behind the blog.
This blog will be comprised of four types of postings: (1) Events about town where I have taken photos (2) Ideas and observations about images and photography in general (3) Showcasing competitions, forums and other sites (4) Random musings about experiences and observations that may strike my fancy for those fortunate people that have found their way to my blog.
To start off I am showing some photos from the last month… I was doing a real estate shoot in Princeton and was fortunate enough to see a bear by the side of the road (I did not get out of my vehicle) and some photos I took of one of the few nice days we have had in the Lower Mainland so far this Spring.
Hopefully we will have more sunny day to take photos soon!