haystacks and horsehairs

Yesterday evening I had an opportunity to observe a friend’s riding lesson at a local equestrian establishment.  Though I had little to no idea what all their vocabulary meant, it was still a great chance to experience something new; and to see such beautiful creatures up close and in motion.  And so I wrote a poem about the experience.

Puffs of pink and rusty dust

pop up and billow in the light

and lowly floating breeze.

Easing into a steady gait,

horse & rider trot along as

sinews glide—dust & hide

release their odors—

thick & musty mixed with

light & chalky motes of

citrus, creosote, and every so often

a whiff of flower-flung pollen.

Pink & Burgundy dominate this scene

—both in sight and in scent—though

ebony gives way to deepest caramel as

flanks fade into haunches.  A hare

hops tentatively by my chair—

keeping a sharp eye on me—

though I am the least of his worries

with beasts of this stature so close.

The thoroughbred shivers & shudders

occasionally as his rider releases him

from martingale, bridle, reins, saddle, bit;

and at last the pure and unladen creature

stands tall and tosses his mane in the wind.

As always, thank you for stopping by.  I’ll see you again soon.

Cheers,

W

hello world; remember me?

I’m baaaack!  I know it’s been a ridiculously long time since last we spoke; but I’m happy to say I’ve gotten over myself and decided to return to the creative space.  I could offer excuses for my sabbatical, but they’re all pretty lame.  Truth is, I set myself a bit too overwhelming a task to live up to.  Sure, in little ways I create something every day; but I want to focus my energies a bit more and create more meaningful pieces.  If that means I only make one post a week, at least I’ll be doing myself a service rather than giving myself a chore.  It is with this in mind that I present to you the first of many experiments in new media (well, new to me at least).

The media are soft pastels and india ink on paper.  The view is of a recent sunset seen from the bank of a lovely little lake just up the street from my house.  Pardon the image quality: the paper was too big for my scanner, so I took a photo with my phone

This was a really quick sketch, as I arrived just as the yellow was beginning to show.  The progression of colors—not to mention the red rain in the foreground—were much more beautiful than I managed to capture.  By the time I finished, it was already twilight; and I felt drained, yet happy.  I learned a whole lot about pastels with this study, like making sure to lay down a base color underneath everything before adding specifics.  You can still see patches of white space where I waited to add color until later in the process (which, I discovered, can be confusing to the eye when trying to approximate perspective and such).  I really want to go back and work more on my water texturing; because the strong winds made lovely little waves all across the surface which caught all the colors of the sky.  My “waves” ended up a bit more broad and scattered; but, like I said, I’ve learned a lot for next time

I can’t yet say what my next creation will be; but I have a whole new set of tools to work with, so stay tuned for more studies and experiments in the days to come.  I’m aiming for at least a post a week nowadays, so I should be back by Thursday at the latest.  Here’s hoping I’ll be back sooner.

Ciao for now,

W

a couple quick shots

I managed to catch a couple shots of the sky before work today; and I had just enough time to share them with y’all before clocking in.
enjoy,
W

back to the drawing board

my fellow internautes, it has been too long.  I’m sorry to have kept you waiting without even a whiff of creation; but I’m happy to say I’m back at last

today’s creation started out as my first attempt at drawing a celtic knot; and it soon became an engrossing color study that has left me drained, yet fulfilled at the same time.  that being said, I leave it to my picture to do the talking.

“starburst thru the rivers infinite”

india ink & colored pencils

watercolor paper

Good night to you all,

willIam

as above, so below

just a quick pic this evening after a long night at work. the sunset reflected beautifully off some water that had pooled in a parking lot; and I was lucky enough to capture it

more shapes & colors

I forgot to mention in my last post that the main reason I’ve been a bit light on creations the past few days is because I’ve been working on a musical study that’s taking a lot of time and practice.  I’m studying Bach’s Predlude in E major—which is a daunting task for a self-taught mandolinist—but nevertheless which is extremely fulfilling.  So in actuality I’ve been creating a constantly increasing competence and facility with the music; but in net-reality it just looks like I’m behind the curve.  So to keep it fresh, I’ve got a few more photos for y’all to enjoy

one of these days the flow will come

Sorry I’ve been MIA for the past few days.  I’ve been riding a steady recovery from my ear infection; and working a very sporadic schedule in between.  Tonight, however, I’ve managed to prepare a selection of photos of January 31st’s sunset (which inspired the last poem) that I think you’ll enjoy.  Here they are:

writer’s block, schmiter’s block

I’m happy to say that today has brought me a second wind of inspiration; and carried on that wind was a brand new poem. As usual, it was prompted by the setting of the sun; but this sunset has made my thoughts spring out and back thru space and time, blossoming with new perspectives I can’t wait to share. So here it is! enjoy it well:

an old sketch for a new day

I’m happy to say I’m recovering nicely from my ear infection.  Still waiting for my ear to pop; but I’m sure it’ll happen soon enough.  Today I thought I’d share a sketch I made awhile ago—as I’ve had a bit of writer’s block the past few days.  I have tomorrow off from work, so I hope to get out into the fresh air and stumble upon some inspiration.  So, until then, I give you a landscape sketch of the Four Peaks mountain range here in sunny Arizona:

one quick shot

I was awoken early this morning with a sore ear refusing to pop; and after 3 hours of trying to pop my ear, followed by one brief hour back asleep, I made my way to urgent care. turns out I have an ear infection (which really snuck up on me), but I’m none the worse for wear. I took a nice long nap today; and now I’d like to share a quick photo with y’all.
this — like most of my photos — was taken on my phone; and this particular shot was edited with a handy little app called “Polarize” which makes photos all Polaroid-like. you can even add a tag to the bottom of the frame.
anywho, I like this photo because of the strong play of light and shadows, combined with the strong textures of stucco and gravel. plus, the Polarization really brings out the blue & green of the background.
thanks again for stopping by,
W