Art

 

He stood there for a long time, lost in thought and completely oblivious to my taking his photo.  What is it about the painting that has so caught the man’s attention?  I would imagine that the artist would be delighted, the painting was achieving the desired affect; the viewer was being drawn in, captivated, connected with.  Art is many things, but as a means of communication it is a very powerful medium.

Last night I read this:

The first thing we learn about [God] in the Scriptures is that He was an artist. … God moved across the chaos and began to imagine.  Colours – blue and green and red and yellow.  All the colours somehow mixed together.  What would green look like alongside blue, with a little thin band of gold to join the two?  Mountains.  Oceans.  Beaches.  Rivers.  Trees. Canyons.  Valleys.  Shapes and textures and smells and taste.  All these things existed in God’s imagination, even before he decided to make them into a reality and create His artistic masterpiece – the world…

(Steve Stockman, “Walk On”, the Spiritual Journey of U2.  Relevant Books, 2005, p.88)

God is the great Artist, He has communicated to us through His great canvas.  Are we drawn in, captivated, connected?

…

Or do we just walk on by?

Garden life and colour

Some recent pictures from the garden…

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…

(Genesis 1:31a)

Wild Goose Chase

Film: Fuji Neopan 400, Camera: Pentax P50, Lens: SMC Pentax-A 50mm f1.7

I now know why Geese make such excellent “Guard Dogs”. These ones in Fota Wildlife Park give the impression of being, while not friendly, just more sort of ambivalent about your presence on their territory. Get too close or get distracted by taking a photo (as I did) and you are likely to be pecked. I’m sure that the high-pitched yelp that I let out upon being pecked was very amuzing, not just for my fellow humans but for these feathery creatures too – from whom I will now keep a more respectable distance!

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20-21)