Frame Works? Ars Gratia Artis

Description: Studio workspace in afternoon light

Background: In an earlier post, I recounted my foray into drawing, and to a limited extent, painting. My painting has consisted of creating backgrounds for still life photography projects. As with many things, it is difficult to do just a little, which describes my efforts with acrylic paints. Creating the backgrounds I envision requires mixing paints. Mixing paints requires understanding their basic properties, and one quickly learns that mixing is itself an art.  

Pictured here is my table of paints with a bottle of gesso on the side. The paints are sorted according to color and transparency. This is my workspace, and it has grown organically as I have explored how light stands at the center of drawing, painting, and photography. I have no professional ambitions in any of these areas. I am doing all three purely to find out what happens.  

One day, I walked into the room while late afternoon light was reflecting from the neighboring house, creating a warm glow of golden yellow light across the table. I stood there awash with contentment looking at the rows of colored pigments. Just outside the frame, sitting on the table, were the Minolta XD11 and Minolta XK I had unpacked earlier that day. I loaded the Minolta XK to capture the scene.

Technical: Ultrafine Xtreme 400, box speed, Minolta XK, Minolta MD 50mm 1.7, shutter priority: 1/90. Df96 Monobath eight minutes. Epson 600, 3200 dpi.

Frame Works? Yes. I did not plan this shot. It was purely spur of the moment—an emotional reaction to the scene and my sense of contentment. At all times, there are five or six cameras and film in the studio, along with pencils, paints, and brushes. That way, I can pursue whatever my mood dictates. It is a blessing to do the things one loves, to experience the immersive bliss of creating. Looking at the image, I relive that moment and that feeling. This shot is going on the wall.