John McColgan - Bitterroot Fire

¤ You can see this incredible photograph by John McColgan many places on the Internet but I think that the E.M.S. Gallery is one of the best places probably to view it at for information on the picture. Note that there are direct links to a 406 KB-1756x1084 sized version of this image and an 84 KB-720x444 sized version of this picture on the gallery page.

I suggest going to this page, the bio page with information on the image and photographer and clicking on the links for the larger images rather than using the Gallery's page and using the links there. I found them a bit difficult for getting to the interesting information.

¤ I saw this picture first many years ago, when BC was having a lot of severe forest fires -- including some that were threatening cities of the interior of the province. At that time the photo was attributed -- in the posting I received -- to a fire in BC that Summer. However the actual photo was taken by John McColgan "...in the late afternoon of Sunday, August 6, from a bridge over the East Fork of the Bitterroot River just north of Sula, Montana."¹ The year, not given on the Public Safety Art Gallery quoted most on the net, is 2000. I do want to mention that the copyright date on the Public Safety Art Gallery page is 1996 -- however I suspect that is the copyright date for the whole site and not the content.

This image is a departure from what we have done for a couple of reasons. It is a photographic image and we do not do many of those, though we do consider photography to be a visual art. It also is not one image of a collection by an artist -- where we normally try to give one image in a collection so that our readers might go on to explore further the works of that artist. This image because it is posted so many places and is so powerful seemed to be one that fits in with our reviews. I want to mention that in smaller versions of the image and perhaps if the colour is not so good, what appears to be the shadow of a thumb on the right is merely darker vegetation. It only seems like a thumb shadow on some of the images online that I have seen.

I feel the picture is impressive for a number of reasons. One alone is the impressive shot of a wildfire from such an intimate point of view. The colours are like gold in some impossible gem of crystallized metallic gold. It also shows how entirely the fire can consume with it eating all that is within -- perhaps a bit at a time -- but nearly completely if given the chance. Considering the photo was taken late afternoon, it shows how the fire can turn day into night and provide its own illumination in place of the Sun's. All of this contrasts with the green vegetation still there by the river, and the elk seeking shelter in its waters. There is a contrast of power and peace. I find this image very powerful.

~ Darrell

¤  Words that come to mind when I look at the Bitterroot Fire are "beautiful destruction" "beautiful but deadly" and "psychopathic". It is hard to believe that fire can be both stunning and responsible for total annihilation at the same time, but this is exactly what this picture or photograph encapsulates. Is one supposed to be in awe of such a destructive force or does one find that totally abhorrent. I am in two minds -- my eyes are torn to two elk, stranded in this fiery path -- how did two delicate creatures find the fire's Achilles heal and survive. If they could talk they could have such a powerful story to tell about conquering over adversity.

~ Mags.

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¹ "E.M.S. Gallerie: John McCogan" John McColgan BLM Alaska Fire Service

Arnau Alemany - The old Factory

¤ "The old Factory" is an "oil on wood" painting by Arnau Alemany. You can find it on his website: "the magic realism of Arnau ALEMANY". You can find his biography on there as well.

¤ This is another one of those paintings that plays with creating a reality that goes beyond reality. I am not sure how other to describe this form of creation of alternate realism... Of course you can describe this painting as surreal.

The old 19th century style factory is sitting in the open countryside with its surrounding wall and it's apparent product: spheres.

It makes one wonder perhaps if these are simply polished rock spheres with no purpose other than aesthetic or if they are planets in the making. I note that the painting is labeled as being "New" -- I was looking for when it was painted -- to give a reference point to the work.

Perhaps the factory doesn't make the spheres at all... perhaps the spheres have invaded the landscape or are explorers or tourists from another world. Or, perhaps they are not stone spheres at all, but people each in their own world: Adult spheres, some going to work in the factory; others watching children; and toddlers all on a work-day morning or afternoon.

I think that this sort of painting is intended to get the mind wandering -- considering possibilities and wandering in directions a landscape might not take you in.

~ Darrell

¤ Egg-tastic! This painting by Arnau Alemany is a fantasy artist's heaven. My initial thought when looking at this stoke house was -- that one egg dropped out of the sky inspiring cloning and mass production. What is inside these monstrosities -- a new life form determined to take over the world as we know it -- teaching us to live as one?

~ Mags

Lynette Cook -- HD16141 b and Moon

¤ Lynette Cook's "HD16141 b and Moon" can be found on her site, "The Many Facets of Lynette Cook", along with other examples of her work including books, products, prints and other information.

¤ I found Lynette Cook's work while looking for depictions of what they thought a "Hot Jupiter" might look like. It is in a collection of space art depicting "exo-planets" -- planets which have been discovered which orbit stars other than the Sun. Of course for such things we depend on the work of Space artists. I enjoyed looking at her work and wanted to review it here. I chose this piece out of all the works she has on her site because of its similarity with the work by Chelsey Bonestell, "Saturn as seen from Titan"¹ which we recently reviewed.

Of course the two artists use a different style and probably media, and Cook's piece if of a moon close to its star and thus very hot and backed. But still there are great similarities in the compositions. I wonder if the crispness of Bonestell's work intentionally highlights the crisp coldness of Titan while the rounded bluffs of Cook's piece give a baked and rounded feeling of heat to hers.

I note that while Bonestell includes a dusting of ice on ridge and cliff tops, Cook includes a baked "river" bed on hers. I suspect that it wasn't water that flowed in that bed... perhaps sulphur?

I think the choice of including the system's star in the image ads to the feeling of heat in the composition. On the other hand, I find that space art of exo-planets traditionally include the star to indicate how similar that star is to the Sun and how close it is to the planet.

It is very interesting to see how space art has evolved.

~ Darrell

¤ This space art by Lynette Cook is in some ways very similar to the recent piece reviewed entitled "Saturn as seen from Titan"¹. Although we tend to concentrate on common elements there is one striking difference -- the planet's surface looks serene as well as being on it's death bed. Including the yolk yellow sun in the image adds a gentle finishing point.

~ Mags

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¹ "Saturn as seen from Titan" reviewed August 18, 2008

Chelsey Bonestell -- Saturn As Seen From Titan (1944)

¤ "Saturn As Seen From Titan (1944)" By Chelsey Bonestell from a gallery on the artist: "Bonestell Space Art". There is a page called "titan" on how this masterpiece was created.

¤ Rings anyone? Not a star gazer by nature -- but when Darrell suggested I look at this space art, I could see the attraction straight away. Chelsey Bonestell has a unique gift in bringing the unfamiliar to your attention so that you feel like you have been there before and that you are returning home. The bit that impresses me the most is the shadow-like phase of Saturn floating between two rocky crags. The crags remind me of a Cadbury Flake confectionery bar. (Oops, must be hungry.)

~ Mags

¤ When you are a child and going through school many images "just are" and you don't think about how they were created and by whom. The images are something that always have been in the books that you know and perhaps loved. I loved books about space and films and film strips about space. (I wonder how many remember film strips in school? Basically a slide show on a roll.) This picture is one that I remember. I cannot even tell you what books I saw the image in.

Space Art was extremely important in the days before we had the fantastic imaging equipment and far flung exploring satellites we have today. Today we actually have seen images from Titan's Surface! In 1944... it was up to imagination and science to provide any inspiration to people as to what wonders might be out there. Some like this Bonestell work, nearly seem photographic and perhaps better than photographic. Perhaps some details are wrong... it wouldn't be from cloud shrouded Titan's surface but perhaps another larger moon of Saturn?

We still actually rely a lot on artist's interpretations of objects and vistas in space beyond what we can actually observe with remote sensing and satellite. But the artist's have better resources to draw on. They also now have computers to draw on. I shall have to in future review some of the current space art of new planets discovered around stars far away.

This one has incredible towering cliffs with perhaps methane ice on the ledges and tops. Saturn is seen from towards the back in a difficult angle to see from the Earth with the top surface of the rings illuminated. There is a link to how he created models to paint the rock faces from and experiment with different lighting. That was interesting. It was also interesting to learn that the media is thin layers of oil paint on "illustration board" which had a large black and white print of the model mounted on it.

I am thinking that in a way, an artist can be a space explorer just as an astronomer or other scientist can.

~ Darrell

Jacek Yerka - Amonit

¤ "Amonit" by Jacek Yerka can be found on his own site Jacek Yerka painter of the fantasy worlds. You can find galleries of his work in a few places on his site. I suggest "How do I make my paintings..." and "My Worlds".

¤ I experienced a strange feeling when I looked at this artist's piece. My heart went giddy with excitement as it brought me to my childhood. This work has so many tremendous qualities its hard to know where to begin. The houses that are carved into the rock appear both fragile and robust at the same time. The spiral at the top of the image looks like a shell you would pick up off the beach and a pastry treat good enough to eat.

I do find it extraordinary how the water is able to just stay delicately placed on top of the cliff and refrain from dribbling down the sides. Every time you look at this image you will find something new to marvel over.

~ Mags

¤ I like the impossibility of the sea level being both at the top of the cliff and the bottom at the same time. I look at the buildings which meld into the cliff and wonder whether they are intended to be cliff dwellings or just to point out how stone buildings are so like cliffs. That reminds me somewhat of some of Rob Gonsalves works where cliffs meld into cityscapes and cityscapes into cliffs.

Of course my mind loves to move into paintings to feel what they are like and to explore and I wonder what travelling up that river would lead to. Would there be waterfalls from the top of the cliff in places? Is the sea salt or fresh water? Are there tides?I wonder if there might be a safe harbour in the shell? Do people dwell there still? Was the city carved into rock or grown like the shell the feature looks like?

Jacek Yerka has many fascinating pieces on his site and can be found in other places on the Web if you do a search for his name. His is a name I would like to keep track of.

~ Darrell