Random Musings: Art

Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Friday, January 13, 2012

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Today's Google Doodle really caught my eye. It's commemorating the 374th anniversary of Nicolas Steno's birthday. He was a Danish scientist and is widely considered the father of geology. The doodle illustrates two ideas that Steno is known for: rock strata and embedded fossils.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Objects: Venice Sketchbook

A great find in a secondhand bookstore in DC. Venice Sketchbook by Huck Scarry is filled with watercolors, pencil sketches, and journal entries. Interesting trivia: He is the son of the famous children's author/illustrator Richard Scarry (Huck's real name is Richard Scarry, Jr. You might remember that Huck is the nickname of Huckle Cat, a famous Busytown character -- which I assume is the inspiration for Richard Jr.'s pseudonym).

Saturday, July 30, 2011

I Was a Kaleidoscope

Rorsch Map is a really addicting site for me. It takes Google Map images and turns them into kaleidoscope pictures. You enter a location in (as specific or broad as you want), and then morph it to your liking (e.g., zoom in/out, move it up/down, drag it in/out, etc). I'm a big fan of aerial pictures and the organized patterns of streets and buildings, so I can't say I'm surprised this became a huge consumer of my time. I love the geometric designs.

Here are some images I created while messing around (Note: As they're kaleidoscopic pictures, you'll notice they are mirror-images and not an exact replica of what the city looks like. Also, while zooming out from a picture, it might be that the location is no longer in the city bounds. But I listed the city name that was my starting point):

Paris

Outside Paris

Vancouver

Vancouver (Look at the shadows created from the buildings)

Vancouver (Spanish Banks)

Washington, DC (National Mall)

Salt Lake City (U of U stadium)

Reykjavik

Copenhagen

Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

Madrid

St. Catharines (for Emma!)

London

London (London Bridge)

Cadaques, Spain

Cadaques

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Advice to Little Girls

Vladimir Radunsky has wonderfully illustrated Mark Twain's 1865 children's story "Advice to Little Girls". I love it!

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Postcards from the Past

I love this time of year. There are flowers everywhere, the trees are all filled in and incredibly green, the weather is great (the options are usually sunny and warm or awesome thunderstorms). This is also the time of year where so many festivals happen and there's always some great outdoor events going on. Although our farmer's market is open year-round (which is so great), it's during this season that the market is at its fullest with vendors and patrons. I love the produce this time of year. Also, today is the first day of our neighborhood's seasonal craft vendor market. There's a lot of crafts and handmade stuff (Etsy type stuff), but there's also vendors that sell antiques, used books, records. It's this time of year that Eagan and I have our usual Saturday routine of heading down to the farmer's market, where we pick stuff out for dinner. Then we get pastries from our favorite French bakery tent and some coffee, and enjoy them on the patio of the coffeeshop. Sometimes we just talk and people-watch, other times we stay and read if it's particularly lovely out. Then we head down the street to the craft market, and fight the urge to buy everything we see. It's a great way to spend your Saturday morning.

At today's craft market there was a tent that had a bunch of old prints of product advertisements, old magazines, old playbills. They also had a bunch of old postcards. I was delighted to find these Utah postcards:

On the back of the top postcard it says "Salt Lake City (the Center of Scenic America) is the prettiest city in the United States [I love the modesty! Though, it is indeed quite pretty]. Nestled as it is at the foot of the lofty and picturesque Wasatch Mountains with the Great Salt Lake at its very doors, its location is unsurpassed. Arrange to spend at least three days here."

On the back of the bottom postcard it says "Main Street is one of the principal business thoroughfares of Salt Lake City, which is noted for its broad, straight streets. The standard width of a Salt Lake Street is 132 feet, allowing ample room for parking on either side and six lanes for driving."

It was a 3 for $2 deal, so I also got this pretty Grand Teton National Park postcard:

On the back it says "The Grand Teton, 13,747 ft., the highest peak in the central Rocky Mountain region north of Colorado, is a majestic feature of the Grand Teton National Park, established by Act of Congress, February 26, 1929. The mountain summit is seldom attained, being considered one of the most difficult of ascent in the United States."

Tidbit: The copyright is owned by a studio in Bozeman, Montana -- that's where Eagan grew up.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Seasons

I love these prints by Natsko Seki. These mixed media pieces consist of illustration, photography, and collage. I love the colors. Each piece feels like a dream.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Bonus:

I also loved these prints and just had to share.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Neat Photo

Photo by Narayan Mahon

In Madison, Wisconsin thousands of people (including state workers, teachers, and students) gathered at the Capitol to protest a bill that would cut benefits for public sector workers and reduce their collective bargaining rights. I love this picture of the protesters filling up the Capitol rotunda. (Larger version here)

I also really liked this picture.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Google Logo Designs

I've been really impressed with the most recent Google logo designs. The one today is in honor of Thomas Edison's birthday, and it's so good looking. I love the movement and the glowing lightbulb. The design of the machinations is so cool.

Thomas Edison's birthday

And then a few days ago, it was in honor of Jules Verne's birthday. He's the author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. The Google logo was interactive and you could use the lever at the side to explore around.