Daniel Ruf: Other Parts

"Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression." Isaac Bashevis Singer

Just returned from a trip to the Southwest including stops in Sabino Canyon near Tucson, Zion National Park and Bryce National Park. Along the way my wife and I took every opportunity to visit as many galleries and museums as possible, which put us in contact with several incredible gallery people and artists. I especially like seeing other work, including the traditional arts of painting, pottery, etc. as it is an opportunity for instruction, reflection and insight into other visual concepts. On this trip I found, but not surprised, that much of the work that we liked best were those that did the most with light. In the Vail, Colorado we came across the "Claggett/Rey Gallery" which had a great deal of beautiful western art which was absolutely luminous. In another collection of western art at the American Museum Of Western Art in Denver the work that had been painted during the Hudson River School during the mid 19th century was stunning and largely due to the use of light in the work.

Since photography is the capture of light, the use of light in a composition is nothing new to most photographers. The blog image, taken at the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area near Tucson, was taken early in the morning when the light hadn't yet reached the canyon floor, but was being reflected from the walls around the subject. As I rounded a corner the subject seemed to jump out at me largely due to the radiance of the light off the rock formations along the creek. This is an iPhone shot that has been edited in Photoshop. The three large rocks along with the three clumps of grass and reflections were the focal points of the composition, in my opinion, with the rocks in the center background being the "trailer" to the composition.

While it's not rocket science, standing around in enough galleries as well as looking through online sites has led me to believe that a lot of photography/art is lacking the use of light as a "subject", and to be totally honest, it does slip my mind on occasions. This is why the tromping through numerous galleries is so important to me as it reaffirmed the importance of light in art, whether it be artificial or natural. Light is what defines shapes, textures, depth and volume and to me is a building block towards composition.

Thank you all for stopping by and I'd like to remind you that I will be part of a new "reconstructed" gallery in Arnolds Park, Iowa called Summerwind Gallery (summerwindgallery.com), owned and operated by Roberta Williams, an outstanding artist as well. She has managed to put together a group of artists that will be displaying some beautiful work of many differing subjects and mediums. The gallery will have a "soft" opening on May 1 and the grand opening on June 4. This gallery is going to be a great edition to the arts in our area of Northwest Iowa.

For more views of my work visit;

http://500px.com

Lanesboro Art Center, Lanesboro, Minnesota www.lanesboroarts.org

Summer Wind Gallery, Arnolds Park, Iowa http://www.summerwindgallery.com