beauty

Late Day, Late November

| drawandshoot

November is almost gone and it’s been a kind one. Warmish with more sunshine than usual and the snow that came a few days ago is all melted away. Today was mostly grey but the late afternoon brought some interesting light, and with it orange fields and purple-blue skies.That orange field has been beckoning me for a while now.
All images © Karen McRae

Words Only

| drawandshoot

Picture this. You are driving along a country road. It’s early in the morning and the sun is low in the sky filtering beautifully through the trees as you move along. You’re not in a hurry. You glance to the side and something catches your eye.  Something hanging low on a tree almost glowing in the warm morning light. At first you’re not sure what you see but then you say quietly,  “It’s a chicken”. And it is a chicken. It’s hanging by its feet from a low branch and it’s almost naked. Like the tree. There is a figure bending towards it removing the last few feathers. The light is perfect.  So perfect it seems only natural that this is unfolding before you. And you realize that if you had your camera with you, you might have stopped and interrupted this scene, but you didn’t and now you have only words.

You Are Carried With Us

| drawandshoot

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

For Ilse 1917-2011
All images © Karen McRae

The Textural Beauty of the Canadian Shield

| drawandshoot

We spent an afternoon this weekend on a friend’s property that is a beautiful example of  the Canadian Shield  landscape. Rocky outcroppings covered in lichen and carpets of various  mosses in a mostly forested area. Gentle breezes rustling the  oak leaves, some of which seem to hold on for dear life all winter long. But it’s the mosses that completely captivate me. They are like little miniature forests  with an astounding array of colour and texture. (Click on images to enlarge)
All images © Karen McRae

goodbye

| drawandshoot

I admit I had some trepidation about posting these photographs. But I think the subject is beautiful, even in death. A family of  Robins are still occupying our yard. It seems late to me but it appears that the Robins had a late batch of babies and they are still here preparing for the migration. Except this little guy.  I found him yesterday and he had apparently flown into a window. I am a huge lover of birds and they are often a subject of my art (not usually in this way) so I find this little subject sad but compelling. Also, I was driving a couple of weeks ago and a huge bird sideswiped my car and perished. I feel a bit like an unwilling enemy, so this is meant in a loving way. A tribute to nature’s beauty and frailty and to all delicate living creatures. 

All images © Karen McRae

goodbye

Brassia

| drawandshoot

You may remember a post of spider orchids that I did here. These are photographs of those same orchid blossoms which have obviously been aging awhile. The light was changing and shifting with the clouds as I was photographing these so the colour tones shifted also. They make me think of little dancers or insects. I had a hard time choosing which images to share and also I’ve been “dissecting” the little moth orchids so you may be subjected to another orchid post in the near future. Bear with me…
(click on images to enlarge)

All images © Karen McRae

Draw & shoot: Feather Studies

| drawandshoot

I‘ve always liked drawing feathers. Attempting to capture their delicacy and weightlessness with graphite. Here I’ve included a little drawing of feathers from my sketchbook with a series of photographic studies, again playing with light and shadows. *Hope you’re not bored with all my monochromatic posts of late,  I actually do love colour! *
(click on images to enlarge)
(I ♥ the creamy, thick drawing paper in a Moleskin sketchbook, it feels incredibly luxurious.)
All images © Karen McRae