Art - The Story of Telling (Fri 18 Aug 2017)

Abstract - Glebe (Sun 30 Jul 2017)

The Story of Telling on Art:

Art allows us to be remembered for our humanity and make meaning part of our [life].

via The Art Of Customer Loyalty by The Story of Telling.

Teaching - Sigourney Weaver / Spectrum (Sat 15 Jul 2017)

Bike - Alexandria (Thu 06 Jul 2017)

Sigourney Weaver on Teaching:

Teaching art is a tough thing to do. It's a great thing to do and an important thing to do. But not everyone can do it with grace and generosity.

via Sigourney Weaver, kick-ass queen, swaps Ripley for granny, but don't expect nice by Sigourney Weaver.

Discipline - Fawzan Husain / Anahita Panicker (Thu 14 Jul 2016)

waterfall - black and white - Wentworth Falls / Blue Mountains (Tue 12 Jul 2016(

Fawzan Husain on Discipline:

I want to bring in the discipline of the art and essentially want them to include the five Ws (what, why, where, when, who) in their pictures. So many narratives are often overlooked in this frenzy of shooting unnecessary, mundane things. And many times we don’t concentrate on the things we should actually be looking at.

via Street-savvy photography by Anahita Panicker.

On Art and Limitation - Mark Cohen / Samantha Melamed (Thu 28 Oct 2015)

Untitled - Molokai (Sun 11 Oct 2015)

Mark Cohen on Art and Limitation:

Limitation develops a very high aesthetic in your art.

via Mark Cohen brings his aggressive brand of street photography to Philly by Samantha Melamed .

On Art - Streetshooter (Mon 21 Sep 2015)

Red, Yellow and Blue - Chippendale (Tue 22 Sep 2015)

Streetshooter on Art:

The beauty of art is, we are all in the same boat in the same place and yet those true to heart see things differently and attempt to make their art more of themselves then of and for anyone else.

via Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 20 … Street …Finding Your Way by Streetshooter.

On Art and Empathy - Iain S. Thomas / Intentional Dissonance

I have a Dream - King Street / Newtown (Mon 24 Aug 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Art and Empathy:

[nice artists] create because they want to describe the world to others so that they won’t make the same mistakes or so that they’ll know what to look out for. They’re extreme empaths and if you’re extremely empathetic, you’re extremely good at communicating and art is about communicating a feelings from a thing to a person.

via Intentional Dissonance by Iain S. Thomas.

On the Verge of Success and Failure - Garry Winogrand / Mason Resnick / Trent Parke / Spencer Lum

Eros - Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain / Piccadilly Circus / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)

Garry Winogrand on Art, Success and Failure:

the most successful art is almost on the verge of failure

via Coffee and Workprints: A Workshop With Garry Winogrand by Mason Resnick.

A favourite quote, from the many I've collected here over the years. I like it because it is so true in Art and Photography, but also Paddling and Life.

I am reminded of it every now and then in my own life, through my photography and paddling experiences. And today was one of those days ...

The Sun rose over the City skyline as we did our Thursday morning high intensity session in two, six person outrigger canoes. We do short interval efforts (level 4, level 4+) over repeat efforts of 8, 4, 2 and 1 minute. It's at a pace and intensity that can be maintained for these short time periods which is a bit higher than our race pace intensity (level 3) which we maintain for much longer periods.

We are pushing ourselves at Level 4 and the rhythm in the canoe is often not quite as nice as it would be at level 3 or 2. Our effort and technique is on the edge, on "the verge of failure or breaking down".

As I reflect over a 10 year paddling career, I have found that the best Training Sessions and Races have been the ones where everything is just a little out of control and uncomfortable. It's like a being on a knife edge or the edge of a precipices. It's that boundary between the known and unknown, good and bad, success and failure, and courage and fear (thanks Kayleene). And ultimately, the fault line between our past and future (thanks for that one Chantel).

It can be stressful and can feel like a feisty prickly relationship. A disonnance. And often questions and self-doubts rise to the surface.

When you are on the edge, you are pushing yourself to the limit of your abilities and beyond. And, with that comes the risk that you push too far and fail, or you just find that easy comfort zone and also fail through a lost effort and opportunity.

Disappointment may come with the failure, but if you reflect and abstract a learning, then you are more experienced and capable for the next effort. And often, as Trent Parke succinctly notes:

mistakes and accidents usually lead to the best discoveries.

You are learning, broadening your experiences and creating the future opportunity for "successful art", if you keep caring and trying.

I love that feeling of "being on the edge of failure". Instead of fighting it, try to find it and some comfort in the uncomfort, and in the knowledge that this is, as Spencer Lum astutely notes:

where all the good stuff happens

As Jenny said, Give it a try, step outside of your comfort zone. You might be surprised where it can take you ...

Don't wonder 'What if?' - Jenny P

On Art - Street Art - Ransom Riggs (Sun 30 May 2010)

Street Art - Chippen Lane #1 / Chippendale (Tue 02 Jun 2015)

Ransom Riggs on Art and Street Art:

[Art can be] what’s painted on the outside of the museum wall that reflects what [we] - at least the ones wielding cans of spray-paint - are thinking now.

via Photos: Venice Graffiti (Thu 17 Sep 2009) by eljeiffel.

Hanging in there - Bologna / Italy (Fri 29 Aug 2014)

Democracy - We Deliver - Newtown (Tue 27 Jan 2004)

On Photography - Martin Elkort (Mon 09 Apr 2001)

Untitled - Redfern (Tue 21 Jul 2015)

Martin Elkort on Photography:

When something inside me resonates with what I see, my finger moves to the shutter. In that moment, I have understood and explained both the inner and outer worlds I inhabit. When others see my pictures and react, I know that I have captured a moment in life. These moments are the core of my art.

via Why I Take Pictures by Martin Elkort.

On Artwork and Vivian Maier - Jeffrey Goldstein / Thomas Barnett (Fri 08 Aug 2014)

Art Gallery - Chippendale (Wed 01 Apr 2015)

Jeffrey Goldstein on Artwork and Vivian Maier:

artwork isn’t artwork until it’s shown

via The beautiful desecration of Vivian Maier by Thomas Barnett.

On Time and Patience - RoughType (Tue 09 Jun 2015)

Untitled – Above Sydney Harbour (Feb 2015)

RoughType on Time and Patience:

The greatest of works — in art, science, politics, whatever — tend to take time and patience both to create and to appreciate. The deepest experiences can’t be measured in fractions of seconds.

The seconds are just packed by RoughType.

Been paddling (Dragon Boating and Outrigging both OC1 and OC6) for just over 10 years now. I have had an amazing time and done things way beyond my dreams and capabilities. I have felt every extreme of paddling [and life and death], the highs and the lows, and everything in between. It does take time and patience and I still feel like I am Learnig to Fly.. The journey continues in a different way now, but I am still learning and hope I have more in me. To try and be the best I can for me and those around me.

On Art, Life and Death - Matthew Sleeth /SMH (Tue 17 Feb 2015)

"Found - A Heart" - Diggers Beach / Coffs Harbour (Mon 16 Feb 2015)

Matthew Sleeth on the power and influence of Art in our Life:

Art is partly about changing material into thought, but, for many artists, it is also about changing yourself through the process of making the art and moving past the limitations of your daily circumstances.

via Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan have earned a second chance by Matthew Sleeth.

My heart goes out to Myuran and Andrew and their Families and Friends. Their story of transformation and support is inspiring and it is this that I will take from the pain and suffering we witness and feel in ourselves, as their imminent executions unfold before us:

Very few people ever materially change their lives; I mean really change their lives, not just fiddle around the edges. It's very difficult to do and takes a great deal of courage, support and time. [..] The definition of rehabilitation is becoming a better, changed person and both Myu and Andrew have achieved this through their own courage and the support they have received from their community.

It is hard to know what to say in this time. All I think I can say is thank you Myuran and Andrew, your transformations and strength of character inspires me to be a better person in my own life. May you be blessed.

On Art - Chantel Tattoli / Architectural Digest (Tue 06 May 2014)

Joanne and Bar du Follie (*) - Courtauld Gallery / Somerset House / London (Mon 15 Sep 2014)
Chantel Tattoli (*) writes on Art (*):

art is more than a studied eyeful. It can offer helpful instruction about day-to-day living—at times consoling, redeeming, guiding, and inspiring viewers.

via Alain de Botton's Guide to the Works in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum (*) by Chantel Tattoli (*).

Interpreting Art - William Todd Schultz (Sat 20 Sep 2014)

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (*) - Courtauld Gallery / London (Mon 15 Sep 2014)
William Todd Schultz (*) writes on Art (*):

what keeps art alive is exactly interpretation—talking about it, speculating about it.

via More About the 'Torture' Post (*) by Michael Johnston (*).

On Art - Thomas Barnett (Fri 08 Aug 2014)

Scaffolding (* - Just off Oxford Street / London (Sun 18 Aug 2013)
Thomas Barnett (*) writes On Art (*):

the most fundamental of questions about art – if it has no audience, does it exist?

via The beautiful desecration of Vivian Maier (*) by Thomas Barnett (*). More on Vivian Maier (*).

On Art and Creativity - David Grohl - Spectrum / SMH (Sat 09 Feb 2013)

Street Art - Leamington Lane / Macdonaldtown (Tue 11 Oct 2011)
David Grohl (*) talks Art (*) and :Creativity (*):

It's all those bad habits and those mistakes (*) I make that gives what I do personality.

When it comes to making art (*), when it comes to creativity (*), there should be no right or wrong.

As long as you have the tools, you should just go with what you feel and go with your heart.

And that's exactly what I did.

via Love Letter to Sound City (*) by Bernard Zuel (*).

Breakfast Reading - Urbanbites (*) / King Street / Newtown (Sat 09 Feb 2013)