Rule Creations

Growing in the Gardens

Arriving at the Pinecrest Gardens Artist Gala

It was a mild, sunny Miami afternoon, and the breezes came from secret places to whisper words of relaxation and enjoyment. We rode into the parking lot of Pinecrest Gardens.

Exterior of Pinecrest Gardens, from Web.

Gary was in business attire and had his camera fully charged and ready to work. I enjoyed being his companion at the event. It was to be a reception for some of our favorite local artists at the beautiful Pinecrest Gardens. I heard the calming sounds of people talking, glasses tinkling and music playing in the background as we entered. After checking in with reception and getting our badges, we went inside. It was there that I would learn a truth about myself and another wider truth that would help me get some sorely needed hope.

Meeting the Artists

After meeting briefly with his contact at the garden, Gary and I left the natural wonders of the garden to meet with the artists. It was at the pavilion across the lake that we would meet our first artist. Her name is Bonnier, a photographer. Her photography featured there was imaginative and surprising. There were many pictures, and all featured an illusion.

She explained how she created layers within her photos. She was so open and friendly that I felt comfortable asking her about her photos. She liked using pictures of different views of the same location and putting them together in one photo to create another new photo with a different meaning. Ghostly images lingered in corners of the pictures, adding a surreal quality to them.

Picture of rocking chair against shadowy background with superimposed image of plants. — Bonnier Photography from web

Next, we moved back to the main hall where Ferrer and Mendoza were showing their works. While Gary interviewed the artist whom he came to see, I went to talk to Mendoza. He greeted me with a smile, laughing when I talked to him about Little Havana. I asked him about his painting with the palm trees, eager to know all about it. The painting features colorful palm trees, slightly bulging at the trunk with fun and waving fronds reaching upwards into a bright blue sky. The palm images call to mind curvaceous women wearing large hats, allowing their hair to flow in the breeze. It is as happy as the artist always seems to be himself.

He said that it was based on another work of Wilfredo Lam called “La Jungla” that is housed in New York’s MOMA. I looked up that other painting and did not like it as much as I liked Mendoza’s. Lam’s painting had a sinister abandon to it, a hedonism, while Mendoza’s suggested the smile on a mourner’s face to pacify the children in the room.

Finally, I met Ferrer and saw her textiles. I was so swept up by them because it made me remember my mother and how she spent hours with her crochet hook and piles of yarn that she would turn into lovely creations. Ferrer explained that her piece was about a painful sacrifice. I examined the yarn work. It was complex and featured many stitches, seemingly uncountable, that looked bloody. She said that was exactly what she had intended. I was awestruck at her ability to create such an intricate piece. All the artists were open and friendly, but I felt out of sorts.

Exploring the Natural Beauty of Pinecrest Gardens

However, the surroundings made me think that everyone there should be at ease. We wandered about looking at the natural beauty of the gardens. There were honking swans that peacefully floated on the still man-made lake.

Swans Calling

Its waters were a dark blue which made the white plumage of the swans stand out more. As we watched, stately peacocks danced by, flaunting their beautiful tailfeathers. The males spread their tails wide showing off iridescent green and purple feathers. Alongside the pink coral hued walk, there were all kinds of trees and shrubs that let out a fragrance reminiscent of wild nights in the country in the Caribbean. The sound of small frogs and birds filled the air, and it was easy to relax. As the night’s sounds caressed us with their small chirps, croaks and whistles, we had fun in the garden and enjoyed ourselves.

Growth in the Gardens, Growth in the Spirit

There were other people enjoying themselves too. Everyone was milling about the area where the peacocks walked. As I walked, I thought about how much time it took for those things to grow. The trees grew and seemed to be developing just as I walked. The peacocks had once been tiny chicks newly hatched and helpless. The paintings that we saw, and the yarn work had taken time to develop. Even the master artists we had met needed time to grow and mature in their art. They learned what worked and what did not work in painting, photography and weaving. I reasoned that all had progressed while on this earth.

Garden Peace

After a few days had passed, I had started to feel like a fool for creating a blog about art when I knew so little about it. But then, after some reflection, I learned about how the experience was an important lesson in resilience. I had missed the point. In the garden, I saw how everything needed time to grow. The trees and animals, art and artists needed nurturing and sustenance to develop. I admitted that I needed to learn about art because I liked it, but that I was only a failure when I ceased to try.

“An expert is just a novice who never stopped trying.”

My truth at the time was that I knew little about art history, but the wider truth gave me hope. It was by reflecting on the works of the artists as well as the natural beauty of the garden as it all developed that I learned how important having a “growth mindset” is for staying positive and participating in the realization of personal dreams. After being introduced to this mindset by the company Tutor.com, it makes me hopeful to be participating in a process. Carol Dweck at Stanford originated this theory that a person can develop talents with perseverance and devotion. My dream is to see the beauty around me with my friends and family, enjoying each day as if it were my last.

I have only seen a minuscule portion of the world and am continually surprised by its beauty. It was because of the experience at Pinecrest Gardens that I have become reenergized about writing about art and our wonderful Miami artists.

Gary Alan Ruse Book Releases

Ruse Creates a Fierce Set of Adventures

Adventure novels take you to exciting places.

An expert at creating likable characters and placing them in dangerous situations while keeping things wholesome for a reader who may not like gore, violence or misogyny, Gary Alan Ruse has a number of novels in his list of creations.

I picked three of Gary’s novels to introduce to you today. These three books show a consistent close attention to detail, clever use of characterization and fabulous sense of dramatic tension.

These three titles are my favorites. Treasure Seekers is an adventure tale, Morlac is fantasy and Aggie and Agent X is a “blend of science fiction and mystery.”

Best of all, he created the book covers himself.

Treasure Seekers: Tropic Demon

Once I began reading the book, I couldn’t stop. I just needed to know what happened to Mark and the group and could not put the book down.

A mysterious creature, “a demon,” brings down the plane transporting Mark’s friend as he scouts a remote location in Africa for treasure. When Mark finds out, he is driven to find out what happened to his friend and recover a treasure.

What’s not to like?

Treasure Seekers

Morlac: The Quest of the Green Magician

I love quests, so this book really satisfied my desires. The best thing about this book is its fairness. There is a tendency out there to create a book that ends in a cliffhanger just so the reader has to wait for the next part. This book was really like a trilogy. It had it all.

Morlac is raised from a sea creature for mysterious purposes and has to travel through magical lands to vanquish evil. Along the way, he meets fantastic beings and gains friends. There are evil mages who would like to end his quest. In the final part of the book, the magician who leads the undead against Morlac was scary.

Definitely a wonderful read.

Morlac

Aggie & Agent X

This is a book that I have a special fondness for because I dressed up like Aggie for a talent show. It was so much fun. The book is a science fiction mystery genre bender.

Aggie is a CIA agent who is beginning her spy journey when she is teamed up with Agent X. It is surprising for her to learn of his many secret powers and his Top Secret origins.

Really a fun book.

Aggie and Agent X

Enjoy!

Response to Gary’s Painting of Zebras: Color

According to Gary Alan Ruse, the painter, he created this painting from memory after seeing a photograph. While cleaning, I found the painting and liked it immediately. After some dusting, I found it intact, even though there was some damage to its frame. Hirsh at Rosemont gives a lecture on understanding art that inspired me to look at Zebras Grazing Before Mount Kilimanjaro in a new way. Her lecture on color guided me on generating a deeper response to the painting because, although I understood intuitively that the painting was calming, her discussion of how artists manipulate color showed me why.

Ruse uses color expertly to create a feeling of calm in the scene. The painting is of a family of zebras. There are three adult zebras and one smaller zebra peacefully grazing near a watering hole. Behind them rises the rounded peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain seems to protect them like an older family member. Most of the colors are cool colors like blue, teal and shades of green. Even the warm tan of the grasses is interspersed with tufts of green. The white and black of the zebras are surrounded by a rounded frame of forest green in the trees. Because of the Hirsh lecture, I see now that this use of cool colors has the effect of calming the viewer. It seems completely intuitive. This was the reason why when looking at the painting, I felt calm.

Ruse varies the intensity of the color in another way with the shades of blue. The blue of the water is mixed with white and other colors to create the representation of sunlight on the water as well as the reflection of the zebra’s face. Similarly, dark colors are used as shadow to indicate the position of the sun as well as to add dimension and fullness to their bodies. The clouds have an added pink color to suggest a refraction of sunshine also. But the best use of color is the way that the dark green contrasts the blue of the mountain. It almost enshrines the zebra family like a cameo from the vastness of the uninterrupted sky.

So, it’s no wonder that my response would be positive. I felt pleasure while admiring this painting because the cool colors were soothing. The use of color did not jar me with any unwelcome surprising clashes. The varying intensity of the blue created a meditative feeling. Finally, the saturation of the blue made the mountain friendly. It was not really intense blue, but it was like a soft light color, almost like powder blue. I have seen mountains that were sharp, jagged and icy. They communicated danger, but in this painting the mount’s color suggested that it protected the zebra family. Color was used with heart to make this painting soothe an aching heart, and I thank the artist.

Lecture Notes and Examples for Point of View and Focus

Point of view and focal points are planned and constructed by the artist with a specific purpose in mind

Thinking about point of view and focal points when analyzing or looking at a work of art can bring great enjoyment and appreciation for the work. In thinking about how the artist structured the figures in the painting or sculpture, one can get more satisfaction from the painting.

What are focal points, and what is point of view?

When looking at representational art, focal points and point of view direct the viewer and create a relationship between her and the subject of the work. The artist strictly controls the ways that the viewer’s attention and gaze travel across the work.

“Focal points work to predetermine the viewer’s approach to the painting,” says Hirsch. A focal point is the place in the painting where the eye is led to rest longest. A work can have more than one focal point or none at all. Sculptures can have multiple focal points that lead the viewer from one to the next as the artist intends. The key to remember about focal points and points of view is that nothing is by accident, and everything is plotted in advance by the artist.

Similarly, point of view determines where the viewer is in relation to the subject. Some artists use arches and curtains to place distance between the work and the viewer. This will create a passive stance in the viewer, as if watching the events or people portrayed from a seat in a theater.

Point of view can augment the subject by placing the viewer in a “worm’s eye view” or a “bird’s eye view.” This will create either a suggestion of power in the viewer or power in the subject. In a “worm’s eye view,” the subject is elevated in relation to the viewer and so is placed in a position of power. In these ways, the artist controls the view of the scene. In “bird’s eye view,” the person looking at the painting scenes to be looking down at the scene in the painting, while in “worm’s eye view” they are looking up. This is a deliberate choice by the artist.

Examples for discussion

David Gives Uriah A Letter for Joab. Pieter Lastman, (1619). Using light and shadow, Lastman creates a focal point on David’s face. His gaze stares at Uriah whom he betrays, leading the viewer there too.

David. Donatello, (1440?), Bronze. In this sculpture, the focal points are many. David’s chest is wide and lead the eyes up to the face which looks down to Goliath’s head.

Relativity. Maurits Cornelis Escher, (1953). A lithograph, this work’s focal points are created by the placement of the figures on the stairs. The effect is whimsical and serves to amuse the eye. The point of view created by the skewed directions of the figures confuses the eye. In some places, the viewer looks upwards in worm’s eye view, while in the instance of the seated figure, the viewer is in bird’s eye view.

Christ of St. John of the Cross. Salvador Dalí, (1951). An incredible study in point of view, Dalí gives a viewer the chance to see Christ from the Heavens. His gaze leads the eyes down past the darkness to a morning by a river with a boat and two fishermen. The focal points are created using a variation of color and light. With this movement of focal points and play with point of view, the artist tells a story.

Christ on the Cross. El Greco, (1600-1610). In contrast to Dalí’s painting, this work has a slightly upturned point of view. The viewer looks on Christ slightly from below. Also, the undulating of the body creates a confusion. Here, Christ is alone but finally free of the bondage of the world and its suffering. His gaze tells that story as it looks to Heaven.

These are my notes from a lecture presented on Great Courses through the kind permission of my local library. It can also be accessed through Kanopy. The instructor is named Sharon Latshaw Hirsch, and she gave these lectures from Rosemont College. The title of the lecture is Where Am I? Point of View and Focal Point. Here is a link to the series. This does not constitute an endorsement and aside from personal growth, we did not gain from presenting this link.

References

Dalí, Salvador, Christ of St. John of the Cross, (1951), oil on canvas, WikiArt, 2023, https://www.wikiart.org/en/salvador-dali/christ-of-st-john-of-the-cross-1951, (Accessed June 20, 2024).

Donatello, David, (1440), bronze, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/museum_of_bargello.html
(Accessed June 24, 24).

El Greco, Christ on the Cross, (1600-1610), oil on canvas, Getty Museum Collection, 2000, https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/108GFN, (Accessed June 23, 2024).

Escher, Maurits Cornelis, Relativity, (1951), lithograph, Artchive, 1998,https://www.artchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Relativity-Escher-Maurits-Cornelis-1953.jpg, (Accessed June 24, 2024).

Graham, Heather, “Donatello’s David,” Smart History: the Center for Public Art History, https://smarthistory.org/donatello-david/ ( Accessed June 21, 2024).

Lastman, Pieter, “David Gives Uriah a Letter for Joab,” (1619), The Leiden Collection Catalogue, http://www.theleidencollection.com/wp-content/uploads/downloadable/PL-100-Pieter_Lastman-David_Gives_Uriah_a_Letter_for_Joab.jpg, (Accessed June 24, 2024).

Latschaw Hirsh, Sharon, “Where Am I? Point of View and Focal Point,” Great Courses: How to Look at and Understand Great Art,” from Hoopla, (Accessed June 2, 2024).