Prayer for the Fallen

February 24, 2024Art, Uncategorizedacrylic painting, ballet, ballet art, Canada stands with Ukraine, Glory to Ukraine, National Ballet of Ukraine, Prayer for the Fallen, Stand with Ukraine, standing with Ukraine, Wordpress bloggerAndrew Seal Leave a comment

On the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022, this painting was inspired by Prayer for the Fallen danced so movingly by members of the National Ballet of Ukraine, which we were privileged to see during their Vancouver visit earlier this month. Today, our thoughts, as they are everyday, are very much with the brave people of Ukraine together with the memory of so many of their children, women and men who are no longer with us. We can only hope that there will not be a third anniversary.

How fortunate we are that the National Ballet of Ukraine has made Prayer for the Fallen available on YouTube for us all to be moved and inspired by.

Slava Ukraini

Celebrating Joni

February 8, 2024Lens-Artist, photography, Uncategorizedclouds, Joni Mitchell, lens-artist challenge, photographyAndrew Seal View all 9 comments

clouds illusion I recall

I thought I would use my response to Egidio’s Lens Artist-Challenge #285: Warm Colors, to also celebrate Joni Mitchell’s Grammy award and my memory of hearing that wonderful voice and song for the first time.

“I was driving my old yellow Triumph TR2 down the Old Kent Road in London in 1969, and as she started singing on the car radio I had to pull over to listen to the rest of the song, a magical moment frozen in time and one that has remained with me ever since.”

The photos of the sunsets and clouds are from my post clouds Illusions I recall. If you follow the link you can enjoy listening to Joni Mitchell’s beautiful, young voice singing Both Sides Now from the original recording – its pure magic.

Lens-Artists Challenge – Day & Night

January 28, 2024Lens-Artist, photography, Uncategorizedlens-artist challenge, Lens-Artists, Light Painting Photography, Nighttime, photography, sunflowers, weekly photo challenge, Wordpress bloggerAndrew Seal View all 16 comments

For this weeks Lens Artist Challenge by Sofia, Day and Night, I looked back to one of my early blog posts from 2014, Nighttime is the Lighttime and my first attempts at Light Painting Photography.

As you will read if you open the link this was in response to a Weekly Photo Challenge, which I know many of you who enjoy contributing to the Lens Artists challenges were part of in those days. This one was titled Nighttime, and in the spirit of the challenge I quietly got out of bed and took this photo of the sunflowers on our deck at 3:30 in the morning using a technique that I eventually became more proficient at. ( I should add that I wasn’t quite quiet enough it seemed as both my wife and the cat were not very impressed at being disturbed in the middle of the night.)

The following morning I took this photo of the sunflowers in the morning sunshine, and even added a voting link to my post for visitors to choose their preference; the light painting won out.

A couple of light paintings with which to finish and a link to the process by which they were created:

Studio 365 Day 81

ethereal

January 15, 2024Lens-Artist, photography, UncategorizedBeautiful British Columbia, landscape photography, lens-artist challenge, magical, Pacific Spirit Park, photography, silhouette, Wordpress bloggerAndrew Seal View all 6 comments

For Lens-Artists Challenge #282 – Dramatic

soaring for peace

January 6, 2024Lens-Artist, photography, Travels, Uncategorizedartist for humanity, artist for peace, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, lens-artist challenge, peace, photography, urban landscapeAndrew Seal View all 6 comments

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul – 19.10.2023

This photograph of a seagull soaring high above the Hagia Sophia taken last October on our visit to Istanbul is in response to my dear friend Tina’s Lens-Artists Challenge #281 – Favourite Images of 2023, and is in follow up to my New Year’s post as a visual expression of the desperate need for peace for all those women, men and especially children whose suffering and despair breaks all of our hearts each and every day.

New Year 2024

December 31, 2023Uncategorizedartist for peace, Happy New Year, landscape photography, Pacific Spirit ParkAndrew Seal One comment

The Pacific Spirit Park – 31.12.23

As we begin this New Year during these dark times let us hope for peace, justice and reconciliation wherever the scourge of war has visited so much pain and loss on so many, especially the children whose suffering breaks all of our hearts each and everyday.

Spirit of the Park

October 2, 2023Art, Painting, Uncategorizedabstract landscape, Art, Art studio, landscape painting, oil painting, Pacific Spirit Park, Vancouver, WordPress, Wordpress bloggerAndrew Seal View all 10 comments

Spirit of the Park

Inspired by the beauty and majesty of the Pacific Spirit Park, Vancouver

After over three months it is finally finished and ready for its new home.

every child matters

September 30, 2023Art, over my shoulder, Uncategorized, video#NDTR, Art, every child matters, videoAndrew Seal View all 2 comments

For our National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

Every child matters

Lens-Artists Challenge #261 – Work in Progress

August 8, 2023Art, Lens-Artist, Painting, Uncategorizedacrylic painting, Art, artist for humanity, artist for peace, artist studio, children of conflict, every child matters, Lens-Artists, Protest Art, Remembrance, War Child Canada, work in progressAndrew Seal View all 9 comments

In response to Ann-Christine’s challenge, Work in Progress, and with the encouragement of my dear friend Tina Schell I thought I would post this image of me working in my studio. To see the final painting completed after three and a half months, and to read the story behind the painting I invite you to visit my post War Child.