Beauty Itself

" IF YOU HAVE TWO LOAVES OF BREAD, SELL ONE AND BUY A LILY ".

This is an old chinese proverb but I I think it applies to every flower.
A flower is beauty itself.

RUN

A wise and elderly person told me: 

" Run, Run like you used to do when you were a child ".

" ALWAYS practice running, cause if you don't the day will come that you are afraid to run ".

LIFE'S POETRY

Life is saying a poem in this picture.

The flower has come to a last rest on the fence in absolute elegance and grace. 

Everything is soft and supple and flowing.

The petals look like as if they have transformed into a smooth slightly transparent, pink dyed cotton or linen - light as a feather. 

IN THE ABSTRACT

Sometimes when listening into conversations about art you might hear someone say that abstract art is of no worth to him. 

That only what can be seen in a realistic way can be considered art. 

That only what the spectator himself cannot create is true art and this is found in portraying realistically the environment. 

But the reduction to a combination of form and color is most powerful and creates high energetic vibrations in the spectator.

Considered apart from matter or from specific examples, not being concrete is abstract. Not being concrete creates these vibrations on a level that is often not even perceived by the spectator immediately.
Sometimes an awareness of  " what one saw and felt " comes only at a later stage.

In art abstract means generalized or universal as opposed to concrete, specific and representational.

These attributes open the minds of those who are ready. In the abstract lies enormous power.

Abstract art portrays the essence of some large object or whole.

In one dictionary the term abstract is defined as: to take away, to take away secretly, to withdraw and dis-engage the attention, interest etc.

In the abstract lies energetic power apart from concrete relation or embodiment.

By taking away the attention secretly the intuition awakes in the spectator.

Nature is the greatest and biggest creator of abstract art and I always turn to it for more inspiration.

DAILY LIGHT

MY DAILY LIGHT

MOTHER OF PEARL

BIRDS IN PARADISE

It is the time of the year again when the small red berries are ripe.

And of course it is celebration time for the birds who live in paradise.

This is the view that I get when I look out of my office window.

There is truly no better place to be than right in the middle of berry-paradise. Berry Paradise is my garden. I am blessed with a very wild and natural environment that I just keep the way it is. In these green dense bushes and trees around my house live over 70 different species of birds. 

This is a parrot like species with  long tails and a beautiful grey feather crown and very naughty faces.

The only thing you have to do is to open your mouth as wide as possibly. Not so easy when what you eat is double the size of your mouth.

While your friends are watching you from airy regions, rocking on branches in the winter wind and resting in between meal courses.

But it is a land of plenty. So there is no need to worry.

Further down in the garden are more options to indulge. 

The delicious guavas are ripe and it is pleasure to feast together.

IT CAN NEVER GET FRESHER

And after all the celebrations and all the eating one has to rest again.

ON THE FARM

I have lived on a farm in Namibia for several years. 

Although not taken in Namibia these pictures remind me of the secret, romantic and hidden corners that were everywhere.

One thing is for sure. If you live on an farm there will never be " order " no matter how hard you try to make it look conventional. 

Why make it conventional if some scenes are so beautiful as paintings of days of old? 

Because of the often " always wild character and nature " of farms, some farmers try and have the desire to make it conventional and more modern.

Things that are not used at the moment and considered out of date are deposited and hidden somewhere just to be found to make wonderful photos like this beautiful old cast iron head-board that  has to wait outside until it will be used again. Or given away. Or just burn in the sun.

Just like this old washing board  does. 

Yes,of course we did have a washing machine but the "old equipment" was kept in store in case the generator would go on strike. And that did happen quite often.

And so store rooms get full and fuller.

" THE GOOD ROOM "

Ours was not as drastic as this one. But the turquoise walls are amazing with the red velvet chairs in Front of them .

And there are doors everywhere behind which things are stored that have been bought or that are old, that have been taken down and are supposed to be replaced or should replace something. 

The exact time and date however when all this will happen is unsure and unkown.

There is constant change and work on a farm. 

Sometimes you have the impression that work is created permanently.

The old chair that should be stripped down and re-painted but that is just as perfect as it gets like this.

IN A TIGHT EMBRACE

DON'T STOP THE FLOW

Two retired electricity plugs by the sea.

MADONNA DE LOURDES

This is my Madonna de Lourdes.

I have brought her from far to Africa.

She has no hands anymore

But this is how she watches over me.

CRACKED

The tension is released

I Learned To Look Closer

I do not like to combine things in pairs and create symmetry. But I like those two raindrops. They compliment each other.

A friend asked me the other day: Where to you get all these motifs from for your photos? How do you see all these things ? 

The answer is easy. I have traveled all my life and lived in different countries. And I have enjoyed this tremendously. It was my daily bread and I have treasured each and every experience.
Since I have set up my own business I have no more time to travel like before and all the income earned is re-channeled into the business.

So I said to myself: Let's go and look what there is to see!. Let's go and see what there is right in front of  my eyes. !

And there is so much just in front of my eyes. I only had to walk ten meters to see amazing things.

I LEARNED TO LOOK CLOSER BECAUSE I COULD NOT GO SO FAR ANYMORE. 

And in the end that was the best thing that could happen. Cause now I can see.

THE DAILY BREAD

MARLBOROS AND ABALONE

SYMBIOSIS 3

Symbiosis No 3 is dedicated to show true symbiosis

SYMBIOSIS 2

SYMBIOSIS 1

SYMBIOSIS: The consorting together in a usually mutually advantageous partnership of dissimilar organisms.

Consorting together between wire and a climbing plant whose branches have been broken off happens here. The question however is: is this a mutually advantageous partnership between steel and wood ?

THE BUBBLE

CAN YOU SEE IT ?

MY POISON IVY

At the end of the hall

PORTRAIT OF A MAN

A man

A husband, lover and friend to a woman

A father to two sons

A friend to me

A philosopher, mostly to himself

A breadwinner

Hardworking man

A portrait of a man

I can just say WHAT A FACE OF PLENTY

WHAT A FACE OF LIFE

A Shoe For Cinderella

I have asked myself often how do perfect toes have to look like?

May be a little like these?