Three by Candida Höfer

Three photos of Philadelphia by one of my favorite photographers - Candida Höfer. Images via this sokref1 flickr set.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Philadelphia II, 2007, C-print, 72 7/8 x 98 7/8 inches

Masonic Temple Philadelphia I, 2007, C-print, 72 7/8 x 97 ¼ inches

Fisher Library Philadelphia I, 2007, C-print, 72 7/8 x 98 3/8 inches

New Drawing

Nathan Abels, (Untitled), Ink, Charcoal and Pastel on Paper, 9x12", 2009

I made this small work yesterday.

Three prints by Mon Petit Fantome

Three prints from original paper-cuts made by etsy member Mon Petit Fantome -he also has a blog :

My Little Magician

I have many secrets

I'll always be there

Painting of the Day - Ferdinand Hodler

Vienna - Kunsthistoriches Museum
Originally uploaded by becklectic

Photos by Lee Jeong-lok

photos by Lee Jeong-lok. Sources here and here.

Recent bird-related news

I have an ongoing fascination with bird-mounted cameras and communications. In fact, last February I did a show about early aerial photography done with carrier pigeons:

Nathan Abels, “Neubronner’s Photographers, 1904”, 11x10”, Charcoal on Paper

In recent news, they've mounted cameras on Antarctic albatrosses:

photo from Antartic albatross cam.

Image/story from Wired:

"Tiny cameras attached to the backs of four Antarctic albatrosses have revealed a clever feeding strategy: Instead of randomly scanning the open ocean for prey, some birds appear to fly alongside killer whales and scavenge for scraps left by the mammalian predators."

and Pigeon transfers data faster than South Africa's Telkom.

A Trip to the Moon

In honor of this mornings moon bombing - I present Georges Melies' 1902 classic film "A Trip to the Moon" (Une Voyage dans la Lune):

The Lifted Brow available for Pre-Order

The Lifted Brow No. 6, is a book and two CDs, is now available for pre-order. The theme is that of an atlas of the world, newly observed by a huge list of artists and musicians. I have two ink-wash paintings in the book based on the so-called "battleship island" off the coast of Japan.

Past Progress

Although I have been working (on and off) on this painting since early August, I only had a couple of progress shots:

New Work: "Sullen Roar"

Nathan Abels, "Sullen Roar", Acrylic on Panel, 36x48", 2009

Blue Green

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Summer, oil on canvas 42 x 54 in., 1890
image from wikicommons

Beautiful photo of Lake Louise
- taken by Liza - of Postcards from Colorado blog

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, The Lute, Oil on Canvas, 1904

another beautiful photo of Lake Louise

- also taken by Liza - of Postcards from Colorado blog

Batia Suter

Batia Suter, Untitled / 2005 / 2.7 x 8.5 m (curtain) / Inktjet print on silk

Remington's "The Winter Campaign"

Frederic Remington, The Winter Campaign, Oil on Canvas, 1909

A review of this work written on December 11, 1909 says, "The Winter Campaign - a group of soldiers squatting about a fire, with their horses huddling close to them to keep warm - expresses, as only Remington can the oneness of feeling of animals and men in the face of nature's menace of death.

Indeed, in all of Remington's pictures the shadow of death seems not far away. If the actors in his vivid scenes are not threatened by death in terrible combat, they are menaced by it in the form of famine thirst or cold. One sees the death's-head through the skin of the lean faces of his Indians, cowboys and soldiers; his figures are clothed and desperately active skeletons, and even about his animals there is strong suggestion of the nearness of the moment when their bones will lie bleatching in the desert."

From Frederic Remington, "The Color of Night." Image from flickr user unforth.

Photos from the Weekend

Photos from our weekend in Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park:

Fern Falls Trail:

Elk in Estes Park lake:

We also had a close encounter with a moose on the trail. Had we been walking just a little faster we might have run right into him coming around the corner on our hike. Whew!

Elk Fest 2009

Elk at Rocky Mountain National Park, photo by Nathan Abels

Today we'll be in Estes Park for our third year in a row of attending Elkfest. One of my all time favorite sounds is the elk bugle - a haunting and beautiful call. Elkfest has come to be our stand-in for Fort Wayne's Johnny Appleseed Festival. The two fests are not related at all except for that they are fall traditions. While the cider, smells and foods Johnny Appleseed are hard to beat - so are the elk bugles in Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend.

Fever Ray + Soft Focus

re-blog from Paul Herbst

re-blog from Paul Herbst

see also:

Triangle Walks from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

Two by Steve Frenkel

Costa Extraña, 2009
Originally uploaded by steveartist

Steve writes, "This little painting is an acrylic, 6 x 6 inches on canvas. The image area is closer to 5½ x 5½, due to a white border. Costa Extraña means 'strange coast' in Spanish."

Isla Oscura, 2009
Originally uploaded by steveartist

Steve writes, "This little painting is an acrylic, 6 x 6 inches on canvas. The image area is closer to 5½ x 5½, due to a white border. Isla Oscura means 'dark island' in English."

Steve Frenkel's website.

Opening Tonight

Last time I stopped by Rule they were installing this show and it is exquisite. Highly recommended. There are lots of good openings tonight (First Friday) - get the full list at Denverarts.org.

Aakash Nihalani

Aakash Nihalani

photo source.

photo source.

photo source.

Laura Braciale

Laura Braciale, Crux, 2009

Bevel (side view), 2009, Acrylic on panel with plastic folder holder, 48"h x 60"w