Chiarina Loggia

A printmaker's progress

Monthly Archives: November 2013


by 1 Comment

Tuesday Tales – The Beauty of Bamboo


Glimmering

Glimmering

                                                    The forest turns pale
                                           As November drops its veil
                                                              Cool gossamer days

Bamboo is one of my favorite subjects to paint. I talked about how it is a symbol for resilience here.
Apart from the symbolism, I love its beauty and strength, both as a single trunk with its ridged sections and as a grove, forming an elegant swath of green reaching for the sky and swaying together in the wind. Anyone who has seen the fight in bamboo forest scene in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon will agree it’s a special tree.

I first learned to paint it while studying sumie in Japan. Back then I painted it with brush and ink, learning to move my hand and brush just so to get the lines of trunk and leaves right. These days I use a different approach, with brayers of varying size, to portray the grove in all its glory. I like the way the brayer gives the trunks a rounded look while keeping the vertical lines and segmentations. I also like the use of color, not so easy with sumi ink.

Glimmering, above, is actually a cropped ghost of the piece below. The pale colors give a shimmering effect, as though seeing the bamboo grove through a mist. It alludes to the mystery and etherealness of life. Together We Stand, below, emphasizes the tight grouping of the trees, showing how together they form a strong and beautiful whole, bonding against adversity.

Together We Stand

Together We Stand

                                             For the bamboo grove
                                       Bending in the wind as one
                                                      Finds the strength to bear

Glimmering, a 10″x12″ monotype, is offered this week at $150, unframed
Together We Stand, a 12″x16″ monotype, is offered this week at $200 unframed.

Contact me at chiarina@chiarna.com to purchase or for further info.


by 2 Comments

Music Mondays – An Enchanted Birthday


This birthday has been a special one, capped off by an evening of music from South Pacific performed by our Victoria Symphony  and Pacific Opera. Here’s one of the best songs from that show, the classic  Some Enchanted Evening.


by 9 Comments

Tuesday Tales – Two In The Wood


Two in the Wood

Two In The Wood

Today is my birthday and as I count my blessings, not only do I run out of fingers and toes, but one of them stands out shining brightly. So I dedicate this post to D, who shelters me in his home in the woods and in his warm, abiding heart.

This piece was created several years ago when I first began exprerimenting with monotypes. It is primarily brayer and palette knife work with added collage of printed handmade papers. The contrasting light and dark elements is a study of opposites attracting and complimenting each other, allowing each to shine against one another. It has special meaning for me today as I was gifted with this beautiful quote.

“I will love the light for it shows me the way. Yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.”
Og Mandino

Two in the Wood, a 10″x12″ monotype on 15″x20″ paper, is offered this week at $200, unframed.


by 2 Comments

From a Poet’s Heart – for the late bloomers


for the late bloomers.

A beautiful poem by Sirena Tales  that couldn’t have arrived on a more serendipitous day for this late blooming November child!

Thank you, Chloe, for the continued magic of your poetry.


by 3 Comments

Music Mondays – Slowwwwww It Down


Today’s song is one of Coldplay’s lovely tender pieces that I was lucky to see performed on stage. It’s lyrics are particularly poignant for me as another birthday looms and,  following it, big changes in the new year.

Please life won’t you just slow down a little?

Us Against the World by Coldplay

And below is the magic these boys create on stage. Enjoy.


by Leave a comment

Photo Fridays – Capo Bianco


Capo Bianco

Capo Bianco

With the days getting shorter and colder, beach time is becoming harder to find. So I offer these photos of Capo Bianco beach on the island of Elba in Tuscany to remind me to take advantage of every moment. That day was very breezy and not particularly warm but we made the most of it, wrapped up in swearters ( and that scarf), watching the birds circling above and the clouds rolling in.

Elba Water

Elba Water

Cool Capo

Cool Capo

Flying High

Flying High

Great weekend to all!


by 6 Comments

Tuesday Tales – Persimmon


Persimmon

Persimmon

November is persimmon season for me. As a child I was accustomed to seeing the mediterranean ones in the grocery stores, the big oval shaped squishy ones that I never really developed a fondness for. When I lived in Japan, however, I was introduced to their fuyu persimmons, a non astringent variety that is edible when still firm. Not only is the texture of the fuyu wonderfully crunchy but the taste is divine.

While in Japan I  also became aquainted with the persimmon tree. It is a wide, bushy tree with large floppy leaves that turn the most extraordinary colors in the fall. Once the leaves fall the tree is left with an adornment of bright orange persimmons looking like miniature pumpkins that is quite a lovely and singular sight to behold. Even in the big concrete metropolis that is Tokyo these lovely persimmon trees could be seen everywhere poking out over walls and fences, announcing the final fall harvest.

Fuyu persimmons and their trees can be found all over North America now, and several years ago when I had a large garden I planted a tree and waited patiently for the fruit to come. It took eight years for the first fruit to grow and when they did I made sure I photographed their beauteous bounty. The watercolour at the top is one I made from that first harvest. While most of the painting is watercolour I included some sumi ink work to connect the piece to my time spent in Japan, where I first fell in love with this tree and its fruit.

Persimmon, an 11″x14″ watercolor and ink painting, is offered this week at $200. You can contact me at chiarina@chiarina.com for further information or to purchase.


by 2 Comments

Music Mondays – Imagine


Far Yet Forever Dear

Far Yet Forever Dear

This week’s musical offering is a well known song sung by a not so well known band called Live. Their cover is the best I have ever heard. With today being Remenbrance Day I thought this song would be an appropriate “call to arms”.

May we and especially our governments remember and appreciate the fallen and their sacrifice.

And may we all strive to live with greater kindness and understanding.

Ps I was fortunate to see Live live right before lead singer, Ed Kowalzyk, left the band in 2009. He is an amazing performer with a powerful voice.


by Leave a comment

Photo Fridays – Seaside Serendipity


I love shooting people and I love shooting landscapes. I especially love shooting people in the landscape, so that they become part of the landscape and the landscape informs the viewer a little about who they are.

Across The Water

Across The Water

Sometimes a scene presents itself that you just have to photograph. When I saw this child and his mother standing across from the boat that had the same colors of his sweater I knew I had to shoot it. Fortunately I was able to find a position to shoot from that both kept them anonomous and spontaneous while creating a lovely composition.

Fisherman

Fisherman

This man’s face is partly obscured by shadow and his downward gaze, but the bucket, clothing and pier tell us a little story about him while leaving us free to fill in the details.

Beachcomber

Beachcomber

The beach places this child on land, yet he is wearing a life jacket. Has he been or will he be on water soon?

Saltspring Family

Saltspring Family

With their backs to us and faces and hands hidden we can only guess what this family is doing or looking at. We know the day is cool and wet, but they are probably having a good time.

Wishing you all good times this weekend!
Chiarina


by 6 Comments

Tuesday Tales – Reflections On Water


Water Sprite

Water Sprite

A few years ago, I put together a show called Mirror, Mirror. In this show I explored themes of self perception as seen through the eyes of others. When creating the works for the show, I wanted to include one artwork that used water as the mirror. One of the thoughts I wanted to put forth was the importance of the clarity of the mirror in presenting what it shows, for the clearer the mirror the more true will be the reflection. Or in the case of people, the more free of preconceptions or misperceptions they are, the more honestly they will see you.

Water, being such a motile and refractable medium, easily affected by conditions surrounding it, would act as a good metaphor for a person who is unable to perceive you clearly and fully due to their own internal and situational circumstances. For this piece, I photographed my reflection in a bathtub filled with water. The bathtub, being under a skylight, reflected some branches and leaves just outside the window, making the figure appear outdoors rather than inside. The light, being dim, was only able to capture the forms in silhouette. This worked very well for what I was trying to express. With the figure turned away from the viewer and the forms barely discernable through the abstract swirls of paint, the viewer is offerd only a small obscured glimpse of the person, and therefore left to wonder and form their own opinions with minimal “clarification”. In the second print below, I increased the level of bewilderment even further by turning the figure upside down and painting greater movement and abstraction into the piece. The figure is seen as through a fog, the fog serving to symbolize the cloudiness of our own assumptions about others, and how important it is to clear that fog in order to see each other more clearly.

Water Sprite 2

Water Sprite 2

At the time I created these pieces I was struggling with the fact that vastly different perceptions of me could be had by the people in my life. I understood that distance and poor communication played a large role in this, but in time I realized that the assumptions and conclusions they made often had less to do with me and more to do with their own experience and concerns. And I was left wondering if it is ever possible to see others clearly and fully, for we all carry ourselves and our experiences with us.

Water Sprite and Water Sprite, 2 , both 8″x8″ monoprints on 15″x20″ paper, are offerd this week at $200 each or $350 for both, unframed.

You can contact me at chiarina@charina.com for further info or to purchase.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started