Russia: First Impressions (Part 3)

“Something old and something new”

Visual jolts. That’s what I keep experiencing here in the “Venice of the North”—St. Petersburg. The textures and colors send my right brain into overdrive, and I have been inspired somehow to pair up what I’m now calling “abstract duets.”

Sometimes they’re marriages of images created in the early 1700s with images created as recently as last week. The pairing above (Pic #1) began with my fascination with common “tagging” on government signs, construction sites, and public buildings. I took this spray-painted, eye level electrical box (left) and digitally jammed it right into the side of a recent painting I’d done with Caran D’Ache Neocolor crayons and kids’ stickers.

I grabbed these shots on the streets of St. Pete’s, its storied riverbanks, and inside the many of the opulent palace halls, state rooms, museums, and cathedrals.

They are juxtaposed with recent 10-minute alprazolam paintings I completed as an experiment in committing to daily art-making (see: “The 10-minute task,” and “50 paintings in 50 days”) or, with other photos from the same trip—which included stops in New York and the Tate Modern in London.

I felt so inspired by these diverse images—anxious to see if they’d really work together—even in a very raw way.

It’s just a matter of being aware…taking a moment to really see what’s around you… then, as the images pass though your personal creative filter—you get to see the birth of a fresh idea—that is uniquely yours.

Links:

Church of the resurrection.

Neva River.

Russian Museum.

Anita Bartlett.