Fog at Dawn
Fog at Dawn
A good fog this morning that helped define each of the ridges on the hill opposite me as they moved toward the horizon, here and there rooftops appearing in the greenery.
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Monongahela Fog
Monongahela Fog
It could have been a scene from a century ago at the J&L Steel plant along the Monongahela River, but it’s just a foggy October morning.
A spectacularly foggy morning, the type that only autumn provides. This is a bend in the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, the bit of a bridge you see is the Birmingham Bridge from the South Side Flats to the Boulevard of the Allies in the Lower Hill/Uptown/South Oakland. The steam rises from a concrete plant on Second Avenue, on the river’s edge, where the J&L Plant once stood; in the distance you see the first of the buildings in Oakland leading to Carlow University, Chatham University, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. In this fog, this could have been taken decades ago, representing the smog from the mills. The mills are gone, the air and the rivers are relatively clean, but the colleges, the neighborhoods, the essence of Pittsburgh is still there in the rolling fog of an October morning.
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For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.
Autumn Glow in Winter
Autumn Glow in Winter
The morning clouds began to break as the snow stopped in the morning and shone through the yellow leaves still left behind snow piled on branches and vines. I love this photo for the gentle colors and the contrasts it offers, warmly welcoming despite the cool violet snow, like a window in the night.
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For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Monongahela Fog
Monongahela Fog
It could have been a scene from a century ago at the J&L Steel plant along the Monongahela River, but it’s just a foggy October morning.
A spectacularly foggy morning, the type that only autumn provides. This is a bend in the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, the bit of a bridge you see is the Birmingham Bridge from the South Side Flats to the Boulevard of the Allies in the Lower Hill/Uptown/South Oakland. The steam rises from a concrete plant on Second Avenue, on the river’s edge, where the J&L Plant once stood; in the distance you see the first of the buildings in Oakland leading to Carlow University, Chatham University, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. In this fog, this could have been taken decades ago, representing the smog from the mills. The mills are gone, the air and the rivers are relatively clean, but the colleges, the neighborhoods, the essence of Pittsburgh is still there in the rolling fog of an October morning.
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For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Sketch: Rain Later Today
“Rain Later Today”, pastel, 9″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski
I did a quick sketch this morning in preparation for a larger painting. I need daylight to photograph the painting, but for now here is a scan of the morning sketch. I stood looking out a window to the east, and the dawn had been very bright copper, then hazy. Soft purple clouds lay on the horizon, and the hills on the other side of the valley were just misty enough to have a blue haze indicating humidity in the air meaning rain was moving in, very simply yet colorful.
Of course, I’ve left out quite a bit—trees, houses, businesses, but this is what I saw on first looking out the window.
In the lighter area at the top, it appears as if paper is showing through the lighter tones. The paper I used is a Wallis brand sanded pastel sheet in “Belgian Mist” and is more or less kraft-colored. I prefer to begin a sketch or painting on a mid-range paper rather than light or white because it’s easier to think in terms of highlights and shadows. The pastel is actually completely covering, but the scanner light is strong enough to actually scan through this lighter pastel. It’s a disappointment and a quandary when I reproduce my art: the scanner captures much more detail and is better suited to smaller images, but this scan-through is often the result on this paper.
Monongahela Fog
Monongahela Fog
A spectacularly foggy morning, the type that only autumn provides. This is a bend in the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, the bit of a bridge you see is the Birmingham Bridge from the South Side Flats to the Boulevard of the Allies in the Lower Hill/Uptown/South Oakland. The steam rises from a concrete plant on Second Avenue, on the river’s edge, where the J&L Plant once stood; in the distance you see the first of the buildings in Oakland leading to Carlow University, Chatham University, the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. In this fog, this could have been taken decades ago, representing the smog from the mills. The mills are gone, the air and the rivers are relatively clean, but the colleges, the neighborhoods, the essence of Pittsburgh is still there in the rolling fog of an October morning.
Misty Summer Sunrise, photo and paintings
Misty Summer Sunrise
This was the view this morning; as the sun rose the mist rose with it. In mid-August, a few surprising cool nights.
This reminds me of two little sketches I’ve done through the years of similar misty summer mornings, below, when the trees were younger. In the photo above you can see the spruce at right, in the first sketch below it is one of a pair, on the left. In the bottom one, the mulberry in the center and the hemlock on the left are nowhere near as big as they are now. Only the mulberry is in my yard, but I still think I’ll give it a trim.
Fog, pastel, 6″ x 4″, 2000 © B.E. Kazmarski
Dawn, pastel, 4″ x 7″ 2000 © B.E. Kazmarski
Trumpets Greet the Dawn
Little Trumpets
They may be only 3/64 of an inch across but they are making a joyful noise for me.
They are the flowers on my lemon verbena, whose leaves smell heavenly all day and night at this time of the year, inviting me to afternoon tea.
Gothic
Union Trust Building
Guess where?
You’ll never guess. It’s on Grant Street in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. This is the Union Trust Building with its roof of terracotta tiles and dormers and facade of limestone, one of the first “indoor arcades” or malls in the country, built in 1916 by Henry Clay Frick, modeled after a Gothic-style European building. Apparently he had a little bit of extra cash in his pocket.
Here it takes in the reflected morning sun reflected from the building across the street.
Early Dawn
Early Dawn
Truly stunning, showing through the trees, the first light was vivid red. I thought for sure it meant it would rain today, but just a welcome overcast and cool.
Sunrise: Rainy Morning
Sunrise: Rainy Day
Perhaps the sun’s glow was strong enough to shine through the cloud cover, or perhaps it wasn’t such heavy overcast east of me this morning, but we had a lovely colorful sunrise before the rain began again in earnest.
I’ve been looking out this window since I lived here, looking at these trees for 21 years, photographed them, sketched them, and I have to say I never noticed the triangle of branches, or how the two maples on either side frame the triangle so perfectly. Does the triangle mean that change will come?
The shape and composition also reminds me of the churches I’ve visited. Is this a reflection of what I’ve always said about the forest being my place of worship?
This certainly inspired a deep awe and reverence with which to start the day.
Today 