all of the blooms

obsessions and musings of all kinds

[leahberman]

rose mood

Huntington Library, Los Angeles

instagram

[violentwavesofemotion-deactivat]

“We grow. It hurts at first.”

— Sylvia Plath, from The Collected Poems; “Witch Burning,” c. October 1961

[cafe-solo]

Source: pinterest.com

[dailyrothko]

[dailyrothko]

Mark Rothko, Untitled grey paintings,1969

For a while, the old version of this post, containing four paintings looking more or less just grey, has been a relatively popular one on tumblr and pinterest. Those scans were old and small and I am pleased to replace them with these more nuanced, varied versions, as well as updating with two new paintings. Not every scan is good but all represent an improvement from what we had previously.

The old post is still up here. With what we have learned from scans and snaps of Rothko paintings, it makes sense to allow variation, as long as that variation is borne out of lens and lighting, rather than wild invention or carelessness.

What these new versions reveal is actually quite typical of Rothko’s later work. Many of his monochromatic paintings are alive with reds and browns and blues embedded in blacks and greys. Shrunk by digital prisons and captured in odd light, these paintings can appear static from certain perspectives (the Rothko chapel defines this conundrum as well-heeled professional photos often show little of the actual nuance)  but scans can  sometimes help us pick out a richer texture of brown/grey/white, washed and layered. Some starker paintings will remain always austere, but this grey set is giving, here appearing a little more warm and sensuously involving than seen before. 

[renamonkalou]

Hiidenportti National Park 📷 Anna-Elina Lahti

[yesterdaysprint]

Students paint the scenery, Banff national park, Alberta, July 1957

[sabonhomeblog]

Orange Tree Hotel, Richmond

[sickpage]

[juilletdeux]

[birdasaurus]

[birdasaurus]

Domingo Robledo

[descentts]

[rareaudreyhepburn]

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Pierluigi Praturlon with her yorkshire terrier, Mr. Famous, on her Villa near Rome, Italy, 1960.  From the Audrey Hepburn Christie’s auction.

(A new favorite of mine.)

[prettystuff]

[mulberry-moons]

[mauveflwrs]

Yayoi Kusama - Red Nets (1966)

[canadi4nn]

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.”

— Stephen King (via quotemadness)