12/31/13

88 / high




On the first afternoon, 
looking towards Mount Everest,
a beguiling light






next day dawned cold & clear.
Wishing all a high, clear year.




12/29/13

87 / higher




Near the 1922 Everest Base Camp, 






the snowy mountains are further on





I had to stop frequently.. 






to..






..breathe



12/26/13

86 / blue sheep




A blue sheep at one monastery, it must have been raised there,
mostly we saw wild ones, in the distance






these two shots were on the internal memory of my Nikon, 
just learnt how to copy them to the card






it's a very large shaggy dog from Tibet, maybe a sheep dog.




12/25/13

85 / peace





Having some problems due to a virus, changing passwords etc;
just want to say happy holidays. 
Happy all your days. 



12/21/13

84 / what's real?







Yaks seem to take it all in: to me they feel very different to cattle, 
such eloquent gazes, I would not have been surprised to hear one speak






the newer buildings look quite unreal,
especially compared to the monolithic old ones






I liked the tableaux in some stores






checkpoints quite often,
& sometimes it wasn't, really




12/18/13

83 / surprises




This hotel had a few surprises






I liked this landing..
where am I again?






one wall has windows against a brick wall..
oops, changed our minds..






& out the real windows, a view of the fort,
which an English force under Colonel Younghusband
tried to capture, for whatever misguided purpose, without success.
Long ago.



12/15/13

82 / Lhasa




With strange juxtapositions like the Potala behind the bainmarie,
Lhasa seemed to be several different time zones:






yesteryear






now & future times within a few steps






a lot of the old city was being torn up, but the end
result will probably look traditional again.



12/11/13

81 / another world




Some Tibetan monasteries are small, others as big as a town;
visiting as a tourist I've no clear idea of how it all works now
for either monks or lay people. While in Tibet I often wished 
I could talk again with my old friends who were monks
& refugees in India. In the '70's. 
They were thangka painters. 






The vessels in the kitchen of this monastery were
massive,
the light medieval ..







In case you are wondering, this is a thangka,
(my guess is of Tara).
Traditionally they are painted on sized cloth, with
a brocade surround, & can be rolled for travels.
The monks gave me one for  my 30th birthday,
way back then.



12/8/13

80 / what we build




Angkor Wat






Nepal






Kathmandu






Varanasi..
amazing the varieties of expression, isn't it?
There would have been master craftsmen, sculptors,
builders, & so on, though rarely a town planner.



12/5/13

79 / landscapes




Extroverts, supposedly, 
find crowds of people to be energising.
For the other kind, like me, landscape is the
essential nurturing experience






Halong Bay top, on the Mekong above






Tibet






near the 1922 Everest Base camp ~
 the ambrosia of drinking in the landscape!




12/4/13

78 / mountain time






Hesitate to post paintings that are not completed,
but .. here they are anyway.
The canvases are 121cm wide.
Mountains are leaning against my walls.








so far, what happens is 
I get them to a certain stage,
then something pops out that I didn't 
intentionally place there, so I add to that, 
& then perhaps take it back a little.
I don't want to make puzzles, yet we all seek patterns
in the apparent visual field








this one started as a daylight scene, then became a
moonlight night.. & I didn't change the snow,
could see where the moon would be to get these highlights,
& the viewer makes up the rest








while this latest one could go several different directions.
They all need to sit around for longer until its clear.
Its really pleasing to have no schedule to meet,
no client, gallery etc.. 




12/1/13

77/ appearances




one woman was working in a market in Laos, the other
on a movie in Nepal






mannequins looking a little the worse for wear,
 interesting contrast with the jackets






hair salons intrigue me, so individual..
this one in Thailand






& in Pokhara, Nepal