clearly bright

rococo

ah the rococo period of art and design. a mighty spewing-forth of unrestrained, fruit-laden, cherub-infested, gilt curliques, plaster frivols and hypnotically vertigenous architecture.

how about a gold cherub riding a lion? we can do that! or a painting of fruit, in a gilded, fruit laden frame finished off with the heads of two gold cherubs that look suspiciously like the might be kissing? why not. or a teapot in the shape of a leafy pumpkin? sure, it's the rococo man, the rococo.

i am not alone here - even good old Noah Webster weighs in on this! according to the well-worn, two volume 1880 New Edition With Supplement I've just dipped into, he comments that the rococo is...

A kind of florid ornamentation [...] by some [...] thought to be rich, though luxuriant;  and by others it is condemned as a weak attempt to refine and improve upon the purest models of art, producing capricious, fantastical, or childish results.

thank you noah. i see we are in agreement.

The sky has been stippled with a motif of...

local speciality

The island of Ischia is famed for its oversized lemons (some as big as melons!), and its traditional seaside produce, including coral harvested from the sea bed. The most prized coral in this region is takes the form of small antler-like branches of a bright red colour. Colours in the region vary, however, tending into pale and slightly purpley pinks. To see a coral coloured sun setting over the headland at Forio was one fine speciment of "local colour..."

sky-blush

I'm addicted to the pink tint at the edge of the horizon - it reminds me of one of my favourite printmakers of the Japanese floating world, Hiroshige Ando. His prints often employ hand-graded tints across the sky and water, like in this scene, Crimson Foliage at Kaianji, Autumn (Aki Kaianji Momiji), from the 1830s series Famous Views of Edo in the Four Seasons.

unlikely inventions (3)

this season sees the return of the rare, but enduring...

circular city

way up in this

this is...

the clouds today are

when?

on the rooftops today...

all the statues are out...

what lunacy!

a matter of scale...

Can you pick out the bright point - which I think is a Parry arc - above the 22 halo that had been present for an hour or so (sun-dog locations just out of frame).

(A week of ice haloes continues...)

aphrodisiac gig

Have you ever noticed that the sky on the red (out) side of a rainbow is darker than on the blue (inside). When there's a double bow, the strip in between is darker than the rest of the sky - due to all of the misdirected light busy making up the colours and the inner glow. This dark patch is named after its first decsriber, Alexander of Aphrodisias. The top of this 22 degree halo (possibly with a parry gull) is also darker on the red side. I guess this is also Alexander at work...

(A week of ice haloes...)

tangle

snowy morning

in love with the big blue sky

welcome to the morning

22°