landscape

Coming Home

My first year in the MFA program is almost complete. I will be home in two weeks and I couldn't be any more impatient. I find myself missing the mountains, especially since everyone from BC has been posting photos of the nice weather all over social media. This longing for the mountains inspired me to paint a landscape in my studio the other day. Here is how it all came together. 

I started by using a paint brush and india ink to create an outline of mountains, a lake, and some trees. I visualized a scene from my camping trip last summer in BC. Next I added line details using coloured micron pens. 

Coming Home, India Ink and Coloured Micron Pens on Bristol, 11"x14", 2016, Mallory Donen

Afterwards I scanned the above image using a flatbed scanner. I used Photoshop to generate the panorama landscape image below. 

It's amazing how much you can miss things from home that you often take for granted. Can't wait to come home and be reunited with the mountains. 

Familiarity, Intrigue, and Beauty: The Mundane Urban Landscape

Sunday, December 6: 

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours roaming the streets around my neighbourhood. I walked along Corydon, Osborne, River, and Wellington Crescent. Although I am often inspired by my natural surroundings (don't get me wrong the trees in this area are large and beautiful), I found myself being drawn towards abstract shapes and lines found in the urban landscape.

The Royal Crest: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen 

I began by walking along Corydon towards Confusion Corner when I found myself bored of looking at the storefronts on the main strip. Every time I walk down this street I find myself drawn to the alleys and spaces in between the buildings.

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

The alleys and hidden sides of buildings are filled with bizarre imagery that make for interesting documentation of architecture. While photographing these types of images, my goal is to capture unique perspectives that juxtapose elements of nature and the man-made. Alternatively I also attempt to combine various shapes, textures, and patterns, that exist within the immediate urban environment.

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

Although these things often seem mundane and functionless, they are strangely interesting to me as I can read a sense of character, animation, and life within them. They're intriguing because they are uncanny elements of the urban landscape that seem unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time. These shapes/structures are repeated within various architectures within the urban setting. But we do not pay attention to these often hidden components, therefore making them seem unique to us when we eventually take the time to notice them. 

For some reason I have always been fascinated with taking photographs of fire hydrants and fire hose connections on the sides of buildings. No matter where I am in the world these are two objects or shapes that are always present. They often look slightly different in shape or color, but it is something I immediately look for when travelling or visiting a new place. Now some may think this is totally strange and there must be something wrong with me right?! Wrong! The reason I do this is to feel connected to home as well as feel more comfortable in my current surroundings. There's satisfaction in knowing that these are things that connect all of us around the world. Some may think this is far fetched, but I truly believe in the power of these mundane signifiers as a way of bringing about a sense of comfort and belonging.

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

While on this photo walk I found myself discovering the mundane urban landscape by seeing things with a new and unique perspective. This meant I was looking up, crouching down, tilting sideways, and basically every other way of looking imaginable. Looking is a powerful thing, but sometimes you need to remind yourself that just because you can see does not mean that you see things.

Windows: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

I was walking past this building when I noticed something beautiful. I walked across the street so that I could get a better angle of what I had just seen. The photograph above (Windows: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB) is what I had seen, a window within a window, within a window. The moment was filled with lines, windows, shapes, and all in all a very interesting pattern formed by architecture, design, and destruction. A man walking by the window looked up in curiosity and confusion. He asked me why I was photographing the window when it was cracked, old, and in his opinion not very beautiful or nice to look at. I simply answered that I thought it was worth photographing and that I'm not interested in what everyone thinks should be photographed, but rather things that get overlooked or forgotten. He seemed happy with my answer and continued on his way, while I continued photographing the moments in the urban landscape that I found intriguing, familiar, and beautiful.