A Comparative Experiment: Photographs and Paintings
Aug 29, 2018 13:26:29 #
Cany143
Loc: SE Utah
A photograph (2016), a software generated 'painting' of that photograph (yesterday), and a photograph of a (1976) painting.... 'The Twin Houses.'
In the fall of 1905, Boston judge Charles Francis Jenney met English emigree watercolorist/photographer Samuel Peter Rolt Triscott out along the New England coast. The painter suggested that the judge --a passionate bird watcher-- visit his home, a major bird migration stop along mid-coast Maine, on a place called Monhegan Island. The following spring, Judge Jenney did just that, and over the next several years, he returned whenever he could. Before long, and often accompanied by his brother, a deep love and respect for the Island had grown in both, and in 1908 they bought property and sought to build summer homes there. Later that year, artist/painter Rockwell Kent --another Island resident-- was contracted to design the structures. These houses --two identical structures in complete and perfect mirror image of one another-- were completed in 1909.
I was introduced to the Island --and The Twin Houses-- in July of 1976 by my girlfriend at the time, the great-granddaughter of Judge Jenney. We stayed in the house on the left, at that time still owned by Jenney's descendants; the house on the right had been sold some years before, and was owned by the Harbormaster. My girlfriend was --and still is-- a skilled amateur photographer, and she showed me places she'd known since childhood, and that I saw for the first of many times. I didn't own a camera in those days, instead I painted or made drawings. A few years later, I bought a camera, and built a darkroom, and there you have it.
Please forgive this unremarkable bit of history and personal reminiscence. You'd probably be more interested in lenses or ISO's or what software might've been used. Its just that some stories are vital and run deep, and sometimes they take precedence over the technical aspect of things.
In the fall of 1905, Boston judge Charles Francis Jenney met English emigree watercolorist/photographer Samuel Peter Rolt Triscott out along the New England coast. The painter suggested that the judge --a passionate bird watcher-- visit his home, a major bird migration stop along mid-coast Maine, on a place called Monhegan Island. The following spring, Judge Jenney did just that, and over the next several years, he returned whenever he could. Before long, and often accompanied by his brother, a deep love and respect for the Island had grown in both, and in 1908 they bought property and sought to build summer homes there. Later that year, artist/painter Rockwell Kent --another Island resident-- was contracted to design the structures. These houses --two identical structures in complete and perfect mirror image of one another-- were completed in 1909.
I was introduced to the Island --and The Twin Houses-- in July of 1976 by my girlfriend at the time, the great-granddaughter of Judge Jenney. We stayed in the house on the left, at that time still owned by Jenney's descendants; the house on the right had been sold some years before, and was owned by the Harbormaster. My girlfriend was --and still is-- a skilled amateur photographer, and she showed me places she'd known since childhood, and that I saw for the first of many times. I didn't own a camera in those days, instead I painted or made drawings. A few years later, I bought a camera, and built a darkroom, and there you have it.
Please forgive this unremarkable bit of history and personal reminiscence. You'd probably be more interested in lenses or ISO's or what software might've been used. Its just that some stories are vital and run deep, and sometimes they take precedence over the technical aspect of things.
Aug 29, 2018 13:28:23 #
Aug 29, 2018 13:44:00 #
What a fun exercise to view and a fascinating story too. For me, most everything about photography takes precedence over technical 
Aug 29, 2018 14:00:59 #
Aug 29, 2018 14:22:17 #
Aug 29, 2018 14:28:35 #
Aug 29, 2018 15:07:35 #
A wonderful introduction to a fascinating bit of personal history and, the photography and art are just as nice!! Thanks for sharing, Cany. 
Aug 29, 2018 16:15:56 #
Aug 29, 2018 16:25:20 #
Aug 29, 2018 16:31:33 #
Very enjoyable thread. My reactions to the photos here. #1: Factual--nothing special. #2: Pretty lousy, overcooked computer "painting." #3 a quiet, softened in color and shapes, feeling for a place. Your painting is the best of the lot for me.
Aug 29, 2018 16:56:43 #
Cany143
Loc: SE Utah
artBob wrote:
Very enjoyable thread. My reactions to the photos here. #1: Factual--nothing special. #2: Pretty lousy, overcooked computer "painting." #3 a quiet, softened in color and shapes, feeling for a place. Your painting is the best of the lot for me.
Bruce: glad you found it interesting; thanks.
Bob: Ok. Thanks.
Aug 30, 2018 00:16:26 #
Outstanding set, Jim! Three variations of a great scene with an interesting narrative.
Aug 30, 2018 07:07:13 #
If I want a photographic record, which I usually do, the first one by a mile. If I want art, I’ll choose the third one. It’s exceptional.
Aug 30, 2018 07:36:14 #
Actually, I was more wondering what happened to the tree? Cool story. Cool effects.
Aug 30, 2018 08:12:14 #
As one painter to another - well done! Do you still swing those brushes sometimes?
Richard
Richard
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