as if its real

Have another site, asifitsreal

~ private until now ~ will post there instead.

I'll add some of my new paintings, & 

photos from my Tibet & Nepal, China & other trips. 

Email me if you want details of prints etc

address in right hand column under 'about'.

At present, painting is more compelling than digital artwork.

still

What I most remember about dawns in Pokhara 

is the stillness

yes, theres the start of noise, birds, dogs, kitchens 

then theres the mountains coming into being

halfway up the sky. 

nostalgia

I want that book!

lake

The panorama option on my camera works for some views

generally I like to see things closer

The lake in Pokhara covered most preferences.

Joo Yeon Woo drinking my surroundings 

variations

Have begun painting again, after a long time.

About 10 years!

Today I tried out this idea on the computer, its

crumpled waxed paper superimposed with a photo

I took in Nepal; perhaps I'll try out a variation as a print.

Probably wont paint it, am enjoying attempting to get 

the mountains as I saw them there: 

simultaneously solid & ethereal.

lovely piece on earthsky

bhaktapur

Improved the exposure on some shots,

during a lovely quiet christmas

One of my favourites, the spout for a bathing place

A great door - that must have seen some rather

large & hungry rats..

art radar asia

nepal-4

This was part of the view from my guesthouse roof

in Pokhara, at dawn.

It would be sublime to be walking amongst

them, if you had the stamina. At different seasons, the 

light may be different, I loved the softness, & perhaps

the air pollution adds to the luminous light.

I enjoyed staying at the Sacred Valley  Inn

nepal-3

There are thangkas

temples. altars, candles

statues, more temples, stupas

incense, bells, & all of it quite different to

anywhere else.. 

how to describe how it is, when their experience

will be different again?

.. & oh, the mountains..

himalaya maps

nepal-2

I've friends who come from Turkey,

where deep history is everywhere evident,

much as it is in Nepal

there's some different beasts, 

but similar overlays of different

philosophies & religions

I like how the buddha appeared to move,

though it was me/my camera. 

Cadogan guides don't seem to have one for Nepal,
but theres one for Turkey:
check out the free download for Istanbul,
I like how they write about history, don't you?

nepal-1

Some friends are going to Nepal, thought to

post some shots for them of my trip there..

like this door, notable for the cutout metal

animals on the top half - did I see them at the time?
So much to see !

Sure, it was dusty, dirty, etc, but the

stronger memories are of vivid details,

the patina of age (& sometimes animal products)

the people kind despite an excess 

of tourists for so long

Fabulous carving in wood, stone, metal,
& still craftsmen who practice the skills.

7 world heritage sites in the Kathmandu valley

keeping out

A large lock, made in London, seen in Nepal

Seeing the photo again, I thought about how many ways

we devise to keep others out

with physical barriers, that is

sometimes they become great works of art. like the 

wall around Istanbul

or even this old door in Nepal.

Keeping the 'others' out takes so much energy!

chasing ice - hope the movie comes to Byron

blur

This was from a moving vehicle in Nepal, almost

abstract. I like it. Am getting ready for a trip to Thailand,

I'll be away a month, & probably wont be posting.

Lisa Kristine with her very strong photos, 

& speaking about slavery - now.

kathmandu

It's amazing how many heritage sites there are,
considering there are sometimes severe earthquakes.
The good part is that the skills are kept alive: wood carving,
metal casting, everything that makes Nepalese architecture
so uniquely interesting.
It's distressing that tourist money doesn't seem to filter down
very effectively, but its easy enough to find ways to help.

digital cave

window

Was correcting exposures on some Nepal photos,

so thought to use them here. 

These were from a moving bus: the mountains 

just outside Pokhara, a haystack along the same road.

fascinating installation

angles

This long concertina scroll in a glass box was also difficult

to photograph. Museums never seem to sell prints of such

interesting pieces.

A hall in the museum (Patan, I think) it was once a palace.

I prefer the shot at left, without flash it does something

intriguing. Flash made the walls apricot. I so enjoy how

a camera will show me something new, different to how 

this brain interpreted it.

photos from ladakh

joins

Sometimes I take several shots in sequence,

to end up with a large file when they're joined;

without a tripod, it's hit & miss, like this Buddha in a

museum in Nepal - not really worth fiddling with

as the centre photo is out of focus anyway.

Might still use it in another image,

as I really liked the patina on the metal.

artmandu

roger jones photos

temples

There's an abundance of great metal work in Nepal,

& wood carvings, & all kinds of hand worked treasures.

So much it's sometimes hard to see it all.

knockout mithila drawings at oberlin college

leonine

Two buddhas from Bangkok

& a lion from Nepal, wishing happy birthday to all

the Leos (that includes me).

In the early 1970's I went to the Gir forest to see lions,

sad to hear politics get in the way of
their territory being extended.

patan red

This particular red is ubiquitous in Nepal,

while not very attractive it suits the old timbers,

here in Patan.

These are a kind of samovar, though they may be

more for decoration.

asian art exhibitions

shechen

Some typical Tibetan decoration,

here at the Shechen monastery in Boudanath.

I was staying at the attached guest house, &

liked it a lot.

more than just architecture

terraces

More from the moving bus window, on way to Kathmandu.

 There were some great looking rocks 

being smashed for gravel. & precarious

hillside villages with extensive terraces.

It seems many places claim the oldest terraces, 

these are in the Philippines