Impression of Sunrise

A tribute to Monet’s work, Impression, soleil levant.

Waiting for creation

by Theo

I occasionally try to imagine what it would have been like before everything. Prior to creation, there was no time, no space, no matter. No light. No dark. No past. But all of the future. It is hard to get my head around it. Even harder to express in a work of art.

What was it like waiting for the first sunrise?

I have black wooden desk where I spend most of my time.

It provides a lot of reflection.

It is waiting for creation.

Desk reflections - waiting for creation
Desk reflections – waiting for creation, digital photograph.

 

Eternal Sunrise

by Theo

ETERNAL SUNRISE (Trailer) by Guzmán de Yarza Blache from Guzman de Yarza on Vimeo.

Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile, Miami, Mexico DF, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London & Madrid. 16 airports in 25 days. Two artists turn the world around without ever leaving an airport.

http://www.promofest.org/en/films/eternal-sunrise

The sun is always rising

by Theo

At any given moment, somewhere in the world, the sun is rising.

Technically, the sun is stationary and the world is turning.

The polar regions experience the sunrise a few times per year, astronauts on the international space station every few hours.

If you were to travel at the same speed as the earth rotates you could see an eternal sunrise.

I have not yet seen a sunrise this year and so my Impression of Sunrise is still blank.

 

Wrestling until sunrise

by Theo

Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Genesis 32:26 (NLT)

Lord, help me as I wrestle with you and give me the tenacity to persevere until you bless me.

I am certain that the best art comes from the struggle. That which appears easy sometimes has decades of life and fight before it comes to birth.

Sometimes the struggle is not with the art, but with getting the rest of life out of the way so the art can flow.

Sunrise

by Theo

One of Monet’s first impressionist paintings was Impresssion, Sunrise.

Impression, soleil levant.
Claude Monet, 1872.
Oil on canvas. 48 cm × 63 cm.
Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris

As a tribute to Monet’s work, and as an exploration of Impressionist painting techniques, I will paint a work titled Impression of Sunrise. I do not expect this work to be the first I will complete, however, Sunrise is an appropriate title for this first blog entry.

I have seen many sunrises in my lifetime, but I usually do not rise before the sun climbs in the sky. Most of my experiences have been from overnighters and my most memorable sunrise views are:

  • 7:30 am, Saturday 9 June 1990, Waikato University Campus steps, Hamilton New Zealand. I had travelled on an overnight bus from Palmerston North to Hamilton. Apart from a short break at Waiouru to build a small snowman, I had read No Compromise [affiliate link], the biography of Keith Green from cover to cover through the night. I later gave the book to a friend. The sun came up over the Kaimai Ranges. The sky was overcast.
  • 5:53 am, Tuesday 1 January 1991, Turakina Māori Girls’ College, Marton, New Zealand. My family was attending the annual camp of families involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Seven young adults piled into my mini with me and we took a spin around the empty town after seeing in the New Year. The sunrise was not memorable. We squeezed 27 people into the mini (including seven kids in the boot) later in the day.
  • 6:26 am, Tuesday 6 April 1999, Whispering Sands Beachfront Motel, Gisborne, New Zealand. After taking the long way around the East Cape from Whakatane, we spent a night in Gisborne. I was ill and woke early to see the first light. It was not particularly spectacular, with the day beginning with cloud. The Millenium sunrise in the same location was also apparently disappointing.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.