Instead of a selfie, why not photograph a moment such as when sitting at the kitchen table, or looking out the window, or stopping on a walk around the block then critiquing the photograph as if it were a painting.

Just as a critique sheet is used to evaluate a work of art, we could use a critique sheet to evaluate certain moments of our day treating these moments as if they were works of art, too.

Identification of the Moment: a Parian Porch, May 2017

Description: it is a color photograph showing a partial view of a  porch with plants and a partial view of a patio with plants.

Analysis: the picture plane is divided into foreground and background.  This division is enhanced by the effect of controluce with the foreground being darker than the background.

The picture is dominated by nature’s biomorphic plants that contrast with man’s geometrical architecture. It takes the eye longer to move around biomorphic contours than it does to move around geometric ones. Natures wants attention.

Interpretation: the presence of a foreground and a background suggests “Here and There”–the distance that divides one place from another. One thought from another. One person from another. But our eyes help us go beyond boundaries permitting  ” there” to become ”here”.

Conclusion: observation brings things closer to us even when they are far away.

My memories are paintings.