15 December 2012

one better

There is one thing better than hearing a wonderful performance by a talented singer. That is hearing that same singer "jamming" with friends for the pure joy of making music together.

I'd post photos but it feels wrong to do so. It was a magical night, and the memory is far better than a photo can record.

Last night a friend expressed surprise that I hadn't taken photos of the singer as he thrilled the small but enthusiastic winter audience. I did take photos after the main performance, only of the informal session and I don't think I should be sharing these without permission. At the moment I was asked about the (lack of) photos I thought, but didn't say, that I wanted to treasure the memory, and not "reduce it to a mere photo".

Are photographs reductionist in some way? Is the editing process too severe when sound and emotion are part of the subject? Photographs can be evocative, but last night no photograph would have captured the joy, the pleasure and the appreciation that resonated in that ancient space.

Today I am on my own creative roll, with four small paintings on target to be completed in time for Christmas. That will make six done since I sent my other works to NZ.

I miss my paintings when they leave home, but something in the gap that they leave releases another energy, and more paintings/writings come to fill the void.

Now let's see if I too can go one step better, and paint with joy and delight :-)

Today I am grateful for happy memories.


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