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The Perfect Moon

3/1/2012

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I’ve always considered myself a nature lover, at least in theory. But living in Manhattan, there’s very little nature nearby to love. Except for Central Park, there is only the sky; that elevated strip of brightness found between the buildings on either side of the street.

Wherever I might be in the city, I tend to look up for quick glimpses of nature’s realm. And of course, sometimes I see the moon, which except for the sun is the only heavenly body that Manhattanites can expect to see with any regularity. I enjoy seeing the moon over Manhattan, be it the faint moon in a bright blue afternoon sky, or the glaring heavenly headlight in the deep black of night. Over the years there have been a few occasions when I have found these sightings to be extraordinary.

Once years ago when our son was a little guy, he and I were walking on Columbus Avenue, past the vast bulk that is the rear of the American Museum of Natural History.

That particular early evening time and place offered us, what I consider a once in a lifetime view of the moon. At that magic instant the forces of nature had produced a vision of benign and calming beauty in the sky. There was a quality of light that is seldom seen. Our earthly world, the sky and the moon were all so softly illuminated, so perfectly balanced; their combination seemed an intimation of heavenly perfection. It seemed more a picture than reality. Even more thrilling was the position of the moon in the sky. It was just touching a green dinosaur weathervane atop one of the sunset-golden conical towers of the museum. I pointed it out to young Erik and said the scene was so beautiful, so extraordinary; we should try to remember it over the years. And we have.    

footnote…

I’ve seen a lot of lovely moons but seldom had a camera. Here’s one time in Seattle that I did. 

Picture
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Spheres of Interest

3/1/2012

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Picture
I’ve coined a new word, “Illustrationsphere”. Why? It’s really just a way to introduce my new blog, and its themes. It might also help explain what directions I intend to take this blog in the future. “Illustrationsphere” might be defined as a faint cloud of thoughts, ideas, notions, memories and artistic ambitions that surround the illustrator. And in this case, that illustrator would be me.

I see this blog as a series of footnotes, with the aim of elaborating on and expanding upon my illustration website. The title of that website “Moons, Machines & Martians” sums up a lot of my interests. But there’s more. I think a list of upcoming blog subjects will indicate some of the material that’s spinning around in my own Illustrationsphere .


•   Mars Over Manhattan

•   The Lost Cities of Mars (and southern France)

•   Create or Collect, or Both

•   Sift, Combine and Mix…a recipe for illustrators

•   Birth of a Book-Lover

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    Fredric Winkowski

    Fredric Winkowski is an illustrator/author/
    photographer with many imaginative and also nonfiction books to his credit. 

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