dharmabum93406's Profile

From: San Luis Obispo, CA
Joined: May 04, 2008
http://web.mac.com/paul_mccloskey/

About dharmabum93406:

I am a Graphic Artist/Photographer born and raised in Boston, MA and lived up in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 25+ years. I relocated to the Central Coast in 2006 after a cross-country trek that took me thru the Nat'l Parks back to New England, where I got to spend (2) summers on Cape Cod with my dad. This trek eventually took me a year and a half, which also included a winter on the Gulf Coast of Florida, (also with my dad) before eventually finding my way back to the West Coast. I had discovered the Central Coast several years ago, and always loved driving down the coast to escape the madness of the Bay Area. I am very happy being here in SLO, surrounded by the natural beauty and wonderful people of the California Central Coast. This is definitely where I belong.


~~~ "Painting with Light" ~~~

"…spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer IT has chosen."

Minor White
from The Zen of Creativity
by John Daido Loori


I like to think of my photography as "painting with light…a sacred light". I am attempting to capture and communicate not only the breath-taking beauty found in nature, but the ambiance and spirit using natural light to help “paint” my pictures, in camera. I call my work “Photo-Paintings”, which I consider to be a convergence of today’s digital photography/imaging technology and traditional printmaking techniques, along with the fine art of plein-air painting. I actually visualize what I am seeing with a painter's eye, and approach each shot with a "painterly" attention to composition, color, texture, and atmosphere. These are key elements in all my images. For me, there is a Zen to these images that evokes a sort of mystical and spiritual feeling which arises from the natural settings…Be Here Now. Being in nature always brings a sense of wonder and inner joy that is sometimes difficult, if not impossible to communicate in words, let alone capture with a camera. I have a deep respect and love for nature and hope these images inspire the same feelings in others. It is critical for the survival of this planet that we protect our environment for future generations to come. Each and every photo-painting has a story to tell, and I hope these images bring some joy and inspiration to go out and experience the beauty and majesty of nature, and create something wonderful in this world we live.
The images are captured using either a Canon G5 ("point/click" )digital camera with no filters nor specialty lenses and/or a Canon 20D digital SLR camera. I especially like the simplicity, versatility and compactness of the G5 because I can take it just about everywhere I go. I am truly blown away by its ability to capture the light, color, texture and spirit of the settings that I am actually experiencing in the moment. Minor touchup is done using Adobe Photoshop on an Apple Macintosh Powerbook to enhance the contrast and levels, but I try to stay true to the light and spirit of the natural settings that I experience. The museum-quality prints are output to a fine art, medium/large-format, inkjet printer onto archival, fine art watercolor paper and/or water-resistant canvas using archival, color-fast inks. Images can be output in just about any dimensions.

Thank you so much for taking the time to view some of my photo-paintings. Please feel free to visit my website:

Painting With Light Gallery, http://web.mac.com/paul_mccloskey/

and/or send email to me with your comments, questions and/or to purchase prints and/or canvases:

paul_mccloskey@mac.com.

I only ask that anyone interested in "borrowing"/using my art/work, please contact me via email to request/obtain permission. Gracias! 8)

© 2004-2008 Paul J. McCloskey - All Rights Reserved