Looking for Pastels on Track Nine-After the Museum Series

My trip to Boston to the Roni Horn exhibit continues to inform my work these past two days in no way that I can directly link back to her themes of identity.

But, something is stirring when my goal in sorting through my South Station photos is to make this hub of train steel and winter darkness appear to be painted with pastels.

No photoshop artistic filters were used with this image only a variety of exposures from four different images that I took while boarding the train.  I applied pieces of these images on to one another, throgh layer masks (the next best thing to bread itself) as a painter applies paint.

I have no idea where Track Nine is going to take me next.  I thought it was the train back home but I seem to be going in a different direction.

©Pat Coakley 2010

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**Select photographs from this blog and my wider archive can be purchased at www.patcoakley.com

10 Replies to “Looking for Pastels on Track Nine-After the Museum Series”

  1. both dorothy on the yellow brick road and alice in wonderland wanted to get back home, but my my what they saw while they were away!

    1. what a great comment, Kathi! What I love about doing work since the exhibit is that I choose things to work on that on the face of it may be an image one throws away..Some rescue animals…I rescue images. I still don’t get the connection with the exhibit but I’m not going to think about it too much. Want to try and get together at the ICA soon? I’d love to get your take on the exhibit!

  2. Lovely.

    I like where you’re going with this latest lot of images. They look much less contrived and have an ephemeral natural quality about them.

    1. Thanks, Razz…this is a very nice ‘unglued” feeling…since I’ ve experience with the other not so nice unglued feeling, I thought I’d put it in context!

  3. Ephemeral is a good word for it, razzbuffnik. I really like the blindingly white path you seem to be on here. Aren’t layer masks just the cat’s meow!?

    1. Yes, there is something blindingly in this path, Don. I’m still learning about layer masks! They seem endlessly fascinating and versatile to me.

  4. Pat, to me this series is all about light and movement. Sort of like seeing Spring in images. I know things have felt heavy for you recently but maybe you’re unconsciously feeling lighter? I hope so.

    1. Ahoy, Epic! You know, I think you are right..unconsciously I am feeling lighter. I hadn’t thought of it that way but for lots of reasons it just strikes me as true.

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