2024-01-11 19:16
Color wheels are fun, instructive, and beautiful. We owe their existence to Isaac Newton, as I discussed in a previous post. He realized that the extra-spectral colors—the range center… Read More
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blog.rightreading.com
Freeform blog with an emphasis on writing, translation, publishing, printing, art and photography, graphic design, and typography
2023-12-27 20:19
Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 – 1553), Head of a Peasant, 1525, 19.3 x 15.7 cm, watercolor on paper with white gouache highlights and pen and ink detailing.The image above, by Lucas Cr… Read More
2023-12-27 04:32
Venice Scene. Ink & colors on paper, 9 x 12 in. Dec. 2023 Read More
2023-12-26 06:44
Bluff Head Preserve, Sedgwick, Maine. Ink and colors on paper, 9 x 12 in. Dec 2023 Read More
2023-08-19 16:17
Ink and watercolor on paper, 11 x 14 in. Click to enlarge.
I’ve posted about this painting before, so I won’t repeat what I said about the process. I’m putting this up m… Read More
2023-08-16 00:07
Watercolor instructor Erik Lundgren talks on his blog about the lure of watercolor grid charts. Aspiring watercolor artists are often urged to make or to reference charts of colors and mixes… Read More
2023-07-13 19:35
Ink and colors on paper, 11 x 14 in.
I’m generally pleased with the results of this recent painting — a rather large one for me at 11 x 14 in. I will comment briefly here on t… Read More
2023-03-10 20:54
The plastic watercolor palettes I used for decades finally gave up the ghost, which has again focused my attention on my watercolor system. There are many ways to handle watercolor paints. T… Read More
2023-01-31 23:39
I just finished Christopher Fowler’s Peculiar London, and now I want to go back to the city for another visit. It is a, well, peculiar book (though great fun for the right reader), see… Read More
2022-12-29 19:11
Everyone understands that screens are not paper. So when our photo prints come back looking flat and muddy compared the vibrant image on our monitor, we are disappointed but not exactly shoc… Read More
2022-08-24 19:19
The Dolmen of Guadelperal, sometimes called the “Spanish Stonehenge,” exposed by low water. According to Euronews, “The stone circle, which dates back to 5,000 BCE was subm… Read More
2022-08-06 20:25
Micro Four Thirds, really?
Yes, really.
I’ve been shooting in the micro four thirds format for more than a decade. Revolutionary when it first came out in 2008, the format has l… Read More
2022-07-26 13:00
In the summer of 1634, Jean Nicolet (1598-1642) set out from the French colony in Quebec to sort out tribal conflicts on the Great Lakes that were threatening the fur trade, Canada&rsquo… Read More
2022-06-01 14:00
What do these words have in common?
awkward birth both cake dirt gap get give ill mire muggy ransack root rotten rugged same scant scathe scowl seem skill skin skirt sky sprint steak their t… Read More
2022-03-27 13:00
This will be a little basic for many but maybe helpful to others. Authors often wonder whether the advance a publisher is offering is a fair one. There is a simple formula that can help you… Read More
2022-02-07 22:53
Astronomicum Caesareum.
The Astronomicum Caesareum (“The Emperor’s Astronomy,” 1540) by Petrus Apianus is a monumental example of European book arts of the sixteenth centur… Read More
2021-09-17 16:49
After 15+ years of blogging — formerly daily, now much less often — I find myself with a lot of outdated posts. I intend now to go through and delete a lot of them. Some I will b… Read More
2021-03-17 19:17
Adobe recently released a new feature that expands on the existing “enhance details.” Super Resolution uses artificial intelligence to increase the resolution of camera raw image… Read More
2020-11-29 19:27
Photoshop 2021 has introduced some AI features that are a mix of exciting and disturbing. Want to make your crazy uncle look younger and less angry? Just use the “facial age” and… Read More
2020-04-17 18:20
All taken 14 April 2020 with a Samyang / Rokinon 12mm f2 (wide-angle) lens Read More
2020-03-31 18:54
I have settled, for now at least, on a watercolor palette that I think gives me good flexibility. And delight! You could certainly make do with fewer colors, but I love the pigments just for… Read More
2020-01-10 23:48
An Exhibit of Riso Printing and Community at San Francisco State University
I attended an exhibit of Riso printing presented at San Francisco State under the auspices of the faculty and s… Read More
2019-11-03 22:44
Scientifica Historica font cover.BOOK REVIEW
Ivy Press
October 1, 2019
6 x 9 in., 272 pages, 320 illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-7824-0878-9
As a one-time member of the National Book Critics C… Read More
2019-10-29 17:05
2019-10-08 17:33
A bit of personal news: My essay “La Vie en Rose” was selected as a notable essay of 2019 in Best American Essays 2019, edited by Rebecca Solnit.
“One morning in 2016, keep… Read More
2019-10-03 20:15
BOOK REVIEW
University Press of Florida
April 1, 2019
6 x 9 in., 274 pages
ISBN: 978-0-8130-6408-6
Plants live their lives just as we do, surrounded by loved ones, competitors.and enemie… Read More
2019-09-21 18:15
BOOK REVIEWGary B. MeisnerRace Point PublishingOct 23, 201891/4 x 113/8 in., 224 pagesISBN: 9781631064869
I have often used the golden ratio in my design work. I have to confess that thi… Read More
2019-09-21 18:15
BOOK REVIEWRace Point PublishingOct 23, 201891/4 x 113/8 in., 224 pagesISBN: 9781631064869
I have often used the golden ratio in my design work. I have to confess that this sometimes ref… Read More
2019-09-18 00:00
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,That struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more. It is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothi… Read More
2019-07-30 03:22
I could pass a pleasant eveningReading A. J. LieblingOr Sartre or CamusGetting smarter by the hourI could be a SchopenhauerIf I only had a clue
I’d do textual exegesisOn Auerbach&rs&hell…Read More
2019-06-02 18:23
If you shoot raw rather than jpeg and have a decent camera your files are likely to be very large. Of the online storage options, Google Photos has the best search capabilities for finding p… Read More
2019-03-26 17:22
The Swiss pavilion won the Golden Lion national pavilion award for presenting “a compelling exhibition which was enjoyable while tackling the critical issues of scale in domestic space… Read More
2019-03-22 19:21
Working with Garamond Premier Pro for my book on Persian ceramics, I have been impressed by the range of sizes and weights the typeface includes. There are regular, medium, semibold, and bo… Read More
2019-02-26 22:57
I have disabled comments. To discuss anything reach me via the “Contact” link at the top of the page or one of the social sidebar links Read More
2019-02-19 22:12
I received this catalogue of an exhibition at the Correr Museum in Venice from the amazing Scott Newstok of Rhodes College in Memphis, who always seems to be a step ahead of me on whatever I… Read More
2019-02-15 00:09
I am learning that the Blend If function is one of the most powerful in Photoshop. This video from Phlearn is a good overview of the function.
I think one of the best uses of the tool is… Read More
2019-02-06 19:06
Click through to Flickr and expand for a larger view.This mosaic is one of four on the upper level of the basilica of San Marco (behind the loggia where the horses reside) flanking the main… Read More
2018-08-18 18:23
The crumbling Palazzo Trevisan is located on Fondamenta Andrea Navagero, opposite the Museum of Glass, in Murano. Overlook the neglect of its facade–which was once covered with fresco… Read More
2018-08-16 20:20
Just downstream from the Ponte Vecchio, the Ponte Santa Trinita, the world’s oldest elliptic arch bridge, was constructed from 1567 to 1569 by Bartolomeo Ammannati. The bridge was des… Read More
2018-08-14 23:20
The cupola of the Redentore is visible beyond San Giorgio Maggiore. The modest-looking piers in the foreground are used by the Marco Polo Boat Club.
GPS: 45.433732, 12.345992 Read More
2018-07-28 16:33
The Punta della Dogana at the meeting of the Grand and Giudecca Canals.
The Punta della Dogana is the pointy tip of the Dorsaduro where the Grand and Giudecca Canals meet. It is named for t… Read More
2018-07-25 17:12
The stretch of Venice’s Grand Canal between the Rialto Bridge and the Bacino includes some of the city’s finest buildings. Owners of these buildings invested great effort and fu… Read More
2018-07-23 15:09
Upon entry into the great city of Venice, every camera-toting visitor is required to sign a document committing them to taking a photo of the Bridge of Sigh (Ponte dei Sospiri). This is my… Read More
2018-05-30 22:08
Beech Forest, in the Cape Cod National Seashore near Provincetown, offers a glimpse of the original arboreal landscape of the cape. According to the National Park Service,
In the period bef… Read More
2018-04-23 05:47
Dream of Venice: cover in progress of work in progress Read More
2018-04-08 17:53
Greengrocer near the Ponte dei Pugni, Venice
So convenient to pop down to the canal and pick up a few fresh fruits and vegetables.
The nearby bridge is called the Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of… Read More
2018-04-08 16:06
María Félix as Catalina de Erauso
Nice to see the great María Félix as a Google Doodle today (April 8, her 103rd birthday). Here she is as Catalina de Erauso… Read More
2018-02-10 18:47
East bank of the Grand Canal, looking south from the Rialto Bridge. The two buildings to the right of the yellow facade are the Ca’ Corner Loredan and the Ca’ Farsetti, both buil… Read More
2018-02-02 18:44
Carol in Ghent, showing catchlights (see below for detail). This photo was taken on a boat bar in the university district, where animation was provided not only by catchlights but also by Du… Read More
2018-01-24 01:09
Left: Capuchin. Right: Cappuccino.
The drink takes its name from the color of the monks’ robes Read More
2018-01-22 00:29
The original image has a strong green cast.
You’re looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. Or maybe they’re some other color. Whatever the color, it’s casting it… Read More
2018-01-18 20:17
2018-01-11 19:03
Camel plaque, Palazzo Mastelli, Venice.
In the Canareggio sestiere of Venice, between the Jewish Ghetto and the Madonna dell’ Orto church, on the Calle dei Mori (the Street of the… Read More
2017-10-12 20:38
2017-10-12 00:13
2017-10-07 22:53
Astronomicum Caesarium.
The Astronomicum Caesarium (“The Emperor’s Astronomy,” 1540) by Petrus Apianus is a monumental example of European book arts of the sixteenth centur… Read More
2017-10-07 20:57
A delightful guide from Pierrick Calvez. Click the screenshot (from a section representing “contrast”) for the five-minute guide.
Screen shot from Pierrick Calvez’s Fi… Read More
2017-10-04 21:14
Orbis sensualium pictus, 1659, by Comenius (Czech, 1592-1670). English translation by Charles Hoole (English, 1610-1667). Sheet from printed book.
The Orbis sensualium pictus, often des… Read More
2017-10-04 15:22
2017-10-03 17:27
Left: Vatican City, 3 Oct. 2009. Right: Antigua, Guatemala, 4 Jan., 2002 Read More
2017-10-03 06:33
Living wall at SFMOMA, with detail of Maquette for Trois disques, 1967, by Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976), metal and paint, The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection Read More
2017-09-20 04:24
2017-09-19 23:10
Another image using the photo-to-line art technique I described in a previous post Read More
2017-09-19 18:50
A friend and I were talking.
One of my favorites is Italo Calvino, she said.Oh, yes!… I used to review some of his books for the San Francisco Chronicle.Which ones?My favorite was Si… Read More
2017-09-18 14:45
La persistencia de la memoria, 1931, by Salvador Dali. Oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, NY, given anonymously, 162.1934.
The predominant focus in the neurobiological study of memory has… Read More
2017-09-17 18:51
Bucks Harbor, Maine. Artwork from photo.
Recently I’ve been experimenting with a technique for converting photos to line art, which can then be colorized. (I don’t claim this tec… Read More
2017-07-31 01:41
Just found out today (from someone who actually watched it) that this is online. I guess it’s been up for years Read More
2017-05-29 21:38
La condition humaine, 1933, by René Magritte. Oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Gift of the Collectors Committee1987.55.1. The aspect ratio of the work on Magritte’s easel… Read More
2017-05-25 18:03
“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil
I haven’t done a links post in quite a while. Here are a few things I thought worth sharing.
Why Google is obses… Read More
2017-05-05 23:52
Democritus and Heraclitus, by Johannes Moreelse (Dutch, ca. 1603–October 1634). Oil on canvas. Democritus and Heraclitus, the laughing philosopher and the weeping philosopher, wer… Read More
2017-05-03 18:18
“Fritillaria,” 1915, by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Scottish, 1868-1928). Pencil and watercolour on paper, 25.3 x 20.2 cm. Hunterian Art Gallery Mackintosh col… Read More
2017-05-02 19:52
El Supremo and Ivankita Read More
2017-04-24 17:38
Forest Scene with Saint George Fighting the Dragon, 1510, by Albrecht Altdorfer (German, 1480–1538). Oil and parchment on linden wood, 8.9 × 11.1 in. Alte Pinakothek, Munich… Read More
2017-04-21 17:34
Things I have learned from doing the NYT crossword:
The most famous of all musicians is Brian ENO.
Anything mixed up is an OLEO. Not to be confused with AIOLI, foremost among condiments… Read More
2017-04-17 05:51
From Greg Fallis’s website.
Greg Fallis, on the website gregfallis.com, does a service in recalling the history of the statues of the Charging Bull and the Fearless Girl. I l… Read More
2017-04-16 22:55
The Great Piece of Turf, 1503, by Albrecht Dürer. Nuremberg. watercolor and white gouache on paper. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna.
This small (15.75 x 12.25 in.) watercolor… Read More
2017-04-14 03:57
Warren downtown.
Warren, Rhode Island, is a town where the somewhat dumpy downtown seems frozen in the 1950s. In other words, my kind of place.
Warren River, Warren, RI.
Warren is… Read More
2017-04-10 22:29
Nubble Light House, York, Maine.
Recently I visited Sohier Park in Cape Neddick, York, Maine (near Ogunquit). About 100 yards offshore on a small rocky island perches one of the prettie… Read More
2017-03-26 19:06
Front cover of The Lost Poems of Cangjie: Winter Blossom, 2011, by Hung Liu. Woodcut with acrylic; 23.25 x 23.5 in. Copyright © 2011 by Hung Liu
Subtle, sweet, subversive, and sly… Read More
2017-03-08 18:49
Grace Paley. Detail from a photo accompanying her interview in the Paris Review.
This interview with Grace Paley by Jonathan Dee, Barbara Jones, and Larissa MacFarquhar ran in the Paris… Read More
2017-03-07 06:16
On an overcast evening last November, I met the American essayist and translator Eliot Weinberger at a gentrified West Village coffee shop. Having got there early, I was looking out the wind… Read More
2017-03-06 03:20
Jade suit, Western Han period (206 BCE–9 CE), 2nd century BCE. Unearthed from Tomb 2, Dayun Mountain, Xuyi, Jiangsu. Jade and gold. Nanjing Museum, EX2017.1.1. Photograph © Nanjin… Read More
2017-03-04 00:57
Left face / Right face: Abe Lincoln.
A representative of Oxford University Press writes requesting permission to use this image of Abe Lincoln (one of the 44 U.S. presidents better than the… Read More
2017-02-28 19:40
Tom’s Garden home page, February 2017.
I’ve been a bit more active recently over at Frisco Vista (that could change). Among the more recent posts there:
photo magic
an… Read More
2017-02-12 20:18
Design trends graphic (detail).
I received an e-mail from Katie Smith of Creative Market calling my attention to their infographic on design trends of the past year. “f you feel this a… Read More
2017-01-30 19:40
Since I’m taking a batch of my homemade ginger beer to an event in a few days I slapped up this little label for it. It goes on a recycled orange juice container.
The font is Bau Pro… Read More
2017-01-09 22:41
Ravana takes the fields against Lakshmana and Hanuman, detail of a page from the Mewar Ramayana, 1649–1653, by Sahiubdin (Indian, active 1625–1660). Opaque watercolors on paper… Read More
2016-11-24 19:07
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
This playlist mainly features traditional jazz, R&B, and Latin.
Enjoy! Read More
2016-11-11 17:17
I’m having the most terrible dream. Please, somebody wake me up Read More
2016-09-25 04:31
nerf hoop
Nerf ball stuck at the net. In the early to mid 1990s I often engaged in epic nerfball contests with Po Brons0n., Who had the upper hand? I can’t say, but Po was ever a formi… Read More
2016-09-24 21:25
The hummingbird visits the iochroma outside the window at left every day midmorning to early afternoon Read More
2016-09-23 02:05
I read Carl Hiassen’s Razor Girl after seeing several rave reviews, such as two in the New York Times (“irresistible” and “elegant”), one from NPR (&ldqu&helli…Read More
2016-09-04 03:59
Carol and Max near Desert Hot Springs.
I think of this photo as having a bit of a Richard Misrach quality Read More
2016-08-27 22:13
Again. And again. SFMOMA promo mailing.
Museums, let’s face it, tend not to be good at marketing their product. This envelope contained a membership pitch. Is “Experience it… Read More
2016-08-21 01:47
A few of my books.
Here you will find posts tagged “writing” on blog.rightreading.com. But really the majority of posts here pertain to writing.
For a page devoted to some of my… Read More
2016-08-19 01:11
The former look of this blog (since around 2006).
It’s been a long time since I’ve updated the look of this blog, mainly because I had customized so many features that I never ha… Read More
2016-07-16 17:49
New York Times article on Met layoffs (click through for web version).
After a $3 million rebranding that was “widely derided,” the Met is cutting some 100 jobs (following volun… Read More
2016-06-22 17:40
Sir Oliver Skardy & Fahrenheit 451 – Fame un spritz.
I found the lyrics to this tune, which I posted here in 2010 and recently reposted over at Tom’s Garden.
I make out the f… Read More
2016-06-11 17:54
Trump Destroyer.
Right Reading does not normally do product recommendations. But recently we ordered this product, and so far we are encouraged by the results. You just drill down. The label… Read More
2016-05-27 17:27
At RISD’s Nature Lab (photo via Audubon magazine)
“Every separation is a link.” — Simone Weil
Skeleton Crew : The Bones and Bodies Behind RISD’s… Read More
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