fine art print – Seite 9 – by GG

Sky Gazing as a Buddhist Meditation Technique: The Great Perfection (Dzogchen)

“Our mind is like a cloudy sky, in essence clear and pure but overcast by the clouds of delusions. Just as the thickest clouds eventually disperse, so too even the heaviest delusions can be removed from our mind (…), and we shall experience the supreme happiness of full enlightenment.”
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Eight Steps to Happiness: The Buddhist Way of Loving Kindness, 2000, p. 1

I’ve said before that I am absolutely fascinated by all sorts of skies and could spend hours watching clouds. I know that I am not alone with that and now a friend told me that in Buddhism, the sky plays an important role as well.

Within Tibetan Buddhism for example, there exists a meditation technique called sky gazing where you look into a preferably blue sky with open eyes allowing your thoughts to pass by like clouds. Gazing into the skies, you become aware of the vast open space and can reconnect with the natural state of existence, and can eventually—according to Buddhist teachings—achieve enlightenment.

So, go out there and (re)discover all the beauty that is in the skies… <!–and on a grey day, maybe come back to this website and watch a slideshow to find enlightenment here here :-)–>

A Springtime Visit to Beijing – Meeting Old Friends and Making New Ones

“A journey of a thousand miles
starts under one’s feet.”
Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64

I just returned from a short but very busy trip to Beijing. Spring had already arrived there and cherry trees, magnolia, and lilac were in full bloom. It was still cold at night but nice and warm during the day. Unfortunately, we just barely had the chance to either enjoy much of Beijing’s parks and life there or inhale the special atmosphere in its wonderful temples, but we had days full of sunshine and without smog. Of course air quality could have been better and traffic less, and I could have done with a little less noise too, but what can you expect of a megacity of more than 20 million people?!

However, what still always surprises me is the friendliness of the people and the respect and warm welcome they give us. In all of Beijing’s hustle and bustle, I’ve never felt lost or unsafe. We have met old friends and also made new ones, and I hope I will call them so many years to come. New doors opened and I believe exciting projects will follow upon this short visit. It is too early to tell more, but I will be back in Beijing later this year. And wherever I will be until then, a little bit of Beijing and its people will always be with me.

Saatchi Art Chooses “Over Russia (2)” to Represent Color Photography

“The world is your kaleidoscope, and the varying combinations of colors which at every succeeding moment it presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever-moving thoughts.”
James Allen, As A Man Thinketh, 1902

Saatchi Art, the online presence of the famous Saatchi Gallery of London, brings together collectors and artists. Collectors can search for original artworks they might like using different search criteria. In the photography section, this can be for example the style an artist chose, the subject of the photography, or the medium used for the print. Medium categories are for example digital, black and white, color, or Polaroid. To represent color photography on their website, Saatchi Art chose my photograph “Over Russia (2)” from the “Above the Clouds”-collection, a powerful picture of an evening sky turned into all kinds of red and purple by the setting sun which I shot from an airliner on a flight from Germany to China in 2014. Check that out on Saatchi Art!

Shades of Grey and Lilac: Lilac Gray One of the Top Ten Spring Colors

“Grey is a colour that always seems on the eve of changing to some other colour (…). So we may be perpetually reminded of the indefinite hope that is in doubt itself; and when there is grey weather in our hills or grey hairs in our heads, perhaps they may still remind us of the morning.”
G. K. Chesterton: Alarms and Discursions, 1911, p. 144

Pantone, probably best known for their Pantone Matching System (PMS) and their PMS Color Guides, recently published their “PANTONE Fashion Color Report Spring 2016”. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute™, says that “colors this season transport us to a happier, sunnier place where we feel free to express a wittier version of our real selves.” According to the report, Lilac Gray is one of the ten must have spring colors. Being one of the neutral colors of the spring palette, Lilac Gray still is a color with a twist as a hint of lilac joins the classic gray.

Following up Pantone, Jessica Swagman—a Michigan based wedding and event planner—presented Lilac Gray in her blog as one of the 2016 Color Trends especially for weddings. She put together a collage of photos featuring Lilac Gray and included my photograph “Shades of Grey” from the “Shades of Grey and Lilac”-Collection.
<!–As Lilac Gray is trending, please feel free to watch the collection’s slideshow again; it does come with Aaron Howard’s wonderful music. And should you still doubt that spring will ever arrive, this should let you find hope again!–>

Skies of Love: New Collection, New Photographs on byGabrieleGolissa.com

“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment.
First, to let go of life. In the end, to take a step without feet;
to regard this world as invisible, and to disregard what appears to be the self.”
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (Persian philosopher, 1207 – 1273),
from „The Works of Shams of Tabriz“

Isn’t that what we are all looking for: love? True, deep, and endless love making us happy all over? Well, whether you have already found your other half or are still searching, I hope you will enjoy the new photographs I have just uploaded. I called the collection Skies of Love. There you will find pictures full of love and passion as the evening sun has turned the clouds into an ardent red. As the sun set, the colors changed into tender shades of violet.

Limited edition prints of these photographs are available as original photo prints under acrylic glass, as HD metal prints, and as canvas prints in different sizes. Please see photographs for details.

<!–And do enjoy the slideshow! It comes with one of my favorite love songs which is of course by Aaron Howard: “Always Been Yours” from his latest album “Hearts on Fire”.–>