Homage to E.A. Autrey's People Photography

Remembering the late, great E.A. Autrey (my father).  While updating my list of photographers I like on Pinterest - some examples here: https://www.pinterest.com/lucyawilson/people-photography/,  I realized some of the old pictures my father took of his children fit in quite well.  Here is the quintessential sullen teenager in 1965 - capturing the true essence of that episode of youth I don't miss at all.  I doctored up the picture somewhat, especially above where I added some original art to the background.

Swimming with Sharks

What you can't see very well can't hurt you - or can it?

Fort Bragg Beach

The beach in MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg in the merry month of May.

Albion Art

Four disparate new 7x10 pen & ink and watercolor paintings done in Albion, CA.  I was inspired to name the two "flowers in vases" paintings after socializing with friends.  The Snow Leopard painting was an attempt to incorporate text with a picture of a vanishing snow leopard, which had been featured on the cover of a magazine found in the house.  I did wonder who had worn the kid's antique cowboy boots when they were new, years ago.

Top to Bottom
1.  Three Old Friends (rose hips in vases)
2.  Dinner Party (flowers in vase)
3.  Snow Leopard FOCUS
4.  Kid's Cowboy Boots

Yellow Crowned Night Heron Animation

Magical Trees in Mendocino

Variations on a Bear Theme

Digital bears (from a pen & ink & watercolor original) on the left; Quilted bears on the right.  The polka dotted bear is my latest - created for a new creature quilt.  Can't get enough of this bear!

Spring has Sprung in Mendocino

This and 76 other new photos now up and available in my Shutterstock portfolio here:  https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Lucy+Autrey+Wilson

Beautiful Mt. Diablo in Vibrant Color

And a lot more photos from a recent outing now up @Shutterstock
photos https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Lucy+Autrey+Wilson

The Road to the Beach

Another beautiful day at Pt. Reyes National Seashore.  More photos in my Shutterstock portfolio here:  https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Lucy+Autrey+Wilson

Hard Working Woodpecker

I did a double take when I noticed how many acorns this industrious woodpecker and his pal had drilled into this neighborhood utility pole.

Blue Song Bird

Oil + Digital photo experimentation.

Mad Crow on a Tin Roof

In the Neighborhood

Watching Crow Flying Up in the Clouds

Photo collage, recent addition to Shutterstock Portfolio at https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Lucy+Autrey+Wilson

Reaching for the Stars

I photographed a child's hand print embedded in concrete on a sidewalk in town, and I wanted to do something with it.  This is what happened.  The pink stars, with raindrops, are from an antique tile embedded in a wall at Robson Harrington gardens.

Crow Contemplating His Next Move

Photo collage

The Past Becomes Present

1967 photo taken by the late, great E.A. Autrey in Santa Barbara, merges with a recent photo of a brick wall in San Anselmo's Robson Harrington House garden.  Nothing ever really dies, it is all just recycled.

Rose Hips Variation #3

Wet, winter rose hips in the rain

Winter Tree Reflected in Raindrop

Photo shot in the rain at Robson Harrington Park Gardens

Rose Hips - Variations on a Theme

Top:  Rose hip photographed in Berkeley Botanical Garden 2/2017 with Lucy's legs from the 1970s merged with a recent rose photo

Bottom:  Lucy 1956, photo by E.A. Autrey, with same 2/2017 rose hips layered on top.

Republicans Aren't Thinking Straight on Overturning Gun Laws to SSDI Recipients

     According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), as of 2013, approx. 35.2% of recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) receive it for mental health reasons vs 64.8% who receive SSDI for physical disability.  On Feb 2, 2017, according to Politicu Usa, House Republicans voted to overturn an Obama administration ruling that blocked disability recipients with mental disorders from buying guns.  This move surprised me, not because the Republican Party always sides with gun manufactures, regardless of the societal cost, but because it doesn’t make sense financially – something the Republicans espouse.  

     I was surprised when I retired, after nearly 50 years of working, to find I would have received more money from Social Security if I were disabled than I was going to receive from all of my years of working and contributing.  I have no problem helping out people who need extra help - within reason. But this doesn’t make much sense to me.  And the situation has gotten worse over time.  Based on a study by the Cato Institute in 2013, titled ‘The Rising Cost of Social Disability Insurance,’ “the number of SSDI beneficiaries jumped from 4.3 million in 1990, to 6.7 million in 2000, to 10.9 million in 2012, and the ratio of SSDI beneficiaries to all working-age people has doubled in the last two decades.”  This upward trend is not because there are more disabled people around, as the report states “the share of the U.S. working-age population reporting a severe disability has remained stable,” it is because more people are relying on SSDI permanently who are capable of working but can’t find a job, which is clearly a problem.

     Since Republicans would prefer to have fewer people taking SSDI payments, why not keep a policy that does not allow them to possess fire arms.  That would reduce the number of people who file for SSDI, who don’t really qualify, and who are obsessed with their right to bear arms.  It would also keep guns out of the hands of the 33% of SSDI recipients who do have mental health issues and should not be running around armed and dangerous.  This is a win win for people who would welcome more intelligent gun controls, and for people looking for ways to cut government costs. 

Some other gun statistics I learned when doing research for the George Lucas Books title "Cause of Death" here:

http://causeofdeathbook.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-americans-use-guns.html

Beauty Rises From the Thorns

Recent picture from the Berkeley Botanical Gardens.

Someone Has Lost Their Marbles

Photo collage with underwater shot of glass marbles and B&W photo taken around 1967

Beautiful Green Nature Textures

One of a series of photos taken around the neighborhood in Marin County after the rain.  More from this photo session at https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Lucy+Autrey+Wilson

Fear of the Future

E.A. Autrey photo from the 1950s with a night shot in Marin County in 2015

Quilted Art Panels

E.A. Autrey "Self Portrait" pastel 

Lucy Autrey Wilson "Independent Bee" pen & ink

Lucy Autrey Wilson "Mouth, Nose and Boots" pencil

Lucy Autrey Wilson "The Taylor Twins School Daze" photo

J.A. Autrey "Abstract" watercolor with glitter

J.L. Autrey "Baby Tiger" watercolor

J.L. Autrey "Blue Bird" watercolor with button

E.A. Autrey "Gas Pump" watercolor and "All American Shoe" etching

Between Storms

View of Phoenix Lake from the climb up Bald Hill

Moss and Lichen Growing Over Everything

Robson-Harrington old door with lichen covered brick wall.  Big contrast from the last several drought years.  Now there is too much water!

Mt. Vision Winter Fern

One of a number of new photos up at https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Lucy+Autrey+Wilson

Corte Madera Creek Raging Through Downtown San Anselmo

Day after the big storm, the river has gone down a bit.

1950s Embroidered Photos

Photos by the late, great E.A. Autrey.  Printed 8 1/2 x 11 on Hiromi MM-5 Shiramine paper, then embroidered.  Color pencil added to the top picture only.

Top:  Lucy in the backyard in Santa Barbara, July, 1954
Bottom:  Lucy posing in our messy house, all dressed up, in June, 1958.

I like what some artists are doing with found photos and added embroidery.  But, I'd rather work with photos taken by my father, than pictures of people I don't even know.  So as not to upset my siblings, I'm forced to work on pictures of myself - not because I'm an egocentric person, like some people I won't name, who should not be running the country.

Layered Blurry Photos

The experimentation continues

Taking Appealing Blurry Photos is Harder Than it Looks!

Anticipating a very stormy, blurry, weekend, I ventured into the backyard today, while the sun was out, to experiment with blurry photos using my Nikon digital camera and a 100mm macro lens.  More results are here:  https://www.facebook.com/lucyautreywilsonart/