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color blocks

September 24, 2010 By Paige Balcer

One of my favorite artists is Mark Rothko, who is famous for his colorful, abstract paintings. His work is often made up of blocks of color, softly blended together. They range from dark and moody to bright and airy, but all have the same calming effect on me. I’m often reminded of landscapes when I see his work and vice versa. So it’s no surprise that I find myself drawn to photography that mimicks that same idea. If you squint your eyes, the landscape photo above could easily be translated into an color-blocked painting with greens, blues and golds, all coming together somewhat graphically.

Today please share your Rothko-like photographs with us. Who knows, it may inspire us all to get out the paintbrushes and create some color block paintings.

Comments

  1. Petchy says

    September 24, 2010 at 7:40 am

    http://petchy.smugmug.com/Other/January-2010/20100131-20100131-DSC0067/777520711_7b2ew-XL.jpg

    and

    http://petchy.smugmug.com/Other/January-2010/20100131-20100131-DSC0069/777520272_jE4pY-XL.jpg

    🙂

  2. Marcie says

    September 24, 2010 at 8:11 am

    Me too – I'm a huge Rothko fan.
    Here's one of mine:
    http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1054

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  5. Jennifée says

    September 24, 2010 at 8:46 am

    Now this is part of why I love this blog – I've never heard of Rothko before, but I really like the idea of composing landscape shots with colour blocs in mind. I suppose this one, from my holiday last year, might be something along the lines of how I would do it:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/85057042@N00/3788371398/

  6. marina says

    September 24, 2010 at 10:14 am

    I adore Rothko's work, me too!!! I could lose myself in his paintings for hours on end!
    Here's a photo which reminds me of them, even if from far away, I know:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/36167691@N03/4955393304/in/photostream/

  7. Tara R. says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:05 am

    This was an introduction to Mark Rothko for me too. I love the rich colors.

    My contributions come from nature:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifmomsaysok/4871116641

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifmomsaysok/4531721032/

  8. Lori says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:10 am

    The Rothko Chapel in Houston, Tx is amazing. A great place to visit and sit in the quiet and be surrounded by huge canvases of color!

    This shot was one of those where the settings were all wrong when I took it but I was still able to pull something out of it in editing.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanderwood/4201572487/in/set-72157623969278244/

  9. Kathleen says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:12 am

    At the beach: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/5002329469/

  10. Morgen says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:32 am

    Mine is from the beach too http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearsefamily/4799067408/

  11. lucy says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:45 am

    luscious colors, great lines. love rothko.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyloomis/4845358526/

  12. BlessedMess says

    September 24, 2010 at 12:42 pm

    Big fan. His soft edges remind me of blur…as if it's out of focus. This one was intentional blur as I tried to get the snow in focus. Missing Rothko's color however

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/12418609@N00/4388883988/

  13. Kat says

    September 24, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    I recently discovered Mark Rothko, and love his work! I am drawn to the blocks of color, and the luminescence he achieves in some of his colors is amazing. Here's my own color block:
    http://www.kateyeview.com/2010/06/be-still-my-heart.html

  14. Melissa M. says

    September 24, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    I love the colors and samples! Can't wait to create my own.

  15. Kate C. says

    September 24, 2010 at 1:19 pm

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/katherinec/4541446516/

    It's even called "color block"!

  16. Misty says

    September 24, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    I like the 3 colours in this one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontforgetthehorse/4823785487/in/photostream/

  17. Diane says

    September 24, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    Though I do have better examples on my computer, here are a trio that I recently posted:

    http://www.dianeschuller.com/blog/2010/09/11/my-neck-of-the-woods-2/

  18. humbird says

    September 24, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    A blur of back block colors, and vivid foreground texture.

    http://humbirdhum.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/autumn-colors/

  19. gonzomama says

    September 24, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    i've always loved his work too.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/59735955@N00/4739587188/in/set-72157624195719259/

    there is also a great group on flicker, ROTHKOesque –
    http://www.flickr.com/groups/rothko-esque/

  20. Stephanie says

    September 24, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    Love his paintings! My color blocking comes in the form of oceans and sunsets:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniecourt/4986942629/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniecourt/4984775752/in/photostream/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephaniecourt/4910257733/in/photostream/

  21. Susan {Florali} says

    September 24, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    some seasonal color blocking:

    http://journal.florali.com/florali/2010/09/more-pumpkins.html

  22. Gail says

    September 24, 2010 at 5:11 pm

    I have long been an admirer of Rothko…and I think he would appreciate this portrait of my granddaughter…
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/22733432@N08/5020332467/

  23. WorthIt! says

    September 24, 2010 at 6:51 pm

    Rothco has also been a long time favorite of mine – his pallets are so expressive.

    Although older shots, I believe these two evoke emotion through color.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/5020571293/

    and

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/5020571723/

  24. Vanessa says

    September 24, 2010 at 8:03 pm

    here's what i've got along those "lines" 😉
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/4094886615/in/set-72157607450910728/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/4080772746/in/set-72157607450910728/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/3750104169/in/set-72157607450910728/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/3540097697/in/set-72157607450910728/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanessa_r/4562990820/in/set-72157607625768404/
    happy weekend, sisters 🙂

  25. brandi says

    September 24, 2010 at 10:40 pm

    so fun 🙂

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandelionseeds/5002542143/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandelionseeds/4963128677/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandelionseeds/4963128405/

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  29. Janet says

    September 25, 2010 at 6:59 am

    Thanks for bringing my attention to the connection between Rothko and landscapes. I'll be looking for more!
    http://www.jmbbnv.com/wordpress/?p=2549

  30. spread your wings says

    September 25, 2010 at 2:04 pm

    i have a lot of examples of this but just recently i got back from exploring the country side and took this photo that sort of reminds me of a Rothko, especially after i applied a little filter to it.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/5020517830/

  31. leaca says

    September 25, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    http://simplyblogged.blogspot.com/2010/09/daring.html

    great post and it works with things on my mind lately.

  32. Wayfaring Wanderer says

    September 26, 2010 at 1:05 am

    You know, I bet some filters could be applied and images printed on canvas to give the impression of a painting with a photograph. That might be something interesting to do for the fun of it.

    I'm thinking that some of these soft detail images I brought back from Charleston might be good candidates!

    http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2010/09/casual-collection-of-charleston-charm.html

  33. Magda says

    September 27, 2010 at 9:57 pm

    I will have to look up Rothko as I have never heard of him.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/53160352@N05/5030711875/

  34. Bret Edge says

    September 30, 2010 at 1:05 am

    Mark Rothko is also one of my favorite artists. I would love to have an authentic Rothko hanging in my home but alas, I just can't afford one. Maybe one day. Until then, I have this photograph which I made in the Tetons on a foggy morning at Jackson Lake. I think it's a nice homage to Rothko's art as I couldn't help but think of and be inspired by his work as I made this image.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bretedge/4748250722/

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