Detail: Metal

Thomas Sully, Colonel Samuel Boyer Davis 1819

The top button on the Colonel's sleeve stopped me in my tracks. 

At first I wondered why Sully would use such a transparent wash---and then I realized 

I was studying an intentional, masterful manipulation that rendered the perfect shiny button reflection. 

Then my eyes made their way to the rings at the Colonel's waist. 

Check out the tiny bright brush mark on top of the setting prong that brings monumental dimension to the bottom left ring. Or how about the shiny bezel on the NW edge of the right ring?

Who knew so much delight could be found in such tiny details?

Roxy Paine’s sculpture, Yield (2011)

 

This tree stands at the front of the museum on the parking level, right at the entrance. 

For such a shiny metal structure, surrounded by winter snow and sky, it sure looked hauntingly real. 

I can hardly wait to see it surrounded by green grass and blue skies.