Thursday 11 February 2021

Thursday Art Date With Rain -- "Film Noir"


a private dick's door is always open
ushering in an unending,
unappetizing parade of gutter trash
shadowy denizens of the demi-monde


calculating dames, hard eyes, fake tears
unsavoury criminals, sweaty and shifty
desperate femmes fatales, red lips full of lies
untrustworthy, twitchy homosexuals

sooner or later, they all show up
sitting in his dimly-lit office
begging for his help


hard-boiled and hungover
always in need of cash
of course he takes their cases 

heading out once more to
decaying urban streets 
night-time steam from rusty grates
grey fog and yellow smoke
grimy back alleys with no escape


cross / double-cross / triple-cross
who can he trust?
no one
not even himself

the smoking gun
the sharpened stiletto
the pool of blood


Rain really inspired me with this week's Art Date theme! I adore Film Noir movies. When I first moved to Edmonton, there was a local film club which held weekly public screenings of classic black-and-white movies and I saw many of the great Film Noir masterpieces there.

As you can tell from the photos, I have both vertical and horizontal blinds at my place. OMG, I live in a Film Noir movie set!

The first art piece was done with a white Prismacolor pencil on black paper. The second piece was done with a white and a black Prismacolor pencil on grey paper. Both are based on other artists' original work that I found on the internet.

[Poetry, photos and art all © Debra She Who Seeks, January/February 2021]

55 comments:

Sixpence Notthewiser said...

Loved the poem and love the art.
Ohhh black and white movies are sooooo cool! I love the dialogue and the themes. We should have a movie night!

XOXO

Rosemary said...

Love your artwork and poetry Debra, you are a talented lady - Scandi Noir is going down a storm here with everyone in lockdown. There are dozens of series to be found for free on our TV iPlayer.

Travel said...

Love it,

Tasker Dunham said...

Trust no one. Suspect everyone.

Martha said...

I love all the shadow shots and your art is fantastic!

RO said...

Like you, I'm a fan, but I simply adore the pics and the wonderful words to go with them. Awesome! Hugs, RO

Marie Smith said...

Beautiful work, Debra!

Bob said...

I love the genre, too, and you captured it here! Love it.

Frank said...

You have a keen eye and talent to match.

Tundra Bunny said...

Who doesn't love watching alienated protagonists filled with existential bitterness and cigarette smoke? And them's just the dames!

Mistress Maddie said...

Those are all incredible pictures you got Debs!!. And such a creative post. But who in hell you calling a calculating dame? I know nothin'I tells ya. It was all his fault. Of all of the bars and gin joints....he had to walk into mine.

Kay G. said...

Wow, this is really, really good! I have such a vocabulary but that's what I kept thinking about this post!

pam nash said...

Wonderful, marvelous, great! Thank you!

e said...

Perfect scene setting, gorgeous and moody drawings, hard-boiled descriptive writing... you've got it all!

(Is that an Emily Carr print? Have we discussed this before? lol)

brewella deville said...

That first drawing, wow! It's a noir Rorschach test. Is it a guy on his knees, shot in the chest by a dame at the end of the hallway? A man staggering out of an apartment complex, trying to pull the knife out of his back? A creep on a stoop, waiting for a kid to pass by? Well done, Debra.

Old Lurker said...

Wow. Those are great. If I had your talent maybe I would retire and take up artistic hobbies too.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ e -- No, it's not Emily Carr but another Canadian artist (Lawren Harris) who was her friend, mentor, contemporary and a founder of the Group of Seven. And yes, I think we talked about these artists last time I posted a picture showing that print! But I'm always happy to talk about Canadian art!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ brewella deville -- I like how you think!

DVArtist said...

Yes you were inspired this is a great post. I had a difficult time with this one. Have a great day.

Parnassus said...

Hello Debra, You are putting the rest of us to shame with your talent and industry. You have really nailed the atmosphere of those movies!
--Jim

Lady M said...

Very nice - love your artwork - it is excellent. You home however, falls a few rungs shorts of the kind a dirty trashy dive I expect from the genre. Next time grub it up a bit. Some dust or trash strewn about would be nice. A threadbare rug, a pile of feces, a few empty liquor bottles would all add to the ambiance. Let your imagination run wild!

Mike said...

"the sharpened stiletto" The sharpened what? A stiletto is a dagger! Who knew? I was wondering how to sharpen a high heel shoe. If I once knew a stiletto was a dagger, I've long since forgotten.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ Lady M -- Your suggestions made me laugh out loud!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ Mike -- Maybe it's just the crowd I run with, but I know plenty o' dames who'd gladly stab a man with a sharpened high heel!

The Blog Fodder said...

The shadow photography is excellent. Do some of Bogart's movies count as film noir? I expect Chinatown certainly would though not in B&W. Now you made me want to read an old detective novel.

Ella said...

Wow, girl you did really well!
Loved the poem and love the art!
~ Stay safe and well ~

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ The Blog Fodder -- Oh yes, Bogart made several notable Film Noir movies, including "The Maltese Falcon" and "Casablanca."

Suz said...

I love this post; you are so talented and of course, very clever. Like the Film Noir Buff that you are!

Christine said...

Well done Debra!

Joanne Noragon said...

Yes, well done!

peppylady (Dora) said...

No question about it. The 3rd photo should be entered in contest. I think it would impress judges.
Coffee is on and stay safe

NatureFootstep said...

wow, I love what you came up with today. An entire story!
Love both the blind photos and the art pieces :)
Nice work!

Ol'Buzzard said...

That is fantastic. My wife and I both love Film Noir. I also read and reread all the old hardboiled detective stories.

This is a great post
thanks the Ol'Buzzard

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Very creative indeed. You really got into the spirit of this one.

Tom said...

...haunting, shadowy images!

Rain said...

Oooooooh! How exciting, I feel all tingly dingly reading this post!! I LOVE how you were so inspired and you definitely got it down!! You definitely live in a Film Noir set! Love that! And your poem is PERFECT....describes the classic narrated Film Noir to a T...love it! Your art is great Debra, you need to do more! Thanks so much for this post and for joining in, it was SO much fun!!!

This N That said...

Great Artwork and photography..Good job..Very creative..HAppy Valentines Day..Enjoy your weekend..

Bea said...

Nice, Noir digs! Do you have a copy of the Maltese Falcon on a desk somewhere in your home as well? ;)

Magic Love Crow said...

Well done Deb! I love your couch! LOL! Excellent photography and writing! Your art pieces are amazing!!! Big Hugs!

Janie Junebug said...

Excellent! You go, girl.

Love,
Janie

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

This was different, brilliantly different.
Enjoy the weekend.

Forsythia said...

All I can say is WOW!

Liz Hinds said...

Wow! You are so talented in so many ways!

CraveCute said...

Great post Debra! Guy Noir approves!

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Spectacular ... your photos, your art and your amazing understanding of the Noir mystery movies ... I think you win the prize for this week. You turned me on to what Noir really is and it is something I used to love. Nothing like a good mystery on dark streets and all of the rest of your wonderful discourse. This was fun, Debbie ...

Andrea @ From the Sol

Susan Kane said...

This is so excellent. I was right there with the scene. Well written. The artwork is perfect.

Fundy Blue said...

I loved this, Debra! Your words. Your art. Your photos! I must watch some Film Noir movies ~ It's been too long. I do read Noir detective books. Some recent ones I've enjoyed are: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Brighton Rock, and Killing Floor. And thanks to your post, I just ordered The Ice Harvest, by Scott Phillips. Don't tell Terry, LOL! Have a great weekend!

Bill Lisleman said...

great art pieces - you know how to work a shadow

Magaly Guerrero said...

Love the poetry and the images! You, my dearest Debra, are so very talented. The tone of the whole left me craving the suspense of cool detective novel--maybe the latest in J. K. Rowling's Cormoran Strike Series!

Kirk said...

I once read somewhere that Raymond Chandler originally wanted to be a poet. Had he done so, I'd like to think his poem would be something similar to what you wrote.

Guillaume said...

I can't believe I missed that post! I love crime fiction and a good film noir. Love the pictures here.

Martha said...

They are beautifully done!

baili said...

wonderful way to participate in theme dear Debra !!!!!!

i am impressed with art ,it is COOL!

i used to watch old black and white movies since i was little girl ,some are still so fresh in mind till today ,they have special place among all i watched throughout the years nothing can touch their elegance and charm indeed

yellowdoggranny said...

those are wonderful..I remember when I was a kid and would want to sleep late my daddy would sneak into my bedroom and open the blinds..sneaky my daddy

Rommy said...

I've been on a samurai movie kick lately, but I can't recall the last time I saw Film Noir. I'll have to remedy that once I'm done working through my current to-watch list.