In rearranging my studio nook and painting, life was chaotic! When you're working on a new painting, that you have to stop and start, there is that feeling of deja-vu! Yet, you know it's all real...lol! This is the beginning of the painting. I put several different symbols around the main part of the painting...and then...I changed my mind...and erased the symbols. I'm feeling the main character, but the symbols are eluding me. I was rearranging the studio as I painted, you know trying to multi-task and get as much done in the window of time I had. But, back to the painting... I erased all the ... Continue Reading »
Illustration Friday
Dipping Into Color!
After some surgery, I've been at home resting and looking out of my living room window. I happened to see a cardinal eating from the bird feeder in my neighbor's yard. I always see cardinals as the seasons changed, and they always whisk me to another dreamy zone. I am captivated by their color and songs. I love cardinals and hummingbirds, they continually rescue me from the mundane and add a natural sparkle to my surroundings. I dipped into some of the work I've done in the last couple of weeks, and this little darling came to the rescue! Color enriches life and this Cardinal Goddess has given way to spring time happiness! Just what a girl ... Continue Reading »
Changing Woman
Much of the folklore regarding women was subterranean, to the mainstream for many generations; but they were and continue to be very much alive in the cultures from which they came. In the Native American (Navajo) culture, "Changing Woman - "Estsanatlehi" comes closest to being the personification of the Earth and of the natural order of the Universe as to any other brief way of describing her. She represents the cyclical path of the Seasons, Birth (Spring), Maturing (Summer), Growing old (Fall) and Dying (Winter), only to be reborn again in the Spring." To learn more about the Native American Changing ... Continue Reading »
Perspective: Queen of the Canyon
When I visited "The Grand Canyon", I came away with many perspectives, this image was one of many. I'm sure I will be painting many of the perspectives I gained from this vast beauty! The Grand Canyon is a Queen. It's all beautiful from this perspective! Go out and investigate nature (with people in it...or not! :) Dictionary.com defines the word "perspective" in (7) ways, I chose the following definitions to describe my image viewpoint: a technique of depicting volumes and spatial relationships on a flat surface; a visible scene, esp. one extending to a distance; the state of existing in space before the eye; the state of one's ... Continue Reading »
WIP – Completion…set adrift again…
It is done! What began as night pacing (see my December 6, 2009 blog post); has culminated into the finale. I am now in that stage where the crescendo has ended. I have the feeling of not being anchored; I am adrift, until I delve into the next project. Of course, I'll sketch and create, but it is a different energy than being possessed by a painting screaming to get out! Sometimes the best way to describe the creative zone, would be mania, crescendo, then an anti-climatic feeling sets in, finally a sadness that it's over; and then peace, but...then it starts all over again. Remember to nurture your body, mind and spirit and being adrift ... Continue Reading »
Work-In-Progress – A Detail
Some of the details of my Work-In-Progress contain various symbols and snakes are one of them. Some cultures hold snakes in high esteem while other cultures despised them. There are cultures that associated snakes with medicinal powers or rebirth, such as the modern medical symbol of two snakes wrapped around a staff. The Judeo-Christian culture does not hold snakes or serpent in a kind light. The biblical tales of the Garden of Eden and the serpent's role in "tempting woman to trick man into the fall from God's grace" have contributed to the negative images of snakes in western culture. This deep rooted cultural biases accounts in ... Continue Reading »
Work In Progress – The Beginning
Usually, I do not show my work in progress, (it is often a muddy or murky process); But, since I do photograph the progress for my own records, I'm merging my inner work with my outer practice more in 2010. So in trusting my own process, I believe it has to be a sharing process, albeit a scary one! Currently, I'm working on a portrait of someone, who is so full of love and compassion, "to be of service to others," her own words, is her soul's ministry. I'm doing this portrait based on poetry of hers, dreams and symbols that correlates with this individual. I want this portrait to be an expression of her inner self, a snapshot of her inner ... Continue Reading »
