Something fairly profound happened for me this month.
I have felt quite sluggish this winter. Not actually depressed but just completely unmotivated, disinterested, lazy and believing that my strong desire to paint had completely abandoned me. This was quite distressing because there was absolutely no substitute interesting endeavour that came to mind. Nothing. Not writing. Not gardening. Not visiting. Not travelling. I wondered if this is how the end begins.
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The first months of the pandemic in 2020 activated a lot of distress and anxiety for me. It was hard to imagine that there had ever been calm and happiness in my world. Therefore, memories of those good periods took on a deeper significance. I reached back to memories of early times in my life when I felt happy and content. Like the times spent visiting my Scottish grandmother and her wild garden of flowers and vegetables and experiencing with her love and kindness. But that garden. What was it about that garden that brought me such joy?
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I can’t believe it’s 2021. I can’t believe it’s February. I can’t believe it’s Friday.
Like where has the last year/month/week gone? OK…sorry I asked.
It still seems strange that all the beautiful colours of spring, summer and fall are gone. I miss the vibrant reds, the brilliant purples and the intense greens of flowers and fields, not to mention the quality of the light. Continue reading
The year is almost a wrap. Last weekend’s Holiday Art and Craft show in Bear River was lovely, busy and a wonderful way to reconnect with many new and old friends, some who are art makers and others who are collectors. I was glad to bring home a few treasures for myself. Continue reading
This new painting is special to me for several reasons. For starters, I really like it! I always enjoy the process of painting and trying to solve the design problem, but sometimes the end result falls short of what I am trying to achieve. Ironically I believe this is a motivating factor to paint and to try it again. But this time I am happy with the look and feel of this painting; the spontaneity and lightness. Continue reading
“Every war already carries within it the war which will answer it. Every war is answered by a new war, until everything, everything is smashed… That is why I am so wholeheartedly for a radical end to this madness, and why my only hope is in a world socialism… Pacifism is not a matter of calmly looking on; it is work, hard work.” – Kåthe Kollwitz, 1943. Continue reading
The process of learning to make art is like that of learning to speak. You learn the language, the grammar, the idioms. But what you say with it is totally up to you.
– Jane Davies in Abstract Painting: the elements of visual language.
I am inspired by a recent painting workshop with abstract painter Leya Evelyn, and I want to tell you about it with this video to give you a peek at my new painting series. Continue reading
Last week I painted every day.
Previous to that, It’d been 3 months since I’d blogged or spent any significant time in the studio. I just didn’t feel like it anymore. But why? Continue reading