Abstract Painting, Living Exponentially, Shift Happens

Making sense of all that comes in... can be overwhelming... or, on the other hand, you can focus on the inside and listen to yourself...
More Painting
Lately I have been quite busy, I finished six paintings for the miniature show at Kaewyn gallery, and was happy to deliver those right before Thanksgiving. All were acrylics and incorporated experimental techniques I have been playing with: more texture with different materials and intense color. If you are local, stop in for a treat, as there are a great variety of artists works to be seen; the show is there until January 16.

This last week I participated in the ongoing painting critique group I joined about four months ago. What's really inspiring about this group is seeing the diverse work of the group, as there are very different styles (from realism to abstract and in-between) and different media (oil, watercolor, acrylic, gouche, pastels). Taking three more new paintings to the group meeting, it was reinforcing to get positive support for the direction my painting is going, aka, abstractions, more texture, intense colors, getting better at composition. The painting with the reds, yellows, blues is one I took. There is some thread of connection to the paintings lately and I contemplate where I'm going with them, it feels like a series or several may be emerging... I think they have to do with transit from one state to another, the hidden or unseen coming to the surface, among other things...

More Being Outdoors
Determined to be out more often, some recent outings about town I enjoyed with camera and paints... Despite the really really cold weather, in both cases, worth the views, colors and inspiration...

Shift Happens
The UN Climate Change Conference representing 192 nations is getting under way in Copenhagen, and there are positive signs (firm pledges for change from nations) the outcome may be in positive new directions (AP article). AP says over 15000 delegates and 100 head of states are attending and this makes it the largest and most important climate change conference ever. I mention this because of the title of this section, "shift happens..."

I found the You-Tube video below on the progression of information technology to be fascinating and a reminder of the pace at which we live. It was researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman, remixed. It questions the meaning of living in an "exponential world" (exponential = "a variable or unknown quanitity" per the dictionary; wiki say, a proportional growth rate). The final conclusion was left off this version of the video...but, I selected this version because it has better graphics. The conclusion to the question/data is "shift happens."

A friend sent it to me yesterday. I hadn't seen her in ages and was thrilled to run into her at the bookstore, where we got into a conversation about "overload", too much coming in, too fast a pace we live, environmental tragedies (dolphins being ritually killed, wolves being shot, oh there are too many to count), it saddens the soul. And how, sometimes it is just time to shut out the incoming and listen to your inside, and remember how connected we really are. And that, yes, shift happens. Slowly. Slowly. Not without some loss, it is difficult turning a huge ship set on a course. But shift happens... personally, and in the world. I always remember Gandhi saying: "You must be the change you want to see in the world." And maybe just be the change you want to see in yourself. And share it out.

Thursday Meditation, Little Altars and Thanksgiving

Welcome it all, whatever may come... for in the end we are each works of art being shaped by our living, both joys and struggles, along the way...
A few Thanksgiving thoughts before I'm off to the kitchen to prepare our special dinner for today... This picture is of a very small Italian ceramic from a thrift shop that holds these objects that stay on my table where I eat. I have a habit of collecting little things that end up grouped together like little sacred altars here and there, little reminders of places I've been or special times or a way of being. I'm especially fond of beach stones and shells, dropped feathers....

This one holds...
... a lucky penny on the bottom, who doesn't need that?
...a crystal skull, symbolic to me of the shortness of life, you know, carpe diem, do it now
...a stone for serenity reminds me of an African tale of the stones that hold all our stories, they have heard every one, and they still sit silently in serenity
...a few fortunes from Chinese fortune cookies tucked discreetly behind, and
...a winged heart from an Artfest retreat, reminding me of the spirited good times with like-minded souls, and a symbol for choices based from my center, and the English heraldry from my last name...

All this in this small container.... Now I'm wondering, what special little reminders do others keep? Are you a collector of little tidbits of nature?

So now, I'm off to the kitchen. And I send you the most positive thoughts and appreciation for sharing my blog journey this day of Thanksgiving here in the US. Make time for family and friends, and, of course, yourself, do take time to play and create.

A Canadian Retreat and Painting with a Red Sky

Playing with colors and a little retreat... so soothing...
Playing with Color
Here is a start on another acrylic painting, I think it needs a little bit more... I have been experimenting with lots of color. Why not have a red sky and blue rocks? Maybe it's to compensate for the northwest rainy season, our "monsoon" season which has arrived and here to stay til, perhaps April or May?

A Short Retreat
Last week we drove up to British Columbia for a couple of nights private celebration in one of our favorite places. This time of year the tourists have packed up and gone home, the sun is only occasionally seen, misty fog covers the land, the lake and mountains, and you can hear the geese flapping their wings as you walk along the lake. Stunningly beautiful, quiet and serene.
Below are some bucolic farm scenes we always see as we come and go to this favorite place. I finally managed to get a picture of the candy cane silos from the car as we drove by. And the skyscapes and mossy trees caught my eye too.

Abstractions, Seascape Painting, and a Quilted Fiber Gift

Sometimes within the chaos, churning, and turnings of our lives, messages emerge from the deep ready to be received...

"Messages from the Deep" #1, a series - copyright Delorse Lovelady

Abstractions
Happily, I have been painting regularly again and must have a dozen or so abstractions finished or in process since Oct. All in acrylic, mixed media, a new direction for me, as I have been doing watercolors for years. Such different properties of the paint and how it can be used... I see lots more experimenting with texture and, of course, color, and have several series in mind to pursue while I experiment with the acrylics and mixed media.... Of course, I won't abandon watercolor totally, as I always like to play with a variety of media.

Although I've done a few abstractions here or there, this too is fairly new territory for me, and exciting to explore. Abstraction fits with my view that there is much that is ambiguous in the world, not what it seems, not totally definable. And that is the subject of the painting above. Another seascape, I love to paint them, but a different quality than the watercolors of the past (look at the one in my sidebar!).... I entered two paintings this week in a local show, and am in the process of preparing six more for the annual small works and miniature show I participate in.

A Quilted Gift
A friend in one of my sewing circles learned she has cancer, and thankfully her news about recovery is very good. Another friend Sharon, thought up this quilt project and sewed together the quilt squares that we all made for her as a comfort gift. I thought it came out lovely and it was much appreciated.

Ashland Road Trip,The Tulies, Lava Beds, Photos and Sketch Paintings

Off we went on our fall odyssey, down familiar roads, and some less traveled blue highways...
Gorgeous scenery everywhere... above, a scene from the breathtaking Three Capes Scenic Route along the coast of Oregon, and next to it a Photoshoped picture of the last of the sunflowers at a nature preserve in Ashland, Or. Below is a view from our room in Ashland... the famous Ashland hills, with vibrant colors in the trees. Ashland is such a wonderful small town mecca of culture and art... the Shakespeare Festival, the Cabaret Theatre, the local art galleries called the "Railroad district", Lithia Park and more... We love the "co-op" food store and often picked up something fresh to eat there.
My sketch painting of the scene...
Tillamook and Abstractions
And here is one inspired by the Tillamook, Or area... famous cheese country, lots of pastures and cows and a pungent aroma. The most amazing thing there though, is actually the Air Museum, or we call it "the Blimp" museum since it is a HUGE hanger built in the middle a cow pasture in WWII specifically to house blimps used for surveillance back then. It is SO unexpected to see it sitting there in the field... and fun to visit again, the last time was probably ten years ago.

I was fascinated with the inside of the building and odd pieces of planes and rusted equipment, and rusted old trains outside, so took many photos which look like little abstracts. I also did this at the cheese factory which had a wonderful collection of very old trucks and equipment. I am compiling a "rust" and "decomposition" series for abstractions which I will organize and post at a later time. Since I am playing with abstract mixed media painting now, they serve as great inspiration.

The Tulies and Lava BedsFrom Ashland we took a 200 plus mile side trip one day to Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge and Lava Beds National Monument in California. We took the "quick" route over the mountains directly from Ashland, which included a stretch of hairpin curves with spectacular views, though we were glad to be done with the mountain driving.

Now I'm imagining I know where the saying about being "lost in the Tule's" comes from. Tules are actually plants that look similar to the thick sturdy stems and leaves of cattails but without the same head, they get flowers instead. The Wildlife Preserve has 39,000 acres and we did see many birds that day in the small portion we visited. We spent most of our time exploring the lava beds and learned that the area has the largest concentration of lava tubes, a couple of which we walked through... And learned the whole area is a massive volcano covering 150 miles, but not in the traditional style you think of, such as St Helens. This one is underground (like Yellowstone), and is called a shield volcano. No steaming vents here, just acres of lava, lots of tubes and cones and interesting desert. And one area of the park has many petroglyphs to examine, some of which we did.

Little Things
Sometimes it's the little things I remember the most about a trip (or a moment)....

...that perfect shell with lines of shimmery wet color and the undisturbed sand
...the delicate lacey undulating grass on a desert trail
...and the satisfaction of sharing it with someone special

Photoshop Pix, Witches, Road Trip Doll, Figurative Handstitching, Funky Fiber Stuffies

Fall colors, last of the local veggie/fruit summer harvest, crispy weather, and a witch who wasn't paying attention!
Pumpkins and Photoshop
Above are a couple of pumpkin pictures from our local Yakima Fruits & Veggie Market, only one more week, then the harvest is gone and they switch totally to pumpkins and Christmas trees. The scarecrows on either side were pix I took in Jacksonville, OR, then, "developed" in Photoshop. There are endless possibilities on PS, I have so many more tools to try out...

Witch Way did she go?
I am loving these witch pictures. We were passing through Astoria, OR on our way home from Ashland and the Oregon coast (more on than in another post), and I noticed EVERY street light pole had one of these characters on it.... I took one threw the windshield as my husband drove, then he pulled over and took another better one. SO, happy halloween to you! Be sure to buckle up and fly in the right direction without any brew...
Fibery Fun
Aside from painting and trips, I have been having fibery fun too...
Top row:
1) & 2) Two self designed handstitched "softies" or "stuffies" from a sewing circle challenge
3) Silk beads made in a recent class
4) Dyed fabric & free motion applique technique from machine embroidery group
Bottom row:
1) & 2) Front and back of my recent self designed road trip doll - we went to Ashland Shakespeare Festival plus a side trip to Lava Beds -- so it looks rather theatrical and has lava sewn in the belly.
3) Figurative handstitching/collaged piece with close-up below from a recent class
4) Twin needle technique from machine embroidery group

These were fun and some were challenging, and some are easy things to do in the evening if I'm not journaling, while watching Survivor or Project Runway, yes, I like those reality shows....

Blog Action Day: Climate Change, Going Green, Photos & a Painting

What are we waiting for??? We are the ones we are waiting for...

"My Green Heaven Mosaic" - created in Photoshop

Blog Action Day: Climate Change
We are on a road, a path from which it is difficult to remove ourselves. Stuck in patterns, bad habits, bad attitudes, we wait for a renaissance, but we must create it ourselves, take a new path, alter course........ We are after all, still part of the food chain, a part of nature, not apart from nature... When did we forget that or presume to think otherwise?

There is so much information available about environment these days, which is a good thing, but it can seem overwhelming, what to do, there is so much happening. However, the overarching issue appears to be climate change, because, well, we all need to breath good air, and we must have liveable temperatures... And, it does seem climate change is getting more attention at the higher levels, but it helps to remind them... And if we each took even tiny steps, they all add up to change towards a liveable future...

Data: Check out the environmental section in my sidebar. Also, check out the Pew Center on Global Climate Change which is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing credible information, straight answers, and innovative solutions to address climate change. Go here to read about the basics and facts and figures on global warming. Or watch the You-Tube video from Al Gore at the bottom of this post. Go here to the TckTckTck organization which is tracking the countdown to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in Dec 2009 - many many organizations are partnered with them.

Things to Do: Blog about climate change, share what you know with others, write to your Senators, or Congresspersons or President Obama asking them to make climate change a top priority and to push for a real change and agreement of nations to fight global warming at the Copenhagen conference..... and....
here's a cool list of 50 practical green things you could do in your home or in your everyday life. The creators of this list, B.E.S.T. (Building Environmental Science & Technology) showed the approximate money savings in parentheses plus avoided environmental impacts based on CO2, so choose what's most affordable for you to do and start (or keep) greening your lifestyle. Check out Yahoo which also has lots of living green ideas, tools, and resources.

Some Art about Environment
A week ago I had the pleasure of taking a 2 day experiemental mixed media class with Chris Romine. I started a collaged acrylic canvas with an abstracted radial design. Below is the finished painting a couple of days ago, as I was thinking along the lines of sun, light, solar events, too much heat.... And here is a terrific You-Tube video by Aurum, you can visit his website here. It's called "The Drawing of Melting Planet" and it shows him drawing on his PC (I wonder what he used).


Al Gore You-Tube

Camano Island Sketching & Painting

A day of exploring a couple of state parks on Camano Island, about an hour and a half or so north of Seattle...This quick painting (no pen) above is my second go at the scene in one of the parks we visited. Much more vibrant than the first that is below. The first one I started with pen, then added paint.And here is a photo I took of the scene, very typically grayed out Northwest, not a lot of color, my eye and hand just adds it in when I start painting...
Here's what lunch looked like in the park, we like to bring out own. Those are tiny tangerines I had just found in the local produce market, honestly, the size of golf balls, but very sweet and good.

National Parks - Places to Refresh, and Photos

Stunning natural beauty, raw rugged lands, clear moving waters, big skies... I have a goal to see every national park and monument...

"Nature's Painting" - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

This small piece of Yellowstone is a stunning example of what I saw throughout the park. I was amazed by the dramatic colors created by sulphur and other minerals, misty steam, creeks and channels, and the grand size and variety of beautiful scenery. To know that I was atop the huge caldera of an ancient volcano was eerie but fascinating.

National Parks Photos
I just entered these 5 photos in Fodor's National Parks photo contest (wish me luck!)... some of my favorites, these are from recent road trips. Looking at them again, I'm getting the urge to hit the road and see all I can see, drink in that gorgeous outdoor beauty, and crisp cool air, satisfy that desire for becoming just part of the landscape... no phones, computers, lists... And I think, too, my photos are just waiting for me to paint them soon.

"Contrast and Mystery" - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

I traveled this planked walkway through the misty steam, over delicate areas hiding thin crust and bubbling underground geothermal activity. This place spoke to me of the beauty and paradox of nature. Yellowstone offered amazing contrasts that I often remember.

"Land of Fantastic Shapes" - Badlands National Park, SD

I was captivated by the array of mounds, spectacular formations, and golden grasses in the area. I could see the effects of erosion on the dry rugged vistas. I understood why the aridity and treacherous canyons led the native Americans to name it "bad lands".

"Otherworldly Beauty" - Badlands National Park, SD

As I walked in the white hot afternoon over the undulating dry landscape, I felt transported to an otherworld of stark beauty... punctuated by the occasional sound of a rattlesnake.

"Dusk at Lake McDonald" - Glacier National Park, McDonald Lake, Montana

The breathtaking beauty of early evening evoked a feeling of being at peace. Rugged glacial mountains, deep green forests, and shimmering reflections in the water called up the desire for adventure and exploration.

Birch Bay Sketching and Painting

Fresh sea air, wispy clouds, people digging clams, crows, a peaceful day by the sea, just you and me...Birch Bay Trip
Another outing for the day, we headed north about 90 miles to Birch Bay almost to the Canadian border. It's a small quaint town where nothing is happening, and it's nice and quiet. And it has a wonderful park along the length of the beach and forested park area in the hills above the beach, a perfect place to sit and observe, take a walk, just be.

Above is one of my on-scene sketch paintings. For this one I did the sketch first, then laid down the paint over it. Sometimes I paint first and embellish with pen afterwards... this time the people kept moving and so did the crows, and I added a bit more color than the real thing. We do have a few brilliant days here, but often we have that NW gray overcast, and I may not want it to look photo realistic anyway, or sometimes I just like to make it up, imagine something a bit differently than what I'm really seeing.
Below is a photo I took of the same place I painted...
And below is the same Birch Bay beach but looking down the road, and even more colorful. This sketch painting I did in 2006 in my personal journal.
And finally, another sketch while riding along in the car....

North Cascades Mountain Trip, Sketching and Painting

A relaxing day of road tripping, sketching and painting in the mountains... Peshastin Pinnacles and a Painting
This is my final painting of the day, painted in the car in the dark while my husband drove back to Seattle at the end of our day. I'm very pleased with the vibrant colors and had wondered how it would come out given the lighting, but I challenged myself to paint it in the dark anyway. One of the last stops of the day's outing was at Peshastin Pinnacles State Park near Cashmere, WA, basically very dry rolling hills with lots of golden grass and orchards... almost a feeling of the Southwest. I took artistic license with the colors in the painting, as I had to have some reds in there, and my golds are much more gold than the rolling hills I observed that day! The above photo is of the 200 ft pinnacles, very craggy sandstone slabs and spires which are a rock climbers paradise. They are quite stunning shapes, almost looking like gigantic dinosaur spines rising from the ground, and I can imagine several paintings out of the photos I took. Originally located within private land in the midst of orchards about a decade ago, several local climbing and outdoor groups, including REI (great outdoor store), mounted an effort to save these and have them accessible, thus they are now public lands, a state park.

North Cascades Hwy 2
Above is my first sketch of the day, pen and watercolor as I was riding in the car on our way east on Hwy 2 which is a portion of the fabulous North Cascades Scenic Loop trip which we have driven many times. And below is a quick photo right through the windshield, you can see some of the fall color changes beginning. The vine maples and wild huckleberries turn brilliant reds while the cottonwoods and other trees scattered among the firs wear various golden colors. Spectacular mountain scenery along this route and as it get closer to Leavenworth, bordered by a river on one side.
Leavenworth
We stopped in the town of Leavenworth which is known for it's "Bavarian" style and cross-country skiing, but skipped the actual town as we have seen it many times. Instead we revisited the Icicle Creek park area, some serious rock climbing areas with huge boulder overhangs, and a salmon fish hatchery. Below is an on-site painting sketch done in a gazebo at the hatchery where we enjoyed lunch and more mountain views.
Nature never fails to inspire me, the shapes and lines, the shifting colors, a never ending art work in itself.

Red Rock Fossil Beds, a Sketch and Inspiration

I have always loved red land and rocks and spare desert landscapes and find myself still painting them...
Inspiration
Here is a glimmer of red rock inspiration. This on-site quick pen sketch and watercolor painting above was done on a road trip last year to Ashland, OR. We took a side trip to California where it turned out to be the hottest day, over 100 degrees. But we had a fun day anyway when we got to Lake Shasta, seeing the bluest blues and redest reds. We took a short boat trip across the lake, headed up a mountain, and walked through relatively cool Lake Shasta Caverns.
Red Rocks and Fossil Beds
The above two paintings are recent ones. These both are compositions of my imagination, a synthesis of remembered scenes from road trips, remembered pictures from countless books or documentaries, and my sense of those places. The first one is watercolors with a bit of pen (Sep2009), and the second is acrylic, entitled "Fossil Beds Revisited" (Jun2009) which I included in a July show this year. I will be "revisiting" and painting more of these. It is interesting not only to see how my interpretation has evolved over time, and also to try out different media for a subject.
The bottom painting in the above set of 3 is probably my first take on the fossil beds from a photo I had taken in the mid-90's. The first two from 1997 and 1998 are very large watercolors painted with a very loose interpretion of my photos in a more free expressionist washy style after taking a class from one of my favorite painters Jan Hart who shares a love of O'Keeffe and desert.

Inspiration
My inspiration comes from many road trips with some camping and backpacking to the Southwest a couple of decades ago... the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches, Nine Mile Canyon, to name only a few of the many places we explored. Another inspiration, which I was quite astounded to find on yet another road trip a decade ago, was almost in my own backyard (sort of), at least only one state over, in Oregon, the John Day Fossil Beds. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of my old pictures to post yet (they were pre-digital camera, if you know what I mean). But, check out my friend Lisa's blog, La Vida Artistica, in my sidebar of blogs to inspire. She shares similar inspiration in her Aug 28 posting that includes fabulous photos of this wonderful place and also details of her upcoming studio tour showcasing her spirited art.

For me the desert and red rock areas have always been those exquisite areas of beauty that get down to the bare essentials, lots of sky and horizon, and vibrant land with undulating shapes, and so metaphorical in so many ways. That sense of place with the O'Keeffe kind of feeling from the sheer grandness of it.

Sunday Meditation
Where do you get your inspiration? Have you tried expressing the same subject in more than one media?

Art Date on a Rainy Afternoon, A Sketch, Bicycling and a Blog Tip

the rain came rolling in last night, good sleeping weather, we could hear it beating down heavily, and smell that rich wet earth smell...
An Arty Sunday Afternoon
I love rain and it did come down last night and today. But several of us dodged the drops and met to have one of our regular Art Dates. Such a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, with a circle of a half dozen like-minded artists, each with our own projects to work on... after a busy summer it was fun to catch up on news and share new art and techniques. If you don't have a group like this, I really recommend it, even if it's only a group of two, as it's very inspiring, we learn from each other, and it's nourishing for the spirit.
A Sketch from Artfest
Reaching into my archives, I retrieved this quick sketch I did last year on the ferry from Kingston. I always grab my sketchbook, pens and sometimes colored pencils or watercolors on the ferry rides, I'm fascinated with all the shoreline scenery, and like the look of all the little houses here and there on the hills... just thinking wouldn't it be terrific to live right on the water with a view like that... Anyway, this sketch came about right after I had just finished another long weekend at Artfest, that huge and wonderful art retreat over in Port Townsend.

This came to mind, since in our group today, only 2 of us are going to AF next April, and registration is due this week. The rest of us have decided not to, breaking a long pattern of going year after year, and instead will opt for other things. I'm thinking of specific painting workshops, travel or some other options instead... It's always good to try something new.

Bicycling
If you are a bicycling fan (or even if you're not), go check out this new blog Bicycling Over the Hill.... My spouse who I consider an expert on it decided to start a blog, and he takes great photo's too. I think I mentioned before, he does the 200+ Seattle to Portland bike ride every year in 1 day.... used to climb and did all the peaks around the NW too. I'm in awe of people who can do such physically challenging things, as I don't. Anyway, this is my welcome to him, and I know he'd really appreciate a welcoming comment from you to confirm there really are people out there that read these blogs!

A Blog Tip
Check out the upper right hand corner of my blog and you will see a new gadget. I replaced my previous language translator gadget with this new one from Google which is far and away the best I've seen. People can choose the language and it translates the blog page right there, no navigating away, and very easy for them. You may want to add it, after all, there are artists all over the world. Just click on the gadget, find it and get the code.

Sketches, Dahlia Farm Gardens, and a Color Test for Artists

Lazy colorful days of summer... enjoying the sunshine while it is here... Capturing a Moment
I recently was in an Open Studio and Art Sale at my friend's house, and while we sat outside in her gardens she hooked a rug, as I was capturing a quick sketch. She asked me if her chin was that long, of course not, this is a quick sketch, no details, sketcher does not guarantee accuracy of proportions, features, etc.! I love the colors she had on and in her rug.Trip to a Dahlia Farm
My spouse and I made a day trip of going down to Lacey, WA to do our annual trek to Connells dahlia farm. There is fantastic color and an amazing array of over 350 different types of dahlia's in this 5 acres of gardens. There are blooms from a couple of inches to 8-10" dinnerplate sizes, 2 foot bushes to 6 foot bushes, and some shaped with wild cacti-like split petals (as in the photo), and some shaped like water lily's or pompoms. They are open for visitors through Sep 7 and I highly recommend it for flower lovers. Here are a couple of sketches....One of the dahlia plants near the table where we had a picnic lunch......Another quick painting sketch of scenery along the highway. A bit challenging to do this in the car as my husband drives, but I've learned how to balance everything, the watercolor palette and sketchbook are both fairly small.A Color Test for Artists
Here's a fun thing to try, I ran across this through a Photoshop group... this website has a Color Test for Artists to test your color acuity. There are about 90 different little squares of color hues for you to arrange and see how you do.... I was really surprised as I got a "0" which means 100% accurate acuity on hue! They mention there, but I don't know who determined this, that 1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency. The test was challenging, and I have to wonder if there might be an effect that tricks your eye to having so many similar color squares near each other on a screen.

Altered Book Painting, Blog Anniversary, Stardust, and Connections

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

The Sun rises

The Sun sets

The Earth moves round and round that Center of Light

While I keep spinning all the while

Altered Book Painting
This small acrylic and oil pastel painting is an entry I did this past week in an altered book for a friend. An altered book is an art form where you take any book and "recycle" it into art by painting, drawing, tearing, pasting, whatever you want, over the existing pages. Often these books are passed around to a group of artists/friends with each one of them starting their own book. I encourage you to try it, as it is fun, as well as inspiring to see the artwork you receive. Below is another one I did for another artist's book, just building off photographs that were already in the book.
Blog Anniversary and Connections
Today I'm celebrating 1 year of blogging, though I opened a blog in August 2009, I really I didn't really get going til January of this year. I must say that I am awed by how many people have stopped in to read or see what I have posted... and doubly awestruck by how many people come from different countries. So, thank you readers, and fellow travelers on the web and in life's journey. It is a reminder for me, in that, there really are people out there listening to what each of us says, no matter how small a voice. And to never never forget, the power of words and our messages, whether coming directly out of our mouths or being posted on the internet.

Just think of all our interconnections, reaching globally across miles of oceans or plains, and skies. I have enjoyed the conversations and exchanges and "meeting" some of you via your blogs too. I like to imagine all the kindred spirits will rise up with their voices and be heard singing a new paradign that creates peace and harmony, respect and caring for all creatures and cultures around the world... Whether it be by our words or art or both, come, let's join in sending out positive vibrations....

We are Stardust
And, celebrating another anniversary..... it's astounding that 40 years have passed since August 1969, the summer of Woodstock and many US cultural changes..... Here's a You-Tube with Joni Mitchell live at Big Sur, California, September 14, 1969... singing one of my favorite songs, not the best recording but still great. Here are the words too... Copyright the artist(s).

I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, where are you going
And this he told me...
I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm
I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
And then try and get my soul free

Chorus*
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And I feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who l am
But you know life is for learning

*We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation

*We are stardust -
Billion-year-old carbon -
We are golden
Caught up in the devil's bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Spirals, a Photoshop Tip, and M81 Galaxy

The serpent bones spoke to me of the ancient cycles of living, dying and being reborn...the serpent bones, with skin long since shed, whispered that the spiraling inward towards our center or spiraling outward towards the cosmic, it is the same.Spirals and a Photoshop Tip
Today I'm playing with photographs and Photoshop (PS). I was choosing a picture to send in for the latest photoartjournals Yahoo group exchange on Spirals. The top picture is taken at a Reptile Garden in South Dakota on a road trip a couple of years ago. I was captivated with not only the skeleton but the dramatic spiral shape. I used PS to remove the display frame and signs around the skeleton. The second photo I used PS to produce a negative image. You can do this by selecting Image>adjustments>invert... very easy.

Spirals are such a wonderful natural design, and as a design has been found in all cultures since ancient times, often associated with the sun or the snake. Here is another quote I like about them, don't know who wrote it: "Our earth describes a spiral course. We move in circles, but we never come back to the same point. The circle is not closed. We only pass the same neighbourhood many times. It is characteristic of a spiral that it seems to be a circle but is not closed."

A Lunatia lewisii, aka, Moon Snail, a vacated shell found at Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island, WA (lovely, these can grow up to 7 inches!)...
The interior of the Westport, WA lighthouse...A Chongololo or giant African millipede (grows up to 11 inches) at the Victoria BC, Canada Bug Zoo (creepy, but a fascinating place)...The Spiral Galaxy M81
The M81 Galaxy is a spiral-shaped system of stars, dust, and gas clouds, the galaxy's arms wind all the way down into the nucleus. The Hubble Space Telescope gathered the data needed for the photos in this You-Tube video between 2004-2006, and produced the sharpest image ever taken of deep space and this "grand design spiral" galaxy which is located 11.6 million light-years away. The Hubble Space Telescope's view is so sharp that it can resolve individual stars, along with open star clusters, globular star clusters, and even glowing regions of fluorescent gas. This color composite was assembled from images taken in blue, visible, and infrared light. The music is Creation du Monde by Vangelis. Copyright by the artists... Enjoy and contemplate your spiral journey.

Process Painting, Hot Weather & Climate Change

"Though that blazing sun does make life possible, I found it difficult to appreciate the searing hot rays..."
Above are examples of "process" paintings I did about two years ago using tempera paints. A process painting is about painting intuitively without plan or design, painting emotions, like expressionism, rich with metaphor. The top one is named "Light Above the Sea." The second box shows the start of a process painting on the left and the quite different final version on the right... It's called "The Black Hole and the Fire and the Rose". As you can see the one on the right is what I use in my banner. It's about transformation from one state to another.

Hot Seattle
A couple of weeks ago we hit some record highs here in the usually temperate, cool gray Northwest... we had 105 degrees heat for 2 days and the rest in the 90's. Not that it's absolute proof, but, I couldn't help but think of climate change, and some of the other unusual weather patterns that are occurring here and there around the globe.

Climate Change
I am definitely one of those that think climate change is real, and not just another "media or liberal conjured" issue as some may still think. Drastic weather changes here and there, huge chunks of polar ice sheering off, permafrost melting (with the threat of large stores of methane being released), glaciers retreating or disappearing, animal species disappearing or moving to areas never seen, etc.,etc... Gloomy stuff. It reminds me of way back when, when the threat of nuclear bombs was acknowledged, everyone was terrified, we practiced drills in school (ha), then eventually we all became used to it, the idea that we could be annilated in a moment, and it became a part of the fabric of our lives, just more threads in the complex modern web. Now I wonder, is the environmental issue, the climate change and all that it could bring, something that we acknowledge and then move on... getting used to the idea that quite suddenly we could hit a tipping point, a point of no return...

All that debating.... Does it really matter whether it's manmade or not? Shouldn't the important thing be what will be live-able for us as a species? What if we could change things? What if everyone did even one small thing?

In that spirit of one small thing, here is a You-Tube video of Greg Cravens "How it All Ends" (Oct 2007) to watch and consider... not all dry, he has a sense of humor, and a little goofy costume too. Greg Cravens started with a You-Tube video called "The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See" which has had over 7,200,000 views, but he says this sequel makes the better argument. He says something I have said for a long time... it's not about saving the planet, the planet will get along just fine without us, it's really about saving ourselves...

Sunday Meditation - Purple Lavender Farms, Sketches, and Drawing Class

I wandered through the fields of purple lavender, an ecstasy of colors, sweet scent, and natural beauty everywhere... heaven.
Shades of Purple - Lavender Farms
A couple of days ago we took a ferry and headed over to Sequim, which I thought was the NW capitol of lavender, but turns out to be the North American lavender producing capitol. There are at least a dozen farms to visit, and over the years we have found most of them as we do this trip every year. Sequim has a festival, which we now skip, because it is less crowded and thus more quiet and relaxing without the festival. The farms are open a couple of months for visitors, and our very favorites are: Purple Haze (love the name), Cedarbrooke, and Jardin du Soleil. We also never miss The Cutting Garden flower farm, which has exquisite gardens and grounds surrounding a large beautiful home-like center which are also open to visitors.
Drawing and Mini-Booklet Class
I'm excited about offering some new classes! Below are a couple of examples of the type of pen line drawing I will be teaching at an upcoming class at Everett Artist's Supply. If you are local and interested, here is more info.

Zen Drawing 2 hours $25 Aug 11 10am-12
Come learn a fun simple method of pen line drawing that requires no artistic background or ability. This type of line drawing can become addictive, but in a good way. It’s very relaxing, and no mistakes! This method of drawing can be incorporated into your art projects or be framed as is. You will produce at least 2 small beautiful art pieces in this class to take with you and learn a portable drawing technique you can use anywhere as an instant path to relaxation.

Mini Booklet and Portfolio 2.5 hours $25 Aug 11 1pm-3:30
Now that you’ve seen how fun it is to make the “zen drawings”, join me in creating a small easy booklet with blank pages and a simple stitched binding. The portfolio is made to hold the mini booklet, pen and pencil, everything in one place. It’s perfect to take along with you, so when you want to take a few moments and relax, you can take it out and draw.
Aromatherapy for the Soul
I wish the computer had a scent button that you could press and have a sample of the wonderful aroma of lavender flowers. They are supposed to be therapeutic and the scent is said to slow your nervous system, destress and mellow you out. I certainly felt good after wandering around all day with all that purple scent, then brought some home and am still smiling... And I have some bundles to play with and make things with, culinary and sachet. I'm thinking, scent does play large in our lives, and just the hint of something in the air can bring back all kinds of memories... Wishing you a fragrant day, whether it's enjoying lavender, or roses, or fresh roasted coffee, baked pies or chickens, or whatever you relish. Lavish in the wonderful ability to catch those tiny microns of scent that take us to a quiet or pleasant place or memory.

Painting Faces and Art Show

Contemplative reverie and emotive blues... these paintings emerged from my hand...Painting Faces
I find myself drawn towards expressing faces with my art lately, whether sketching or painting. The two above are my latest acrylic paintings. My goal in most of my paintings is to express, capture gestures, feelings, a sense of place, and not photographic realism at all. First came the blue face, then two weeks later the more flesh and lavender toned face. I took them to my critique group on Wed morning and got lots of positive feedback on them. Someone pointed out they looked surrealistic in style, and another said the blue one reminded her of Chagall's flying figures...another that they looked like two sides of a woman and would fit in an upcoming breast cancer exhibit. I'm finding the critique group very helpful in the different viewpoints expressed while we take in each of the paintings created, all unique. And so wonderful and inspiring to see the variety of art from these ten talented women.

I was going to include these two faces in my art show, however, decided I couldn't part with them yet, they are too fresh, and I must keep them around for a while. So I'm wondering, readers, do any of you have difficulty letting go of some of your paintings or art?

ArtSplash Art Show!
So, here's a picture of my art space at Artsplash which is through this weekend. I did the hanging and set up on Wednesday. I still hung one very large heavy watercolor painting, but the rest are all the light weight acrylics I have worked on. Again, I have been painting seascapes and desert scenes, favorite subjects. And birds... Stop in for the reception tonight or anytime before 5pm Sunday when it closes.

Tuesday Meditation - Trip to the Rose City, Art Show, and Teaching

“In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.” Michael Jackson
Trip to Rose City
We're back from an exhilerating trip to Portland. That biker in the picture above is my husband who did all 200 miles in one day as I drove down. The STP (Seattle to Portland) bike ride draws over 10,000 riders from all over the country and the vast majority do the ride in 2 days with a stop overnight along the way... So you see, he's in rare company, those that dream and actually accomplish difficult physical challenges... 14.5 hours sitting on a bike seat, oh my gosh! And he's done it at least 18 times over the years! He's my role model for getting in shape, but, definitely not to that level.

We relaxed the next day after his bike ride, by visiting the Portland Rose Garden in the morning - great overlooks of the city and the most wonderful large rose garden I have seen. We enjoyed the afternoon at the Portland Art Museum. There was an interesting Escher exhibit who was a master at detailed drawings, also exhibit on tattoos, and, of course, I love their permanent collection of impressionist paintings, all worthy of a stop there.

Art Show
I have very busy making new art for an upcoming show, and happy to say, I'll succeed in my goal of putting together a show in a different media for me, acrylic. I have also created a selection of mini art as part of my display, here's a peek at 3 of them in the picture below. In addition, the show has a "miniature paintings" section too. "Artsplash" begins July 16 and runs through July 19 in Edmonds, for those reading who are local. Over 50 artists will be in this show, including me, so do stop in and take a look and chat with the artists. The best time to come is either Thursday evening (4-8pm) during the Edmonds Art Walk so you can visit other galleries as well.... or even better, come on Friday evening (6-8pm) when most of the artists will be there. I will also be there on Sunday afternoon from 2-5 doing an art demo. Teaching!
In the sidebar of my blog I have added a listing of workshops I will be teaching at Everett Artist's Supply and Framing: Zen Drawing, Mini-Booklet and Pamphlet, and Journaling the Journey. I'm excited about presenting these fun, easy art sessions. Teaching is something I have done a bit of here and there, and it is satisfying seeing people absorb information and the directions they take with their own art.

Tuesday Meditation
I found a beautiful quote from Michael Jackson today. I have to say, I was absorbed by some of the media frenzy and talking heads the last couple of weeks after his death (isn't there just tooo much celebrity "news" these days on CNN, is it still "news" if it's repeated over and over for weeks, or if it's really just endless speculation?)? And though I never thought of myself as an MJ fan, I realized there were quite a few songs along the way that I now remember I really enjoyed. And, definitely, I thought he was an extraordinary dancer - some moves look like Elvis, some like Fred Astaire, James Brown, Charlie Chaplin, and rap all rolled into one. Very gifted man who I learned also gave back more to charity than any other pop star. So here's a You Tube video of an early performance by a younger MJ of one of my fav's, copyright the artist. There are probably many lessons that his life presents for us, not the least of which, are, to look past the external into the soul and essence of a person and to "dare to hope, comfort, dream, and believe".

Sunday Meditation - Crayola Bombs to You! Seascapes and Birds

“Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb..." Robert Fulghum
"And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air -- explode softly -- and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." Robert Fulghum

I love this quote and thought it appropriate for the U.S. 4th of July celebrations. I prefer visualizing crayola bombs, happiness bombs, rather than the typical song about the rockets red glare and the real bombs bursting in air. Now don't get me wrong, I do love my freedom and also think people should be entitled to liberty no matter where they are. Maybe this is an artist's way of viewing the world, perhaps those of us who share our work are sending out little parachutes of happiness. Little parachutes of happiness are so needed to counter some of the war machine that continues to ravage some countries or squash individual freedoms, counter those that start unjust wars, and abandon human compassion... I suppose my writing today reflects the holiday and reading about N.Korea launching test missiles...

Painting Seascapes and Birds
Meanwhile, here are a couple of the dozen or more paintings that I have been working on for my upcoming art show in two weeks. This will be my first show that is not watercolors - instead, I've challenged myself to do an all acrylic or mixed media show. Acrylic has been a challenge as it has such different properties than watercolor, I love the thicker texture I can achieve, but I miss the washy looseness of the watercolors. And I haven't obtained an extender product yet, so I am painting very fast indeed, so that I can still get some blending done before the paint dries. The top one is 16x20 and I may call it "The Heron Sentinel" and the one below is 8x10 and is "Seascape #1". I may share others that have even more intense colors.Crayola Artist
I selected this interesting You Tube video - "Homage to Dan Marco - Master Crayon Artist" from Glen Welker, all art copyright the artist. Wonderful paintings of Native Americans set to soothing flute music. So this is an homage to the first Americans whose ancestors and descendants would have yet a different perspective on our collective history and independence.

Sunday Meditations - Trip to Alaska, the Big Alone, Sketching and Just Being

"All Journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." Martin Buber
Trip To the Big Alone and Sketching
We're back from a cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska. I heard the ship naturalist refer to Alaska as the Big Alone, since he pursues a lot of wildlife and adventure travel that has included 2 years alone on a remote Alaskan island. Cruising is not like being alone in the wilderness, as it feels like a floating self contained good sized village moving from point to point. However the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, silent and serene, taking me back into my center. Nature does that. I do find that taking a journey into nature, even if it's a walk in the yard or to a local park, there is a fulfilling nourishment to be had...

On this cruising journey, I packed my journal, a couple of pens, and very small watercolor set with niji water brush. I happily captured moments here and there. I sketched people, scenery, objects, etc, here are a few of them... The first set includes one of the "mustering" director going through the safety talk, a guitar player, and an audience at one of the many live shows.
The following includes two scenes as we sailed towards Juneau with the bottom one being a quick sketch of the Mendenhall Glacier. I loved the misty cloud veiled mountains and islands, the cool colors and crisp air. The Glacier had many shades of blues and greens and some browns, and definitely has been affected by global warming.
I may post more sketches later, particularly of some town sketches. Parts of them were overly commercial with way too much kitchy stuff, unlike my first Alaska visits some 20 years ago. But by walking and seeking we found the charming less touristy sections, the historical museums, and nature everywhere. I'm determined to get out into our own forests and mountains again on a more regular basis like I used to... as there is something to the falling away of all the unnecessary noise and things and busy-ness that is so refreshing to the soul.

The Beauty of Tracy Arm and Just Being
Our ship went into the Tracy Arm Fjord up to the spectacular Sawyer Glacier, many icebergs floating everywhere. Literally, this was a passage to another world. So here is a You Tube video from ggg11333 on Tracy Arm alone with lovely singing, a very peaceful serene video.



The You Tube video below "Juneau Alaska Icebergs Tracy Arm Adventure Bound" is a nicely made film copyright by William Duris and I like the music too, though I don't know what it is. He shows the glacier about 4 minutes into it and even got northern lights which I didn't see while there. I like that he includes the rain forests and wildlife.

Saturday Meditation - I'm a Dreamer Looking Thru a Window in a Rock

"You may say I'm a Dreamer, but I'm not the only one...." John Lennon
Going back in time here for a visit...... From my archives, Arch Rock from the exquisite Oregon coast. I used pen and ink and watercolors, one of my favorite ways of painting. I'm looking at this painting from a different perspective today. I'm thinking of a teacher I met along the way who said that in martial arts they instruct to "be like water into rock"... Water moves and flows and surrounds the rock, the immovable object. And wears it down. So, as I say, pretty soon, you are looking thru a window in the rock. A crack in the wall. Anything is possible. Imagine.

Imagine, I'm a Dreamer
And I'm not the only one...... And that is the Meditation for today. A night or two ago, I was captivated by a PBS special about Neil Young. Oh, did that bring back memories, still love his singing and music. Those were the days...... So I was cruising thru You Tube and found this wonderful video of him singing a tribute to John Lennon and 911 victims. Wonderful rendition, just love it and many other of the songs of John Lennon and Neil Young.
Namaste, enjoy.....

Time Out for Poppies & Irises, Painting again, and Art-A-Day Heron

A busy day and I still deserve time out to enjoy the flowers in my yard...
I just love the beautiful colors and shapes of the poppies and irises blooming in my yard... I took time out from house cleaning today to enjoy them and then pull a few weeds too. Amazing what just a few minutes of fresh air will do, clear out the mind so I can go back in and do what needs to be done.

Painting and Art-A-Day Sketch
I've gessoed some canvases and today am starting a new painting in acrylic and mixed media. Lately my focus has been birds, so I will paint a heron similar to this sketch here in a 16x20 size. I will change it a bit, as after showing it to my friend, she suggested that it looks like the large heron is wearing slippers instead of standing over it's two babies... so I'll move them over. I thought that was funny, and not surprising since she does paint bunny slippers on some of her people. Here is yet another sketch of a heron, such gorgeous graceful birds. This is from my Art-A-Day journal, I find it is useful for practicing what I might later paint.

Sunday Meditation - House Collages and Redneck BBQ Painting

She heard the mountain laughing as the moon and stars came out, and crow came to take her for a ride...Art-A-Day Journal Houses
My art-a-day journal has these whimsical, somewhat quirky collaged houses here and there that make me smile. When the mood strikes and I have interesting paper to play with out comes another one. I like combining my journal collages with pen drawing and a few words. My favorite pens lately are the Uniball pens with permanent ink, ultra fine lines, and their gel pens with an even smaller .38 line, and of course, the occasional Sharpie which sometimes bleeds to the other side of the page.

The first collage above has to do with the our interconnection with the landscape, the crow-raven native american story of being the bearer of light and I call it "Crow Came to Give her a Ride". Below, the second one I call "No Dumping" because that's what the label says on the frig in the picture, and it all relates in a way to my continous effort to declutter all the debris I've collected over the years, an effort that never seems to end. Especially true, since I experiment with all kinds of art, my eyes see potential new uses for ordinary things, it's laughable. Doesn't it seem like we all do it, amass physical and mental stuff that eventually is useless to us and in the way of other things, ideas, outlooks? Perhaps collaging lots of houses is a way of remodeling...
The third collage below reflects the pure fun of the Artfest retreat in April, and in fact, is made from remnant candy paper we were given, a nice reminder, I call it "Beaver Brittle House."Sunday Meditation
Now here's a really fun and funny video. I don't think I will be experimenting with BBQ sauce this way, but maybe the point is just to be creative, use whatever you have on hand, you don't have to go buy new art stuff, and probably don't need another workshop either (though these are fun things to do).

So here it is: "Redneck Art made with BBQ Ribs - Speed Painting" from Eclectic Asylum Art. The music is "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" by The Creaking Tree String Quartet. By the way, probably because the original would get moldy, the artist makes prints out of his art and sells them on Ebay, you can google it. I saw an Elvis portrait print done with real cheetos, actually quite good too. Cheers to family and friends in Texas who will love this!