Working it out

I'll be posting here only very sporadically for a while, while I try to get back into my own rhythm.  I feel a strong need to surround myself with as much peace and beauty and wisdom as I can find, maybe creating some of my own along the way.  Finally, fearlessly forging my very own path has become more and more important to me.

My deep and sincere thanks to all who left messages after my last two posts!  I have removed these posts from the blog, but I've saved each of your lovely messages, so I can read them again and again.   Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I'll be popping in throughout the summer, to see what you've been up to.

I'll probably only be popping in here to post some of my art, including the finished portrait of "the big guy."

Besides art, this will be another big focus for me this summer.  I was a lucky winner of a free "Mindful Makeover Kit".  I won this amazing multi-media program from Janice Lynne Lundy by leaving a comment on Laura Hegfield's wonderful blog, Shine the Devine: Creativity IS a Spiritual Practice.  Jan Lundy is one of the wisest, most insightful people I know, and you can find her at her blog, Awakened Living and and her website, buddhachick.org.

Don’t bend; 

don’t water it down; 

don’t try to make it logical;

don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. 

Rather, 

follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.

 ~ Franz Kafka

(found on tumblr)

Ancient urges in modern times

(detail of self-portrait)

I've often wondered why I am so drawn to spirals.  Why do I hunger for the evidence that something was made by someone's hands, not mass-produced by a machine?

Today I found this video, which gives the perfect words to these ancient urges I feel in these modern times.

"The Big Guy" (or stepping into my newest adventure in acrylics)

The big guy is a work in progress.  Now the fun begins, but there are always a few missteps along the way.

I was happily painting some luscious washes of Windsor Blue when I noticed some paint on the kitchen floor.  Make that LOTS of paint on the kitchen floor.  Dozens and dozens of splotches of dark blue paint on the kitchen floor.  Somehow a blob of paint had ended up on the floor, and I must have stepped in it - twice with the same foot.  And then I apparently danced around the kitchen table and the rest of the kitchen before I realized I was painting my FLOOR!

So imagine me, hopping on one foot, ripping off my sock and throwing it away, finally making it to the sink with lots of paper towels, very energetically scrubbing the bottom my foot, and then on hands and knees frantically scrubbing all the blue splotches off the floor.

Yes, you are right, I DO lead a very exciting and fun-filled life!

At least I'm happy with the progress I'm making with this painting, and it shouldn't take too long to complete.  I love adding the textures and washes and then repeatedly rubbing them with a scrap of muslin, because I never know what the layers and layers of paint will look like after I work with them. 

Many more layers of paint still need to be added before this painting will have the rich, warm depth I so love to create.  You can't really capture it in a photo, unfortunately.

Sometimes I also like to just step back, (hopefully avoiding stepping in paint!) and look at a portrait upside-down.  I can get a better idea of whether I like how the colors are coming together this way.  And I can see whether the shape and details of the face work.

I hope you all step into something good every chance you get!

"Creativity comes from

looking for the unexpected

and stepping outside your own experience."

~ Masaru Ibuka

The Philosopher

Portrait of Chris

acrylic mixed media

on 16 x 20 wrapped canvas

Finally!  It seems like I have been working on this painting forever!  This is #3 in my series of 4 family portraits - my son, the philosopher.

All the background details of this painting reflect that - like this definition of the word "philosopher" and this window, open to things as yet unknown.

As you have probably noticed by now, I'm not an assembly-line artist!  In case you've forgotten what the first two portraits look like, here they are:

Portrait of Katrina

self-portrait

I'm really, really happy with how these three paintings look together.  And it won't take as long for me to finish the next painting.  I promise!  I've been working on the painting of "the big guy" already, and it's coming along nicely.

Hello hello!

Happy May!  I hope your month has started well.  Here are a few more photos of my trip.  The top photo is the maypole in Munich. 

This little guy reminds me of myself lately.  :0)  A little frustrated!  I think I'm trying to go in too many directions at once.

I've noticed that I'm really drawn to spirals of any kind.  This was the staircase at the old hotel I stayed in, located about an hour East of Berlin.  The hotel is so charming, and is almost completely restored to its pre-East German beauty.

I also adore stained glass windows! These were in the stairway of the hotel.  Aren't they gorgeous?

 

I loved this statue, too.  It is located in front of a school, and it looks like lots of kids have sat on her lap, doesn't it?

I must admit, when I first came back home, I moped around a bit, because there were so few signs of spring here.  There were so many flowers and leaves sprouting everywhere in Germany already.  But then I realized it was really a blessing, because I'd get to experience spring, my favorite season, twice this year!  I know I won't have that chance very often.

"The world's favorite season is the spring.

All things seem possible in May."

~ Edwin Way Teale