River Garden Studio

the soul of an artist

is in the colors of the earth

the sky 

the imagination

 

in an old chair

graceful and strong

an open book

 

Sometimes it is quiet

slowly stirring 

through our daydreams...

Raising up like the wings of a bird

stretching out

strong like a dancer

A force so strong

it cannot be stopped

It sings 

look at my creation!

The soul of an artist rests...

the chair waits

Duende

This is a project I have been working on... My model is my dear friend Anna, who trained in both acting and dancing.  The painted door is one of her creations... Iwould like to make this part of a video... what do you think?

In two days I am flying to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, for Nick Bantocks workshop.  I even get to fly in a seaplane!

One definition of Duende is: "an artist who has flamenco in her soul."  I first heard this beautiful word from Nick Bantock when he spoke at an art conference last year.

time to just be

We all need to take time to just be.  To appreciate just where we are right now. To take a breath and sigh... letting in the good air... letting go of anxiety and worry. Fortify ourselves.  Love ourselves and this life that is ours.

This is something Murphy is really good at... I came out to the living room to find her snuggled sheepishly in my new pillows.

Today I was just me in the studio, making collages in a book for Agnieszka, the manager and events director for Paschal Winery.  I am almost finished... eight pages in all.  I want to see how much time it would take to make these to sell at my show. (Lots of time!)   Her book will be a little more special though.

When I saw her last, she told me about this little village in Italy that she visited last year, called Civita Di Bagnoregio... which they named their wonderful red wine after.

I am becoming completely entranced by this tiny village that sits high on a mountain in Tuscany... and want to use images of it in my art.

This little book is named for the town Civta, living and "sleeping in the clouds"... "e dormire tra le nouvole."  

These two pages above are not quite finished...

but I think these two pages are done... the leaf is one I painted and cut out, so is the house and bird.  I used this dove in my  "Be the light" journal.  Also is a map of italy, my own watercolors of shells, pressed flowers, stamps, text and photocopies of shells from old illustrations.  Under the leaf are the words... "fly like the leaves," that I typed on my old Royal Typewriter.

Be the light...

The unfinished front and back cover, still on the work table...

Another finished painting that I gave you a peak of last week... "to be a bird."  I am thinking my landscape series should be called... "these hills are mine."

As I try new color combinations and designs I see that there are certain things that are appearing in most of my work... old houses, white birds, arches and wings of insects are some... And I am wondering what is it that shows itself over and over in your work...?

and in the distance...

On July 2nd, Jill Zaheer at Jazzworks posted the most thought provoking post. I have been thinking about Jill's words and photographs  and contemplating her words since. She reminds us to "Awaken our senses-  they are the nourishment of our souls." 

Sometimes in this crazy world we forget to do just that... she has reminded my that each day is a renewal in and of itself...  Thank you Jill...

I have noticed that now I can again awake each morning and see the day as a gift... for what will I create today, what new flower will bloom, what bird will visit my garden?  

My life in the summer is a solitary one... for when the trees leaf out little can be seen of the world outside of my home. 

My love for painting is in a state of renewal, as well...new textures, new color combinations, new visions... 

For my show in April, (thankfully such a long way off...) our plan is for me to show primarily landscapes, collages and books. 

 

This is the story of my landscapes...

...and in the distance there stood a house.  This house seemed to change colors with the sky as it moved by each minute, each day and each month.  I wondered what lied beyond the house.  What did the woman or man, or family inside it's walls see out it's windows?  What was the secret of the house... it's sadness and dreams... it's loves?

I have four different canvases that I'm working on right now... all in various stages but completely covered with textures and layers of gesso and medium... I have been using a pallet knife for this, tired of the messes on the paintbrush..(I ruin one after another!).  I like these paintings to look like part of a wall... a very old wall...

A close up...

I'm trying out some purple here...

And this will be a collage, like two pages open on a canvas...

...and here are some garden pictures to fill you with color...