Monday, April 27, 2015

Spring in Scandinavia !!!

I nearly fainted when I saw the date of the last blog article !!  How could that possibly be? I guess I took some time off after the exhibit, and got my head back together. After that was back in one piece, I started painting again, but somehow I needed more time this time to find myself and my voice. I had a wonderful trip to Barcelona, Spain in October, and the impulses from that trip gave me even more permission to loosen up and see/paint/draw/mess around creatively even more than I have before.  Color wise, I feel that purer colors, stronger contrasts, and smarter blending of fewer colors gives a more harmonious whole. Also, I keep remembering a comment that was made almost 20 years ago at one of my previous studios by a mentor of mine…."you should paint more like you draw".  I wasn't experienced enough at that time to see how to do that, but it is still popping up often when I am frustrated, and I feel that my real self wants to get out, but can't find the exit.  Even after a another year of art school and 16 years of studio experience, I still struggle to find the "flow" I desire. Now that it is nearly May (!!!) I am in a good place with the latest work, and something tells me that the future is starting to open up to a type of painting that incorporates my movements and a clearer use of color, combined with my own observations/experiences of nature.  Nature gives and gives to us, and we need to take the time to see.  Our time on this planet is pretty short, and taking the time to SEE and process the impulses from a hike, digging in the dirt, listening to a bird's song and then, for me, taking these impulses and interpreting them onto a canvas in a visual harmony….makes life worth living. Hopefully, it gives back to others a sense of experiencing this on a daily basis when they see a painting.  The little pause that a work of art can give you in your daily life, can lift you up and give you the energy to trudge on…..