Magic, perspective, and Isaac’s 11 month photo shoot!

“Children see magic because they look for it” Christopher Moore 

 

I’m so glad you’re here. Here’s what’s going on in my world today:

I love the idea that the world is full of everyday magic, and that there’s endless combinations of color, art, natural wonder, and experience to discover if you’re receptive to seeking it out.

I had to go into the city last week for an appointment and on the walk back to the car, we decided to stop by a festival in a nearby park.

There is inspiration everywhere.

 

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Growth and color and an (almost!) finished new painting

“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down” Kurt Vonnegut 

 

I’ve been thinking this week about what it takes to keep growing, whether as an artist or a parent or a friend or an individual. It’s the hard, daily work of trying new things, making mistakes, celebrating life and small successes, and getting up each new day with the determination to try again.

As spring continues to bloom, I’ve been so thrilled by the color and shape and growth right outside my door. Love, love, love.

 

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Milestones, bunnies, and the power of art

“I have come to understand that what I am saving by making art is my own vital life.” Toby MacLennan

 

My sister posted a quote recently that I just love:

 

I’ve often wondered why I felt compelled to make art.  And one day quite by surprise this sentence came to me with the strength of a command: You are saving things from being lost!  Over the years I have come to understand that by making art I am certain I am saving my childhood capacity to play from being systematically destroyed.  I am certain that by making art I am honorably retrieving from the dumpsters of our society, my awareness of the life of deer and the smell of black dirt just plowed up from a farmer’s field in Iowa.  I know that by making art I am preserving my ability to lay down on the ground and stare at a blade of grass until I am filled with wonder.  I know I am preserving my capacity to stray out from under the shadow of an idea and look at my hands as if they were just being born.  In fact, over the years I have come to understand that what I am saving by making art is my own vital life.

 

There are so many reasons why art is so important to me and to so many of us. Awareness, play, wonder, connection. Art calls on the pieces of ourselves that are less tangible, that are harder to define, but that are oh so necessary as part of a life well lived.

Let’s start our morning with some happy color. Not only do I adore these flowers, but this is one my favorite colors to paint with. Nature has the most beautiful palette to choose from!

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Have a little faith (plus: painting progress and life around here lately)

“Have a little faith in me” John Hiatt

 

The song Have a little faith in me came on the radio the other day and while it’s not a song I usually hear, I felt myself pause at the word faith.

Have a little faith in me.

I felt like this was the universe talking, saying what’s your rush? Don’t worry, I’ll get you where you need to go.

 

The original BREATHE painting, temporarily back in my studio for framing!

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Paint, pause, examine (painting progress and Isaac’s 9 month photo shoot!)


“Reexamine all that you have been told” Walt Whitman

 

I’ve been appreciating lately that finishing a painting is not a linear process for me, especially as I review my in-progress photos to share. Colors change, an evening scene becomes a morning scene, colors change again, a grove of trees becomes a hill of flowers, etc. I need a lot of flexibility, time, and room to explore, which is partly why I love acrylic paints so much – they are very, very forgiving and allow for lots of layers.

Here’s where I’d left my current painting last time, though as you’ll see below, the words follow the stars might no longer work:

 

I’ve been stretching this painting out over a number of weeks, adding layer after layer to the background until the colors speak to me and I can add the next element. I’ll likely never be the artist that can paint live in front of an audience, but that’s okay. Instead, I paint, pause, examine. Paint, pause, reexamine.

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