A New Piece and Lingering Tulips

 Mixed Media Collage

5" x 5"

here

 

Normally, I tend to the bouquets that find their way into our home. By that, I mean I whisk away any flowers that are no longer in their prime.  But I missed a few beats with this Valentine's bouquet of beautiful pink and white tulips.  I had removed it from the center of our table so that I could spread work out and had placed it under a lamp and then didn't pay much attention to it.  But a few days ago when I went to turn the lamp off, I was struck by the translucent state of the decaying pink tulips.  They were stunning, especially with the light source nearby.  At that point, their petals still maintained their shape and the flowers had simply "relaxed" to the inverted-open-umbrella position.  But of course, as luck would have, we were in the middle of a string of very dark, Portland-grey days and I could not get good photos.  So I just continued to observe the process unfold, mindful of the fact that I had never taken the time to do so before.  Yesterday, they were in various sculptural states of demise and the light was with me.   Today, they'll be added to the compost pile but I will continue to enjoy them via these images.  The circle of life is so amazing. . .

Collages

5" x 7"

I'm still in collage mode.  I'm supposed to be painting on those wood panels I mentioned last weekend but I'm not quite there yet, as I have been focusing, instead, on adding a few pieces to the shop (still in process).  But later today,  the paints come out for sure.  Lucky for me, Grace, of Silver Swan landed on my blog and responded to my request for tips, suggesting that I try incorporating colored pencil on the panels.  My first-time visit to her blog revealed a place of enchantment and two remarkable illustrations by her: here and here.  So, a gift from the blogosphere landed right in my lap and based on Grace's beautiful work, I'm thinking I'd best "hop-to" and follow her advice!  :) 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Mesmerized by Light and Shadow

 

Hello there and happy weekend! I'm obviously still enthralled with light and shadow on walls, particularly when a little glass is thrown into the mix. :)

I'm in the process of clearing my work table off so that I can concentrate on a few collages and then I'm going to attempt to paint on birch panels.  I'm going to start with two small ones before beginning two 24" square ones.  Wood panels offer the options of transparent imagery that allows the grain to show through, opaque imagery, or a combination of the two.  I have no idea where I'm headed with this, but it should prove to be interesting.  Does anyone have any tips?

Happy Late-in-the-Day Valentine's Day!

Scanned and digitally altered image of the black and red painting at upper left.

Here's hoping your heart is full of love.

Cheers!

Line and Form in Winter

 A Greek Goddess and my "Little Ovoids" painting

Last Saturday's sunset from our front porch.

While driving back and forth through the neighborhood this past week, it dawned on me that winter's silhouette will soon be gone.  Likewise, views of the sky will be significantly diminished.  It first occurred to me as I drove up a steep windy road lined with a smorgasbord of deciduous trees.  I remember thinking, "Oh, that's right, this route will soon be laden with foliage and I will not be able to see the sky."  And then yesterday, as I passed a small tree with a particularly lovely profile, a series of thoughts seized me:  "Oh! That lovely tree!  Those gorgeous branches! This winterscape will soon be obliterated!  I must photograph the winter forms of the trees before their beautiful lines are lost to me! I must hurry to soak up the beauty of winter!"

Morning Light and Mother

 

It's Saturday morning and we awoke to a glorious day.  But it's winter here at this northern latitude, and the morning light is soft.  Outside my window, the "Morning Light" miscanthus grass was bathed in light.  And in the hallway, a painting propped against the wall was also bathed in light, compelling me to go find the source.  In the adjoining bedroom, light was streaming through a south-facing window, and twigs and a biscuit jar loved by my mother for the prism light phenomenon it created, were bathed in it.  

After photographing these things, I poured a cup of coffee and sat down to go through some of my older sketchbooks.  In one of them, I found a small piece of paper with words written on it.  The writing was my mother's.  Always the positive thinker and optimist, she had listed words worthy of consideration on this journey of life:

Soar

HOPE

Bliss

Strength

Heal

Soul Mates

Prepare to Grow

Honesty

Energy

Nurture

Nature

Divine Grace

Center

Imagination

Balance

As I continued looking through my books, I found a sketch of an idea that I wanted to add notes to.  Having done so, I began to date it and in so doing, realized that today was my mother's birthday -- she would have been eighty-five.  We were so very fortunate to have her in our lives. . .

My mother's cake stand and dome 
(In a recent evening hour of light)

***