Holding Hands in the Moonlight

Looking out (and in) through my window....

These two caught my eye as I was turning out the lights the other night.  One might suppose it's just a fluke that their "hands" are touching.  But whether from true love, or intense fright, they managed to remain motionless and "hang on" while I moved around in front of them -- just inches away -- taking a series of five photos with intense flashes.   And yes, I felt terrible invading their reverie.  But it was such an unusual, lovely sight, and quite thought provoking, so I felt compelled to capture it. 

I thought about the image off and on during the work week; mentally going through my "archives" of art images, thinking about which of them I might include with it in a post.  But in the end,  I decided it should just stand on it's own.    As I sat down to post it this morning, I took a moment to scroll through the recent posts in my blogger feed and came across the newest image in Golly Bard's Drawing Room.  Holly's photographs are always stunning; the result of an amazing eye and an excellent camera.  An avowed naturalist, she captures both flora and fauna in their height of glory, and long after that glory has faded.  But frequently, in that faded glory, there is amazing beauty, and her most recent photos illustrate this in stark, but soft detail.  Truly, I could spend hours studying the last image on her post today.  It is incredibly evocative. For those of you who follow Holly's blog, you'll be delighted to find her link to a new interview where she talks about what inspires her, and the romance of summertime.  

Which reminds me.......summer appears to have finally arrived in Portlandia.  It's time for me to move away from the computer and head outside for a breath of the rose-scented air.

                                                           Have a wonderful weekend!

Water and Sky.....Paintings by Catherine Freshley

Willapa Bay Field

30" x 40"

Float Plane on Lake Coeur d'Alene

24" x 30"

Lost Lake

18" x 24"

We had a chance to catch up with our daughter, Catherine, last weekend.  She continues to paint landscapes and she had a large work -in-progress in tow.  She is focused and disciplined, and somehow managed to add a couple of layers of paint during a very busy weekend.  If you're in the Spokane area, you can see her work at The Elk through mid-September.

I managed to spend a little time doing relief printing on Saturday.  I was working with a very limited palette again -- this time pthalo green and sepia -- and I used various bits of vegetation.  I imagine some of the prints will eventually find their way to this blog after I go back into them with additional colors and mediums.  Printmaking is so satisfying.  Always so many surprises along the way.  Alchemy, perhaps. 

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Thanks for your visit  :)

 

Texture, Color and Morning Light at the Bay





I suppose the most spectacular eye candy on this particular morning outing was the "fairy dew". 

Huge pink swaths of it.   Softly stunning.

Visit Coco for a wonderfully peaceful and calming sense of reverence for life and the earth.   Each image and word so carefully chosen. Rather Haiku-like.  And also visit Abby Meadow's Infusion Fibers (where I first learned of Coco) for a similar sense of awe and gratitude, and a peek into the very intentional lifestyle of this creator of the gorgeous Infusion bag line.

Wednesday tomorrow. That's a good thing.

Cheers!

In the Morning Light

Layered paintings

Acrylic on mat board and canvases

Perfume bottles by Anthony Parker

We have several skylights in our east-facing sunroom.   Last Saturday, the light in the room was soft, save for a square of brilliant light on the table.  The perfume bottles were created by Anthony Parker,  the well-known Portland glass artist behind Parker Glass.  Recently, I've been enjoying these beautiful bottles backlit by a south-facing window, but I was interested to see them in the soft morning light.

Off to catch up with what you've been creating....

Best...

Painting In Progress.......Suspended Ovoids

In progress - "Suspended Ovoids"

Acrylic on canvas - 30" x 40"

So I stared at my blank canvas for a good part of the day and evening last Saturday, and finally took the plunge on Sunday-- beginning still another painting in my "Ovoid" series.  By mid-morning on Monday,  the painting was at a good point:  suffused, somewhat evocative, a bit brooding, and in a simple palette akin to  the bark, leaves, and lichen of our blueberry bushes in early summer.  Two simple, warm-white ovoids commanded the center of attention.  By Monday afternoon, I had managed to lose the suffused feel and my background palette had shifted.  Tuesday and Wednesday evenings were spent studying the painting; comparing and contrasting it with others in my midst and deliberating about whether to try to recapture the early essence of the painting, or to pursue an alternative, more graphic approach.   Last night, as the light faded to darkness, I literally sat staring at the painting.  Finally, I made several decisions:  "Yes" to using bright orange.  "Yes" to stripes.  "No" to the dark, dark background.  "Yes" to the larger end of the ovoids on the bottom of the painting. "Yes" to "suspending" the ovoids.  And within a matter of an hour, I was well on my way!  Now, it's a matter of adding more color interest to the orange stripes (ala the citrus oranges); adding refinements here and there, and perhaps adding some graphite.   Cannot wait to get back to this painting in the morning light!

And then, I think I'll try to recapture the early essence of the earlier "lost" painting in a smaller version.  :)

Art = Happiness

Cheers!

Printing Some....Painting Some

 

I spent a few hours making some relief prints yesterday.  Nothing too taxing-- and I limited myself to three colors: red, black and sepia.  I ended up with about 20 prints that I will use as starting points for mixed media pieces.  I cleared my table of my printmaking suppies in the evening in preparation for transitioning to painting. 

I hung a blank canvas on my wall (well, actually two, of differing sizes) and have been staring at them ever since.  Well, not exactly "ever since,"  but I've been "sizing them up" so to speak while alternately moving through the house and flipping through my sketch books.  I'm torn:  Representational or abstract? Graphic or painterly?  Bold or subtle hues?  Organic or geometric?  Horizontal or vertical division of the canvas?  (Or none at all.)  Limited palette, or two or more distinct palettes within the painting?  Ever go through this kind of mental anguish before starting a piece of art?  Perhaps one of these days I'll get to the place of  "addressing"  more than one canvas at once. It sounds so freeing. But maybe it just divides the anguish between multiple canvases. However, one obvious benefit of the "multiples" approach is the possibility of moving ahead on one of the paintings while in "stuck mode" on the other(s).

I'm curious -- do you tend to work on one piece at a time until completion, or on multiple pieces at once?  And if multiple pieces, are they typically within the same medium, or do you go back and forth between mediums?

Cheers!

Milestones and Moons

"Moon Discs"

Acrylic on canvas 30" x 40"

Life has been very full recently...of immediate and extended family matters and milestones, short trips here and there, and of course, work.  Producing art and blogging have temporarily taken a back seat, although I continue to visit others' blogs, shops and flickr sites regularly, always eager to be inspired by the creativity and beauty displayed there.  

Our yard is ablaze with rugosa roses and the air is heavy with their lovely scent.   A grown chicken, raised by our daughter while away at college, temporarily resided in our yard.....a first for me.  And yes, within a day, my husband and I were attached to it and talking to it as though it were our "beloved" beagle, Harley. 

I recently had photos taken of some of my paintings. Some of the resulting images are closer approximations to the works than what I had previously been able to capture, so I have been uploading a few of them to my flickr site.  The above painting was done a few years ago, but I had not previously posted it anywhere. I wasn't thinking of moons when I painted it, but "Moon Discs" seems to fit.  ( And 'discs' rather than 'disks' because I think the roundish "c" looks better than the sharp "k" in the word, especially when it pertains to moons. )

I hope you are having a wonderful week.

Thanks so much for stopping by and for the work you are producing!

:)

Patina....on wood, metal and clay

  

Mixed media leaf with found copper piping.  



Last weekend, I travelled to southern Oregon to visit extended family and watch my cousin's children play LOTS of soccer.  In between the games, we managed to fit in a couple of quick trips to the charming, historic gold rush town of Jacksonville, home of the Britt Music Festivals, and now surrounded by vineyards and wineries. While there, I was delighted to find Lisa Kaser's wonderful illustrations in a little shop, and was even more delighted to hear from the owner that they have a hard time keeping them in stock. :)  I found the lovely green bowl and shoe form in a couple of antique stores and, well, they just seemed to go with the printed pieces, and a few of my favorite things.

How is it that I've never come across a peony in the "Jester's Hat " phase?  My friend's peonies are all sporting these "hats" right now. And where does all that silken fuzz come from anyway? 

We had lovely weather in Portlandia this weekend and I managed to turn my compost twice!  Last year at this time, it was full of thousands (literally, I'm quite sure) of worms.  Today, there were about ten.  And last year, our Gravenstein apple tree was absolutely loaded with apples, but this year, it's absolutely loaded with leaves and only about five apples...But not to worry, our young cherry tree has gone all out in the fruit production department! 

Monday is almost here again.....Hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you!

Cheers :)