Death and Love

This painting has two of the processes that I love to do with acrylics, sea sponging and swirly tree like patterns. I think of this as the fire and energy of death that comes with love. In every time of love with anything or anyone, there is a degree of death and dying to other things and oneself. There is so much complexity and levels to the power of that love and the continual death of other things to sacrifice for the love. This is, as said early, an acrylic painting. It is a larger painting at 24" by 18" with the the name, "Death and Love," in order to communicate the interwoven complexity of these too factors as they swirl and twist together. This was the last painting that I completed, but I have a few in the works. However, the rigors of family and a young child get in the way at times. Also reflecting in some ways this death and love. The love of my child so often brings about a death to the things I often took for granted as a single person; however, I would not trade the love and times to be with my little for anything else.

Evening Glow

"Evening Glow" (watercolor 4X6) was also painted in order to try to get the feel of art back into the bones. Sitting at a blank canvas or sheet of paper is often daunting, especially when I have really cut the creative side of my life short for so long. Whenever I seem to be in that bind, I often get loosened up by a sunset or sunrise scene. I love them so much and I have gotten to see so many beautiful sunsets in my life here in southern Arizona. We have some of the best evening skies around. If you have followed me for a while or even scan my old posts, there are several sky scenes. I do love them, so this is one to add to the rest. I am partial to this one right now because it marks the end of a hard year and the beginnings and hopes of a more creative and art filled life.

A Longing for Sedona

Well, in this time period of little art and no posts, my family has gotten a chance to spend a part of a day in Sedona. It was a very brief time after going to a wedding in Prescott. This painting and exercise from a Cathy Johnson watercolor book that I did recently. I had actually started working on this nearly a year ago, and did not finish it until just a few weeks ago. Cathy Johnson used watercolor pencils in her display and it was book on using watercolor pencils. However, I used Ink Intense pencils which I was unhappy at how they handled. Granted I had not handled them for quite some time, but I was still unhappy with the effect. But the real purpose behind longing to paint this was my earning to be back out in nature and my longing to be back in Sedona more regularly. Although, I am not sure where this painting was based from; it reminds me a great deal of an area that I took a jeep into during a trip in 2005 when I stayed for an extended time in Sedona. This is just a small postcard size rendering. It makes me want to go ahead and make a painting of the true area that I went to that year and see how that one would turn out.

Ocean Mist - A return to art

This journey of child and art has been a long one. The past year was one of great struggle and turmoil as my family had to walk through the beginnings of Epilepsy with our then not quite two year old daughter. It has been very hard to keep up with the art life with many hospitalizations and constant monitoring, medicine changes, and just trying to keep up with everyday life. This past month I have been making an attempt at getting back to my love and joy of art. This first abstract is probably just the release of trying to recapture the peace and tranquility of the ocean those many years that I went to be by its shore. "Ocean Mist" Acrylic 10X10 was just a pure release of energy and process to get back into the space of doing art again. A process of trying to get my mind centered and to calm my soul in order to create again. I hope everyone enjoys this return to art with my new painting.