Another Journey

Another Journey

"Sun Washed II"

19 x 25

Pastel on BFK Reeves Paper

You know how sometimes your looking for a nice Sunday afternoon ride (not so much anymore with gas prices what they are) but you want to see some beautiful landscapes with beautiful colors and you want to feel your cares dissipating as you venture further and further on down the road. Somewhere into the trip you find yourself on a dead end road (you forgot your new generation phone and your car didn't come with navigation included). Nerts, oh well, you turn around and trace you course back to where you turned off the main road. OK now so you're back on track. Think I need to stop this analogy here, it's getting too wordy hope you get the idea. So what does this have to do painting? EVERYTHING!!! It is rare for me that any painting goes as if it paints itself. My paintings are stained with my sweat and tears and I'm sure my fingerprints are being worn off by the pastels ( I don't paint with gloves). I like the tactile feel of the medium and I express myself better without covering my hands. This painting started off with a support paper I had never used before but having seen some impressive results using pastels, I decided to try it. I started by laying it flat on a table and spraying with water here and there. Next, I applied some Black Sumi Ink using an ink brush. Then sprayed more water on it and moved the paper around enjoying the effects of the ink doing its dance. After it dried, I started painting with pastels creating pleasing shapes, patterns, colors, whatever my intuition told me to do. I did not have a focus or end result in mind. My goal at this point was to stay in the here and now and enjoy myself planting in colors and shapes putting in the first layer covering the paper. Now what? So now I'm ready for something to emerge that would tell some sort of a story. Frustration is setting in now along with negative feelings. I know it is time to find an objective, time to tell a story. I'm lost, nothing is coming to me but I paint anyway. I know I need to stop and look around for ideas. I need direction and a plan so I start looking at some favorite books from my art library for ideas and inspirations. I tried several ideas that came to me which brought me a little closer to my journey's end but still no winning ticket. I closed the books and went back to the painting  refocusing and trying new out new directions once again. As I'm painting, now I'm looking for a story to emerge with would lead me to the final stages of the painting. I looked at the painting from every angle. I had worked on this piece for several days by now and I went to bed on yet another day without completion. That was yesterday. Today I work up refreshed and ready to go once again. It's amazing how a night's sleep can do wonders. I think I process paintings in my sleep and I'm not sure how this works, but after four more somewhat frustrating  hours of work on it today.....I AM DONE!  I knew I had come to closure because that feeling of completeness and serenity came over me. I felt good about the piece and I was glad that I stuck with it through the hard times.  I' done with this piece for now (maybe down the way I may do a tweet or two on it) but I have reached closure once again and I have a smile on my face.

On With Painting

"View from Linda's Patio"

18 x 24

Pastel on Pastelbord

If you read my last post you know of the grieving process I had been going through since the death of my dear friend Linda. I found that I had to put closure to the phase I was in before I could continue to paint. I am so happy and please to announce that closure came and I am once again painting. So this painting I just finished is in memory of my dear friend Linda. Linda's house about a mile from mine sits on a hill slope. In the back of her home is a steep down slope to where a beautiful creek flows when the rains come, the slope going up on the other side combined with the far view offers a lovely landscape scene. One could sit on her patio for a good length of time absorbed in the view ( I know Linda did). There are homes and roads in the scene which I left out. I used a lot of artistic license and embellishment in the creation of this painting rearranging the far off mountains as I saw fit. Nevertheless, I believe Linda would have like this painting. I know I loved creating it.

Closure

Random Frieze with Dahlias

10 x 26

Pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes Paper

A dear friend of mine (who was recently widowed) passed away over a month ago following open heart surgery. I went over to visit and bring her some groceries. When I arrived at her house I found her in her favorite lounge chair having passed away. My griefing process has been a difficult one. I shall miss her forever as we were close good friends who confided in each other a lot. Last Saturday a close knit group of friends of hers had a get together to celebrate her in a way she would have liked,  having dinner and enjoying each other's company. We dressed up in her honor as she loved to dress up. It was a beautiful evening. I felt much love and belonging being with these wonderful ladies who are also dear friends. I believe our friend who passed was there in spirit and that she too loved this time we spend together that evening. After getting home and through the days that followed, I felt a big lifting of my grieving and a sense of joy and peace for the first time since her passing. Needless to say, a lot of things went to the wayside during my time of grieving including any urge to create. I believe I needed  to be still and allow myself to grieve which I did. A couple of days after our get together, I wanted to paint again. I started a new painting but found myself being drawn to a work that had been sitting around since last winter. An incredible desire to finish it came over me. I finished it and realized that I put closure to it, and that  was because I had put closure to this phase of my grieving process. I am at peace.

A Painting and It's Process

"Going In"

9 s 12

Pastel on Sabertooth Pastel Paper

Still coming out of a stagnation period but so glad to see this work come to completion.

I wanted to paint something peaceful and soothing with an non objective beginning that was all I knew when I started this this piece. I started by focusing on shapes and colors. As the painting progressed, I indulged myself by using water color pencils (dry or dipped in water), pastel pencils, Prismacolor pencils and regular pencils alternation with the pastel. I used the pencils to add curved lines and draw shapes where ever my instinct prompted me to go. Next I thumbed through a creative painting book for more inspiration which resulted in my adding a waterway to draw the eye in. From this point on I adjusted and tweeted here and there until I felt at peace with this work.  

Repeat Performances

"Fecilia's Blue Meadow"

16 x 20

Pastel on Suede Mat Board

Please bear with me while I come out of my current stagnation.  I'm beginning to feel the inspiration and motivation come back so hopefully it won't be long until I will be posting new paintings. In the meantime I've brought back some works previously shown on my blog. Those of you who are new will be seeing them for the first time and those just checking in may have missed them in the past. Hope you enjoy this little showing of mine.

"Confetti"

8 x 10

Pastel on Canson Mi-Teintes Paper

"Into My Gourds"

8.5 x 11.5

Pastel on Pastelbord

"It Started with Pink"

9 x 12

Pastel on Sanded Paper

"It started with Green"

16 x 20

Pastel on Linen Mat Board

"Dance of The Koi"

18 x 24

Pastel on Canson Paper

A Bit of Braggin

I'm thrilled .....Shown: Earth Tones Pad

Gray Tones Pad

Up to now it's been hard to keep this under my hat but now it's ok to let the news out. Canson Mi-Teintes has come up with two new pastel pads one in earth tones and one in  gray tones. They come in sizes 12" x 16"  and 9" x 12".  I'm so excited to have my artwork on these products. This is a benchmark acheivement in my career. I have used most if not all of the colors in the gray pad throughout my career. So I was very pleased with the selection of colors. I've used some of the earth tone colors before. Now I can't wait to try the rest of them. By the way, the artwork on these covers were done on one of the colors in each pad.