“Becoming is superior to being.”

-Paul Klee

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Where will this door lead me?

As you may have guessed, I have been away for a bit.  It seems doors are opening and closing all the time now (maybe it is because I am looking for them).  When I travel, I find my work becomes very charged with new ideas and new explorations.  This time is not different.  The challenge is there are also a lot of personal things needing my attention at the moment.  Do you ever find there are too many other things pulling you away from your creativity?  Things like insurance drive me nuts – too much linear thinking involved.  I am also not a phone person, so that doesn’t help, does it?  Over the next little while, I will share with you some of my trip experiences.  For now, I am off to get some of these things done, so I can eventually open the studio door and get some work done!  I love that so much!

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door in my town

This is my rendition of a door in my town which reminds me of a cool pool set inside this hot brick wall.  Okay,so maybe I am hallucinating here!  Of course, this is my take on the door (actually two doors, but one opening).  I hope you are staying cool.

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from my sketchbook

When I was in France, earlier this year, I took a photograph of a perfectly French gate at Giverny. I came home and gave it my own twist!  I think a gate is a door of sorts.  Do you?  Are any gates/doors opening or closing for you this summer?

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Sweet Little Door in Washington, DC

A little door found while walking through a DC neighborhood.  I couldn’t resist doing this little doodle.  I continue with some sketching through these hot summer days and consider the goodness of slow art.  I hope you are staying cool.

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If you are ever in Paris, it is well worth your time to head out there.  The public transportation makes it very easy, but go early as the crowds soon make it a challenge just to move around the palace and grounds. Do make the effort to go out to the Le Grand Trianon and Le Petite Trianon as the bumpy train ride will be so worth it.  I actually liked Le Petite Trianon better than the palace and the gardens are amazing.

I am currently working on some new things in my studio, so I need the time to head in there and to get some photographing done.  I hope all of you who are heading into a holiday weekend enjoy the time with friends and family.

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When we were in Paris, we also visited Notre Dame. Like everyone else, we had some lovely time on the grounds and enjoyed this amazing, cutting edge at the time, architecture.  We also enjoyed the inside of which I want to show you a little bit.  Now the photographs can be a challenge as there was a musical celebration going on and there are lots of people, too.  But I want to give you a sense of this beautiful cathedral.

This is a view from the back looking straight up to the altar.  I wish I could give you a better sense of the space, but it goes without saying that the volume is truly amazing.  Can you imagine a special service here such as a wedding?  The bride might need to wear hiking boots rather than heels, but the music would swell beyond belief!

This is one of the chandeliers.  As you can see the light is dim, but creates the perfect ambiance.

This is one of the rose windows found in the cathedral.  Would you like to see it closer?  Here you go:

I love these windows so much.  Like any good art, they have an incredible way of drawing you in and making you think.  I find they are truly fun to study and explore throughout Europe.  Where they are located within the architecture depends on the symbolism.  France, by-the-way, has the largest number of medieval rose windows.

Everyone wants to go to Notre Dame, and it truly is an amazing piece of architecture.  I have a soft spot in my heart for these great cathedrals of Europe as they are so inspirational in so many ways, although I am not a religious person.  I am always find it is the little bits which draw me in. I also find it facinating to contrast and compare these structures in different parts of the world.  Just in Europe you can begin to see the influences of the area as well as of the church.  Some of them are so simple, however others are amazingly ornate!

Can you find inspiration in places (architecture) which you are not directly involved with?  Is it a different kind of inspiration than the original intent of the place?

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I continue to sketch away at these doors, and they continue to look like Alice found them down the rabbit hole.  The thing is I am working with color a bit and I find as hard as I try, my brain will not allow me to color them as they appear in the photographs!  It seems my imagination takes over and I go along wondering what in the world this would be like when you consider the door as a metaphor for something else.  Does this happen to you?  Color seems to be the cross-over element for me.  Do you have an element of art which carries you further…where you really take artistic liberties?

I had never considered how a particular element or principal of art might be a catalyst for something else, but for now this seems to be true.  It is an interesting observation for me.  When I take out the color, the work becomes a exercise in line drawing.  When the color comes into play, everything changes. This should not surprise me because color has always been what I love to work with.  I always want to get to the smallest detail of color.  Like this painting…

Stay tuned, because I am adding color to some of these doors now!

I hope everyone has had a lovely Mother’s Day!

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Helen Keller

Open and closed doors happen all around us.  Do you immediately begin to search for the open doors when a door in your life closes?

Today and tomorrow we are having a new roof put on our house, so I can barely think here much less write some comprehensible post!

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