sketchbook

“Making art is like giving a gift: evidence of your spirit and that you are here.”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It has been so brutally hot here this summer, so I have moved my studio from upstairs to the basement.  It is much brighter and larger…not to mention cooler.  I am enjoying it and hope to have a few things to show you soon.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

If you do not know about TED, I so encourage you to explore this site further.  You might become hooked!  Also, this image was provided by TED and the artist.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

All along you thought it was money, didn’t you?  I am just kidding of course.  Today, this video came in my email inbox via Arts Journal.  Do you read this list of amazing articles from across all art disciplines culled from many English language sources?  I have been reading it for several years now and find some truly wonderful articles.  It is a bit academic and clearly from the art journalist point of view, but it gives me an idea of how other people are thinking about the arts and I like that. Now I am going to go back to my studio to work and play.  You enjoy the video and Arts Journal and have a wonderful weekend!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

So I tried to call my muse back to me by staying with my sketchbook.  She began to talk back with the words.  Muse kept prodding.  I think she really wanted to return, but she also wanted to make sure I was not going to abandon her again, so she kept testing me.  I found myself getting mired in the black and white, so she pulled back again a little bit, but she only wanted me to know this was the real thing and she wasn’t to be played with.  I had to do some harder work to get her back.  So I began to read (more about this in another post) and try to understand the hard work was to show up each day, as Elizabeth Gilbert says, and stay focused.  I had to not be so hard on myself and be open to the subtle messages wonderful people around me provided.  There are messengers in the least suspecting places.  In other words, I began to pay attention more and Muse started to come back again, giving me ideas and inspiration.  The color started to come back, too.  See…

I was overjoyed to see the colors again.  I did not want to loose them.  Muse reminded me all of this happens for a purpose and I had to evaluate what I learn along the way.  I had to really live what I knew.  I had to slow down, I had to show up, I had to meet my own needs, too.  Well, this is all fine and good, but how do I do this effectively?  Muse says there is a way which is just right for me, and I just had to figure it out.  I read more, began meditating more, did more yoga and one day an explosion happened.  I needed to do something which returned me to a child’s mind, so I began a left-handed sketchbook/journal (my non-dominant hand).  I really had to focus on each and every mark.  It has made a huge difference.  See, here are the first pages:

Yes, these are rough and they are weird (they are not abstract!), but the focus and concentration is like meditation and it connected me deeper with my right brain which is very important and very relaxing.  After I do these, I slip right into other art work.  It is right for me, for now.  Muse really likes it.  You know, it is just like when I begin to work with my left hand it is a signal to Muse that it is time to work and she comes around for a visit.  Here is one more page further on:

Now this one looks a bit abstract, but it was not at all the intention.  No, I am not going to begin to show you these silly drawings, but I did want to say how important it is to show up to work – just like anyone else.  Just because Muse takes a vacation, it doesn’t mean she will stay away.  Not like others, however, we have to be slow and methodical with our work and with our lives.  That is a great challenge in our world.  Muse doesn’t like speed, she will walk away from it every time.  Slow Living and Slow Art can be a truly Full Life.  Sometimes you have to bring Muse back gently and other times you have to send her away (if she starts playing with your head), but the key is knowing the right time to do each.  The Muse can be elusive, but if you treat her right, she is one of your best friends.  You have to treat her right, though.  She is human in that way!

Related posts:

1. Different Colors, Shapes and Way Different Canvas This is a work-in-progress.  The round canvas was a gift...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

As I was looking through some of my paintings and sketches the other day I noticed something.  I have had a thing for finding my way through the forest or at least I seem to be making that analogy from time to time.  First I noticed this one which reminds me of a bamboo forest and someone (a woman) is trying to find her way with that darn flashlight (torch).

Then I found this in my sketchbook which is also about finding my way through the forest…

It is interesting to go back and look at some of these things from time to time.  I often just draw or just paint without thinking about it, but sometimes there are links.  I suppose I am just trying to find my way at the moment.  With all of this forest talk and door talk, I seem to be looking looking for something, waiting for something or just down right procrastinating.  If truth be told so far this year it has felt as though there has been change in the air.  I still have not been able to put my finger on it, but I feel as though maybe I haven’t been listening closely enough.  So I am working on that, too.  It is a slow process, but slow art is a good thing…slow living is a good thing.

It is all really quite exciting, really.  I am eager to get going with some serious work and looking forward to the snap in the air autumn brings.  I began a new project yesterday which I will be sharing with you as I get it settled in.  I also will be bringing out some more color around here.  It is about time…but I am not abandoning my sketchbook, either!

With that said, I leave you with this small gift of appreciation for bearing with me.  It has been a challenge and I appreciate your loyalty.

Please feel free to print this and use it as a bookmark or whatever you wish.  I hope you find simplicity and gratitude in your life each day.

Related posts:

1. Reminders and Gratitudes You have seen this small triptych before and possibly know...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This is beargrass and grows up high in alpine regions.  Do you know now?  Okay, so these are the ones who really like the beargrass, and I saw several of them on this trip.  Actually, this is a small one – a cub.

One more hint.  I will give you a longer view from the Continental Divide…

Isn’t this beautiful?  Maybe it is in the eyes of the beholder, but to this family Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton National Park in Canada (collectively known as Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park) is a place we find amazing beauty.  This is the oldest international park in the world.  We love it there and I just spent two weeks contemplating the beauty this earth shares with us!  Inspiration is at every turn and I have returned with so much I can hardly get anything else accomplished.

So now you know where I have been.  Do you know this park?  Do you have a favorite natural place to visit?  Does it fill you with inspiration?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

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!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

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.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.