Goodbye November

Oceanscape Series – Moon Rise

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, . . . manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty.” – Albert Einstein

Happy Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is the big day so I am out & about. Happy Thanksgiving!

David Lanz

T hanks for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn’s frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettles’ croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that about.
That spells THANKS for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.
–   Aileen Fisher, All in a Word

Thought For The Day

Garden Leaves

“How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.”
– Elsie N. Brady, Leaves

Digital Painting

Here is a video that shows how a digital painting is created. The artist uses Corel Painter X  which is what I use and the process is almost the same. The only difference between digital and traditional painting is that we push pixels around on a canvas instead of paint. I love this painting!

Digital Painting: Gypsy

Phoenix Rising

The Phoenix is a mythical bird which upon it’s death, burst into flames and rises again from it’s own ashes, so it’s a perfect metaphor for how I have been feeling over the past few days.

I started another canvas today …  splashing, scraping, pouring and ripping paper to collage onto the painting as I thought about why I have been procrastinating about starting a new piece of work.

Lately, I have been spending much of my time reading, taking photographs and working in the yard, which I guess is another way of gathering ideas and stimulating creativity.

Phoenix Rising – Acrylic/Mixed Media – 8 X 10 inches on canvas

Fun With Acrylics

This afternoon I created an abstract painting of the goddess Brigit. I began by squeezing several colors onto the canvas and then used various tools to spread the paint over layers of acrylic medium and scraps of torn magazines. As I Moved the paint around with the palette knives, this face started to emerge and then everything else fell into place.

The tools I used were palette knives, old plastic membership cards, plastic forks and a putty knife.

Brigit – Abstract – Mixed Medium – 22 X 28 inches on canvas

Fiery Arrow

“Brigit, excellent woman,

Flame golden, sparkling,

May she bear us to the eternal kingdom,

She the sun, fiery, radiant!”

Seventh-century Hymn to Saint Brigit

Saturday

It’s a beautiful day and we are out & about. Here is a lovely animation about The Tree and the Cat. It comes from a studio which no longer exists.

Have a great weekend!

Bird Song In The Morning

The sun was golden and the garden was filled with bird song when I woke up this morning. After breakfast, I took a walk drinking in the fall air as the leaves crackled beneath my footsteps, a haunting reminder of the cold dreary days ahead.

Autumn Leaves

“Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery”  – Annie Dillard

Autumn In The Garden

“The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning and evening.” – Henry David Thoureau

In The Garden

Our Persimmon Tree

I spent the day in the garden raking and cleaning up leaves. I also repotted some plants and cut some Lavender for the house. Whew, I’m tired!

Fall Leaves

“Night is drawing nigh- “How long the road is. But, for all the time the journey has already taken, how you needed every second of it in order to learn what the road passes – by. – Dag Hammarskjold

Clearing Clutter

I spent most of the day clearing clutter from my studio so I would have enough space to work. I cleared out old brushes, empty paint tubes, art books, scraps of paper etc…  Now everything is neat, tidy and my art table is ready to go!

Later, I rewarded myself with an eggnog latte as I sat down in a comfy chair, put my feet up and listened to Nawang Khechog “Music as Medicine”.  I felt so relaxed and uplifted by the music, I came to the conclusion that clearing clutter is a sacred task, it clears out stagnant energy and allows the soul to breathe and creativity to flourish.

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”  -William Morris