A Healer’s Touch

Yesterday as I was cleaning the studio, I came across a couple of watercolor and acrylic paintings, which were works in progress. They were my first attempt to break out of the cyclic creative block that I seemed unable to shake this past week.

One of them represented the different emotional and psychological imprints that can happen when one has a chronic illness. The woman figure symbolizes a medical practitioner, the flower in the vintage lab beaker is representative of our creative adaptability and  innate biological ability to heal. The bird symbolizes tapping into our own creative and healing energies.

I had covered the other canvas with sections of one of my favorite articles about a grandmother who used plant medicine to heal her granddaughter, and her ability to blend her will with the energies of the earth to nourish and sustain her family.

As I looked at these two separate paintings, I suddenly felt inspired to scan both images and thought why not combine both of them together, so I did.

I had to cut, rearrange and then merge all the different images to make them fit together. The whole process took me a couple of hours and it really helped me to break out of my creative slump. I used Photoshop & Painter IX to create the image above  from my original paintings.

So  here’s a very heartfelt thank you to all the women, mothers and grandmothers who inspire, nurture and sustain us throughout our lives.

Creativity in the Kitchen

The studio is dark, silent . . . the easel sits empty.

However, in the kitchen, all is well!

Cooking relaxes me and engages me in a creative way . . . like blending the right spices or ingredients together.

I have homemade chicken curry simmering on the stove, and mangoes, papaya, and peaches in ceramic bowls on the counter waiting to be made into salsa.  Yum!

My creativity for right now is focused on preparing wholesome, nutritious food for my family.

Peach & Papaya Salsa . . .

“Good painting is like good cooking, it can be tasted, but not explained.” – Maurice de Vlaminck

Monday

To make a long story short . . .  I’ve been out sick for the past week with a rather nasty upper respiratory infection.

I’m beginning to feel much better and am looking forward to getting back to work in the studio.

Here is an amazing animation by a young animator, Carmen Bromfield Mason.

Monday

Over the weekend I discovered  some Yupo Paper hidden away on one of my shelves, and  I was hoping to play around with it today, but I came down with a nasty flu yesterday.

So here I lie in bed surrounded by Kleenex, a big pot of hot tea and various medications which are suppose to help me get through the worst of it. C’est la vie!

thought for the day:

“Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
– Joshua J. Marine

The Sea

The Sea – Mixed Media – 8 X  II inches

I’ve been working on quite a few projects lately, and this painting is one of them. At this point, it’s still a work in progress.

The preliminary sketch of the mermaid has been floating around in my studio for some time. Every time I came across it I meant to do something with it, but never did.

I finally started working on it yesterday and this is as far as I got. . . .

I still have a long way to go on this one and a lot of changes are likely going to happen.

“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” – C. G. Jung

Monday

Here is a video demonstration of contemplative sketch booking with Sumi ink, watercolor and collage.

A very creative and interesting video. Beautiful!

Friday

I spent the day wandering between the studio and the garden trying to decide on where to squeeze in another few plants.

What to do next . . . will it be herbs or flowers?

Being in the garden relaxes me completely. I love it! I feel  myself becoming unstuck, more energized . . . open . . . cleaner . . . and inspired to get back to painting.

Take care and have a great Memorial weekend!

thought for the day:

“I don’t know what I’m doing  most of the time, but that’s okay because I have a lot of fun. And, isn’t that the great gift of art? Always seeking, always growing and always having the time of my life.” – Tom Jensen

In The Studio

Abstract Trees #1 – Acrylic/Mixed Media – 9 x 12 inches on canvas

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been painting.

I ‘ve actually been squirreled away in my studio, completeing several paintings that I started earlier this year.

My focus for the next few weeks will be on finishing works in progress. I will try to post a few as I go along.

thought for the day:

“Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter”
–  Ilan Shamir, Advice From a Tree

The Art of Appreciation

Wednesday with Sunflowers

Today, I took a photo of this glorious sunflower and decided to take it into Photoshop, to play around with the image.

So for the moment, this is as far as I got on this project. I will add more as I go along.

The shape and form of the sunflower reminds me of a mandala.

thought for the day:

“Bring me then the plant that points to those bright Lucidites swirling up from the earth, And life itself exhaling that central breath! Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light.” – Eugenio Montale

“And here the sunflower of the spring
Burns bright in morning’s beam.”
– Ebenezer Elliott