Words and pictures again

I belonged to a writing group for a number of years. The first time I attended, the leader started our session with a brief meditation. Eyes closed, I envisioned the path she described and followed it until I drifted off and went to la la land. When I opened my eyes I was surprised to see a large painting on the wall across the room and in it the path I just envisioned. Of course, you might not think this remarkable, but I began to lovingly paint paths as a result of that experience. And the end is never in sight.

Words and pictures continued

 I’ve been thinking so much about how to sell my pictures in Florida. Truth is, I know so little about the art world here. I know so little about selling art anywhere. I had a number of exhibits in Massachusetts. I sold a number of  pieces over the years; originals as well as prints. I still have stacks of artwork. But last night I made a decision. I’m just going to make paintings for now. This is a whole new world. New colors, new f eelings, new everything. I’m not going to worry it. I’m just going to enjoy making pictures.  So then, this idea popped into my head for using maskIng fluid and watercolor. Add oil pastel. Hmmmm

Words and pictures, too

Love this! Perfect for this week’s prompt. I don’t know who to give credit to, but thanks for the chuckle.

Words and Pictures

I’m a poetry lover wannabe. I have difficulty understanding poetry. My friend Christine Polk explained her poetry to me by saying that her poems were just thoughts that she’d written down.

Oh. That helped.

While I have been painting mainly sky, ocean and shore for months, she has taken walking trips to various coasts. She wrote her thoughts about her experiences and made this beautiful book of her words and my pictures.

Sound and music-how it affects my drawing, continued

I will often don earphones and listen to Pandora on my Ipad as I draw. I like rhythmic music. It feels energizing and expansive. For me, aligning with the music while painting can be transformative. It’s like the last part of the yoga class when the ethereal music comes on and we do deep relaxation. I know I’m being still but I really go way out there. The difference between the yoga experience and the art experience is that I’ll have an image I can look at over and over that can instantly bring me back, in mind and body, to that lovely place. If when others look at my work, they have some positive, visceral response, I’m thrilled. And so grateful for the positive feedback.

Blog prompt: Music and sound: how it affects my drawing

For now, we live in a furnished rental apartment. I’ve carved
out a piece of the living room to serve as a studio. My folding table fits perfectly under the window. Through the blinds and the bars of the breezewayg railing, I can see the canal and more condos lined up on the other side, their reflections in the water. I thought we would have tv noise from hard of hearing neighbors, but the buildings are solid concrete and it’s actually rather quiet here.

Fortunately, Millie is willing to watch sports with the sound off if I’m painting when we’re together in the living room. It’s new for us to be together 24/7 and I think we’re doing very well, but we Libras need quiet time and we can easily sit in companionable silence.

Music and sound

This week’s prompt is Music and sound; how it affects how I draw.
This is an interesting topic for me and rather timely, too. Relocating to Florida has been a radical change. For over 20 years I lived in the beautiful Berkshires of western Massachusetts. I had a whole room to myself for an art studio. Two large windows faced out onto the neighbors property. Their house and barn sat back from the road, on a hill. Their front yard was wooded and an outline of the mountains beyond showed through the trees. The only sounds were the birds calling out to each other, their squawks echoing in the tall pines. I painted that view many times, in every season. The quiet and peaceful scene helped to reduce the noise in my mind and allowed me to produce many serene images. Here are a couple from the archives.