Moving Forward...

                                     

"A Different Direction"  60x48x1.5"  (in process)
 

Happy New Year!
 

If you were to walk across an unsteady bridge, head towards an undiscovered direction, or stay in our world of the familiar, your comfort level matches that of the path.  If you are one to make new resolutions or personal goals, then you know how daunting a small commitment can be...or not.  One thing is certain; change is always present.  It is not the future or the past, it is NOW.  We are always revising and redirecting from moment to moment, just like the flow of a small stream...into the future.  

What if you were to magically repeat the year 2023 with the added wisdom and knowledge you gained from 2023?  Would your life be any different?  The wisdom you gained from the past twelve months might seem small, but to some, a new direction could mean everything.

As I paint, I feel as if I am in a meditative state of mind.  It is a wonder... as I create I am challenging myself to make something out of nothing. Sometimes my direction changes after hours of struggle with one passage.  Have you ever made a wrong turn?  Yeah, it's like that, but all without frustration because creating is "a Journey".  What do you do when you take a new and unexpected direction?  Do you stop to take a closer look?  It might uncover an unfamiliar answer.

 

 

Clearing the way towards a fresh perspective

 

"Summer Field" oil on linen panel, 8x10"  $1,050  Available through Art Elements Gallery What does it take to make a small change in your life? Pretty easy, right? Perhaps for some of us, but it truly depends on each personal situation. We each are born and develop through experience, a unique perspective on life and how things work around us...politics, science, religion, the natural world...the "usual" circumstances beyond our individual control. So when a change is necessary, do you freeze or jump? What if you took a magnifying glass and looked with your naked eye, at a colorful image in a magazine? There you would see thousands of red, blue, yellow, and black dots meaninglessly arranged apart from each other. But when you look at the dots from a distance, you see the individual dots are arranged to make more sense and become clear with a united idea. Continue looking at this image from 30 yards away, it becomes blurry, and inevitably...a blob! We all know that we experience, over time, a huge dictionary of trials and tribulations that form our outward perception of life. This is what makes us so beautifully unique! The same goes for stepping back as an artist. I often step back and physically remove myself from my paintings. Viewing my work from a different perspective opens up unforeseen solutions. I will often turn the work upside down, face it towards the wall to get a break from it, look at it in a mirror, or take a photo and look at it in reverse on my smartphone. What and how do you gain a new perspective?  Change it up! Moving along...

 

Pulling weeds... 

24(33.3%)

"Queen's Patch"  12x12" oil on linen panel

and other unsung pleasures.

The heat of summer is upon us and thoughts of cooler days only tease us as we linger in the throes of August. In good time the weather will continue its path toward cooler days, and I ponder the scorching summer heat as one of life's weeds.  Not all of life's weeds are bad...and in some way, I question how earthly weeds have developed a fascinating ability to thrive. Oh, how wonderfully smart nature really is!

Consider the dandelion...  
A dandelion creates tasty broad leaves that you can add to your fresh garden salad. Its bright yellow flowers magically transform into perfectly sphere-shaped, fluffy wish-makers that have been designed to catch the wind and land on a willing patch of ground to blossom once again. Perhaps a sparrow chic may find its first tiny seed to eat from that fluffy wish-maker!  Ahhh, nature... how I love thee.

What about the prickly weeds of life?
I want to point out that these weeds can be viewed as "situations".  We need to view them as they really are. The heat of the summer has its purpose. And so does every action and reaction in life. The circle of life serves us all in terribly difficult times as well as miraculous moments. What a world we live in! My point is that every lousy thing that happens has an upside.  Missed your flight? As you wait it out at the airport bar, you engage with another passenger who shares brilliant ideas that provide answers to past challenges. At times, we have to really look hard to find it and most of the time it's right in front of us.

The beauty:
A sunrise ends with the sun setting.
The ocean has crashing waves that never cease, and beautiful sea life underneath.
A slow sigh of relief begins with a screaming breath of life.
Painting on-site on a blistering July day brings a sunburn and a wonderful work of art. The view before me was blocked by overgrown bushes, so I painted the weeds in front of me.  Why not?!