We listen to news on the radio, we watch them on TV. In the best of cases, the weather is miserable in so many parts of the country. In the worst of cases, earthquakes destroy lives by the thousands and our hearts are with the survivors. People of all ages, including children, perished tragically in Turkey and Syria. Maybe they had loved pets that joined them in that final journey. And the next minute the radio news switches to the weather, and the TV show moves on to another version of reality. And we, who are safe, warm, well fed, feel grateful and we add more reasons to celebrate our lives. In Arizona the weather is cool, breezy and sunny. Some days there are no clouds in the sky; on other days the clouds and low and heavy but always beautiful. And we celebrate having our senses intact so we can appreciate seeing the clouds or the blue sky, feeling the breeze and the warming sun, having time to stop and be mindful. I spend every day at the studio, creating universes that feed my soul and, hopefully, those of others as well. The journey is not always easy. Some days the angels appear and I feel confident, happy with what I am creating, grateful for the happy accidents. On other days, my daemons have a field day: doubt, second guessing, fears. Art brings all of these out. Being an artist is walking on a tight rope for a living. But it is also a reason to constantly celebrate and praise life.
Adobe House – oil on canvas – 36″ x 24″ is my latest completed painting. I have been working on three canvases measuring 36″ x 24″ at the same time. These three canvases are the research laboratory for my exploration of color. While keeping a basis of the colors of my current series (blues, aqua, greens), I intended to add one or more different colors in each of them. That could be a small area, a highlight or something larger. My desire was to explore color, understand a little more how colors interact and affect each other. I wanted to peek into their conversation and learn what makes them tick. I like yellow (does it show??) and have tried to create large areas of yellow in other paintings but it never worked. The kind of yellow, the shape for the color, its location on the canvas – always impossible, it never worked! But ‘Adobe House’ was waiting to be built and here it is: a large shape, the right kind of yellow, the right location (for this real estate). The feel is solid and, at the same time, soft and dreamy. And the special colors I added were pink and purple and I love the combination of yellow, green, blue, pink and purple. Pink and purple are the guests and they feel welcomed. An exploration of color is fascinating, fun and challenging and I intend to go deeper into this search. My goal is to create work that evokes in the viewer the feelings and emotions I strive to express in the paintings and color is a wonderful medium to do that with. |