painting

Once upon a canvas...

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Once upon a time there was a white canvas. The white canvas stood next to many other white canvases on a store shelf... some bigger than others, but all looking very much the same.

All the white canvases wanted to grow up to become paintings, but this particular canvas was also a dreamer... She wanted to be so much more than an ordinary painting. She dreamed of becoming vibrant with colour and expression and to live an amazing and unique life!  She wanted to be all that she could BE. She wanted to come alive and to travel the world.

One day she was picked up and brought to a room full of light and colour. The room was so bright that at first she couldn’t see...

Gradually, as her eyes adjusted to the new light, she found herself surrounded by bright and colourful paintings... and she was in awe. She wanted to be like them. She was so excited for the possibilites before her... it was hard to be patient. She wanted it NOW.

Finally one day, lines began to appear on her white canvas skin. She watched as the lines became shapes, and the shapes became characters... White Canvas was coming to life...

 

Stay tuned for the adventures of Daisy...

 

If I were a painting...

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If I were a painting, what would I be?

What is the essence of Me?...

My essence is a beautiful, blissful love energy that radiates out from my heart, warming me like a pink blanket.

My essence is a deep red, velvety rose...

It is sky blue and dreamy...  a feather floating in the wind.

It is an emerald green forest... full of magic and faerie tales... adventurous, courageous, fun and playful.

My essence is like a wild garden... rich with ideas, creativity and colour.

If I were a painting, what would I be?

I would be a wild garden of red roses...

If You were a painting , what would You would be?

 

The most important thing...

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This weekend it’s Thanksgiving here in Canada, and where I live there is just so much to be grateful for!

If I made a list of everything I could think of it would be very long indeed. It includes my wonderful family, many like-minded friends, my health, the place I live and play, my studio, the wind, the ocean, sunny October days...

And then I was thinking...

All of these ‘things’ come and go. Relationships change, families evolve, children grow and live their own lives, careers change, sunny October days become rainy November days...

What am I most grateful for?

When life inevitably changes and I feel overwhelmed, sad or in a place of just ‘not knowing’ I say to myself, “Well, I always have Me.” I am so grateful for that connection I have. It always brings me back to a feeling of ‘Home’ and presence. Of just Be-ing. I'm my own best friend.

When I feel like throwing my arms up in the air and saying, “I give up!” It’s also nice to be able to say, “Well, I’m just going to paint.” Then I let everything else go...

That’s the most important thing.

Peace, Love, Beauty.
              ♥

 

flowers as muse

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I’m in love with colour and all things beautiful...

 

A flower represents the very essence of beauty. 

Whether a wild flower dancing in a mountain meadow,

Or a velvety, red rose in a fragrant bouquet...

Flowers lift my spirit and make my heart sing!

 

A flower has it’s own unique character and personality,

And this is what I paint. 

It is very much like painting a figure... 

Perhaps a solitary soul bursting forth in radiant colour,

Or three sisters dancing...

There is a story in each painting.

With colour and shape the characters are created on canvas,

And the painting takes on a life of it’s own.

 

These were my thoughts when I asked myself ~ Why do I paint flowers? 

I'm so happy to be a part of the upcoming exhibition ~ Bold and Beautiful at Cityscape Gallery in North Vancouver. 

What is more beautiful than a flower?...

 

Thinking from the End

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When I begin a painting, I've already created it in my mind. The painting is complete and hanging on my wall.

This is what imagination is. It is tapping into the universal mind, or spirit, and visualizing what already exists in essence, and then bringing it into the physical plane. 

It is easy to understand this when you think of making dinner. You first think of what you want to eat. Perhaps you picture the entire meal laid out beautifully on the table, with candles and wine... you imagine if you are sharing the meal with someone... you imagine what it looks like on the table and on the plates; the smell of the food, the taste...

All of this can happen in a flash when you think, "What should I make for dinner?"

Once you know what you want to create, you get out your recipe book, head off to the store for the ingredients, and then you make dinner. Within a few hours you are enjoying your creation!

It is the same when I paint. I create an image in my mind, perhaps as an idea that I want to express. 

I'll picture the size and shape of the canvas, the colours, shapes and images that will express this idea and feeling that I want to create on canvas.

I keep the finished painting in mind, but of course, there are little surprises along the way... I let go of the outcome and allow it to unfold and come to life as it is meant to.

Like giving birth - when the baby is born there is joy and surprise, yet you also feel that you knew this person all along.... everything is exactly as it is meant to be.

Right now I have a few paintings in mind. They are there, just hanging in my mind, until I'm ready to give birth. This is the joy of creating; having a vision and then experiencing the coming into being...

 

 

choreographing art

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So many times I find myself saying, "Painting is like life..."

I had this realization again the other day as I was meticulously drawing an image on canvas. My artist friend next door had just shown me her new painting - a figurative expression on canvas that she completed in two or three hours. I was feeling a little envious as I went back to my drawing (I'd been working on it for a week!) - But as I worked and got back into my drawing, I thought about how much I love what I do. I love my own unique creative process.

I like a challenge. I need a challenge. A challenge keeps me focussed and engaged... otherwise I feel bored and a little impatient. 

Each painting begins with an overall vision that I create first in my mind and then map out onto canvas... It can be a long process. It can take months for a large canvas from beginning to end as I work through my step-by-step process.

I can compare it with dancing. There are many ways to dance. We can dance purely free-style, expressing through our bodies in the moment, or we can dance a choreographed sequence that is a much longer process to create. Both are expressions.

My paintings are choreographed works of art. For me this is a deeper process and involves much more of me. But it brings me so much satisfaction. 

So as in painting, as in life... I realized I'm a choreographer (and yes, I do love ballroom dancing).

What is your expression? What is your process?

Abandonment

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‘An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it.’ ~ Paul Valery

It's that time. I've abandoned my painting and it is up on my wall. Like a child that's all grown up, I'm sending her off to college. Oh, I might go visit now and then (add a touch here or there), afterall, she's still close to home. But I am SO ready... no empty nest for me. In fact, I am pregnant with ideas as it is; with another to be born any minute...

Final Touches

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My giant Iris painting is finally coming to a close. I'm adding a few final touches... some glazing... highlights... and then it is done. I'm looking forward to hanging it on my wall...

Funny how the canvas doesn't look so big to me anymore.

And I have another large canvas planned... 

It feels great to finish a painting. Like going to bed for the night... I can tuck it away. Sweet dreams... 

And then - A new day and a new painting to begin!