Dizzy Dancing Way You Feel

Have you ever listened to music and had

a line just jump out?  Often I am in the car and think

to myself "what would that lyric look like painted?"

I rarely go further as I can't make a note

while driving but every now and then...

Does the Title Affect Your Viewing?

Titles for paintings are funny things.  To some artists they are merely a locale, to others they become a marketing gimmick; sometimes one struggles for a title and once in a while the piece instantly names itself.  Purchasing a piece, I once asked the artist where it was. "Oh," he answered, "that was from Siena, Italy."  I paused writing the check and looked up. "Shoot, it reminded me of a place my husband and I stayed in Provence, France," I replied.  He grinned, "yes, that is just what I meant to say!"  We both laughed, I finished the purchase and simply re-christianed the piece.  All the same...

What does a title mean to you?

I am serious.  My husband and I go round and round (I won't say out loud that he likes trite references which he thinks are literary....oh, did I say trite??) and I wax and wane between what I feel and what I see.  Frankly I have rarely bought something for which the title was a critical component, yet I usually ask.    The selection is often a point of reference or at least starts a conversation with the maker.

Which brings me to the piece I share today.

We stopped by an amazing "You-Pic-Em" flower farm in Oregon which also had a winery and a gourmet food truck.  It was a spontaneous stop on a long but spectacular drive and with one eye on the dark clouds rolling in we stood in awe of the acres of flowers ready to be picked.  Wine, lunch, flowers...a few photos and we happily resumed our drive.

Can one ever re-capture that experience?  I think not.  The dark, mountainous backdrop and the swaths of floral color are perhaps better rendered in the abstract of masses.  But on another rainy day in the studio I can play and remember.  So I did.  And then to title, humming...I will borrow, with respect for Joni Mitchell's endless talent,  a line that is laden with meaning...for me.

"The Dizzy, Dancing Way You Feel"

24 x 18, oil

available

How do you feel about titles?  Do they influence your view of the art?  Or do you prefer a numbering system? I am really curious, so please share.

Dancing in Color,

Cindy

Exploring Sanctuary

Peace in the Valley

oil, 16 x 20, $425.00

You know how it seems that when you learn a new word you "suddenly" see it many times a day?  Something like that happens when you begin to study a subject seriously...suddenly you see references or inputs everywhere you look.

In preparing for "Seeking Sanctuary: places & spaces that restore the soul" I have begun to see potential sanctuaries in myriad places.  Somehow the potential of finding one is on the front of my brain...while others see a wooden and barbed wire fence while hiking, I see a valley of restoration and renewal.

This was fun to paint and I believe the reason is because I had already drawn the line at having "enough" ready for a show; so this would be a bonus IF it fell together nicely.  With no pressure I felt the freedom of experimentation and exploration.

Perhaps we should explore and experiment more often?  What do you think?

Experimentally yours,

Cindy

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Painting a Personality

I have complained, and whined and worried over the fact that I seem to bounce around a lot in the methods I employ while painting.  "I have no style," I moan to mentors or anyone who will listen.  "No one can ever tell if a painting is mine, I am not consistent."

After a few years of just accepting that fact and riding the train where ever it took me, I suddenly realized that there are some repetitive traits about my work, there is a fingerprint if you will, to what I do.

Fer instance.....I just finished this (for me) gigantic (24" x 48") piece:

I Lift Up My Eyes

oil on gallery wrap canvas, 24 x 48

I tend to drag these pieces around the house as I approach finish so I can judge them in different lights.  My husband saw it and did a "hmmm."  "Hmmm: what?" I asked, "is something wrong?"  "It's just so dark," he explained, "so, so bold."  I 'hmmed' him back and sat down to think about it.  Yes, it is dark, and bingo: bold.  But that is the way I saw this yummy long view of the mountains.  Gentle hills with bold color statements.  

I wandered back in memory to the first adult art lesson I had: the proverbial apple still life.  I finished and the teacher gave it a serious look.  "Have you always been this bold and colorful?" she asked.  I explained that I had not painted in many years.  "No, I mean in life," she clarified, "your personality."

"A Ha"....an ah ha moment...no, I do not think of myself as bold but I do admit to loving color.  Maybe, that's my style?!  More pondering is needed, however...

...think about this story when you next view a body of work by one artist.  WHAT is consistent among the pieces?  What trait or line or technique or.... is repeatedly seen, however obscured, in each thing she or he produces.  Maybe that is the "style", or at least a clue to the personality, of the artist. Styles morph and develop (as do personalities) but hidden on the canvas, or in the clay or on the fabric, is a clue to the creator, how he or she views the world, what they pick out as important, what they emphasize or downplay.  

I guess I have to own it: no soft gentle florals for me, no wispy pastels fading in and out of view, every time I try to emulate that gorgeous misty technique I end up with a dash of hot pink or a streak of violet ruining the effect.  Its inauthentic for me.  I buy it, I hang it, but I cannot paint it.  

So play psychologist the next time you enter an artists' booth.  Ask yourself what they deem important, how do they consistently use a particular technique to portray it and what does that tell you about the rest of the person and their demeanor.  It's just one more way to enjoy art.

Boldly Yours,

Cindy

The Profile

 The Profile

pastel 5 x5 matted to 12 x 9 black frame

Hiking in the mountains is a favorite summer past time, I'm a slow mover, drinking in

every sound and smell and stopping often just to gaze in wonder

at all that is around me.  Not the time for me to rush.

This is a view from a favorite trail of ours, appropriately named The Profile Trail.

I hope you can see why, way back in another century, it got its name.

just sold!

AVAILABLE HERE

Make Way for COLOR!

This is from a hike in the Grand Tetons National Park...and this shows a view

of the Grand Teton.  The piece is 11 x 14 done in pastel on top of a watercolor wash on clayboard.

But I am sharing it to make a color statement!  Out of the gate for the new year i

decided to let it rip and give "local color" (lingo for the real color match) the

boot and use a little "emotional color." Woo-hoo, I feel

like I am back on the trail hiking the scenic views.

Well, I'll admit the neon green is a bit harsh...I'll tone it down...maybe!

Here's a detail of the lower front where we stepped down on the trail to pass between the rocks.

One more detail of the star of the show...the grandest of all 5 Tetons and its

glaciers.

I haven't posted this for sale yet so contact me if interested.

Meanwhile I hope your new year got off to a lovely start and that you have exciting plans

ahead.  You can bet that mine will include lots of color!!

Best wishes,

Cindy