Canvas Sketch

I'm participating in a fun and exciting project with the Hoffman Art Center in Manzanita, OR. The project is called "Word and Image" and pairs authors and artists to respond to each other's work. I chose a poem that my assigned author wrote and this is the canvas sketch for my visual response to her piece. I'll be posting it's progress as I move along. This is a  pretty ambitious challenge as I have two figures in this painting and only 3 weeks to complete the whole thing.... Here goes nothing!

Preparing the Kayaks - finished

As I sat at Netarts Bay sketching and journaling I couldn't help but hear the group of kayakers near me. They obviously hadn't checked the tide charts and had arrived to find a low tide. They spent a good 30 minutes trying to decide if it was worth it, or if they should just go home. It sounded like one was a guide or instructor and the others were of vacation. I so wanted to tell them to just go for it! It may not be the perfect conditions, but they were there, they had their gear, and they may not get the opportunity again. I was so relieved when they finally made the choice to make the best of what they had. By the time they were ready to get in their kayaks I had to go. But I did get a few sketches and photos and now a painting of them preparing the kayaks.

How often do we spend our time trying to decide if the conditions are just right? How right do the conditions need to be? When is it worth it to just take a risk and jump in the water? I think we miss too many opportunities to make great memories when we spend too much time weighing options and not enough time getting wet.

Window Peeping

The image quality isn't that great, but this photo is more about the concept than the quality. I always feel awkward when I drive by someone's house at night and their lights are on with the curtains open. Even if they aren't in the room, I feel as though I'm seeing into their secrets and that I don't belong there. This time, however, I was inside looking out. I know I'm not the only one who enjoys people watching. It's fascinating how related we all are. We often mock or become most engrossed with people who are acting out what we deny in ourselves. Sometimes we deny that we feel that way. But the truth is, we wouldn't recognize it if we didn't also feel it. Sometimes we deny that we act that way. I bet we could find someone to tell us differently. I find that when I'm feeling like this is something no one else can ever understand, I am experiencing something that nearly everyone has also felt. We are all far more closely connected that we allow ourselves to see or believe. If only we could open all the windows and all the doors and allow ourselves to connect freely and know that doing so would be a safe thing to do.

Ocean Lily

I was walking to the beach in Manzanita, OR when I came upon a row of lilies. They are blooming everywhere here on the coast this time of year. But the ocean just made the perfect background and I had to stop in my tracks and take some reference photos. Once the background dried, the lily actually came together in about an hour. Fun, fun fun!

The Little Engine That Could

I was able to find some good resources and get the cars done. It was a fun day of things coming together. It was interesting that while I struggled physically to feel energy or the physical drive to paint, I was able to get myself to the canvas and then things just took off. 

One of the things I love about teaching is that I see this happen time and again with my students. It is validating to me that this is a human phenomenon and not just me. It also gives me the insight to reassure and support my students when they have days that they, as Nancy likes to say, "aren't feeling the love." 

I think it is often the case when we are struggling with any task initiation, that if we can simply get ourselves to the "canvas" an inner drive takes over and we kick into gear and do what needs to be done. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting ourselves in the right place at the right time. After that, it's just a matter of repeating, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

Renewal

Spring has always been my favorite time of year. It is when the world begins to wake up and start over. I love having the opportunity to wake up and start over. There are so many renewal opportunities build in to our existence. We have the opportunity to start fresh every single day. Our culture gives us a weekend so that we can start fresh at the beginning of each week. In my religion I practice spiritual renewal each week. 

As an artist I get to start new whenever I want. All I have to do is open my sketchbook and find a blank sheet, just waiting for me to fill it with whatever inspires me. I have a supply of blank canvases anxious for the first stroke of the brush. And I have a stock pile of old canvases willing to be painted over and made new again.

I think it's significant that before I can see the new blossoms in the springtime a lot of work has gone on below the surface. A seed had to soften and sprout and send out its roots. Those roots had to take hold and gain enough nourishment to send a sprout out through the soil and into the sunlight. And the sprout had to grow and develop a blossom. 

I so appreciate the opportunities I have to start anew. And yet, if I don't prepare myself for those opportunities how can I expect my efforts truly blossom?