FH414 Simple Gifts VII (lady among trees)
10 x 8" oil on panel
FH414 details
07 October, 2011
05 October, 2011
09 September, 2011
08 July, 2011
01 July, 2011
20 January, 2011
11 September, 2010
05 September, 2010
28 June, 2010
FH404 Four Horizons XI (think)
FH404 Four Horizons XI (think)
3090 x 2320 pixels digital painting using Adobe Ideas on iPad
13 April, 2010
11 April, 2010
FH400 VIII Second Thought
FH400 Four Horizons VIII (second thought)
14x10" collage, markers on board
Part of the collage is a print of A344.
02 March, 2010
FH399 Four Horizons VII (furls)
FH399 Four Horizons VII (furls)
10 x 8" Prisma Colours and markers on panel
Private collection
Private collection
27 October, 2009
FH398 Four Horizons VI (change)
FH398 Four Horizons VI (change)
10 x 14" acrylic, ink, collage on canvas
Private collection
FH398 descriptionFour Horizons Series
19 September, 2009
17 September, 2009
FH397 Four Horizons V (bird & scrolls)
Fh397 Four Horizons V (bird & scrolls)
1200 x 900 pixels digital painting on photo
06 September, 2009
FH396 Four Horizons IV (fish & leaves)
FH396 Four Horizons IV (fish & leaves)
640 x 480 pixels digital painting on photo
Four Horizons Series
04 September, 2009
FH395 Four Horizons III (Companions)
FH395 Four Horizons III (Companions)
3000 x 2400 pixels digital painting on photo
Print available: 20 x 25" giclee on stretched canvas $195
Four Horizons Series
01 September, 2009
They gather together their art and writing
It turns out that Mary has many years of writing that she has neglected to edit. Numerous uncatalogued drawings turn up, as well.
On the other hand, desean has all of his art and writing neatly organized on his laptop, and he has already done the layouts for two or three books. It is quickly decided that Mary will be in charge of Data Retrieval and desean will be in charge of Development.
They settle down with Mary’s documents, and discuss the best way to organize them.
They drink many cups of coffee, and eat a lot of peanut butter.
flutterbirds
28 August, 2009
Vision 17
Vision 17
8 x 5" coloured pencils on old textbook
Our bodies bind us to the transient world
But our minds are free to experience the infinite
A Vision of Being
22 July, 2009
Vision 16
Vision 16
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
The marriage of two Souls
Is a union worthy of Love
A Vision of Being
20 July, 2009
Pattern 1 Enchanted
Pattern 1 Enchanted
6.25x4" watercolour & markers on primed pamphlet
One of my favourite sketching exercises is to make two or three bold lines…which I think of as vectors…and make my characters and objects fit into them. For this little painted book, I decided to use watercolours on the primed pages, filling my large shapes with colour. Using various markers, I used patterns to create texture and shading.
Filling in certain areas with unlikely patterns, such as the scales on the character’s body and the watery stripes in the sky, creates a sort of mysterious tension that I enjoy immensely. Often on my walks I am surprised this way; a leaf will be mottled like a rock, or a tree trunk will be scarred with dots and dashes. These unusual patterns make me pause and look again, enchanted.
Patterns
01 July, 2009
A394 Token VII (bowl)
A394 Token VII (bowl)
8x5" Prisma Colour on panel
$60.00
An experiment using coloured pencils on a primed panel.
Anomaly Series
Pagescape VII Playing
PageScape VII Playing
8.25x5" Prisma Colour pencils on hardcover novel
Themes and messages in art are always a controversial subject among artists. The artists who paint what appeals to them often have their work labelled as ‘just pretty paintings.’ The artists whose main work is fraught with poetry and meaning often just want to paint a pretty picture, and not have to explain it. Meaning can be painted into a picture, or an originally simple painting can take on great significance later. The actual methodology happens somewhere in between. An artist should (probably, some of the time…but I confess I usually don’t) have something in mind when beginning a work, but it’s a good idea to leave room for change, random ideas and visionary moments that may plop down in the middle of the canvas unexpectedly. As much as we like to feel we are controlling things, inspiration is a pretty wild ride. Good pictures can be ruined. Bad pictures can become masterpieces.
My own method involves playfulness. ‘Let me not take myself too seriously,’ I admonish the air, as I reach into the coloured pencils and grab three colours at random. Hmmm. Not my usual colours, that’s for sure. But wait! I’m drawing in a recycled hardcover novel with black primed pages. Definitely nothing serious going on here. I make some shapes and colour them.
Smile.
Pagescapes
27 June, 2009
Pagescape VI Reflecting
PageScape VI Reflecting
8.25x5" Prisma Colour pencils on hardcover novel
It was another hot day, though there was a breeze rustling the leaves and stirring up patterns in the lake. Deb and I sat in the screen house, sketching and talking about the ever-shifting shapes of our lives. Every day, something changes, and our perception changes. And some days, our understanding of things completely starts over.
The lake so familiar to us changes constantly, subtly, reflecting the myriad transformations around it, sky and forest and little people living on its shore. Light flashes off the water. For a moment, we are not sure what we see.
Pagescapes
23 June, 2009
PageScape V Connecting
PageScape V Connecting
8.25x5" Prisma Colour pencils on hardcover novel
While my friend and collaborator desean was visiting, we had many discussions about our work processes, and especially how we work together. As soon as one of us mentions an idea, the other makes a connection, and from there we branch off in many directions, embellishing and refining, frequently returning to the original concept. Sometimes we begin with words, other times with images, weaving the two together into ideas for artwork series and books. Even when we are not collaborating, we often find ourselves making connections between our individual works. It is a meeting of minds, an artistic synthesis.
Pagescapes
17 June, 2009
Vision 15
Vision 15
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
How carefully we attire and adorn ourselves
But the mind is the true clothing of the body
A Vision of Being
desean flies in from Vancouver
desean and Mary have corresponded and collaborated on art projects for many years. They decide it is time to gather their drawings and poems and art and writing together and turn it all into books.
desean flies in from Vancouver and arrives at Mary's house in Moonbeam with his computer and camera under his wing. It's a fancy red wing, as you can see.
flutterbirds
15 June, 2009
A393 Token VI (caregiver)
A393 Token VI (caregiver)
10x8" acrylic and prisma colour on board
Private collection
The Token theme is about the almost magical moments and events in our lives, often repeating, that can become symbolic to us. When a crisis arises, these tokens seem to fall from the sky; someone takes care of us, or something or someone suddenly appears to make us smile. Something special happens, or something doesn't happen (also gratifying, in some cases). Sometimes we don't notice them, little golden bits in almost every day. A smile. A word. The plaintive song of a bird. Moments of peace.
If we were to make a pile of all the little tokens we have ever received or found and count them, it would be shocking to see how many we collect in our lives, and how easily they roll away to hide in drawers or under other things, how easily they become tarnished. But if we all made a stack of them, if would be a mighty tower. It would make us look up.
Anomaly Series
01 June, 2009
Vision 14
Vision 14
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
Whatever Life serves us, we should feast upon
For are we not glad to see the sun rise on a new day?
A Vision of Being
24 May, 2009
Vision 13
Vision 13
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
Art animates our minds and hands
And brings joy to our solitude
Painted Book: A Vision of Being
17 May, 2009
14 May, 2009
A392 Artist & Anomaly V
A392 Artist & Anomaly V
24x18" acrylic, pastels, pencils
private collection
This is a lost and found work. I did not have it recorded in my catalogue, and had not taken a picture of it. One day my friend Deb visited, and she brought the picture with her. I had given it to her daughter and then forgotten it completely. So here it is, slightly out-of-place, since there were no other numbers available for it, and I can't quite make out the date. The picture surprised me...what was I thinking when I did it? I think I was simply enjoying the shapes and colours and patterns. Maybe it's my child artist, surrounded by her creative aura.
Anomaly Series
13 May, 2009
PageScape IV Discerning
PageScape IV Discerning
8.25x5" Prisma Colour pencils on hardcover novel
Another morning of sketching with Deb. We discussed the idea of discernment, really looking and focusing, as a path to discovery. Painting and writing help to crystallize ideas, giving form to what we can only sense.
All is hidden for us to find. And each discovery leads us, if we are discerning, to another.
Pagescapes
09 May, 2009
08 May, 2009
A390 Token V (speckled bird)
A390 Token V (speckled bird)
10x8" acrylic and prisma colour on board
Private collection
The speckled birds appeared in a vivid dream after I finished chemo. I (dreamed I) was lying in bed, peacefully free of care and pain. A flock of colourful spotted birds sat on me and the blankets, cooing and chirping softly. It was just me and the birds, suspended in a blissful dreamscape.
Anomaly Series
07 May, 2009
PageScape III Crossings
PageScape III Crossings
8.25x5" Prisma Colour pencils on hardcover novel
The ice began melting in the lake today, as the sun warmed the countryside. Deb and I sat out on the deck with our coloured pencils and books, talking and sketching. A breeze moved the trees gently, and stirred the patterns in the ice. Our conversation drifted, ideas crossing and shifting.
Pagescapes
04 May, 2009
Growth 17
Growth 17
9x6" oil, marker on PC Paintbrush IV manual
Ever since I had been in remission, I have been thinking about a creature to represent new growth. I thought I would try out a little lizard-like character, cheery and fluid and gorgeously-patterned. Some of these creatures can grow back limbs and tails and such, and similarly, as I recover, my fingers seem to be coming back to life. Suddenly I can draw details again. I can feel my designs once more, and draw with my finest pens just for the joy of it.
Painted Book: Growth
01 May, 2009
PageScape II Unexpected
PageScape II Unexpected
8.25x5" Prisma Colour pencils on hardcover novel
I began painting on old books and manuals as a way to move my smaller works, sketches and paintings, away from standard formats, and contain them in a 'package'. Of course a book is a package that can contain many things, all presented in order, and portable. You might think a nice new blank sketchbook would do the job nicely, and more reasonable artists have been quite satisfied with just that. But as I paint and draw over the printed pages, words and images stand out, then vanish under layers of paint and pencils. Sometimes the words are reused, as the book pages are recycled, turned into something else. The drawings are small, spontaneous, and do not have the burden of being studio pieces or series work, nor are they numbered in my catalogue. They are just pages. That is the pleasure of making them.
And that is why unforeseen things happen. Unexpected forms appear.
Pagescapes
Vision 12
Vision 12
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
Our companions ease our burdens
And help illuminate the Way
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
25 April, 2009
PageScape I Escape
PageScape I Escape
8.25x5" Prisma Colour pencils on hardcover novel
The wind blows, and everything changes. I can hear the birds, but their shapes merge with the shifting landscape. Even the trees are trying to be something else. It makes me feel restless, exhilarated. I escape into a little drawing, that belongs only to this moment. No rules, no plan...
Pagescapes
24 April, 2009
Vision 11
Vision 11
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
Are we not enlightened particles
Obedient to the force that draws the circle?
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
22 April, 2009
Vision 10
Vision 10
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
We look inward,
and find understanding
We reflect,
and stretch out our hand
Return Painted Book: A Vision of Being
20 April, 2009
Vision 9
Vision 9
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
The mirror shows us something
That is more than this world
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
16 April, 2009
Vision 8
Vision 8
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
And however darkness overcomes us
We cannot fall below the wings of Light
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
13 April, 2009
A388 Token IV (fish & raven)
A388 Token IV (fish & raven)
12x12" acrylic & prisma colours on stretched canvas
private collection
The idea for the token sequence of little paintings began with a casual challenge from my mother. We were looking at her sketchbooks, in particular the pages of medallion-shaped designs, which she originally intended for pottery. I said that I thought they would make wonderful paintings. 'Show me how you would put a round design on a square canvas,' my mother said. I made a quick sketch similar to one of her designs, and liked it so much that I
decided to paint it.
Anomaly Series
The raven is one of my familiar old creatures, and the fish is one of my mother's favourite motifs.
Return to Anomaly Series
08 April, 2009
Vision 7
Vision 7
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
Take thought, and think again
For our next act is our future.
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
06 April, 2009
Vision 6
Vision 6
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
Let us empty the chaos of our souls
And be filled again with Light
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
04 April, 2009
Vision 5
Vision 5
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
Nature:
Yet we cannot fully know ourselves or the Design,
Only that it is our Alpha and Omega
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
Growth 16
Growth 16
9x6" oil on PC Paintbrush IV manual
Impending. Most of the time I avoid thinking about it, but from time to time, my upcoming cancer test results blanket my brain in a white fog. Pending. Coming soon. I scribble in the fog, over and over. Every time I sketch and scribble in my painted books, I find myself laughing over something...fat birds and rubbery characters, or strange, unintentional shapes. Here, my little worries become a Marie Antoinette hairdo, a Cool Whip turban. Just a momentary lather. Or another kind of Growth.
Return to Painted Book: Growth
31 March, 2009
Growth 15
Growth 15
9x6" oil on PC Paintbrush IV manual
On a glorious sunny day, with my joyful bird characters twittering in my mind, I just paint and draw for fun.
Return to Painted Book: Growth
28 March, 2009
Vision 4
Vision 4
8x5" coloured pencil on old text book
If the world is a reflection of us
Surely we must strive to be our best selves.
Return to Painted Book: A Vision of Being
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
