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| "Mists", watercolor, VClaff, 2013 |
For one reason or another, the world hasn't felt like a friendly place of late.
Journeying through these months of grief, I feel like a raw egg without a shell, and not as able to let the unconsiouss and lately downright unkind behavior of
others slide off me. My studio has been a sanctuary of inspiration and solace,
I am so grateful to have this room of my own. For those of you new to my blog,
you may not know that I received a grant to build the studio, and my gratitude
for this gift is ever deepening. (as always, click on the images to see them better)
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| "Winter Marsh", watercolor, VClaff 2013 |
I continue to explore the forest paintings with great enthusiasm, experimenting
with bleeding techniques, layering and both the square and long rectangle formats.
Each painting unfolds mysteriously as I watch how the first wash layer dries and
suggests mists or light or something altogether undefineable, which is fine with me.
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| "Mystery", watercolor, VClaff 2013 |
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| "Winter Trees", watercolor, VClaff 2013 |
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| "Trees - study", watercolor, VClaff 2013 |
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| Study, watercolor, VClaff 2013 |
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| Study 2, watercolor, VClaff 2013 |
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| Study 3, watercolor, VClaff 2013 |
The image below gives you a sense of the scale of the smaller paintings I begin
the day with, and below that, some of the larger pieces on the pinboard. A full
sheet of watercolor paper is 22 x 30", and the largest I have made these so far.
(BTW - the paper in the above images is NOT pink... I think I need to re-shoot these!)
Last week I slowed down my production of larger work as I waited for an order of
watercolor paper to arrive. I took some time to sit outside and listen to the wind,
watch the sunlight move around the studio, and dream a bit with the stones.
Pasha and I sat outside the backdoor, finding a melted spot to enjoy the sunshine.
Warm days but very cold nights has made the snow melt very slow, but I am beginning
to see the tops of stones long buried.
I thought I might try to get one of those "Artist in the Studio" pictures, in case I
ever need one... I'm wearing my favorite wool hat that a friend gave me in graduate
school many years ago. It seems to be a standard on studio days, and I'm sure you've
seen it before.
Today I ventured out into the forest to dump the ash from the wood stove.
The snow had melted just enough for Pasha and I to walk a bit, avoiding the deeper
snow still up to my knees. We were called to sit on logs and listen to the joyous singing of chickadees. Pasha, as usual, clambered up a tree and enteratained me as I sat and listened to wind and birdsong and the roar of the distant river, full with spring melt.
noticed a little owl face looking at me from a tree, do you see it?
Pasha went off exploring, but came to my whistle when I found a very large
paw print in the snow. I must be a bit rusty with my tracking these days, as I
can't quite identify this track. Its old and a bit melted, but looks maybe like
a large cat who had long since passed through.
Just as we were thinking of moving on, a chickadee came to a branch quite close
to sing a bit. We stayed and listened as more and more birdsongs filled the forest.
It may be cold and still quite snowy, but the birds are full of enthusiasm and
I think they may be letting us know that warmer days are just ahead.
