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| "Winter Mists", watercolor, 22 x 30", VClaff 2013 |
Tucked into my little studio, snowstorms howling outside and
Pasha sleeping by the stove, the forest whispers its secrets to me.
The new paintings feel like the integration of many things - things
I can articulate, and things I cannot. For the first time in many
years, each painting I make teaches me as well as deepens
the mystery. Each new piece is a threshold to new
possibilities in both form and content.
Its a good place to be.
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| small work, untitled, VClaff 2013 |
I usually start the day with a few smaller explorations,
warming up for the larger work. I push the medium with
these to see what is possible, and what might create
interesting results. Some get pretty wild.
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After a few of these, I begin a larger piece. Below is the first
layer of "Winter Mists", the first painting in this post. Its the
largest size I can go at present, unless I decide to buy a
roll of watercolor paper. I've found both the long, thin
format and this large rectangle work for my subject.
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| first layer of "Winter Mists" above |
"Rising Mists" below, is a painting completed yesterday, which
has me thinking about all sorts of things and reminds me of
a particular spot by a stream in the forest here.
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| "Rising Mists", watercolor, 22 x 30", VClaff 2013 |
"Winter Trees" is one I'm interested in... one that seems to
get to the heart of the stories I'm wanting to tell.
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| "White Trees", watercolor, VClaff, 2013 |
Pasha, as ever, is my constant companion. Having been hesitant
about the studio when it was first built, he now seems to look forward to
our days in there. Sometimes, when we are out running around on paths
and roads to let off steam, he runs there and cries at the door to go in...
disappointed that we don't.
He's been a bit adventurous with all the snow, trudging home
from a short forest expedition over mountains of snow in a storm.
And the snow falls and falls... burying house and paths
and car again and again, leaving magic in its wake.
On the Vernal Equinox, I watched a pink-tinted sky brighten as I
headed off on my long commute. Light snow and beautiful light
graced the morning.
Once out of the forest there was a different kind of light-magic,
inspiring me the whole way down the hill.
