Sorry Susan, only members of Blogger can post comments. I set it up that way because I have had a few spam postings back with my old blog. Thanks so much for your email, though. Y'know, my priest (who is an artist too) maintains that art can have the same function as Mass; namely, to integrate the Divine, and make us mindful of that Divinity. (I might note that I am a Gnostic, not a Catholic.) So I am very honoured if my art does that for you. Bob probably finds this too, that the work can take over, the "zone" blocks out all else, and the artist forgets himself, becoming lost in the act of creation. That experience of hightened consciousness is communion with the Infinite, the Unknowable, the superpersonal Consciousness, which some people refer to as God. The artist is a priest, almost, in that sense.
I only wish I could get there more often. But the materiality, the forces of this world crowd in. Some artists use chemical methods to get there, but that to me is a dangerous and ineffective shortcut.
"Now we see through a glass, dimly, then we shall see face-to-face". Trying to keep the windows of the soul clean isn't easy. Holding down a high pressure job and living on the corners of two busy streets doesn't lend much tranquility. Creativity is a fragile thing. As per my last post--maybe the problem is that I need to bush-out for a few weeks. I get very little chance.
Speaking of the bush.....
"Broken Tree, Botany Bay" At the beginning of the West Coast Trail, a broken hemlock tree, right after the last and worse windstorm we had this winter. Emblematic, and somewhat autobiographical. This one started off as kinda "Group of 7", but a subsequent overpainting drybrushing added some nuances. Too much mauve, and kinda unfinished looking--which I like. It was a bit unfinished, I though, but then realised that further work would diminish it. The second painting I did last Oct., when I picked up the brush again.... This one is getting a frame real soon. Photos is a bit gritty. May scan it.
"Hemlock Island, Botany Bay" Just up the trail a few hundred feet. This one I DID beat to death. The rocks are way overworked. I donated it to the Auction at the LTBI's 2007 AGM & Conference in 108 Mile Ranch. It went for $150. Guess logbuilders don't like all that pink :)But it did go to a good home where it will be loved.I have a hard time handling dark areas. 10 years ago, I never used values this strong. Drink hemlock, baby. Yo. But the composition is bang on.
"Tree Island, Hurricane Ridge" The best landscape I have done recently, by a street. Bad photo, though--this new camera! If you take the boat from Vickyville over Old Briney to Port Angeles WA in Never Never Land, the road starts climbing from the dock--all 33km of it. This is at the summit of the Ridge, which you have to walk up. You can see most of the sky in this photo, and some of the impasto--yeah, I love pink in my skies :)Sold to Erik and Joan vonNiessen in Salmon Arm. Now I have another reason to visit them ;) I am chuffed to have this hung in their living room, feeding eyes and souls. I actually did paint this from a photo--long ways to drag the painting gear. The day was cloudy, and the glimmer of light was a late addition. This piece approaches the touch of the earlier stuff. Too happy with it. What did I do right??!!
Susan, thank you so much again for the kind words. Give my regards to Bob!
Coming up: "It's a signature thing".
Be Blessed, All,
C
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