Almost Abandoned

She Walks in Beauty
10" x 10 " x 1" mixed media on wood panel
This painting was giving me so much trouble that I came close to gessoing it over. But I really liked the background, so I put it on my dresser against the mirror (that's where I put unfinished work that I want to think about), and looked at it for a couple of days until the solution revealed itself. I'm glad I gave her a second chance!

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

- George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824)

Illustration Friday - Defying Gravity

Witness - 10" x 10" x 1" mixed media on cradled wood panel
Sometimes gravity settles into my spirit and becomes an ever-strengthening pull of self-doubt that can keep me from soaring beyond my fears. I find then, that instead of feeling grounded in something real and solid, secure enough in myself to venture outward and onward, I am held back by those inner voices that, for some strange reason, want me to stay put. I always come out of these little episodes of the cosmic blues, usually by reconnecting with Nature, looking at beautiful art, reading some poetry, and then messing around in my studio.

How do you defy gravity?

Witness

I saw that a star had broken its rope
in the stables of heaven--

This homeless one will find her home
in the foothills of a green century.

Who sleeps beside still waters, wakes.
The terrestrial hands of the heaven clock

comb out the comet's tangled mane
and twelve strands float free.

In the absence of light and gravity,
slowly as dust, or the continents' drift,

sinuous, they twine a text,
one letter to an eon:

I am the dawn horse.
Ride me.

- Liz Waldner

Moving Forward

This is a detail from a large painting (24" x 36") I've been working on. I've decided to do another tattoo painting, loosely based upon a drawing I did over a year ago. It will look something like this sketch:


The tattoos will include the koi fish, which symbolizes "courage, the ability to attain high goals, and overcoming life's difficulties" (tattoo symbol), cherry blossoms to symbolize both the beauty and fragility of human existence, and swallows to symbolize homecoming and rebirth... all concepts that have a great deal of meaning for me at this point in time.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope today - and every day - brings you the opportunity to give and receive love.

Weird Tag

little unfinished doodle in my new hand bound sketchbook
Okay...once again, I've been tagged...twice, in fact... by both Kathy and by Random York. It's the 6 weird things about me meme, and frankly, I'm stumped. I think I've spilled all the beans I want to spill in the many lists I've compiled in response to being tagged, and even though I am often called weird, I don't have a never-ending supply of odd behavior and quirks to share. Nonetheless, I will attempt to comply, mostly because my taggers are such fine, talented bloggers! What follows is a very random, sort of edited-stream-of-consciousness (which means it isn't really stream-of-consciousness) list of stuff that may or may not be weird.

I recently discovered that I have begun the shrinking-with-age process. I'm not pleased about this at all, especially since I have always taken pride in my lofty (physical) stature and excellent posture. So, I am going to continue to claim my previous height, in much the same spirit as some people insist on celebrtaing the same birthday year after year.

I keep the ashes of three cats in the same cabinet where I store the wine. This kind of freaks some people out, although I don't know why. They are in tightly-sealed tins!

I spend more money on art supplies and books than on clothes. I actually don't think this is weird. I'd much rather buy new paints and brushes, or books on fun stuff like Japanese tattoo art, than have a handbag that costs more than people pay for housing or groceries. I think that's weird!

I don't play cards, board games, watch American Idol, Oprah, Nascar, or the Super Bowl. And that's just the beginning. I can't even look at the meat and poultry sections in the grocery store. All I see are dead naked animals. I also feel sorry for the lobsters in the tank at the fish counter. At the checkout, I create entire lives for people based on what they put on the belt. By the way, this is a great fiction writing exercise... go to the Grocery List Collection, find an interesting list, and then create characters and a scene around it. That's the kind of stuff I do for fun!

Let's see... did I ever write about eating ants to impress my fellow campers at day camp (it didn't work), going to tea at the Plaza in bizarre, vintage costumes (a somewhat regular pasttime my friends and I had when I went to college in NYC ages ago), or believing I could hurt the feelings of my dolls if I thought bad things about them (that was either garden variety projection or the beginnings of my delusions of grandeur)? I guess I could go on and on, but none of this is really weird. I do think, though, that I've gotten more than six things down, so I'm going to stick a fork in it and call it done. There. Done! OUCH!

FInally, I'm going to change the rules of this game to allow for self-tagging! Tag thyself and let me know. Share the weirdness!

Lovely Hearts

Grow Together and Sunset Swans
I have sent these two paintings to be part of the "Lovely Hearts" charity exhibition put on by artstream gallery to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Artstream is donating their portion of the proceeds to the charity, and I have decided that I will donate my portion as well.

Both pieces are 6" x 8" acrylic on canvas with light cherry stained wood gallery frames. They, along with lots of other really wonderful "Lovely Hearts," are available for purchase at the artstream online shop.

Illustration Friday - Sprout

February: Thinking of Flowers

Now wind torments the field,
turning the white surface back
on itself, back and back on itself,
like an animal licking a wound.

Nothing but white--the air, the light;
only one brown milkweed pod
bobbing in the gully, smallest
brown boat on the immense tide.

A single green sprouting thing
would restore me. . . .

Then think of the tall delphinium,
swaying, or the bee when it comes
to the tongue of the burgundy lily.

- Jane Kenyon (1947 - 1995)

mixed media painting on 10" x 10" x 1.5" canvas - one of two paintings going into a show called "Altered Egos." You can see the other painting here.

Inspire Me Thursday - Portrait

This lady is one of a pair ( the other one is here ) of mixed media paintings that are going into a show called "Altered Egos." She's not quite finished - there's a bit more that I want to do with the background - but I thought I'd share it for this week's Inspire Me Thursday topic. I have no idea what to call her... any suggestions?

(mixed media painting on 10" x 10" x 1.5 " canavas)


edit - Here's the finished version (I named her Testarosa), which I just dropped off at the Gallery on the Green for the show that opens Saturday, 2/10. If you're in the neighborhood, drop by the opening between 6 - 9 p.m. .... I'd love to see you!