Haitian Driftwood, 16×20 Soft Pastel

Carousel, 11×14 Soft Pastel

The idea for this piece was sparked by Norah Jones’ “Carnival Town”:

“Carnival Town”

Round ‘n round
Carousel
Has got you under it’s spell
Moving so fast…but
Going nowhere

I feel like that so often…all worked up, so much to do, the days begin and end and start again so quickly. My children grow, the routine repeats day in, day out. I feel so busy, but feel like I’m not going anywhere. Its easy to get transfixed, frozen by the patterns of color, lights, and music of my life’s carousel. I have to remind myself to not get caught up in the spinning; to remember that we are moving forward; to live each day with enjoyment and awareness, and not to get caught in the blur.

Several years ago, my husband and I were in Paris for two days. We tried to cram in as much as we could in our short time, visiting the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, drinking cafe la creme. During our last few hours, we rushed at top speed to Montmartre…we came, we saw, we bought a painting, we left. On our sprint to the airport, we whizzed past a beautiful carousel. The constant, measured turning was imprinted in my mind and came back to me as I listened to the song. We took no pictures, we did not pause; we were unable to take in the scene as we hurried by.

This painting expresses my need to constantly remind myself to enjoy life, to experience and see and taste and hear and feel life. With the demands of work, family, and the necessities, we can still enjoy the ride and go somewhere. We can notice the carousel, with its slow pace, the beauty and goodness of life, without being caught in the cycle of days that disappear into insignificance.

Sewing Lesson, 24×36 Soft Pastel

I began imagining this piece several months ago…I wanted to try an Impressionist piece, stretching my techniques and experimenting with color combinations and textures outside of my comfort zone. I originally made sketches of a grown woman, elbows on a pillow, sewing torn fabric, her profile in view. When I decided to turn the face toward the light of the window, I asked my daughter to pose for me so I could get an idea of what the cheek would look like. When I saw her looking at the window, with her little arms and feet posed, the piece took a whole new direction. I loved her little hands and her long hair brushing the floor. The painting reminds me of daydreams in the midst of activity, of learning new things when you might rather be doing something else, of innocence and simplicity held in place, of the inevitable movement of growing up.

Before the change of subject, several poems led the way to the formation of this piece:

An excerpt from William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence”

“It is right, it should be so
Man was made for Joy and Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro’ the world we safely go.

Joy and Woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine;
Under every grief and pine
Runs a Joy with silken twine.”

An excerpt from Ecclesiastes 3

“A time to tear and a time to sew”

I incorporate these words into the painting with the white fabric and the silken twine with which she sews. I think of her innocence as a young child, and how as she grows she will discover Joy and Woe, and their link in this life. It makes me a little sad, as I try to shield my children from any Woe, but I recognize that where there is Joy, somewhere there is Woe; when the unavoidable Woe comes into innocent lives, we can show the Joy that runs somewhere through it, like a silken twine. Within myself, I recognize this muddled relationship of Joy and Woe, how they are indeed woven together…that you can feel sadness and joy at the same time, and that sometimes you feel like life as you know it is being torn apart, but then it is finally time for the gentle work of repair.

“The Jason Tree” 16×20 soft pastel

This commissioned portrait pulls together several significant aspects into one piece. The tree was planted when my friend Jason was young, and his mother always looked forward to swinging her grandchildren under its branches. Sadly, she and her husband passed away in a car accident, and the dream was never fulfilled. Jason’s wife and kids took a secret trip to the tree, and photographed their 4 children near the mature tree. I had the privilege to bring the image together for these very dear friends.

“Duchess” 11×14 Soft Pastel

For the past month, I have been consumed with commissions…a nice summer surprise. You use a different kind of creativity when you try to mirror a likeness, transforming a simple photo into a work of art. After all the portraits I have done, I still get nervous each time I begin a new one.

“The Clod and the Pebble” 18×24 Soft Pastel
The inspirations for this piece:

The Clod and the Pebble
by William Blake

“Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell’s despair.”

So sung a little Clod of Clay,
trodden with the cattle’s feet,
But a Pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

“Love seeketh only self to please,
to bind another to its delight,
Joys in another’s loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven’s despite.”

Ecclesiastes 3:18 “I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals.”

Wading, 4×6 Soft Pastel

So, I haven’t been so daily lately. I feel like this cow. Lazy, moving slowly, wading in the water. Ah, Spring! It makes me comatose. And I have so very much to do: the last week of preschool, new pastel classes and a workshop to teach at Forstall Art Center, art lessons at home, art shows, drop offs and pick ups and receptions, not to mention family matters that are ever present and ever moving. But I just want to close my eyes and sit; in fact, I’m having a hard time keeping them open. At the moment I am choosing to ramble on instead of get down to the newsletters and printing and drawing I have on my to do list. But, like my little cow, sometimes you just have to take a minute and soak.

Spring Farm, 12×16 Soft Pastel

I was happy about the vibrance in this piece, which came unexpectedly. I also got to use one of my favorite, but not often used, techniques to get the yellow specks in the grass. My parents took the photo of the mule on one of their trips and I was glad to finally find him a home.

Screech Owl, 5×7 Soft Pastel
This owl reminded me of those wooden carvings I remember from my childhood…I don’t even know where I have seen them, but they are in my memory. I gave him a glow in the night, with a midnight blue behind him, using complimentary colors to enhance his presence.

King of the Mountain, 8×8 Soft Pastel SOLD

I have had the photograph of this sheep forever and he always made me laugh. I finally had the inspiration to use him in a picture, and he has already found a new home!