Enjoying the quietness of winter. Our friends, Sherri & Tim, stopped in this morning on their way up to Mackinac Island for the week. They built a beautiful home there last year and here's a picture of the Grand Hotel in the winter. It is really peaceful there during this time of the year and I look forward to a visit in February.
Hope everyone enjoyed Christmas and all that goes along with it - memories, friends, families, food, presents, giving, sharing, good times!
It was a "rainy" day on Christmas in the U.P. - we were wishing for snow actually so we could play outside. Today is nice out, but a lot of the snow is gone. Plan to do a little snowshoeing this afternoon with my husband - as I got him a pair of snowshoes for Xmas - actually there is so little snow left that we may not need them, but the woods will be peaceful!
Took advantage of the dreary weather to do some cleaning/rearranging in the studio so that I am ready to roll next week. Gessoed some large panels this morning and can't wait to get at them. Joy!

In the recent book I read "The creative habit" by Twyla Tharp she talks about the 5 essentials for a creative life. Food, "creating", exercise, sleep and solitude. Those are all great, but I add sharing time with family and friends as very important also. Yesterday, I took some time out with my friends, Lara and Courtney, to make caramels and spiced pecans for the holidays. We also went for a nice snow shoe to enjoy the beauty of winter. Friends and family, as well as solitude, are very important in my creativity. I'm taking a little time off for the holidays from painting, but certainly will be busy with other things. I plan to dive right into some larger size panels of my new minimalist series.

keep it simple.
As I continue to work on my new series of oil/cold wax paintings I am in awe at how much I am just "enjoying the process" not knowing where the painting is taking me - just going with the flow. The luscious feel of spreading oil paints, the blending and mixing of luxurious colors and of course creating texture by scraping, sanding, adding more layers, taking away some layers. In love.
Trying to keep my holidays as simple, too. Didn't haul out as many decorations as I usually do and you know what - things look great! Baking with friends, spending time with families, reading some good books AND skiing - cross country that is - every morning in the fields behind my home. I love winter!

Another new pic from my recent works with oil and cold wax. My new series is based on landscapes, fencelines, borders. I'm abstracting out physical images of trees, fencelines, old barns etc. As well as the natural old patina'd surface of an old metal milk can that my husband brought home for me. These textures/subtle color variations really are all around us and I'm enjoying "looking" for them and capturing them on panel.

As winter nears, I have packed up my "hot wax"/encaustic painting set up until spring and have been experimenting with "cold wax"/oil paints and am having a wonderful journey. My work is headed in a direction I've always wanted to be - simple. The pieces are coming out with a more minimalist style. Mission accomplished. It's not that I disliked my mixed media paintings that were more on the busy/involved side, I just felt it was time for a change - actually that change was inside of me and happens to be coming out through my art. Here are some pics that don't do the subtle layers justice but as you can see, the landscape series I'm working on still has a lot of texture within, except it's more subtle. Peaceful.

I was looking at these two mixed media pieces I did this past year, one on paper and one on canvas, and I can understand and see my transition to a more simple, minimalist style. As I look back on pieces, I see that I truly was getting more simpler in my designs/layering which is a natural "bridge" to the current body of work I am working on. Painting and styles, I believe, are truly inside of you and you can't "fight" them, and often you have no or little control over the route your work is going. I'm happy with my path.

All around me are beautiful landscapes. This photo was from my trip to Santa Fe - oh the beautiful color. Now, here in the beautiful U.P., I am again surrounded by beautiful landscapes. I am starting a new series of paintings with oil and cold wax featuring - landscapes. Earthy, subdued, minimalist. Quiet, thought-provoking, relaxed. I'll post pictures soon.

Labels: landscapes