Musings on Art and Creativity

The view out my bedroom window is of a cluster of pines. The sun rises over them bathing them in gradual light, first over the mountain, then over the roof of my house. Needles go from blue green in shadow, to bright green gold when the sun crosses that threshold. Trunks glow as if made of precious metals. The darkness recedes, and the mysteries of the deep shadow of boughs is gone for another day. 

All summer I’ve been watching the path of the light. I wanted to catch that transition from shadow, however, I have not quite been up to prepping a plein air at 6:30 in the morning! It is now approaching the equinox, and the sun rises just late enough to allow me enough time to get set up without starting as a zombie. Last Friday, I began these pines en plein air. The weekend was one of the hottest of the summer, and this eventually drove me in to the studio to finish. 

The finished oil is much more traditional in style. I felt it was important to not let flourish or colour play interfere with what was already stunning light. Sometimes art isn’t about giving you how it made me feel, but rather showing you something simple and real made profound. It can be about letting you feel it for yourself, as if you were standing where I stood. I’ve stopped time, and offered this moment to you. 

Your feedback means the world to me. I’d love to know what painting has inspired you from this summer’s blog and newsletter series. You can comment or send me an email. Missed some newsletters or previous blogs? You can catch up the blog here and the newsletters here.