Musings on Art and Creativity

The last few years have been hard for a lot of us, and because of this, I truly believe art is not a luxury, but an existential necessity. It can take our breath away, allowing us to see the world in a new way. Georgia O’Keeffe’s series of giant flowers were about the value of taking the time to see:

Still — in a way — nobody sees a flower — really — it is so small — we haven’t time — and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.  ~ Georgia O’Keeffe 

Much in the way a painting or music can bring a memory or a feeling of joy or pain, words, especially when they are spoken, can conjure. In this internet age, we are failing words, twisting their meanings, and abusing their power to control and manipulate rather than to communicate and enlighten. Words have been weaponized. We no longer take the time with them that we need to. Art, in all its forms, reaches into us, not so much to influence, but to remind us of the things we value, that inspire us, or leave us awash in beauty. We need to relearn to take the time to see; our art, our land, our communities and each other. Nothing of value happens quickly. 

Time is the most precious thing we have. It is the only truly non renewable. I took apart my studio this winter, and pulled out old, unfinished paintings. I needed to decide if they were lost, or worth the time to finish. Some were burned.  I decided to invest in two of them. 

16x16 inches, acrylic on canvas

The first, an exercise in portraiture from a photo from the teaching website “Draw This” which is now a part of the New Masters Academy. This was a fun learning experience. I have done figure drawing in charcoal (mostly live) and saw this as an opportunity to explore facial expression and the upper torso in paint with low stakes. I loved painting this man’s expression. I could feel his pain and frustration. The journey was cathartic. 

The other (top) was a bit of reality mixed with imagination. I was sitting at a rural intersection back in Oklahoma, storm clouds were building. I paused, struck by the way the sun lit a telephone/power pole against this darkening sky. I took a photo and brought it into my studio room. In the painting, I made the sky darker, like a spring storm, and then added the crows. I didn’t get very far. I needed time to see. I wasn’t ready. After years of leaving it unfinished (and moving that crow on the left about 200 times), I, finally, completed it. It named itself, and with me being so far away from this place, it could only be: “Oklahoma Calling”. 

This last one is a big one (40x30 inches), that I actually finished first. I rarely finish a large painting so quickly, but in this case, time was everything. It is of Chimney Rock from a location that no longer exists, wiped out by Hurricane Helene. I had to pour all those emotions of my own experience of the storm and the overwhelming losses to Chimney Rock and Western North Carolina onto canvas. 

"Chimney Rock - pre-Helene", 40x30 inches, acrylic on canvas

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I haven’t been good at maintaining the blog lately (sorry for the terribly long catch up post), but I am painting, so if you don’t want to miss any of the new work, scroll to the bottom of this page to the little envelope on the lower right. Click on “Get New Art Alerts” and put in your email address. Even if you’re already signed up for the blog or newsletter, this is an independent little feature that is not automatic. It requires your added permission. This way, you’ll get an email every time I post a new painting to the website. I’ll post the story of each painting beneath it on its web page.