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Just installed "Leslie's Flowers" in the paintings' new home.
36" X 36" Mixed Media
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Summer is for S-l-o-w
Grab a cup of something and a comfy seat because this is a long s-l-o-w rambling.
Recently I finished reading In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore', The slow movement is found in food, music, exercise, nearly every aspect of life. While the book was written in 2004 by a Brit, many of the points ring true for me today. Why not use summer to test the idea of S-L-O-W?
First off, let's define S-L-O-W, better yet, I'll let Carl:
"Slow is defined as calm, careful, receptive, still, intuitive, unhurried, patient, reflective, with an emphasis on quality over quantity. It is about making real and meaningful connections with people, culture, work, food, everything."
The paradox is that Slow does not always mean slow. As we shall see, performing a task in a Slow manner often yields faster results." p 15
"Shifting the mind into lower gear can bring inner health, calm, enhanced concentration and the ability to think more creatively".
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Painting at Pearmund Cellars, VA
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To me this is the perfect recipe for a creative summer. Slow down, be in the moment, hike, observe, sketch, plan, rest and paint! "Relaxation is often a precursor Slow Thinking". p 121
Let's imagine we give ourselves free rein to explore galleries, museums and artists' studios. What catches our fancy?
Just this morning I discovered the Hunt Library on the North Carolina State campus. If I were to study there I could pick a chair by color, size, style, hard, soft, alone, in a grouping, with a view, inside or out or on one of 5 floors. One could write on any number of mobile white boards or table surfaces, study alone or in a group or even in a separate room. The space showed off the creative thinking in spacial design and was an inspiration to creativity in my own mind!
Yesterday I explored the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The Patrick Dougherty sculpture called "The Big Easy" was fun to see. I watch kids (of all ages) interact with the sculpture, discovering it from near and far.
I'm working on "Trail Treasures"
for the August show at
The Walking Man
in Whitefish, Montana. Moose, marmots, bear grass, cut throat trout, otters and more have caught my interest. Just off the easel is "Otterville" 24" X 48" Mixed Media. The painting captures the essence of the goal for this series. I want to share the joy of seeing wild animals along the hiking trails in Montana with my viewers and patrons.
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| "Otterville" 48" X 24" Mixed Media |
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"Diet and Exercise" 24" X 24" Mixed Media
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Painting animals I am passionate about gives me an opportunity to research, learning more about their habits. I had the delightful experience of watching an otter group at the Whitefish River's edge in MT several winters ago and again last fall at the National Zoo. At the zoo, the handlers must vary the feeding times greatly or the noisy demands for their scheduled food is heard all over the zoo. Otters are fascinating creatures. Their favorite food is cutthroat trout. In winter they are able to get under the ice and catch the deep swimming fish. Once caught, they bring the food to the surface and besides feeding their own they inadvertently provide food for other predators such as coyotes, wolves, owls, and cougars. When not hunting and feeding, they play, juggle, chase, cuddle and race. Belly sliding down to the waters edge from their rocky bungalows above the shoreline, they can cover quite a distance quickly with their short legs. Otters are equally agile in the water with their strong tail and webbed feet. Even on snow and ice they do a "run - run, slide","run - run, slide" to cover distance effortlessly.
This painting is special because my sketchbook, a back pack staple, is copied and glued into the surface to create more texture and invite closer observation. My colorful palate always brings me joy and elicits the word "happy" from my viewers even though I doubt I will ever actually meet a blue or purple otter. The whimsy of "Otterville", highlights their playful natures. The pattern pieces represent the way they fit perfectly into their Ecco system.
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| "Wobble Legs" 24" X 24" Mixed Media |
Look for other paintings in this series such as "Diet and Exercise", "Wobble Legs", "Tree Hugger", "Cuddling Codjutators", and "23 Pond Waddle Way".
Before completing this post I read the most recent "Painters' Keys". Sara echoes benefits of the S-L-O-W theme I'm after in her article titled "In Praise of Boredom". She sites research by
Dr. Belton. "She (Dr. B) noticed their (artists) regular praise of boredom - both in childhood and adulthood - and its importance to new ideas. Boredom's languid time was considered crucial for developing what she called "internal stimulus" - the gateway to creativity."
"Esoterica: As the non-bored, instead of experiencing boredom, artists may appreciate the German translation of langeweile, or "long while." As society's newest over-stimulated and over-resourced consumers, boredom is a rare opportunity, a luxurious problem for kids to solve with aspirant, interior chops. These inner resources need exercise and development that begins now, when the frontal lobe is vulnerable to superficial rewards and mental laziness. Artists are made in this time - if given the chance to wander in the mind, to invent, play and develop one's own stories rather than merely consume the art, ideas or advertising of others. "'A child develops best when, like a young plant, he is left undisturbed in the same soil,' wrote Bertrand Russell in The Conquest of Happiness in 1930. 'Too much travel, too much variety of impressions, are not good for the young, and cause them as they grow up to become incapable of enduring fruitful monotony.'" To read this article in its entirety, click here.
