Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Compelled to Paint!

Some subjects might be beyond inspirational. Some might compel the painter to run to the studio for paper and paint. That's how cactus flowers are for me. Compelling.

Colors that range from pastel to intense, complex layers of soft and feminine ruffles, strong angles of branching pads covered with spines -- cactus flowers are the ultimate study in contrasts. The perennial question about danger and beauty lingers every time I look at them.

My friend Gail invited me to come and photo her blooming cholla this week:

Cholla Blossoms, 5-6-13

"Cholla Ruffles," 1st Place winner at New Mexico Watercolor Society,
Southern Chapter 2013 Spring Membership Show

And this is just a little quick study I did a couple of years ago.
Well, I might have done an okay job of juxtaposing the soft ruffles against stickers, but I can see I have miles to go in conveying the intense magenta color of these blooms.  Guess I'll have to paint them again!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

My Favorite Place

Waking to birdsong and the squabbles of house finches at the hummingbird feeder makes me breathe deeply; the peppery smell of desert in the morning is at once intoxicating and invigorating. I hurry to open the patio door and see for myself that all the wonderfulness is still there.

Nothing could be more inspiring to me than morning in the desert. It's just alive with little birds, lizards, cottontails, jackrabbits and ground squirrels. And those are just the ones I can see! Add the life I know is there but don't always see -- coyotes, javelinas, bobcats, snakes and larger birds like ravens, vultures and hawks -- the desert is teeming with all kinds of wildlife.

I also love to sit on the patio at night, smelling the desert and listening to the sounds of desert dwellers.
 
Todas las Damas de la Noche

 "Todas las Damas de la Noche" -- all the ladies of the evening -- was created after such an evening, gazing at the sparkling stars overhead, smelling the creosote bush, and hearing quiet sounds of wildlife creeping about. The small "pink" tree on the left is an acacia, inhabited by a small owl; beneath a pair of eyes belonging to a mysterious someone. Other eyes peer from beneath and behind bushes and rocks. And the grandest lady of the evening - Luna - hangs above, giving just enough light to see the wonders of the desert evening.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Up'n'at'em

Well, if I had any regular readers they've probably abandoned me by now; the last post was nearly 10 months ago. Lots of flaps n fusses have deterred me from regular posting, but I HAVE done some painting.

Corn Maiden

Here's "Corn Maiden," a combination collage and painting I did for the NMWS-SC fall show last year. I challenged myself to use a repeating shape -- the fret shape on the pot/raven's beak/leaves on cornstalks. Some of the cornstalks in the background are painted on; the nearer ones are cut from a handmade paper to which I added crumbled dried red chile. I had a lot of fun juxtaposing the very different shapes and values. What wasn't so much fun was trying to keep track of the fret design on the pot. I now have even MORE respect for the long-ago folks who sat in the dirt painting on these complex designs with a yucca brush and crude slip paints.

In this case, the inspiration was a combination of some of my favorite things:  pots, ravens, and texture, plus the challenge of repeating shapes.