Spiralling Evolution

It is pretty amazing how when your attention is drawn to something, in this case the spiral as can be observed in the carapace of a snail, you begin seeing the object of your focus everywhere you look. For instance, spirals are present all around us in nature; from fiddlehead ferns to the seed head of a sunflower to the centre of a tornado and to galaxies far far away. In fact, in countless plants and elements of nature, the spiral form, be it Fibonacci or logarithmic, draws you to the centre as if by hypnosis. 

Perhaps it is hypnosis that drew me to focus on moon snail shells on the beach. Some of them look as old as time, some look like they are at the pinacle of their existence. Although each one is unique, the spiral on each is unmistakable. 

Moon Snail at Cap Lumiére, NB, Canada on the coast of the Northumberland Straight

In creating my next series of paintings, I feel myself spiralling towards evolution. The other options, devolution or stagnation, are not very enticing to me. That being said, "spiralling towards evolution"  might be a bit of an exaggeration because this series of paintings is a long and slow process. As a matter of fact, the use of oil paints has been a key factor in the reduction of the rush to completion. Most of these paintings are weeks, even months, in the making. I started using oils when I did my Natural Abstracts series. It is very hard to go back to acrylics which were at one time my favorite medium. I digress. ;-)

Here are a few of my latest paintings:

Lunatia, Oil, 61cm x 61 cm
(This piece was chosen as part of a Juried Exhibition, Moncton Gallery, Moncton, NB)

Oil, 15cm x 15cm

Oil, 15cm x 15 cm

Oil, 51cm x 51cm

This is not the last of them. I still need to centre myself as I continue spiralling towards evolution...be that what it may!

Namaste!
(All images and text in this blog are protected by copyright by virtue of their publication.)

  

Harder than one might think...

Taking a break from your work or even an activity you love can be just what you need to renew your interest or give you a totally new perspective. You can get back at it feeling refreshed and full of the vital energy needed to dedicate yourself to the tasks at hand or it can be a little more challenging...Maybe the length of the break has a lot to do with it.

Don't get me wrong, I have been busy creating, it just hasn't been with any particular purpose or goal.  My home is filled with new paintings and photographs, but now what? Some will say it's like riding a bike, but truth be known, I was never the best bike rider.

I get the distinct feeling I'm just rambling on. I am just writing whatever pops in my head. Sometimes that might be just what one needs to get those juices flowing. Of course, it could easily go the other way and just turn into crazy-maker thoughts! I'm going to go with 'creative juices"...Yup, that's what is brewing in my head. And, until a path comes in to focus, I'm just going to post and share some of the work I have been doing in the past couple of years.

Background- Painting of moon snail shell 50cm x 50cm oil on canvas 2017
Forefront- Ceramic wave with celadon glaze, bits of ceramic messages, an shells 2005

Shells, waves, rivers, oceans...It's all about nature again, only this time I'm not land-locked. I'm more water-logged. ;-)

The shell paintings were destined for a group show that I had to bow out of due to health concerns and in the end they inspired me to redecorate the living room!

This is one of the livingroom wall arrangements.

Living on the coast also had a part to play. I started observing shells, much like I did the rocks in my previous series, and noticed that although they are similar, each one has it's own identity. Each one is unique, as these photographs which I have taken in the last couple of years demonstrates.

      

Some of these photographs are framed; all of the shells are part of a growing collection; all are art in themselves. Many inspired a few oil paintings, which I will be posting in the next few weeks.

In the meantime...Namaste!

(All images and text in this blog are protected by copyright by virtue of their publication.)

2018-The Year of Endless Possibilities

Over five years since I have written in my blog...I can hardly believe it!

It has always been beyond my comprehension this concept of time. Certain things in life seem like they happened yesterday even if they happened years ago and vice versa. For instance, I can hardly remember a time without my children and yet it's as if they were born just yesterday, every detail as fresh as can be. And the same applies to the passing of my parents over 35 years ago...but wasn't I just talking with them? Perhaps the concept of everything happening at the same time has merit...That being said, I am hardly the right person to enter into that conversation.

As an artist, it's more feelings that I like to explore rather than abstract concepts. But don't get me wrong, I do love the abstract and like my previous series of paintings, I continue to see abstract art in all that surrounds me.


Natural Abstracts focused on rocks and stones and the art that could be observed while quietly contemplating the surfaces that surround us. Even exploring what lies within some rocks was revealing, as the image of this large stone a friend brought to me demonstrates.  

Sometimes things are going on under the surface that we are not conscious of and they are wondrous.

The inside to me was like a work of art, a nucleus intrinsic to it's host.

My next series of photographs and paintings focuses on nature's abstracts again but this time it was the sea that inspired me as in the abstracts you can find in shells. And while I was focusing on those abstracts I was of course confronted with the golden spiral, a prominent aspect of the Lunatia hero, the Northern moon snail.

The results of those observations will be the focus of my next few posts but for now, just getting back to my blog feels great.

2018 - Let's hope it's a good one.... Namaste





(All images and text in this blog are protected by copyright by virtue of their publication.)