The River of Silence

Becoming Visible
6x6

Silence helps me see, hear and feel. Silence helps me create.

Stillness puts me in touch with what is mine; the authentic, the quirky, the gift from the deep well from which we all draw up our creative water droplets.   I enjoy discovering the surprises that surface when I work in connection with stillness.

Only when you drink from the river of silence

shall you sing.

~Kahlil Gibran

Yet to Become

11x11  

Never talk away the magic. 

Danish Saying 

Silence is not the absence of sound. The birds still sing, the fan softly whirs, the stream continues to rush to the sea. 

Silence is the absence of chatter, of distracting noise and loudness. 

Silence allows me to respond to what is happening on the surface as I work. 

Silence is a conversation without words between the work and and me.

Remember

6x6

I sat staring, staring, staring - half lost, 

learning a new language or rather the same language 

in a different dialect. 

So still were the big woods where I sat, 

sound might not yet have been born.

~Emily Carr

Silence is the space between the coming and going of my own thoughts. Quietude is the midwife of my work.

Shut up and play your guitar.

~Frank Zappa

Mark Making in the Studio

I had several ideas but the only one that felt exciting was to make marks, so marks I made! I did marks with different tools, different colors and in a different style. No goal in mind, no judgment, just experimentation with marks. I don’t know yet how I will incorporate these marks in my work, but I am excited to continue the experiment. I can’t say for sure why marks call my name so loudly, but they do. So I answer the call. I know I like the suggestion of mystery, the idea of communication and the rhythm my hand enjoys while I am marking. I work quickly and intuitively.




I have been reading about artist Fred Otnes. He is a featured artist in the book Art Revolution, by Lisa L. Cyr. He also has a book of his own, which you can preview here.
In Lisa’s book he is quoted as saying “It’s important to remain curious and try as much as you can, just to see where it can take you. The more you do, the more you learn and the better you become. I have always felt, even now, that I’m on the edge of something new.”

His work is full of small details, layers and is highly textured. You can see more of his work here. His book is on my short list of Art Books I Most Want to Receive in the upcoming holiday season. To me the holiday is best in the afternoon, when things quiet down and I can go off and spend time with my new art book…..





I don't think it's necessary for artists to have any formal training in painting or art history, but I do think it's essential to continually experiment with different subject matter, types of paint and methods of painting. Ron Parker



You will have to experiment and try things out for yourself and you will not be sure of what you are doing. That's all right, you are feeling your way into the thing. Emily Carr