Thursday, March 23, 2006

Simple play of light and shadow

This 11 x 14 acrylic on canvas board was donated to a charity auction. Inspired by a photo of the same, I simply cleaned up some of the bits I didn't care for. (car in the drive and the like) That is the wonderful thing about being an artist, if there is something in view you don't want to look at... Well, you just paint it out! I hope the new owner likes it as much as I do.
The thing that really caught my eye was the wonderful lines created by the shadows, in contrast to the rays of sunlight. To all those new bloggers - remember to check my archives, there are more paintings than appear on the site :)

Sunlight and Shadow in Ct

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Monday, March 13, 2006

Poem inspired

Well I have been a very busy blogger, and my camera has been cooperative; so here is an oldy but a goody. This combined effort by myself and my husband is roughly 20 x 24 inches, acrylic on canvas board, with a wonderful custom frame. It was painted a few years ago and shown in a couple of exhibits.
The poem of the same name was written by Alfred Noyes (1880-1958) and also inspired Loreena McKennitt to write music with which to sing the poem. Oddly enough I was working on the painting when I first heard the song. (I believe it was released right after I began) The 11 stanzas are too long for me to want to type, I wrote it out once on the frame; that was enough! I have a link which will bring you to a site where you can read it if you like, once you are at the site it is poem #17.
The jest of the poem is a tragic love story, this time instead of families causing the poor lovers fate; it is the red coats. It really is worth it to read the tale, even if you do not care for poetry. It's full of action and even some old fashion blood and guts.
So in the painting we have the Highwayman on horse back, Bess the inn keeper's daughter, the 'ribbon' road, and the 'ghostly galleon' in the sky. The scene 'Tim' might have witnessed before he betrayed the lovers and caused their demise. Knowing the poem, and seeing the painting, it is little wonder that my talented husband thought of trees for the frame. As if your a voyeur looking on in secret through the trees, that also gave me the perfect place to write the poem in twisting waves.

The Highwayman

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Sunday, March 12, 2006

WARNING - this is not pretty

I spend so much time looking at or thinking of things that are pretty or at least interesting in a pleasant way, that sometimes I need to paint something from the darker side of life. Maybe that is why this old, so old in fact that nobody knows who wrote it, verse was written in the first place. Or perhaps it was a warning to those people who might live a life uninterested in how they make others feel. Folklore often has a 'boogie man' sort of warning to it.
When I first came across this it was sung, and the tune deceptively jolly. In fact it was some time before I realized just what the song was about. Later I found it in many forms and always I formed a visual, which I do for most things I hear or read.
So what follows is the verse, which I left in the misspelled Celtic to give you the flavor of having it read in such. I think most people will understand anyway. The painting that follows a 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas, containing a sky that my daughter filmed and the happy characters of the verse; who's fortune comes form another's tragic ending. But that is nature cruel and kind in turns. (Picture a conversation between the two birds.)

Twa Corbies
As I was walking all alane, I heard twa corbies mock and mane;
and to one the other did say, "whaur shall we gang and dine the day?"
"In behind the old failed dike, I know what lies on slain the night;
nobody kens that he lies there but his hawk and hound and his lady fair."
"His hawk is to the hunting gone, His hound to bring the wild fowl'en;
his wife has taken another mate, so we can mark our dinner sweet."
"Ye'll sit on his white breast bane, and I'll pick oot his bonny blue'en."
"Wi'ae lock o' his yellow hair we'll theek our nest when the wind grows bare."
For manys a one that mocks his name, nobody cares that he is gane;
an'through his white bones when they grow bare, the wind shall blow for evermare.

Twa Corbies (or Two Crows)

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Thanks

I want to thank all the visitors who have left comments. One of the things I really wanted to do with this site was to share my work. I never expected such nice praise. Part of the love of creation is the love of witnessing reaction. Anyone who performs, writes, or creates visual work knows what I mean. Perhaps it is a desire to show off, but why hide a gift that you have, or selfishly keep from moving someone else with what you can do. Again a big thanks, I love to hear from visitors and if you have questions as well, I will try to answer without creating a novel in the process! :)

Ardoginna House

Steeped in myth and folklore this ruin in County Waterford Ireland was painted last year and hangs in my son's room. The 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas depicts key sites on the property which actually cannot be seen altogether, or so the books say; as I have never visited Ireland. The statue in the front right was erected by a later owner and the inscription reads:

My life is like a broken stair, winding round a ruined tower and leading nowhere.

This is strange because by all accounts the life of the person responsible seemed to be uneventful. Past occupants were not as lucky. The glowing spot in the center of the painting is meant to bring notice to the spot some call "Crook an Heir Cliff". Where it is reported, the falsely accused descendant of the late owner of the castle was killed when pursued by a crowd bent on hanging him for a theft. His horse could not make the jump and when horse and rider fell, the heir was caught on branches or rocks and strangled. The ruin and it's history are responsible for numerous ghost stories, of course; but many families lived there long after this tragic event.

I painted it rather dark and some what surreal to enhance the tale which fascinated me. I couldn't resist putting all the features in the one setting making the painting more dramatic, in my opinion. The red knotwork in the corners is traditional, and my poor lighting makes the upper right one appear lighter, although it is not actually any lighter than the rest. I try, but again I am not a photographer.

Ardo

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Saturday, March 11, 2006

Japanese Maple and Olive Oil Jar

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Able to photo again

Took another stab at photographing my paintings and did ok. Sometimes I think it would be faster and easier to paint them again! The above is an 11 x 14 acrylic on canvas board of a little imaginary setting. I was looking through a gardening book and took inspiration from several pictures. Blended them all together. No myths involved. I guess I'm taken a break and enjoying painting for the sake of painting. Light and shadow were the main focus of this one and the next. This 11 x 14 acrylic on canvas board is painted from a photo. I took creative license with the outer buildings. Personally I think a light house should look a little lonely. (jar and lighthouse paintings are sold)

Portland Head Light - Portland, Maine

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Thursday, March 09, 2006

Just a note

No new pictures. My camera and I are not getting along. Wanted to mention to those people visiting who are new to blogs to remember to check out the archives. I have had a few people tell me they visited and did not find a painting I had said would be here. They are in the archives because I have my blog set to show only the new stuff, I think it looks better if it is not too long. So check out the whole thing if you like what you see! (and remember to feed arty)