Winter Landscape - Reindeer Lapland Bracelet - A Haiku

I kept this rather clumsy watercolor sketch of winter birch trees as a reference for future work using this pallete.  There is something very calming and restfull  in the contrast of the cool greys and blues (paynes grey, neutral tint) and the warmer earthy colors raw sienna, burnt sienna, sepia and burnt umber.

Winter landscapes provide a remarkable variety of color - subtle, shifting and almost elusive during the darker days.  In this dormant but nonetheless beautiful time of year there is a stillness which leads to inner contemplation and a restfullness after the hectic activity of the previous months.

 I was delighted when I ordered some white reindeer leather from my supplier.  I had expected it to be really white and brash but instead it is a natural white color with a grey/blue tinge like the reflection of the winter sky on snow.  I was reminded of an episode in one of the Clan of the Cave Bear books where Ayla tans some leather to make for her wedding dress. She bleached the leather white by soaking it in urine - nowadays I suspect the principle is the same but probably with a refined form of ammonia rather than raw urine. I had this leather for months not quite knowing what  would do with it until now,  the icy Northern winter has set in and given me inspiration for this piece of jewelry.  I combined sepia colored leather to represent the color of the bare trees on a dark blizzardy day. The pewter wire shines bright like a frosty morning.

Just as I´m writing this a snow blizzard is blowing. This haiku by the master Matsuo Basho  is in essence what I´m seeing from my studio window at this moment..

Winter solitude-- in a world of one color the sound of wind.

Folk Art Bird Painting

An original acrylic painting 10 1/2" x 8 1/2" 27cm x 22cm
The diamond shapes are collage pieces from a gardening journal - I love these little clicks of color, with tiny details, they make the painting sparkle.
I usually have a very rough sketch of the compositional elements in my paintings, I add details as I go along and see how the painting develops. To help me be more spontaneous I paint a layer of burnt sienna over the white gesso - this way I feel free to mess up. Sometimes it´s a bit scary to paint on a virgin white canvas. I don´t mind too much if the brown shows through, I don´t always want my work to see too polished or artificial.
The decoration on the right hand side is derived from penny rag rugs. I often like to use motifs from traditional crafts, quiltmaking, embroidery, rugmaking and knitting. I am fascinated by these home crafts, these crafters have a long creative history of making wonderful works of art, often with limited means and materials. For me, they are the true heroes of the art world who bring design, color and imagination to ordinary homes.

Folk Art Painting - Tulip Bird

An acrylic painting on canvas 9 1/4" x 12 3/4"

I used to be a quilt maker and it shows in this painting. It reminds me of applique work. I enjoyed painting this. I limited my palette here to mostly shades of red and blue but the overall effect is very colorful.

This is my dog Honey, 8 years old and still like a puppy. Most artists live an isolated life because of the nature of the work. Honey sits beside me when I´m painting - I never feel lonely. It is also a sedentary life and she makes sure that I get out and take regular exercise.





"She Knows What She Wants".

Honey was the inspiration for this painting. Acrylic paint on paper.

I wanted to depict her happy and colorful nature. My dog is a little bit spoilt and has a determined and stubborn streak - she knows what she wants.

Here is a moving poem by Rudyard Kipling which describes the attachment owners have with their dogs. It´s kind of sad and sentimental and has old fashioned values - but I like it anyway.


The Power of the Dog
by
Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart to a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find--it's your own affair--
But ... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-term loan is as bad as a long--
So why in--Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

The Power of the Dog
by
Rudyard Kipling

Two Birds Yellow

Acrylic painting on canvas 9 1/4" x 12 3/4"

I finished this painting a couple of days ago. Now I can start another one - just waiting for the gesso to dry.

Mom is Home

A new painting listed on Etsy. While I was painting it it reminded me of when I was little. my brother and sisters and I, used to wait for my Mom to come home to make our tea. She said we looked like baby birds.

Acrylic on canvas
9 1/4" x 12 3/4"

Two Birds Blue