I enjoyed painting the bears in "The Baker and the Bear" (see earlier post) so much I decided to do another version of the painting with the baker in profile, facing the light (quoting Vermeer here) and the bear heading toward us head on. I was working on this painting during the month of March and other spring-like things started creeping in-The forest just starting to green up, a Bluebird looking for a place to nest, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak making a rare appearance, and a bullfrog making an unexpected appearance from the open cupboard. He is also making an important compositional maneuver by allowing the viewer to move up through that corner of the painting back to the window. Sometimes many elements influence the direction a painting takes. In this one the season took control.
I have always had a fascination for coyotes. They got a bad reputation years ago from a silly cartoon in which they were depicted as homely, wiley villains. Yet they are magnificent creatures. They are smart, beautiful and mysterious. Because of their natural habitat being crowded in on and destroyed, like bears, they have made a habit of treading a little two close to humans looking for food. And the outcome is not in their favor.
So I decided to make a painting that portrays them as invited guests in a space of acceptance and respect.
Capriccio for Coyotes
One could hear them at night
calling to each other
from the river
to the hills
An eerie sound
mournful yet resolute
So she began to play
to calm her nerves
a light capriccio
And the calling
quieted
the coyotes
came
and began to sing
softly
tails thumping
like a metronome
* a capriccio is a lively piece of music, typically one that is
short and free in form. It is also defined as a painting or work of art representing a fantasy
Winter seems long right now. The snow is falling hard and fast on top of ice and frozen snow from last week. There is a frigid wind. It's a good time to be in inside physically and metaphorically and dream of the spring bulbs which will appear (they miraculously always do), warm summer evenings (yes they will come) and dancing with bears.
This is the first time I have posted on my blog for quite awhile, but I moved into my new studio last week and I felt that it was time to start writing again. It has been exactly a year since we started digging the foundation. After working underground for a year and a half I now feel like I am in heaven, reveling in the natural light and high ceiling. I can actually work without any electric lights on- this is a first for me as no matter how bright the day was- in my former studios I always had to supplement with electric lights. Natural light is amazing!
Hunting Season oil on linen, 20" x 24"
My relationship to the natural world has really deepened with my move to this beautiful part of the country. The Berkshires have a gentle beauty that is lovely to live within and the scale of everything feels right. The mountains are not overbearing, the rivers not to wide, the forests not too dense. The wildlife is abundant and literally right on our doorstep. It snowed recently and the array of paw prints in the fresh powder was fascinating. It is inspiring and makes me want to live here as an observer- to watch the world around me and coexist with it without imprinting on it- to sort of let it wash over me and feel one with it.
"Stories for Foxes", oil on linen, 24" x 30"
I have been working on a series of paintings titled Sanctuaries which hark back to a few paintings from my work in the past but has a fresh meaning, at least to me, in my new life. Some of the paintings are about coexisting with nature, some about nature inspired dreams and some about protecting the natural world and the vulnerable creatures within it. This series may be ongoing for a long time. I think that my intention will be clearer as each painting evolves.
"The Baker and the Bear" , oil on linen, 30" x 36"
While construction is continuing on my new studio in the Massachusetts Berkshires I have found myself working in various spots in the house from the cold basement all winter to the kitchen table, where I find myself now. The new big window in the kitchen gives me a wonderful view of the garden as tiny ephemerals and bulbs of all kinds are emerging from the soil. It is truly magical and inspiring me to once again work on my paintings which I call Gardeners' Dreams. My kitchen table is not very big so I decided to work in gouache and watercolor on a tiny scale. Here are the six I have done so far and each of them is accompanied by an equally tiny gardener's dream scenario. Each one is about 7" x 5".
She dreamt of pole beans so vigorous that she was tempted to climb up and look for Jack.
When she planted the milkweed the most extraordinary Monarch appeared.
She dreamt of an asparagus bed with ferns so soft and airy she could float on it like a cloud.
It was amazing the difference a few days of sun could make.
She dreamt that one tomato grew so large she could sit on it like a pouf.
On the third year her asparagus was so prolific she could walk between the spears like a forest.
She dreamt she had to play tug of war with that damn crow to save her corn.
In her dream she pulled back the curtain and tulips rode in on a spring breeze.
“Food is Love” is a narrative portrait about one person’s journey through a new chapter in her life. After a successful career in the corporate world she went through a process of self discovery and came to the conclusion that her passion was the soil, growing vegetables and gathering people together to share in the meals that were the product of hard work. She bought some land and along with her son began to farm it. The painting depicts moments and objects that have special meaning to her on this journey, from the goats, pigs and chickens that were part of her day-to-day existence to the produce they grew, and the dishes she made for the people she gathered around her table.
My wish, and I assume everyone else's, is that the day we reach the other side, all the dogs we have loved in our lifetime will be there waiting to greet us.
This painting is the greeting line up of all the wonderful dogs that belonged to an individual in Bethesda, Maryland. She loved her dogs intensely and with all her heart and when she saw another "lifetime of dogs" painting that I did she knew she wanted a painting of her own. She is an amazing person and besides loving her own dogs, she loves all animals and was very involved with the Washington Animal Rescue Alliance for years.
When she started sending me photos of her dogs I fell in love with them as well. They were all so different and unique. There is Kiki, the black lab who was wonderful with children, and Senta the beautiful German Shepherd mix with the most soulful eyes. And Daisy the yellow lab who loved the water so much -- she was wading in every photo. And tiny Moose, (perfect name) the cheerful Yorkie, who could hold his own with the big dogs. Then Laila the white and caramel terrier mix who looks tough until she rolls over and her tongue flops out to show she is a total love. And the amazing and much loved Mango who has both incredibly expressive ears and a way of sitting on one hip that is totally endearing. And finally Wolf the big, beautiful Husky with a smile so wide you can't not smile back.
These dogs were so special on their own I decided to let them have center stage, sitting or standing in an open landscape with water and a big blue sky. I wanted their surroundings to feel like what a dog might imagine as heaven. Their owner has a house on an island in New England so she had the perfect setting for this. And just to add a little movement and color there are seven sailboats for the seven dogs, sailing behind them -- a touch of existentialism to symbolize that they live forever in their mom's heart.
Kathryn Freeman is a narrative painter who combines classical composition with magic realism. Freeman’s paintings have been exhibited in galleries in Europe and across the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Washington, and Baltimore. Her paintings are in numerous private and public collections and she has completed several large-scale public mural commissions including two, three-story murals for a new public library in Jacksonville, Florida, that opened in November 2005. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Arts Magazine, Art Forum, American Artist and numerous other publications. She is currently exhibiting work at Carrie Haddad gallery in Hudson, New York.
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