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"