I've always said that my daughters have been my greatest teachers. Oh, I know a fair amount about child development and I have strong values so, of course, I guided them. But, really, they taught me what they needed as they grew. I learned to pay close attention to, and follow, their signs.
So it is now with my materials. My paints, my brushes, my grounds are leading me on a path I didn't consciously set out on. Oh, I have my ideas and I have imagery I've been drawn to forever, but now when I paint, what comes from my hand surprises me. I'm paying attention to the signs and I'm following them. All I knew when I decided to return to painting earlier this year, was what didn't interest me...rendering the world realistically, for example. I've dashed back and forth between abstract and representational for years, without following any one path to the end. Not this time. This time I'm betting on the process and I'm going where I have to go.
So now, wherever next? I guess we'll find out, won't we?
Here are the latest pieces, working backward chronologically. You'll see that the influence of the Pondshiners' process on what followed it.
Detail from below:
detail from above:
I'll be leaving for France a week from tomorrow. The Lot River valley and Paris are my destinations. I'll check in here again before I go!
Thanks so much for the encouragement, you all! I'm now working in a larger scale and with more pared-down compositions. I'm eager to get back to these after I return from France!
Posted by: Laura | September 22, 2011 at 09:34 AM
Lovely frolicking pieces, Laura!
Posted by: marly | September 19, 2011 at 09:14 PM
I love these paintings, such beautiful colours and movement.
Posted by: Porthcothan | September 18, 2011 at 05:09 PM
these are wonderful, very reminiscent of peacock feathers to my eye.
Posted by: pete bangs | September 15, 2011 at 09:09 AM
Yes, it is often more thought provoking when there is a healthy dollop of imagination injected in to a painting! I love these lively pieces :0)
Posted by: Sandra | September 14, 2011 at 02:41 PM
Yes, it's exciting, isn't it? So much energy in these new pieces, and I like not only their free, gestural quality but also the interplay of cool and warm moving backward and forward. They remind me, oddly, of looking through a microscope at samples of pond water - the layers of intricate detail that you pass through as you change the focus, each one containing a whole world. Have a great trip! We'll compare notes when we both get back!
Posted by: Beth | September 14, 2011 at 11:19 AM