The Feelings I cultivate

Stopping into Jake's, not for coffee or the great bagel I love beginning my day with, but for the sense of being part of something. That "being part of the Jake's neighborhood" feeling. Nan, Joe, Katie, Char and all the people at Jake's are part of a feeling of family. The feeling I get at Jake's I  carry with me into the studio. This beginning of each day is a part of each painting. Mary, handing me my warm bagel wrapped in foil with a napkin wishing me a great day, lightens my step. As does Nan, making sure there is fresh German Chocolate coffee for my friend George and I. I pick up energy from the little things around me each day. From the teen rushing over to help me in the door when my arms are full, to my ducks greeting me as I leave the studio at night. I know it's the corn in my pockets the ducks want, yet still they bring me a smile. 

Studio painting carries me to a world that I want others to see. That landscape that lightens a collectors world begins with a feeling I have, that I cultivate. I no longer have to go out painting to bring the feel of the landscape to me. I still love going for walks in the woods and exploring farms with great country aromas. I need more exercise these days so I do more walking and less sitting under a tree painting. I take in what I see as I walk and hope to hold it in my mind till I need it. 

Others do not see what I see in my studio. For me it's a place where I can mind travel, and time travel. The lovely ladies that pose in my studio become friends resting under apple trees sharing stories with other friends, as I become a bird resting on a branch or a father looking down from the porch. I love taking these trips while painting. I smile as I bring Kim to life in my world. Painting is a total mind set for me; sitting in a park or in front of my studio easel painting, it is what is in my mind that affects my work most of all.

Kim, Jordan, Sylvia, and Chenoa have carried me out to other ideas of wonder, and respect. The respect is for who they are as individuals and where they come from. The wonder is from the dreams they share with me. More than beautiful bodies, these ladies are hopes and dreams inspiring me to capture more than their physical forms. These ladies add to the feelings I pick up at Jake's, I build on being a part of Jordan's family and seeing Chenoa's kids on Facebook. I bring everything to every painting and drawing I create. Jordan's daughter Josephine, hearing her first church bell, is part of the still-life I paint. Adrienne's musings and texts are part of the sketches I do, seeing her smile and seeing her at the bakery she works at is now part of my paintings. 

In my studio I plan how to create more than a painting, I plan out how to make every painting special, even those I have painted before.

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May Greens Surround Me (Pining for Spring)

May greens surround me. Still rich with spring growth, the woods challenge me to capture the quiet awakening of nature from it's winters sleep. Leaves still unfolding and buds pushing up and out from the bed of Autumn leaves. I have my subject before me, a pool of crystal clear water trapped off from the flowing Fox River by a thin strip of land. Surrounded by old trees with their roots exposed from high-water times, the pond is cool and dark under the canopy of spreading branches. Greens are rich in various hues, some yellowish-green while others are near blue.  Through the trees is the silver sheen of the river rushing by carrying clouds and blue sky along in its ever-moving waters. The distant shore is awash in morning sunlight calling for paler yellows to be laid out on my palette. Reds of autumn are left in their tubs - only Alizarin Crimson makes it to my palette to add richness to near black tree trunks. 

 A robin flutters down to snare an unsupecting worm that lingered too long feasting on the moist leaves of autumn. Nature, the master of recycling, provides for all. The still water of the pond has ducks sleeping peacefully among the tangle of tree roots. I sketch out the roots and the ducks onto my canvas before they decide to leave. I'm on my way, though never really sure where to begin a painting when out there in the wild. Only when something truly strikes me do I jump into painting. Interplay of darks and lights brings out the stillness of the pond. Ducks ready for breakfast fly off only after I have them in my painting.

It's a great feeling to accomplish little things like that. The ducks were an unexpected treat. Now I'm free to relax and take my time with the rest of the painting. Two hours pass and I am in my van with half a great painting on the passenger seat as I leave my favorite park. Rewarding myself with a chocolate shake, I head to my studio to finish out the day working from a live model.  Life is good.