Before I say another thing I want to tell you just how grateful I have been for your wonderful and heartfelt reactions to my sad announcement that my friend had died. There are some people we encounter who actually define our lives by their presence in the world. Inger was and is one of those very rare individuals.
I finished this painting a couple of weeks ago and had been planning to show it to you in a new post at the time. Now it's the first and only thing I have available to show you at all so that's what I'll do. It's far from one of my best efforts but, even though the message isn't clear (even to me), it at least changed in mood from the drawing done in late summer when I was thinking about reflections. This one is more about the distractions that appear just as we're on the cusp of some momentous understanding. It seems to me that our lives are often more about the little things that distract us while we imagine we're making our way to larger goals.
There have been many interesting developments these past weeks in the world at large and I'm sure Crow will have a few things to say when he returns. Meanwhile, I'll gather my thoughts and my pencils and will make an effort to be verbal again.
Much love to you all.
♡
I love the painting Susan
ReplyDeletewelcome back! "not one of my best efforts". sigh. if my best were as good as your worst i'd be very full of myself over it. been listening to weather reports of the east coast these last weeks and thinking of you, and wishing you warm dry socks.
ReplyDeleteLovely work, Susan, and I think she looks like your Inger. It's a good thing we can escape into our art when those "interesting developments" get too depressing to think about.
ReplyDeleteshe is gorgeous! I will return tomorrow when I can type! xo
ReplyDelete& are the little things merely facets of those larger goals, but that's much too philosophical for me, so I'll just say that I completely dig the way the painting turned out.
ReplyDeleteI like Randall's comment! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the sprites, if that is what they are called. I am already quite fond of this painting, Susan.
About to have another look at it, in fact.
Looking forward to Crow's ruminations. Perk! Rum! ;-)
I look forward to an update from Crow.
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard
Is she tuning out the natural beauty of the world around her because her troubles have overwhelmed her? Is she contemplating the universe or worrying about her fate in this life? Is she an extension of yourself or us any of us, especially me? :)
ReplyDeleteI hope that you are feeling better Susan. Peace and love for you sweet one!
jams - Good.. and I hope you're feeling better.
ReplyDeletegfid - Nice to see you again too. Well, I can't play any musical instruments so there you go. The weather's been okay or we avoided the worst except for one day when we were at the furthest point of that day's walk. The umbrellas didn't work and it took two days for my shoes to dry.
marja-leena - I think her serenity was always kind of iconic for me. Drawing portraits of Crow is always the most enjoyable exercise when either of us gets 'exercised'.
linda - I'm glad you like her. What I tried this time was working with a very limited palette just to see what would happen.
randal - Of course they are, as you well know. I'm glad you like the painting.
gina - Me too :-)
The painting became more static than I'd first envisioned it being but it is okay. Sometimes it takes me a while to warm to one being what it is and not something else.
Crow has been keeping himself 'occupied'.
ol'buzzard - Me too.
liberality - My working idea was far simpler and that was merely that she was having trouble focusing on keeping a quiet mind. That's a problem I run into quite often.
I'm feeling much better but still can't quite believe she's not there to talk to anymore. If we were having a race it was one I didn't want her to win.
Thank you for the sweet words.
ok... so iffen it weren't one of your best efforts... then it was just one of your excellent ones.. instead of your really really excellent ones... so maybe it is not fit for a vatican chapel ceiling or nothing, but I sure would putz it on my wall!!! just sayin.
ReplyDeleteI love the painting. As usual you take me places I like to go when I look at your artwork. Whimsical, but more - much more.
ReplyDeleteokjimm - Come to think of it I'd really hate having to reproduce it a hundred times its current size while lying on my back 100 feet above a marble floor. Never mind having the Pope yell at me all the while..
ReplyDeletenancy - I'm always surprised at the characters who turn up too. Guess that's why I keep painting them.
well finally...geez if it's not one thing it's another..hoping life is treating you more kindly these past few days but i know it won't feel normal, if not for a long long time. as for this lovely little painting, your limited palette is perfect and i could see her with a lot more color as well...i love the little sprites/fairy people/little people and wondered why the one is not with pantaloons but the others were? just idle wonders..... how big is this painting?
ReplyDeletei think she reflects your mood with winter coming on, she looks like she is a bit sleepy/miffed or maybe just tired of sitting there with little people on her! anyway susan, as always, she is very special no matter what her expression might say...it says 'something' and that's wonderful in itself. xox and peace of heart, my friend.
linda - It seems you caught what was supposed to be the little joke of this piece and that's the fact the little guy has refused to put his trousers on but he's quite pleased with his boots. At this point I've run out of patience for painting a picture larger than one that will fit on a 10x14 hot pressed sheet. The colors are actually richer in the original because it seemed the scanner couldn't see all the shades of green but I decided this was a close enough facsimile. All in all it came out looking much more static than I'd hoped but when I look at the original version of her she is more like a statue than real and perhaps that says something unintended too.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing okay but still feeling a bit lost sometimes. It helps a lot to know you're thinking of me.
xoxo
I'll be here enjoying the distraction of that painting for a while.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to come by again and say how much I love how the tree is carved to make a seat for the woman. Or was it a force of nature she took advantage of?
ReplyDeletexxoo
lisa - Stop dawdling and get back to that book.
ReplyDeletegina - I liked that bit too. I like to think it had grown that way as a nice seating arrangement for a mature dryad.