Painting #45 of my Painting a Day project. In Mr. Bluebird's Neighborhood, Spring is arriving soon. From Mr. Bluebird's perch upon on tall dried weed, he can see the patterns that farming makes on the land. Soon these fields will be bustling with human activity as spring planting gets underway.

I've been intrigued with aerial views lately. Maybe my sub-conscious telling me to step back and look at the big picture instead of getting caught up in the minutia of life. At any rate, looking out the window on countless airplane trips seems to have etched the patterns of the earth below into my psyche. I've tried capturing the images with my camera but the resulting photos never look the way my mind has recorded it.

Mr. Bluebird's Neighborhood is mostly rural, reminiscent of the view from above when flying into or out of the Denver airport. Fertile and fallow fields intersected  and cross-hatched by county roads, farm roads, irrigation ditches, the circular patterns of pivots, scattered buildings, water storage tanks and occasional trees.

Sunday afternoon my husband noticed four bright blue birds contrasting against the dead grass ochre expanse of our horse pasture. They perched on the field fencing, then fluttered down into the grass. We watched them for quite awhile, enjoying the flashes of color in an otherwise drab late winter landscape.

This little snippet of optimism made us look closer for signs of Spring: Tender shoots of grass poking up through the snow-softened ground, the melodic call of a phoebe, the aroma of damp earth rising in the warmth of the afternoon sun. We may get hit with one more snowstorm - our traditional mid March storm - but the worst of winter is over. The seeds that were scattered and sown last Fall are awakening from their deep slumber, pushing themselves upward to the light.

So too, we awaken, stiff from the inactivity of winter, our spirits stirring, stretching toward the promise of a new beginning. Yes, in Mr. Bluebird's Neighborhood, Spring is arriving soon.

Interesting facts about Mountain Bluebirds:

They are distinguished from the other varieties of bluebirds by their lack of a russet colored breast. This species has longer wings and a more graceful, swallow-like flight than the Eastern Bluebird. Mountain Bluebirds usually travel in small parties. They frequently hover low over the ground and drop down to catch insects, or dart out from a branch, flycatcher fashion, and then return to another perch. Click here to hear the song of the Mountain Bluebird.

Painting #44 - This is a painting I did as a practice for the Quick Draw at the Western Spirit Art Show on Saturday, March 6. That painting was the highest bid Quick Draw painting, and was sold for $425 in a live auction. The price for this piece will be $225 until 3/11, when it will go to my gallery price.

I call this one Daybreak on the Land because the pattern of colors on the buffalo's back remind me of a sunrise over mountains. The Morning Star shines brightly on the bufflo's head as the night stars twinkle and fade in the approaching light of the sun.

Painting #43 A Sandhill Crane carefully balances on stilt legs, reminding us of the delicate balance of Nature. Water, land, sun, air, plants, animals (including humans)...all things must co-exist in harmony.

Crane symbolizes longevity and creation through focus. It's cycle of power is year round, and its optimum time is daylight. As a bird of water, Crane symbolizes the feminine energy in the Universe. It is also a symbol of wildlife conservation as it portends the recovery of what is nearly extinct.

I often see huge flocks of sandhill cranes as I drive the I-80 corridor between Cheyenne, WY and Lincoln, NE. I am always amazed by the sheer number of these somehow primitive looking birds. I mostly see them as they graze the farmland that lines the highway through Nebraska.

I am nearing the end of my 52 paintings - and have to say it has been a great experience. Although I took longer than I had originally intended, I am really amazed that I was able to paint nearly every day. Although most of the paintings have been small (under 6x8) I was also able to complete two 12x12 paintings, a 10x10 and a 9x12. Many of the paintings I've done will be studies for larger paintings.

I was asked if I will continue with my daily paintings when I've finished up with the 52. Most likely I will, although I think I'll also do some more larger paintings - I miss the physicality of painting large.

Have you ever stood in a line at Disneyland – you know, the kind of line that snakes back and forth and doubles up on itself? The kind where the ride is 20 feet away, but you have to move through a mile of line to get there?. The waiting lines at Disneyland are engineered to trick you into believing the wait will be a short one. It is not until you have invested 15 minutes or so that you realize it is longer – MUCH longer – than you first believed. But by now you are stuck. There is no easy way to turn back. Plus, you hold out hope that THIS will be the last turn!

Learning to paint feels a bit like this. When you first start out, you are enamored with what you do, and feel like the “line” that leads to being an accomplished artist will be a short one. So you commit to the line and paint. And paint. And paint. And although each painting brings you closer, just when you think maybe you are getting pretty good, the line doubles back, and you feel like you are starting all over.

When I started my Painting a Day project, I knew that I needed to get a lot of painting under my belt if I was going to go beyond where I am now. There are no shortcuts to becoming a great painter. Like anything else, if you wish to excel, you’ve got to put in the time. I understood this. What I didn’t understand was that by painting everyday, the highs and lows become compressed. Although I’ve been happy with many of the paintings I’ve produced, I am equally dissatisfied. I want to do better. Like an Olympic athlete, I want to land the triple toe loop perfectly, I want to have the fastest, cleanest slalom run.

Maybe some of my dissatisfaction comes from not getting into a show, or not making a sale in a gallery. The external affirmations are important. But mostly the dissatisfaction comes from within – from the internal coach who pushes me and says I’ll have to do better than that if I want to come home with the gold.

Whether you are in the line at Disneyland, or are the athlete practicing to be the best,or the artist pushing herself to excel – there are times when you want to give up. You are tired, discouraged, hurt and frustrated. You’ve invested so much of yourself and you think, “Can I do this? Is it worth it to continue?”

We really don’t know the answer to that. Will we like the ride? Will we be athletic enough to jump the highest or run the fastest? Do we have the talent to create a great piece of art? We don’t know. We can’t know. Unless we stay in line, pick ourselves up when we fall, paint another painting. Push ourselves to persevere, do a little better today than we did yesterday. Accept the disappointments and move on. And be grateful for each bit of progress we make.

"Water Over the Dam" is a work-in-progress. To see all my daily paintings, click here.

Painting #37. I challenged myself on this painting to paint with a very grayed down, subtle palette. I wanted to give the feeling of the moose being camouflaged.

Painting with gray tones proved to be very challenging - I tend to want to brighten everything up! But I felt this young female moose needed to stay somewhat hidden, as a reminder that sometimes we need to lay low and observe, out of the spot light. When moose comes into your life, it is an invitation to explore new depths in your environment - to be still and observe.

When I was a child and spent most of my non-structured hours exploring the acres and acres of woods behind our house, I learned that I could make myself invisible by sitting very still - nestled under the branches of the young trees in the woods. After I'd slowed my breathing down to match the woods, I'd be rewarded by close visitations with crows. blue jays, sparrows, squirrels, chipmunks and occasionally a skunk, deer or fox. And if I looked closely, I could watch the comings and goings of beetles, ants and bees. I'd be thrilled when a snake or salamander came to call.

In my childish mind, I imagined all these creatures to be my friends. I had conversations and learned much about the natural world. I don't remember how old I was when I stopped visiting the woods on a regular basis. When I traded the quiet of the forest for the noise of the mechanical world. When I got sucked into artificial time and the chaotic energy of "reality." But the reality of cars, phones, television and 9-5 has never resonated with me. I am, and always will be, a nature girl at heart.

Painting #35 of my Painting A Day project.  I wrote a poem about this painting, dedicated to strong and proud women who want to break free from whatever cage they are in...and run free.







.




She really didn't need
A Man on her back;
She was running free.

Strong. Capable. Warrior.
Traveling her own Path.
Swimming in her own Sea.

But then He offered her
An apple and a bed
And a cage. For Safety.

This piece was completed for the virtual pARTy from a photograph by Kimberly Kelly Santini.

This is the second version of this painting, the first completed, overworked, wiped out and begun again, this time with more attention to the drawing. I ended up doing a contour drawing, and working from that design. I'm happy with the results - very abstracted but still recognizable. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the first version - it was actually quite good, lots of loose brushwork. But then I got obsessed with the EYE and ended up with a painting of a crude EYE with lovely brushwork around it. Tried "fixing" but ended up making things worse. So out came the old brush, the Gamblin oderless turp, the cotton painter's rag. And goodbye 1-1/2 hours of work.

So I took a quick break, and started over with the contour drawing and then added in value and colors. When the figure of a man appeared in the upper right corner, the title of the painting and the poem all came to me instantly.

Here is the photograph of a Bashkir Curly by Kimberly Kelly Santini:


Here is my second attempt, initial contour drawing:

Painting # 34. Ok. So I'll admit it. This one is a bit, uh...weird. But this is what happens when I go into the studio to paint after a long day. I had no idea what to paint. So I just started. This particular piece started out as a bird, then a landscape with large eggs (don't ask) and then a very simple landscape, and then this.

Painting #33. When Coyote Flashes Red, She Can Be Quite Formidable. Coyote teaches us to flash red when needed, to shape-shift, to be adaptable, to be formidable. To retreat when it is prudent. To learn from others. To form alliances. And to be willing to walk alone if necessary.

I've gotten a bit derailed in my Painting a Day project with life events - but am managing to complete about 5 new paintings a week. I continue to be amazed by how the discipline of going into the studio nearly every day and working on a painting start to finish has improved my skills and helped me have the confidence to take risks. I am really enjoying the small canvases - they are not so daunting as a large canvas, yet the same thought processes that go into a larger painting are still here in the miniature.

One of the challenges has been to come up with enough reference material - I like to have several photographs to start with because I'm usually not sure until I am actually in the studio with the canvas secure on the easel, my palette laid out, music cranked up and mind cleared of the day's clutter what I will paint. I usually just start flipping through my references until something hits me. Then I start painting!

I created this piece to enter in to the Women Artists of the West show. This is one of those paintings that seemed to paint itself. I think all the Daily Paintings have kept me loose and "warmed up." I started this on Saturday and worked on it an hour or so, then mostly finished it on Sunday, except for adding a little more color to the Moose's face on Monday. One of the things my daily paintings have taught me is to be somewhat fearless in my application of paint. Within this painting are passages of transparent paint, which drip and run like watercolors, and then thicker passages of opaque paint creating texture and interest. I decided to go with a rather limited palette, keeping the colors to the blue/green side except for the moose's antlers.

According to Ted Andrew's "Animal Speak," the moose is one of the most ancient and unique of the power totems. When Moose appears in your life, it is a special, sacred gift. The moose has a close association with water, which is the primal symbol of the feminine forces of the universe. The Penobscot Indians of Maine tell the story of how moose was once a whale, and the MicMacs of Nova Scotia tell how when moose is too persistently hunted, it returns to the sea. This association with water and sea is important: the sea is the point from which all life begins and to which all life returns. The antlers of the Bull Moose are like spiritual antenae, tuning in to the life force of creative energies.

Magic Waters pays homage to the association of moose with feminine energy and water. Although he browses the grasses of a fresh water lake, the lake flows off into the distance, eventually finding its way back to the source: the Sea.

Painting #27 of my Painting a Day project. I've been seeing a lot of foxes lately, so figured this was a good time to paint one! According to Ted Andrew's in his book, Animal Speak, there are 21 species of fox in the world. The Number 21 Tarot card is the World, a card that reflects a new world opening up; a beginning of a new creation process. Number 21 is also special to me as it is my birth day!

Foxes embody feminine energy and are masters at camouflage. Their realm is the "between times" of dusk and dawn, and they are said to be shapeshifters. Although they are members of the canine family, foxes are very cat-like in their behavior. They mate for life, but often spend long periods of time apart - up to five months, when the female has kits in the den. If you've ever heard a fox bark, it is a sound you never forget, Click here to listen.