My Well Loved Easel

While in my studio this past week, I scanned the room, taking in all that surrounded me… paints, brushes, canvases and more. These are the things that not only fill the space but fill me up with such good feelings. Then my eyes fell on the easel, my easel, which has traveled with me through the years. It traveled cross country when I moved from New York to California, and has become a centerpiece in each studio space through the years.

I was young, not long out of college. I walked into a Salvation Army store and there before me sat the easel of my dreams. It was as if there was nothing else in the store. I held my breath when I asked how much it cost. At the time, similar easels could go for a few hundred dollars. The woman answered emphatically, “What is it!? You can have it for 15 dollars if you can get it out of here!” I paid her SO fast and although I don’t remember telling her what it was, I probably did. This was now my easel!! I had just been given an amazing gift from the Universe at a price I could easily afford!

This week was the first time since then that I began to think of the life the easel had before it became mine. It clearly had a well used history. The wood was worn and showed signs of wear. I’d like to believe it was as well loved then as it has been in all these years with me. And now I am asking myself… How and why did it find its way into a used furniture store? What happened to the artist who had it before me?… but wait! Was it even owned by an artist? It’s been so many years that I’m not sure what paint marks are mine and what was here from before me.

Here’s what I can be sure of: This easel has been loved and cherished for well over 40 years now. It is an important part of my art history and I am so very grateful to have it in my life. I am thankful to whomever chose to give it up and to the woman who didn’t know this great piece was an easel.

What has traveled with you for a good part of your life… something that shares a long history with you and is beautifully woven into the tapestry of this lifetime of yours?

A Week with Circles

During the past week I completed 6 small circle paintings. I wanted these to serve as a continuation of the themes and images that developed during the sketchbook challenge. As I began this series, my focus was on the concepts of wholeness and unity represented by the circular form.

I split the sheet into six segments for six individual paintings to be completed one a day. The color palette was to stay pretty much the same throughout. Although it was unplanned, their proximity to one another had an influence on the adjacent pieces.

I want to continue this exploration on paper before shifting to canvas.

A Frustrating Day in the Studio

I don’t have too many frustrating days in the studio. I guess you can say, I am spoiled. I’m used to getting an idea and playing with it, getting into a flow and experiencing the process as the guidance comes easily and the joy of creating fills the studio. But I had a day that was unlike any other.

My first effort just didn’t come together at all! The focus was on a new way of working with canvas cloth. I was feeling excited and looking forward to waking up and exploring an idea I’ve thought about for a couple of years. This was going to be the day I finally brought it into physical form. (no great expectation there!!)

After a couple of hours of nothing happening, I moved onto a variation on the original idea (plan B). It too was a no go. I could not seem to get anything off the ground. So I let it all go and went for a whole new focus, working on paper rather than canvas. (Plan C?) But, still wrestling with the earlier goal, I soon found myself returning to try out another approach.

What a yo-yo experience!! Although I seemed to have moved the project a step forward, once again the idea had no traction. Luckily, it was time to meet a friend for a walk. That forced me to step aside and step out of the studio. In preparing to leave the house, I suddenly came up with an ideal alternative project. It became easy to drop all the plans I had for the day and turn my attention to a totally different focus.

“The Merge” - a painting in process

That night I prepared 5 canvases with cloth and was ready to begin painting the first in the series the next morning. It may have been a frustrating day but a new series was born and the steps I took and my willingness to keep trying became the stepping stones for work that will come together in the future.