Hearts in the Art

“Love Sound” 6” x 6” mixed media on canvas. (Available through the Hearts for the Arts fundraiser.)

“Love Sound” in process.

As young children, we are introduced to the shape of the heart. It is recognized throughout the world as a symbol for love. I’m not normally one who paints hearts or adds the heart shape in my artwork. But… somehow, in the past couple of months I have produced two paintings with cloth hearts sewn into the design. Now that Valentine’s Day is only days away, I thought I would share them here.

Both paintings are part of the series of Ancient Wisdom Minis, designed around a quote from Kabir that includes a heart reference. (Kabir was a 15th century poet and mystic.) The canvases in the series are small (6” x 6”) acrylic paintings featuring words of wisdom from the past. The first step in the process is to cut, fray, and prepare the raw canvas that will create texture and form the focal point for the painting.

“Lift the Veil” 6” x 6” mixed media on canvas. SOLD

“Love Sound” is currently part of the Hearts for the Arts fundraiser being held at Artisans Gallery, in downtown Santa Cruz (details below). It displays the following quote: “The flute of the infinite is played without ceasing, and it’s sound is love.” ~Kabir.

“Lift the Veil” features these words: “Lift the veil that obscures the heart, and there you will find what you are looking for.” ~Kabir

The 2020 Hearts for the Arts fundraiser benefits the Santa Cruz Arts Council’s arts education programs (SPECTRA and Mariposa Arts). The donated works are currently on display at Artisans as part of a silent auction for the first 13 days in February (bidding begins on February 1st and closes on February 13th).

For those in the area: The auction will be part of the First Friday Art Tour on February 7th and the Arts Council will host an Artists’ Reception from 3-5 on Sunday, February 9th.

I plan to be there on Sunday. Maybe I’ll see you there!!

Wisdom of Kabir

Ancient Wisdom Mini series

A couple of weeks ago, I began a new mini series as part of a seven day Instagram art challenge established by the wonderful, Tara Leaver. I decided to use the week to step back into playing with canvas after a half year intermission of just creating works on paper. After considering a few other project ideas, I chose to paint 6” x 6” acrylic paintings, first prepared with cut and frayed canvas cloth, and each one featuring a short quote from the 15th century mystic and poet, Kabir.

The process combines the Ancient Wisdom and text of the Transcriptions series along with the use of cloth in the Canvas on Canvas paintings.

The prepared canvases before they are painted.

This project was perfect to get me back into my flow again and reconnect with stretched and raw canvas… by cutting it, shaping it, and stringifying it before any paint touches the surface. (In case you’re wondering, stringifying is not a word but it perfectly describes what I love to do with raw canvas.)

“The Release” 6” x 6” mixed media on canvas

Since creating the six small canvases for the mini challenge, I’ve completed two more and I'm confident I'll be adding to the Ancient Wisdom series with larger pieces. I’ve also begun to collect the words of those who have touched the hearts of generations through the centuries… Rumi and Hafez to name a couple. I'm looking forward to seeing what unfolds from here.

The Ancient Wisdom Minis can be found at the Canvas on Canvas gallery on my website.

And… Check Out the art created by the other participants of the 7 day mini series. Tara Leaver did a great job of posting the work on her blog.