Circle Trios

“Expansive” 8” x 10” acrylic mixed media on canvas

“Meditations No. 6” 4-1/2” x 6”. Mixed media on paper

As I recently looked back on my use of Circles over the years, I noticed how often I’ve created works with three circles in a row. The imagery of the three circles is so reminiscent of a stack of stones and the beauty of the way they connect.

Where the circular shape, in itself, carries a simplistic expression of peace and wholeness, the threesome seems to portray a bit of drama. Like the stones, the image seems to have the unsettling possibility of looking like it could topple over.

Recent paintings and sketchbook pages with the image of the 3 circles.

You may also be interested in: The Circle: a Meaningful Symbol

The Circle: A Meaningful Symbol

Some of the circles that have shown up in my art in the past 1-1/2 years.

Day 15 of 30 day sketchbook project

The circle has been a reoccurring theme in my artwork through the years. My first “real” painting that established my own artistic style, back in high school, was designed around two overlapping circles. Since then, the shape has shown up in different forms and in a number of series of paintings… mandalas and landscapes, in paint and collage, as closed circles and open.

Last summer, during the 30 day sketchbook challenge, I became reacquainted with this meaningful shape and all it can represent. I went from playing with a shape to connecting with it on a much deeper level. And with that, a bridge was created between my recent artwork and the work of the past. I felt empowered by a renewal of meaning in having these circles appear in my paintings.

Happy Birthday in Phoenician - acrylic mixed media on paper. 6” x 9”

The symbol of the circle holds so much meaning. Circles are our connection to the whole within us and to the whole of humanity, to all living things… the circle of life… our Oneness.

This unending  shape without a beginning and end, has been used by cultures throughout time. It is thought of as a sacred symbol and used to symbolize the cosmos and heaven. Circles have been used to represent the cycles of life, the seasons, and the unending nature of time itself.

I’ve found both comfort and meaning in this reintegration of circles into my artwork. It is likely to be a recurring element in the future as in the past.

Meditations #1 - acrylic mixed media on paper. 4-1/2” x 6”

“Meditations No. 4” 4-1/2” x 6”. Mixed media on paper

Series of Transition

“Release” 8” x 10” acrylic mixed media on canvas

I’ve begun a series of small paintings that seem to be a bridge between where I’ve been and where I’m headed. As a group, they’ve become transition pieces, with each painting carrying me closer to where I want to be. My creative explorations of the past couple of years have introduced me to a wide range of artistic experiences. Now it’s time to return to the work I feel most connected to.

“Cycles” 8” x 10” acrylic mixed media on canvas

The Inspiration: I’ve been reading the Artist’s Rule, a book that combines an internal exploration of monastic practices and art practice. With each chapter, I’ve designated a concept, with one word for what’s coming up for me on those pages. Then I create a small painting in response. So far I’ve completed 6 chapters of the 12, with the idea of devoting one week to the concept, artwork, writings, and reflections on each chapter. I’m getting so much out of this experience and the creation of the series has become a journey in itself.

Since these paintings came to life as a tangent of the prior series of Elements, they will join that series as something of a larger body of work. My recent paintings have elements of this past year’s experiences and some of the old is beginning to show up.

You may also be interested in:
My Artist’s Path: in Words and On Canvas
Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages

“Now” 8” x 10” acrylic mixed media on canvas

“Essence” 8” x 10” acrylic mixed media on canvas

My Artist's Path: in Words and on Canvas

“Path” 8” x 10”. Acrylic, papers, cloth, pencil, gesso on canvas

This three stanza poem and the concepts behind the words were the inspiration for the painting I share here. “Path” is the fourth in a group of small works inspired by one of the chapters in the book, Artist’s Rule by Christine Valters Paintner. After reading a chapter, I focus on a specific concept, designate a single word to associate with it, and then create a painting with that focus in mind. This canvas was created to reflect something of the give and take during the creative process; between myself, the creation, and in collaboration with the Divine whispers. It becomes a beautiful dance.

Although I usually incorporate the words of others in my paintings, I’ve chosen to include a quote of my own words in this one. The handwritten words of the first stanza of this poem are barely seen within the painting. Here is the full poem:

“Path” a detail closeup

“There is a beautiful dance
Between the creative spark and the creation
Listening to the messages and direction
This is my artist’s path

Between the creative spark and the creation
Myself as an ongoing work in progress
This is my artist’s path
Becoming an active and visual process in creating me

Myself as an ongoing work in progress
Listening to the messages and direction
Becoming an active and visual process in creating me
There is a beautiful dance”

“Path” a detail closeup

“Path” a detail closeup of texture

You may also be interested in: Series of Transition
Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages

Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages

When I completed the Concertina Sketchbook project, my head was filled with ideas for two new painting series that delighted my heart. I expected to dive right into the new work. Instead, I continued to play with the images that came together on the pages of that concertina. In the past couple of months, my focus has been on inviting inspiration from that sketchbook before moving forward into the new projects. My intention was to gain greater comfort and flow with the concertina processes in order to combine my old methods with the new.

First, I played with similar materials and techniques on paper and completed four studies. I chose a few of the sketchbook pages for reference and began laying down similar marks, elements, and collage pieces, followed by paint.

2nd of four works on paper

3rd of four works on paper

4th of four works on paper

“Renewal” Acrylic, paper, pencils, and cloth on canvas. 11” x 14”

Then I moved onto canvas and began a small series of paintings, called Elements, to explore similar marks, shapes, and materials. Currently, four have been completed with the 5th in process. I’m not sure how much further I will take this series since I haven’t made a real commitment to it. I’m just taking one step at a time.

I’m thrilled to be working on canvas once again (after spending so much time on the sketchbook and the above works on paper).

Sometime soon, I will move on to play with the larger body of work that’s been waiting in the wings. It’s been waking me up each morning with images and ideas. But at the moment, I’m willing to see what develops from here.

“Dichotomy” Acrylic, ink, paper, pencils, and cloth on canvas. 11” x 14”

“Levels” Acrylic, ink, paper, pencils, and cloth on canvas. 11” x 14”

“Synchronicity” Acrylic, ink, paper, pencils, and cloth on canvas. 11” x 14”

You may also be interested in: Series of Transition

Meditation on Rain

A section of one of the Morning Meditation Paintings (No. 10)

I was in the middle of meditating (after waking up way too early) when the rain began to come down so powerfully hard and loud. I had just been in that place within me where I often find myself… surrounded by the landscape yet above the landscape, unfettered by gravity, rising above but somehow merged with the whole of oneness energy. A peaceful, whole, safe, oneness.

Then it began to pour and I had a momentary question that arose… of being with the sound of the rain or going back to where I was. The answer was, the sound is the now, in this moment. The earlier moments were in that oneness but now the whole was in the sound. The sound as a sound without meaning or expectation. Can I separate the sound of the rain from my years of understanding of what that sound means? Can I separate the sound from the visuals I carry of what is happening outside the room’s French doors… on the deck? On the roof? Am I able to just be with the sound without the anticipation of the raindrops to come immediately after this very moment of sound? And the next? Am I able to experience this moment without my knowledge of what rain is, the benefits of what it can do for the earth, and separate from my personal history with rain?

There was nothing to think of, to understand, to know about the rain except… In this moment it just is! Then the breath, the movement of my abdomen, and the sound of the rain merged into the moment.  The sound was no longer separate but part of the whole of the now. Then an awareness of the feeling of the cloth from my shirt on my belly, at the furthest point of the outbreath, became part of the mix.

You may be interested in reading about the Morning Meditation Paintings.

A Process Story

“Ennobled” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

The experience of working on “Ennobled,” the 5th canvas in the Portals of Joy series, was a bit like maneuvering a boulder up an incline. All the while, I was able to experience these challenges with confidence and determination. It became an excellent exercise in creating and recreating, making changes, letting go and moving on.

“Ennobled” in process; initial color palette

I began the painting with a color palette that I found attractive but, it just wasn’t quite me. Once on the canvas it seemed goofy, like a Halloween candy wrapper. So I kept altering colors, one at a time, and adding textured papers to cover up some of the colors and create new ones. I found the process enjoyable, without frustration. I was able to draw on my confidence that each alteration would bring me closer to feeling as if I had made it my own. What a time consuming process it was! If I hadn’t been as focused on the unfolding experience of the process, I would not have been able to remain in the joy of creating.

“Ennobled” in process; at the start

Occasionally, a painting doesn’t flow as smoothly. Each time I find myself in that space, I have the gift of letting go and immersing myself in the painting process. I allow it to take as long as it takes, with no expectations and the willingness to continue to apply layer over layer, repainting areas one moment at a time. And with each alteration, I come closer to an image that will look back at me and say, “Ahhh… this is it.”

“Integral Flow” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

Once I had completed “Ennobled", I shifted my focus to the newly started 6th painting in the Portals of Joy series, titled “Integral Flow.” The experience of painting this one was nothing like the last one. The process flowed easily from beginning to end. Of course, I chose a color palette I was comfortable with from the start. And maybe that attributed to the feeling of lightness that surrounded the painting process.

I experienced joy as I created both of these two paintings but that experience was so very different… neither better than the other. And I am grateful for the wonderful diversity of both.

You may be interested in a recent post: New Series: Portals of Joy

New Series: Portals of Joy

“Scatter Joy” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

After filling many sketchbook pages with circles and grids, I finally admitted that my artwork was moving in a new direction. I needed to explore the use of geometric shapes and to get back to spending most of my time working on canvas. First I had to let go of my attachment to the Transcriptions series and allow a new creative flow to take shape. Once I explored the symbolism of this new focus, I was able to assign meaning to the paintings I would be creating and move forward with a new series. At the same time, joy had become more and more of a major influence in my life. This is how the Portals of Joy series came into being.

“Hooked on a Feeling” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

This series is a reaction to the year we have been experiencing and the times we now live in. These paintings are created in joy, with a focus on joy, and with the intention of putting more joy out into a world at a time when it’s needed. The paintings each have a quote about Joy embedded into the background of the design, under the paint, present yet not readable… as JOY seems to be more often held under the surface this year, although still present in our lives. The grid of colors represents us as individuals but part of the whole. And the presence of the circular shape represents the wholeness, oneness, and unity that we all share, beyond the illusion of what we are seeing in the outside world.

“Uplifted” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

“Ennobled” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

“Third Story” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

“Integral Flow” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

The Portals of Joy paintings will be available here at the Website on December 5th. Prints and products of this series are currently available at Pixels.com

You may be interested in a recent post… Joy: a Morning Practice
and for more on these paintings… A Process Story