New Painting,"The Valley in the Middle of My Soul"

The Valley of the Middle of My Soul

30" x 40" x 1.5"d

Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas

Available

" A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu

This painting began as a study for a larger commissioned painting. I was able to play with the colors and textures and movements that felt right instead of worrying what was manifesting itself on the canvas met the requirements of the Client. In a sense, it came from a more authentic place. It evolved through me, flowed from somewhere in the valley of the middle of my soul...hence the title.

Detail

It struck me how much significance this piece had in and of itself. It is a part of the journey, and the journey itself is home.The path to enlightenment--and more practically, the path to mental, physical, and spiritual peace--begins, like most journeys, with a leap of faith. Through philosophical enquiry of just a basic surrendering of something we refer to as "ego," we may take the first steps of learning.

The Great Blizzard of 2011, a Testimony to True Love

It's snowing in Dallas. This happens once in a blue moon and the city goes haywire. Snow on top of ice is not something The Big D was designed to handle. We are on Day 4 of cancelled school and stir-craziness has set in but we are also enjoying the coziness of being together imposed by conditions beyond our control.  I have gotten out once to go to the grocery store (which was nearly ransacked b/c no trucks have been able to get in) and thank goodness Exhale has been open because the zen I derive from my yoga practice and wonderful teacher is largely contributing to my calmness and good spirits this week. My little A loves the snow, but her two younger brothers can't get away from the cold stuff fast enough.  I must admit, I'm with them.



Still painting away when I can, but the little space heater in my garage art studio lovingly referred to by me and my students as "Mr. Toasty" just can't hack it. I have moved a bunch of stuff inside to our dining room, which my neat-freak adorably OCD husband is really having hard time digesting. Here is a picture of a bunch of new works in progress. I am a bit schizophrenic in my process, often vacillating between 5-7 pieces at a time because I work in layers and each one needs to dry. 

Mr. D has yet to ask me to move it, b/c he knows I am working on commissions with Valentine's deadlines, but I see him shuffle by it and wince...as if the paintings and supplies are physically hurting him by being in our space.  If that's not a testament to true love, I don't know what is.

"Turn down the noise.  Reduce the speed.  Be like the somnolent bears, or those other animals that slow down 

and almost die in the cold season.  Let it be the way it is.  The magic is there in its power."

-   Henry Mitchell  

The New Digs

The studio from the outside is above, and then inside is below:



Finally, we have unpacked the last of the boxes and are settled in our new home! It feels indescribably right here, and I am amazed that everything has worked out for our family...after months and months and MONTHS of searching, we found the home that is perfect for us. And the art studio is a perfect new space. It's bigger, brighter, and even has a "children's area" and a "mommy area", and I have so enjoyed working side by side with my two toddlers as we create in our new space together.

When I first began to paint, I named my art studio Utopia Pkwy. Art Studio. Webster's dictionary defines the word "utopia" as an "ideally perfect place", which is exactly where I feel I am when I'm working in the studio. Plus, Utopia Pkwy. was the actual street name of where Joseph Cornell, one of my favorite artists, grew up. I feel like Utopia Pkwy. Art Studio is growing as I am, and this name that is so much a part of my identity as an artist transfers well to my new workspace.