Quiet Comforters

 

Quiet Comforters
oil on canvas
9x12 inch
purchase

"The real subject of every painting is light."

                                   --Claude Monet

Three 5x7 Paintings

Blue Light Night
oil on linen panel

                    Painting on this small size is a challenge.  They take so long because of their small size and my older eyes probably make it harder.  I often paint over things and wipe out things, constantly changing the composition and sometimes the entire color palette.  I have found these little paintings to be frustrating latley, so I did not order any more of this size of linen panel.  I am now painting on 8x10 on up to 20x24 canves, much more freeing!  

Chair Duo
oil on linen panel

Small Duo
oil on linen panel

 

I recently came across THIS video posted by The Netherlands Bach Society and have been obsessively listening to this music while I paint, cook, and wash dishes.  Thomas Bauer's voice is so beautiful. 

I do not always listen to classical, but this slow and mournful cadence speaks something comforting and deep into my soul during these quiet and contemplative weeks in Winter.

I am Going to Listen to Maira Kalman

 

Wichita, Kansas received a gift late in 2024 and that was a Barnes and Noble bookstore on the west side of town.  I personally have waited for this to happen since 2014.  It only took ten years. 

One of my first purchases, besides a grande size cafe peppermint mocha, was this beautiful book by Maira Kalman.  I adore her illustrations in ALL of her books and this one is now my new favorite.  If you look through the book and then start going through all the bits and pieces you can find about her on the internet, you may just find yourself wishing you could go out to lunch with her like I do.

This video says it all, in my opinion, about her, and her art, and her writing.  I am going to go live now while you watch this video titled How to Find Humor in Life's Absurdity.  Take care.

Lisa

Gregory Alan Isakov

 

It is always a gift to discover new music and when I found the music of Gregory Alan Isakov while living in Colorado, I knew I would be a devoted listener for a lifetime.  It was his album This Empty Northern Hemishere that lulled me off to sleep every night for six months during an intensive season of insomnia.  The soothing opening with Dandelion Wine worked every time and off to sleep I would drift.  I listened to that album in the car and in the studio and while cooking dinner.  It quickly became an all time favorite. 

I didn't think he could make an album that I would love as much as This Empty Northern Hemisphere, but when Appaloosa Bones came out, it was that album that became a go-to for me.  He came to Wichita, Kansas to play with his amazing band last February and I will never forget the experience of hearing all the songs so familiar to me spilling off the stage in layers of gorgeous sound.  

This video featuring the song The Fall which is the opening song on Appaloosa Bones, is so artistic and inspiring.  I hope you will enjoy it.  

Two New Paintings and Blue Inspiration

Girl and Dog With Red Collar
oil on panel 5x7 inch
available here

 

It is already May 15 and here in Kansas, our usual March and April rains are coming this month.

Cloudy Day Countryside
oil on panel 5x7 inch
available here

        

It has been wonderful because now the blue cornflowers are blooming.  Last year I threw wildflower seed into a sunny patch of lawn to try to transform it into a mini meadow.  It didn't do much last year, however this year it has matured.

Little Painting of a Big Strawberry
oil on linen panel 4x6 inch
available here

I have strawberries growing as well and so far I think I've eaten four and painted one.

:)

Three Nocturnal Paintings

 

House at Night With Clouds
oil on linen panel 6x4 inch
$85

Whether it is in photography or in paint, a night scene has a special quietness.  I love the challenge of capturing that quietness in a painting.

Nocturnal Reading
oil on linen panel
7x5 inch
$125

I'm still painting every morning, beginning just after the coffee is made.  I have four lights in my workspace.  This habit has inspired many "darker" paintings and night scenes.  All of these compositions are imaginative. 

Green Bedroom at Night
oil on linen panel 
7x5 inch
$125

These paintings can be purchased from me directly by contacting me or you can visit my Etsy shop.  Shipping is free in USA.

These paintings are on a linen canvas panel and will fit into most standard frames.  

Here is my studio recently.  This photo was taken during the day, so it's much brighter than when I work.  In the foreground is my guitar that I never play.  I tried to pick it up again, but I guess I am just too scattered right now.

Last Fall I planted 175 bulbs.  They are starting to pop up all over the place and it's fun to go out each day and see new ones.

Painting will start to take a back seat now that garden season is here.  This has been becoming my rhythm.

I added this chandelier that I found at an antique store recently and it added some charm to the patio.  It doesn't work, but the bulbs catch the light and sparkle.  I am excited to grow a vine of some kind on the trellis.  That will be so beautiful.  

Until next time! 

♥

New Art for a New Season

Hare and Jay Discussing Plans for Spring
acrylic on cradled wood panel 10x8 inch

As the weather changes, so does the choice of color and subject.  I started the above painting last Spring, a bit different for me, but it was fun to work on this.  It went along with the dolls I was working on at the time.  This painting and the ones below are all available in my Etsy shop HERE . 

Off Center
acrylic on cradled wood panel 8x10 inch

Little Painting of a Big Strawberry
oil on linen panel 4x6 inch

 

Frog
paper clay, acrylic paint, varnish, fabrics, thread and button

Frog is 18 inches long and has joints in his elbows and knees so that he can be positioned in a lot of different ways.  He is the first frog I have made, so the name Frog seemed appropriate.  Most of my dolls have been girls, however venturing into the animal world has been a lot like what I imagine writing children's books must be like; only with clay and cloth.  

I went on a photography shoot with my friend the other day.  We celebrated our February birthdays by roaming the countryside in Augusta and Douglass, Kansas taking pictures of textures, old barns, rivers, bridges and fields, enjoying lunch and coffee at local places and soaking up the unseasonably warm temperatures.  This is one of my favorite photos of the day.

Until next time. ♥