Momentum, Exploration and Crinoids

Crinoid

detail of something bigger :)

I've recently discovered - there is a sea creature that has my full attention - the Sea Lily or Crinoid.  Its a feather and its a flower and it lives under the sea.  My love for the sea has never waned, but to think there is a bird like creature that lives with the fish.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I was practicing and thinking about something with feathers that leads to something bigger.  And of course if you follow this blog, you know that the sea has a special place in my heart.  This painting isn't done, and its in is very early stages, but I feel this amazing lift and momentum that there is a bridge that I have just stumbled upon that brings together these two very different things - My things - and makes sense of them as one. 

A gust of wind in the sails, momentum in a direction that is not for the faint of heart.  Exploration is for the bold and the brave.  Following a thread of an idea can lead to nothing or it can lead to something bigger.  Momentum is the force that moves us forward into the unknown and on to the difference between the calm and being swept away in the current.

Thank you Linda Sivertsen (Book Mama) for putting these words in regard to momentum so eloquently -

"That’s momentum for you - you work and work to build it, and at some point it starts to build you. It starts to lift you to your next level, so you can create your next level work."

I hope you are living bold and brave and finding the wind in your sails and exploring things that seem different and grand.   Happy Friday everyone! 

Encaustic Painting, Practicing for Something Bigger and Blue Flight

Blue Flight
encaustic mixed media on birch 10x10

I'm practicing for something bigger.  I wanted to see what it would be like to carve in feather detail in and encaustic painting.  I keep thinking of a painting of a really large feathered something in the future.  I've always hesitated to paint a big bird painting for a couple of reasons - the first is the wonder if a really large bird painting is a bit scary, meaning is it creepy to have a really big bird hanging on your wall?  And secondly, painting small means I can cheat a bit on detail, but on a large painting I'd have to step up and really get the detail right - no fudging.  So maybe the answer is like Blue Flight here, where there is no actual bird, but just a feathered something.  Each of these feathers is carved in with an exacto knife which in itself is very meditative.  And, I'm finding that I really love French Café Radio on Pandora.  Its really nice background music and I learned of it from a good friend and her lovely French dinner that she made for a small group of friends.  It played in the background as we dined on marvelous food and visited over candlelight.  Now as it plays in the background in my studio,  I can dream of going to Paris again whilst carving bird feathers.  Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

I'm also wondering about putting words into paintings.  For me there is a fine line between looking good and being a bit kitschy.  I like the idea, but pulling it off I think is difficult.  Maybe its the choice of words? 

Au revoir all, back to work - and happy Friday! 

Treasure Hunting, Black and White and Feathers

plume
encaustic and oil on birch 6x6

I've been collecting feathers.  Seems I find all kinds, shapes and sizes.  There is an eagle nest that I pass regularly and every now and again I'm lucky to find one that has fallen from there.  I have an osprey feather, crow feathers, little downy ones, stripy ones and even a little sweet gray and yellow one.  Its become my own personal treasure hunt when I'm out walking.  In the beginning I brought all the ones home that caught my eye - now I'm a bit more selective as my collection has grown.   The fine detail of all the little filaments and the lightness of their architecture is remarkable to think they are responsible for flight.

I've also been thinking in black and white.  The simplicity of removing color and creating form and detail in the space of two colors is a good lesson for me.  I'm not giving up color by any means, but I do think that removing it teaches a valuable lesson.  For those of you interested in processes - the feather is carved into the wax surface with an exacto knife creating the fine line detail.  The lines are then filled with oil paint which is then rubbed off the surface and left in the lines.  Wax is difficult to get any fine detail and this in one of the best ways to achieve that. 

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope your time in nature is also a wonderful inspirational adventure and treasure hunt that brings you much reward.