Today, as I look out the window, I see over 100 Joshua Trees, and gratitude spreads over me like the sunshine on our beautiful Mojave!  We expect a high of 67°F today. If you live in a less temperate zone, I hope you have your February creative vitality flowing!

Weather changes, but our creative spirit can be nurtured in every season! Last year, on this date, we had snow! Beat the winter blues with creative choices.

With a number of ongoing projects, it has been essential to reevaluated my practice and reset goals this year. For me, it means fewer outside commitments and new personal directions. Each of us may need to re-focus on a different aspect of our art practice.
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As you approach spring, may I suggest some spring “cleaning” and a review of your resources?

TIME - Each of us has only 24 hours and 365 (1/4) days per year. A portion of your time may be obligated to work and family, making your own creative moments even more precious.  Are you giving away time?  Are you volunteering?  If so, examine this activity.  Volunteering is a wonderful activity that can build friendships and share ideas.  It supports the culture of your community.  Plan your schedule carefully and reserve time for your personal creative practice.
ART SUPPLIES - If your creativity involves the visual arts, supplies can be expensive. Take inventory.  If your medium is acrylic, you may want to try gessoed watercolor paper, a lovely surface for all water based mediums! Watch for sales.  Whenever I hear of someone clearing out art supplies, I jump and have been gifted paints, mediums, and more.  Although working large can be freeing, working small allows you to travel outdoors being inspired by what you see.  When traveling, I carry a small kit of watercolors, a small watercolor pad, 2 favorite brushes, 2 mechanical pencils and a fine point sharpie. I am learning to keep my plein air painting kit more compact so I can carry it easily. Talk to friends about art supplies.  You may even want to host an art supply swap.  One person’s trash is truly another’s treasure.  Have you learned to stretch your own canvas? Interestingly, I find very few do this today.  In my youth, my dad built wood frames and I stretched canvas - using a staple gun. Consider other do it yourself art supply projects.
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ENERGY – How much can you effectively accomplish?  Often less is more. (That being said, stretched canvas may well be worth the cost.) A trip to a gallery, library or museum can be well-spent visual inspiration.  A walk outdoors or a drive into beautiful surroundings can trigger creative ideas.  Plan time in your studio (even if it is the kitchen table or small closet). Unplug the phone, eliminate distractions, feed the pets, or wait until the kids are at school.  Don’t expect a masterpiece! Allow yourself to play; enjoy color and design. I must complete project commitments, but when I start painting just because the paint on my palette looks so delicious and an image pops into my head, the real magic happens!  
 
PAINTING PARTNERS - As in many realms of your life, with whom you spend time is important.  Some friends encourage.  Others leave you exhausted and drained.  The energy created by a group of joyful, enthusiastic creatives can act as a positive cheerleader. Choose carefully.  I love people, but I have really learned to enjoy solitude and getting to know myself. Do not hesitate to let your creative guide be yourself!

SPACE – The key to a good creative space is organization and careful choices. This does not require pristine neatness, but an orderly plan. As you work, supplies are tossed around or grabbed quickly.  Create your workspace: the kitchen table or a desk in a closet can serve beautifully.  Collect needed items and move the rest to another area.  If you must, place items not required in a hamper.  Remove it from distracting sight. Locate good light—next to the window or a lamp. I like carefully staged inspiration—a painting or print, a scented candle, an item reminding me of an artistic loved one. At the end of each session, clean up! Clean your brushes thoroughly.  For acrylics, I find plain water to be the least wearing on brushes, but I use a scrub brush and get ALL paint out!  Neaten up your creative area making it ready for your next session! If you must pack up, place items in a carrying container (a bank box, basket, hamper, tool chest) and create your own traveling studio!

​This month, the famous groundhog predicted an early spring, and although I appreciate beautiful winter light, my mind is moving ahead to spring! Each season provides something to anticipate – just as each season of our lives and art practice help us to look forward!
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Remember advice for the New Twenties:

Nurture your creative practice!
Plan new experiences and exploration, ever seeking inspiration!
Let your inspiration drive your art! 
Remember to encourage others!

Wishing you all the best for an artful year!

.Workshop News 2020:

​March 21 at Cactus Mart in Morongo Valley, CA (currently sold out, but you can sign up on the waiting list)

Desert Institute Field Class in Joshua Tree National Park: April 4th, Black Rock Campground, Yucca Valley
Capturing Joshua Tree landscapes with Acrylics (beginners welcome!)

Art Groove - Camp4Grownups! August14-19  Landscape Painting as a Creative Process. I am delighted to teach this summer at Camp de Benneville Pines summer Adult Art Camp!  My class will be one module at a full 6 day art camp experience in the beautiful mountains near Angeles Oaks, CA. Sign up early! Description below.

October ​Desert Institute Field Class in Joshua Tree National Park - date TBD

​New Online Shop  Last, but not least, I will be opening my new ETSY Shop on March 1. 
Ooh La La! I love the new items soon to appear on my online store, including these adorable stickers to match notecards! ArtbyJanisCommentz: French Press, will feature my first spring collection! After many years of painting and teaching, I fell in LOVE again! With France.  Everywhere I traveled, I discovered beautiful buildings and villages to sketch.  I want to share the beauty of French design with these lovely paper products and to invite you to bring a bit of France into your home.

​As we enter a new decade, I am sure many of us are pausing to evaluate the past few years, our habits and our gifts. It has been said 2020 will be a decade of clearer vision—let’s hope so. It is definitely a time to reflect on our priorities. 
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What has been a heavy weight and what allows you to soar?

In my own art practice, I have removed certain activities and obligations from my schedule and added new ones.  I am reflecting on one of the most important purposes for my life, to bring light and joy, to encourage others in this often dark confusing world.

​For 2020,
I am reflecting on my approach.  For me, the queen of multitasking, I have learned that this is not always wise.  Taking photos in our beautiful rare snow, making footprints in the ice to photograph for Instagram and then reading my mail as I entered the slick floored garage---combined for the perfect slip up – (or down!) and produced two tiny bone fractures last February! Less  multitasking. 
Learn to savor experiences.  Sights tastes, aromas, feeling, sounds! I am certain this will influence the inspirations that translates into a painting!

Time.  We know time is precious.  If your schedule is already busy, it is difficult to slow down and let creativity wash over your soul!  However, like exercise and good nutrition, you will reap the benefits of more creative opportunities.  One of the negative changes of the 20th century was created by the desire for more efficiency, faster “smarter” methods and packing more into each day.  No one has invented a longer day.  Know the lifelong restorative benefits of the arts!
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Change of scenery and continued lifelong learning.  I have had the good fortune to travel this year.  In fact, I seek the cozy interior of my studio.  However, even if travel is not in your budget, may I suggest subtle changes. If possible, take a different route to work or school.  Talk to new people.  Visit different places in your community: a park, a library, a museum, a swap meet, even a different supermarket! Add new books to your reading list, different genres of music and more.  New experiences awaken new ways to approach your creative practice—whether it’s poetry, painting, acting, playing an instrument, sewing, collaging or other art form.

​My recent trip to Savannah GA led me to observing and drawing amazing, and to a Californian, older architecture, reminiscent of European cities. It led to study of unfamiliar people and events. Upon my return home, I am drawn to the buildings of our Mojave in a new light- and with unexpected interest!  

​Locally, the small burg of Pioneertown came to  my attention. In 1946, the “Living, breathing movie set” was created by investors including Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Today, “Mane Street” hosts small art galleries, specialty gift shops, a working Post Office, church and “Pappy &  Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace.”   Pappy & Harriet’s, originally the Cantina-an outlaw biker burrito bar, evolved into a tourist hotspot serving great food! And its performers have included Robert Plant, Leon Russell, Seann Lennon and, yes, Sir Paul McCartney! And, when I first was a teacher in the desert during the late 70’s,  we used to watch our principal bowl at the Pioneertown Bowl.  It was a working bowling alley then—rumors of its reconstruction are alive!  Lots of detail and inspiration for sketching and painting.  

​For the New Twenties:
Nurture your creative practice!
Plan new experiences and exploration, ever seeking inspiration!
Let your inspiration drive your art! 
Remember to  encourage others!
Wishing you all the best for an artful new year!

2020 Workshops
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Jan 14-16 Desert Landscape Painting at the Campbell House Inn   (photo) Campbell House web
April 4  Joshua Tree National Park Desert Institute:  Capturing Joshua Tree Landscapes with Acrylics https://www.eventbrite.com/e/capturing-joshua-tree-landscapes-with-acrylics-spring-2020-registration-82537434689
Aug 14 – 19  Camp Benneville de Pines Art https://www.uucamp.org/camp-calendar/Groove : Summer Camp for Adults  - Landscape as a Creative Process: Using Acrylic and Water-based Paints 
Oct (tbd) Joshua Tree National Park Desert Institute:  Plein Air Painting in the Park!

New Venture
I also hope to launch a new line of cards and paper goods based on travel sketches for my France Sketchbook Calendars.  Reaction (and sales) has been welcoming!
 

Winter Glow, 8 x 24, acrylic Janis Commentz in a private collection

Nurture YOUR CREATIVE SIDE even when it’s cold outside!
     In this busiest of seasons, I send you greetings and encouragement! The holiday season is filled with a variety of colors, scents, emotions and a distracting array of activities! As days grow shorter, we seek light-- metaphorically – an, as an artist, literally.
   Winter daylight, casting deep shadows, creates a surreal backdrop. Snow glistens on majestic mountains. Dramatic shadows drape themselves on buildings and stone structures. Warm afternoon light bathes a a holiday table or a pet in a window.

    Before this inspiring winter light slips away, nurture your creativity.  I believe we are creative beings made in the image of a creative God. Observe the winter beauty of the season. Make a mental note or even better, I encourage you to record your surrounding in a quick sketch! Even a hasty contour sketch with indications of shadows can be an inspiration for a future painting.  We rely heavily on photographs, but we know the eye provides intimate and accurate information and color as a camera cannot. Plein air artists understand this well. No matter your painting style or art form, light and contrast deeply affect your work.

​    Celebrate the reason for the season, enjoy special moments with your loved ones, but take time to record the effects of the changing course of the sun, especially as we approach the shortest day of the year. Here are a few wonderful paintings by well- known painters--just to contemplate.

   Or the longest day of the year! ​As our connectedness to other parts of the globe increases, I am profoundly aware of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer during December. As I watch posts from artists in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and more, I am more curious about December in this warm zone. It has been very enlightening (pun intended) to see posts about art exhibits, open studios and workshops from these regions.  Three artists that come to mind are Richard Claremont (Sydney, Australia), Beth Lowe (Kommetjie, Cape Town), and Tracy Verdugo (New South Wales, Australia).  Their sunny creations pierce our northern hemisphere with warm beauty!

As a painter, I feel my strongest images have emerged from the winter light and longer shadows.
The painting at the beginning of this post emerged a after a Christmas Day hike in Joshua Tree National Park. Golden Glow captures the late afternoon sunlight.

​Wishing your many afternoons of sunshine!

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Each day is different, yet even during troubling periods, you can make decisions to bring at least some joy into your life.
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In the desert, November started with glorious, sunny, yet crisp weather—a dip into the 30’s at night.
 
October was a very busy month for me – “art season” as they say.  Teaching a  painting day-workshop in Joshua Tree National Park, two weekends of opening our home and my studio on Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours and, because I believe we all need inspiration from outside sources, a first time visit to the LA Brewery Artwalk – a twice a year event where 104 arts open their studio lofts to the public.

Teaching Desert Institute class, open studios photos - including the model purchasing the photo of herself hiking, and adventures at the LA Brewery Artwalk:

​My head is spinning with creative ideas!—in need of rest and restoration.

This weekend, while attending the funeral of and elderly friend’s husband, I was reminded of the seasons of life and our lifespan on this planet.
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As artists and artlovers, the richness of our lives comes from a range of emotional experiences. Although we cannot control all circumstances, we can learn to be content—and by storing up kernels of wisdom and creativity, we can create and spread joy.

On that note, let me encourage you to set some creative goals for 2020!

• Take a class!  You will learn something new and meet people with common interests.  Since I retired from public school teaching, I have attended at least one workshop each year.  Although I have painted almost all my life, I always learn about new materials, what inspires others, how to enjoy different points of view and more.  Invest in yourself.

And you may want to consider taking one of mine:
I enjoy teaching a sharing painting tips, especially in our beautiful Mojave Desert! Each spring and fall, I teach a Saturday  plein air painting  class in the beautiful Joshua Tree National Park through the Desert Institute https://www.joshuatree.org/desert-institute/field-classes.html
In January, I will be teaching a two night/three day water based painting workshop at the historic Campbell House Inn in 29 Palms and will be directed to beginning and intermediate level painters.  Come play with us in the sunny Mojave Desert, a perfect winter get away January 14 – 16th https://artcantina.com/business-directory/desert-landscape-painting-with-janis-commentz/

• If your commitments, schedule or pocketbook do not permit you to take a class, let me encourage you to learn from books and online sources.  Today’s technology opens doors previous generations did not have access to!  Gather with friends for a collage day.  Find an online lesson.  Work alone or gather friends!  I have discovered podcasts (first at the urging of a good friend).  Plein air painting has grown enormously popular during the past decade and  artists share techniques on https://www.outdoorpainter.com/podcast/  In fact this summer, while painting interior walls, I found listening to be very meditative.  Look up the artist’s work on the internet first  to help you imagine them working.
• Jump in and make some fun art! A favorite annual project is to create small paintings on wood of ravens and crows. See photos above.  I can be downright silly with my creatures, lightening up some of the attitude that goes in to more “serious art!”  My husband cuts up a number of wooden blocks from 1x6’ lumber.  I have learned to use the small electric sander and prepare and paint my surfaces.  Canvas, cardboard, jars, wood panels, and recycled items  are fun to paint! And they can make a great holiday item. These will be available this weekend at an arts and crafts faire and then at Rainbow Stew in Yucca Valley.  If you would like me,  contact me via my website form.
• A fun project from my travels has been assembling a French Sketchbook Calendar for 2020 pictured below.  6 1/" x 8 1/2"  $12.00 (+ tax + postage) Contact me via my website contact form or social media.

​​There is a time for serious painting and a time for fun, a time for a more academic approach and a time to break “art rules”!  Does art still have rules?  After my lighthearted painting,  I begin to yearn to paint a bit more thoughtfully. I am eager to really work out my new lightweight plein air easel. Living near a National Park allows for some quick trips to wonderful vistas! However, urban areas, interiors, pets and so many more scenes provide great subjects for painting.

Your schedule may be very full, allowing only a brief time for any creative pursuit. Gather a few supplies.  Keep them where you can get to them.  It may be only a small box of watercolors in a mesh cosmetic bag ready to go.

Work in steps;  prepare the surface one day, find something to paint (photo or scene) on another and then pain on that third hour that you carved out. 

Gather objects for inspiration! Above (right) is a photo of an inspiration shelf I put together when I first retired from teaching and needed to surround myself with meaningful objects: (from top clockwise, Christmas music parchment belonging to my mother, photo of my mother in her 1940's ceramic studio, cubist self portrait by my uncle, Vermeer print - because I love his use of light, vase by local potter Ed Keeseling with a figure he sketched in my life drawing group, red asian wooden vase belonging to my mother, a jar of red earth from Texas that was supposed to be under the bed when I was born.  Haha-- it arrived too late for me to be born over Texas soil!

Make a move! Obstacles will enter our life.  I found myself journaling with a negative twist last week, ad made my self rewrite each with a  positive re-statement. I created a thankfulness bridge:

The whiny negative comments changed to encouragements.  

Make a plan.  Even if you have to modify it, have a general plan! Turn “I can’t” into “I can!” Jump in! Apply paint! Find objects for a collage! YouTube a project and follow directions.

Spread a little joy!

​Wishing you a wonderful November!  ~Janis Commentz

​…August…vacation…back to school…seeking to escape heat….
For most, we are seriously seeking inspiration.
 
What moves, propels, encourages, excites, helps you develop and sharpen senses?  What awakens, kindles, invigorates, amuses and delights?  This can be a tall order, but sometimes, if you can find even ONE of the above in your art practice, you have found a treasure.

​WHERE I Go
I find wisdom when I turn to Scripture to start my day.  Inspiration is often like kind words spoken. “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Proverbs 25:11 You may be familiar with Grace Noll Crowell’s lovely 1950 poem inspired by that verse:
Oh, to speak so fitly
That my words my be
Like bright golden apples
On a silver tree!
 
Oh, to write so wisely
That some hungering one
May reach and pluck that fruitage
Shining in the sun!
 
 
Beautiful craftsmanship, elegant carving, music and poetry are all praised in scripture. Inspiration is often like kind words spoken to your soul.

​Lately, I like to read a bit of poetry—especially by some of my local friends.  Noreen Lawlor’ poetry is filled with wisdom and often humor.  Poet Cynthia Anderson, acclaimed for her perceptive reflections about nature, teamed up with watercolorist Susan Abbott in Now Voyager.  

​Even my Facebook and Instagram feeds are fill with artists, writers, dancers, musicians and more.
I know the visual artists whose work generally makes me want to get out my paintbrushes...Matisse, Picasso, Redon, and many contemporary artists. Hover to see artists and titles. You can see I draw inspiration from many sources.

​​To WHOM do you turn for inspiration to pursue the creative process?
I am grateful to meet regularly with a group of women painters to discuss art trends, review each other’s new work, encourage and occasionally exhibit together. I wish I had a photo of our last very animated gathering.

Finding your GENES
Were certain relatives in your family tree especially inspirational?   Did you have grandfather who danced?  A great aunt who recited poetry or inspired you in some way?  Find out more about their legacy.  Imagine how excited they might be to share their artform with you!

 
Setting the SCENE
Consider which time of day inspiration most often visits you. If it’s not your “creative” season, pretend it is—seek autumn colors and poetry, find winter glow in candles and cool colors…you get the idea!
Create a gathering to share —host a coffee or meet in an inspiring setting. Attend a concert or play. Visit an art gallery. Invite friends to play musical instruments, paint, write random poetry ~ so many options
 
Finding the WORDS
 
…from philosophy, painting and theater….
 
“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
Aristotle
 
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
Pablo Picasso
 
“You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul”
George Bernard Shaw
 
 
You know who are your muses and encouragers? Seek them out!  Gather with them.  Drink in inspiration as you would a cool summer thirst-quencher.
And most important…encouragement and inspiration are generated when you give it back. Encourage other artists.  Even if it just means giving a child a crayon and paper!

As we approach summer, what will entice you to read a blog?
Advice?
Encouragement?
Instruction?
Good news?
 
As my favorite season approaches, I think of mornings spent journaling and reading on our backyard porch swing.  I think of mornings and afternoons painting on the patio.  To me, forever bound to the traditional academic calendar, summer tempts me with the colors, tastes, and textures of lemon meringue pie and sweet juicy watermelon!
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If you are a painter, these colors are just as tempting pouring out of the tube! I am ready to set up a table of summer delights and begin painting!

As summer approaches, what nurtures your creative practice? Healthy foods strengthen our bodies, and sunlight and water support healthy growth for living things. Another crucial element for creative growth is respect.

Recently, partly due to an overlong winter, I have noted a bit of grumpiness, belittling and inconsideration creeping into creative events in which I am participating.  It’s baffling at times. How are we to react?
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In all areas of life, we flourish when we have the respect of those around us. As I Google “respect and creativity” I find a gold mine of ideas. Respect is vital in healthy day-to-day experiences. When we set out to create and develop our talents, we are seeking joy and purpose! Not all of our endeavors can be as smooth as lemon meringue pie or as tasty as watermelon, but respect certainly helps cultivate creativity.

I know I, too, can get caught up in critical behavior.  Let me make a few suggestions for the art community, using the acronym R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
 
R eview and redirect our own behavior.  Compliment before complaining!  Avoid joining in the whining and criticism. 

E mpathy -all artists young and old need encouragement and consideration.  We teach this to our young. Are we considerate when encountering an artform very different from our own?  Do we support those who are learning new skills?  Recently, I bought a piano keyboard recently, and it’s a great reminder of my lack of skill.  I am delighted with my very baby steps!

S pirit and Support – An individual’s spirit can be easily crushed.  While direction and guidance may be given, kindness is crucial! We grow hardened to heartless behavior, but we don’t expect it from our art community
Pay attention and pay it forward! Listen and speak a few kind words when we see someone suffering from harsh remarks.  We talk a lot about bullying, and some of our leaders are not modeling the best behavior. Help make your art community an encouraging environment!

E tiquette-an old fashioned word for good manners.  Let’s hope they never go out of style!

C reativity flourishes in a respectful environment.  Artists deserve dignity. We all are a little wary when someone is watching over our back—but the difference between callous criticism and loving kindness is like night and day!

T houghtfulness-Creativity is a thoughtful procedure. Nurture your own creative forces and those around you in a laboratory, greenhouse, conservatory or studio that boosts creativity.  Take your Vitamin R (Respect-no chemical or app intended) Respect yourself! Respect Others!  Respect your surroundings! 

Find a subject to paint that brings joy this summer: the seashore, a hiking path, fresh fruit or flowers, a favorite model—perhaps on a porch swing! Remember to respect the work you are doing and those of artists around you!
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And thank you to the many sweet people who have encouraged my practice and helped lift my spirits. Sunshine brightens the mood of any painting!

P.S.  I promise to post more about France and my sketchbook soon!

It’s spring and it’s easy to become steeped in busyness.   The urgent screams, but we must search out the most important.

I am pondering artists who spoke to my heart in my youth. As I pack for a trip that will include an art retreat, I need only take the minimum. At home, I collect.  Travel teaches us that less is truly more, one of the many paradoxes in life.  After a muddy wet season, we have a spectacular Superbloom.  After a mild injury, I absolutely delight in good health and recovery.  Separation from our comfort zone leads to growth, expansion, regeneration…and a few steep learning curves.
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Turning a significant age this year gives me pause. 

I find myself returning to some of my early favorite artists and that’s ok. I had an early love affair with the French Impressionists and artists rooted in their techniques. I was enchanted by the brilliant colors and patterns.  Impressionists, Expressionists, Post Impressionists caught my eye and captured my heart.  Bonnard, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse... (examples follow in order)   

​Early California painters were also influenced by these mavericks and the magnificent scenes of the Golden State. As a Californian, two female painters, Donna Schuster and E. Charlotte Fortune come to mind. (below)

​At least for now, I may retrace the lives of some of my old favorites and why not?
Looking through my essays from decades ago, I found a paper on the influence of environment on painters (featuring, of course, Impressionist painters such as Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec) I noticed points of interest:   Cafe Gerbois in Paris. Today, with the magic of Google map, I see it is a trendy men’s clothing store.  A footnote on Les Nabis, whose work was characterized by patches of color, bold contours and simplified drawing --- states the term is Hebrew for prophet.  I was correct, it was coined by poet Henri Cazalis comparing the new painters (active from 1888-1900) to prophets of modern art. I noted that the Impressionists, influenced by Japanese prints and philosophy, that Zen Buddhism offered the belief that “the soft will vanquish the hard” – from a 1964 book on Bonnard by Antoine Terrasse.  This may be inaccurate and over simplified definition—but it certainly illustrates my point:
Enjoy chasing the artists who first drew you to painting! Or composers (my music major college roommate was quick to point out that Impressionism influenced composers such as Debussy).
I am enjoying Chasing Matisse by James Morgan, a chronicle of his move to France and fascination with the studios and homes of Henri Matisse.

My challenge for you:
Who were your early favorites?  What drew you to them? Style? Color? Technique?  Geographic location?  Allow yourself to reminisce and ponder painters who influenced your early life.  If art is a new passion-enjoy!
Although technology speeds up research, do not allow a photograph to replace the real thing.  Visit museums, galleries and homes where the real art works may surprise you. 
Last year I visited the Musée Rodin in Paris—and was overwhelmed by his work…alas another study awaits. Decades ago, my visit to the Van Gogh Museum changed my perception.
 
This has definitely been an unusual season.  Weather. News events. As I study the lives of artists and compare anecdotes about them to my life, I realize we continue to carve out the creative lives that are the most important to us!

Sketching in garden of Musee' Rodin from sculpture (models who do not move!) - my watercolor sketch of one of the Burghers of Calais.

Much of what an artist does is observe. When I quietly look—whether it’s a face, an animal, a landscape, or a mundane, everyday object-- I learn more, about the object of my gaze and about myself. Writers, composers, and choreographers, as well as visual artists, carefully study life to collect material to respond and communicate with their audience.
​
Last week, my world suddenly changed! Due to an unexpected fall (are they ever expected?) during our recent snow in the Mojave Desert, my hand is in a cast and my knee twisted (waiting for an MRI). Let me assure you, I feel incredibly fortunate, and this brief rest will allow me time to slow down and ponder many things.

Since this is a painting blog, let’s start with observation. Much of my best work follows careful observation of color, sunlight, small details and how they relate to each other. Yesterday, upon the counsel of a wise friend, I sat in our backyard to quietly to observe and to allow my senses to experience the surroundings. We have a view of open land and often see coyotes, roadrunners, and rabbits among the Joshua Trees as we glance out a window.

​At first, I saw no wildlife.  Clouds slowly moved indicating the approaching storm.  The warm sunlight and gentle breeze comfortably enveloped me. I heard a few bird calls and random dog barks.  Suddenly, a larger bird flew into the cholla, which I was just thinking needed to be cut back.  At first, I was fascinated that he could fly among the branches that are so antagonistic to mammals! He carried something large in his mouth, and I thought he was seeking a safe enclosure for his snack.  Soon another bird appeared, and I thought a confrontation would arise!  Soon, I realized this pair of cactus wrens were building a nest! Well, it is obvious I do not do a lot of bird watching.  However, I was encouraged to be developing my powers of observation, and although I cannot use my hand effectively, I can make mental notes for the future.  I feel like a squirrel, storing up a few kernels.  I love to journal, and without my hand, I dictated into my iPad.

 No matter where you are, let me encourage you to develop your observational powers. Our lives grow incredibly busy, and even the most innocent and noteworthy activities steal our time.

To the left is a sketch made last summer in Gourdon, France.  It was too hot to stand and sketch the view from a tower; instead I yielded to sketching the view from the cool grass under a tree!
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Today, I had been scheduled to teach and all-day plein air workshop for the Desert Institute at Black Rock Campground, part of Joshua Tree National Park. I was sad to cancel.  A bit brisk, but today is one of those gorgeous days we desert dwellers brag about. I chose to drive to the site, close to my home. What a joy to see the clouds, the shifting sunlight, and many visiting campers!  I noted busy figures, brightly colored tents, and the changing values and colors of of the Joshua Tree spines.
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Photography is quite different from sketching, yet it provides an opportunity to record, making mental notes about colors, shapes, temperature and mood. I opened my car window to experience the cool breeze, and I admit I am happy that I will not sleep in a tent tonight.  The wind is now beginning to grow fierce.  I noticed several campers struggling over sheets of nylon and poles, hoping they would magically assemble themselves!

​
Here is a sketch created in France last summer.  I learned so much by carefully observing!

However, when time does not allow you time sketch or paint, mentally note small details such as the jagged silhouettes of mountains, the curve of a mouth, and the color blue of distant hills.  Imagine your pencil or brush on the surface making these shapes.  Note what colors you would mix to achieve that specific tone you see.  Encourage your kids to identify shapes in the clouds! Try to imagine the scene as a black and white study - or take a photo and change it to noir!

These activities do wonders for stress levels as well.  As we move away from the blue screens of our computers and spend time in God’s grandeur – or even a crowd observing the movements of figures, our spirits and minds have time to take a short restful vacation. Spend some quiet time observing! Thank you to my good friend for your suggestion!

So, what’s in this for you?

Living near Joshua Tree National Park is a perfect laboratory for looking at rocks.  I wish I had a stronger background in geology, and no matter where you go, the rock formations on this planet are incredible and unique.

In "Rock Scramble” I reflected on my own experiences scrambling over the granite boulders; hikers often leave the dirt path to scramble over the large round rough surfaces.   I stippled and splattered paint. I used the favorite texture technique:

 1) I paint on a  soupy layer of paint mixed with acrylic medium
 2) let that sit for 30-60 seconds
 3) squirt with a gentle burst of water allowing a few medium sized drops to lay on the surface

 4) wait another 30-60 seconds
 5) apply a paper towel to the surface and press lightly 
 6) remove the towel and voila! There should be a texture where the water drops removed the first layer of paint.

Below are images of the painting in progress and of a participant, Lynda, during a mini "rock" lesson at the workshop.

Above, close ups of three of my new paintings, "Confronting Space" 24x24; "Looking Up" 36x24; "Perched" 24x8-acrylic on canvas.  Below photos from the workshop: 3 Brush-ka-teers; catching that golden hour sunlight, my demo plein air sketch of the eclectic surroundings.

After nearly a week of rain, I am ready for some sunshine. Although we know we should not find glee when dark clouds follow others, I smiled to see that Paris will have rain all weekend, while we finally have sunshine!

What inspiration can we find in the gusty cold of winter?  Looking through my journals I found what I want to share as an artist.

In November, I wrote the following (and have added a few revisions):

As I approach 2019, my goal is truly to set priorities.  In many ways 2018 has been a very good year: travel, workshops, refining my work and realizing how short time on this planet is. 

For 2019:   Set goals, schedule time with thought and be a blessing.

Tonight, we turn back our clocks. We know we cannot turn back time, but we can be in charge of our future. Although we are a part of a larger community, ultimately it is only ourselves we are in full command of.  So much clutter has appeared in my life, and as the leaves begin to fall—I, too, wish to shed extra things in my home, in cyberspace, and time-consuming tasks that lead to nowhere.

Instead— (I want to) strengthen my core being—a winter tree is not dead; it is in a restorative mode.
What a great word!   re-store

Restore relationships, health-exercise practice, recharge my heart attitude and seek worthwhile plans. Seek less ego.

Strengthen:

• Family bonds
• Which friendships
• Hearth and home-ambiance as well as material stuff
• Volunteer tasks
• Heart’s desire – painting, writing, creating​

Like the leafless tree in a restorative winter mode, I am collecting the things that strengthen me, gathering kernels of wisdom and truth, reaching deep within my roots for nutrients, and sinking my roots into rich soil.

I could not resist an acrostic:
Real - the relationships to air, sun, wind, and  rain are intense; with no extra baggage, the real me is exposed.

Energy - quiet, stillness, to absorb

Soul - store up, nurture, conserve

Truth - shed the excess, seek reality - for me,  faith is real: Hebrews 11:1 says,  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Open - to elements, ideas, God, true friends

Read – reward, revitalize

Epiphany – eureka! light at the end of the tunnel, springtime 

As an artist, I am again deciding to embrace the winter light: the clear, crisp, casting shadows from low in the southern sky, but illuminating the darkness. In embrace the quiet restorative time.  I’m not a leafless tree, I am storing up nutrients and wisdom.

Use this time to reskindle energy, knowledge, friendships and creative habits! I know many of you have busy schedules and it is hard to create a space, time and the resources for a restorative practice. As in restorative yoga, which typically involves only five or six poses, supported by props that allow you to completely relax and rest, your activities should do the same.