Even the dogs are enjoying a better life. They get to run free on the beaches of Lake Davis, play in the icy waters, and go for hikes up to pristine mountain lakes. It is truly a wonderful place I have found for us.
I find it hard to believe that more than a year has gone by since I last wrote. In November 2014 i made a life style change that has been the most rewarding , gratifying, and scary thing i have done in this life time. I left my job of 12 years, friends and family and moved to a small mountain town in north east California. I wake up every day grateful for the chance to live a life long dream: My own home, fresh mountain air,and scenery that inspires me daily. There were many firsts here. First snowfall, first bald eagle, first bear cub, first day long rainbow out my kitchen window.....i love it here and i think it shows in my new art. I have been more productive and inspired than ever. I photograph images daily. from hawks in the valley to cemetery angels. and with these images i am creating a new story in my paintings.
Even the dogs are enjoying a better life. They get to run free on the beaches of Lake Davis, play in the icy waters, and go for hikes up to pristine mountain lakes. It is truly a wonderful place I have found for us.
0 Comments
Well, it is hard to believe that I have not posted anything since last May?! Where have I been? .....I think in transition. Still am, but now I have focus. Less distractions have allowed me to venture out on micro one or two day vacations to Lassen serval times, to stoney ford place of quiet beauty on one occasion, to the beach and just basic sunday drives. Watching the world go by through the windows of the Jeep, two wagging tails and many smiles. There was also a long 6 day or 7? tour of the sugar bowl area of Tahoe, up to Lake Almanor, and over thru the Trinity Alps and down thru the redwoods. Camping with dogs alone and loving it. 2013 is behind us now and so its nice to have good memories of the year gone by. Now in 2014, i have to really get busy with my art. no more excuses. I have finished two new portraits already this year and hope to do many more. I have created a new technique that is fun and the end results are colorful little jewels made up of magic moments. So heres to more magic moments for everyone in 2014. There is a wonderful breeze coming thru the window as I write. In the sun it is warm. Summer is here and I am wondering where does the time go? I have been busy. Creating and working and living. My paintings have taken a turn since my class with Suzanne Edminster. I can't help myself from cutting and gluing non related images onto crazy color fields. Things happen that I couldn't plan and the images become their own identity. It is part of the journey, the exploration of what one can do with image and paint and time. Always evolving. There is magic and mystery. And for me, there is the struggle to make it all work. Carving out spaces, eliminating, adding......always wanting more time to see what will happen next. Opening night was a couple weeks ago, but the joy and amazement of seeing my artwork up on the gallery walls is still fresh on my mind. The first moment i saw my "Nambe Horse"as i walked into Healdsburg Center for the Arts i was so excited. Then when i noticed a placard underneath "Best of Show" i was thrilled. Couldn't believe my own eyes. My goal to have my art on gallery walls this year has already been accomplished. And the bar has been set high. How will I ever top this I wonder. No matter, I will just keep at it. Keep enjoying the thrill and the mystery of creating. Let the magic begin In Suzanne Edminster's class today we did transfers, painted wild bright backgrounds, created torn black and white collage elements, and somehow put together some pretty wild little pieces. It was a great class. I feel like I came away with some fun ways add yet
So here we are at the end of 2012. I am glad to see it go and i welcome 2013 with open arms. I am looking forward to more art. I feel like i have made some breakthroughs this past year. I struggled and i found magic. I wish for the new year to continue my journey through my art. To find new magic and to create more and better pieces of work. I wish to keep my eyes open and to view each day as a new beginning. May this new year bring all of us much joy and much magic. Today I worked on two paintings. This one i pulled out of a box, it began as an abstract and quickly turned into this horse. Always surprised as to what happens. ..Cold clear day with wispy veils of lace in the sky.
This October has been a month of research. Research into my future. I have found in my travels, that the dream which consumed my thought, the dream of a home, the white picket fence, the garden, a yard for the dog, a barn for the bikes, a studio to paint, the whole nine yards was just a shell of a dream. it wasn't complete. It was missing a crucial element. It was missing focus. Through varies conversations and much reading i have come to the conclusion that in order to move forward i must first move forward with my paintings. I must first paint. and i must find purpose in it. I need to realize the reason, why do i do it? what does it mean to me? .....These are big questions. I know that when i paint, i am remembering places, smells, images of the world gone by thru the windows of a car. Stopping, exploring, filling up with senses to bring home and unconsciously remember thru paint. The process allows for magic to happen as the unknown becomes known. The abstract becomes a clear memory. The spirit of the moment is captured by the sheer essence of brushstroke and chaos of color. And now the really scarey part, i need to step out my studio, with my works of art, and i need to share them. I am going to expose myself through my paintings and in the process i am hopefully going to move forward into the future of my dreams. On Saturday the 22nd, a group of riders arrived in Cotati on their pre 1929 motorcycles from New York, where they had begun their journey on the 7th. An amazing journey on its own and made more incredible by the fact that the riders rode these antique motorcycles all the way across the US. Coast to coast... (Made me recall my journey many years ago on my not so antique 1970 XLCH.) Held together by duct tape and bailing wire and dripping with oil, these machines are a fabulous reminder of how things used to be and how well they were made. Congratulations to those who endured the rigors of the road. And thank you for sharing your vintage machines.
|
AuthorJennifer Ellis Archives
April 2015
Categories |