Pure Bliss

With the January cold also comes my birthday. An Aquarian born in an army base hospital in Monterey, California, the rest of my life has been in the North Country – far from warm sea breezes. Occasionally, the day would fall on SuperBowl Sunday, but more often we celebrated with a good old-fashioned winter blizzard! This year was marked with record low temperatures, but we are feeling so much better and have renewed energy to get back to tasks – Paul workng with charter schools and me busy with painting. I’m having such a good time working on paintings with dynamic skies and open water – as compared to the frozen lake out our front door!  

This week’s painting is another Liltie’s Series, 4” x 6” watercolor, Pure Bliss captures a solitary kayaker experiencing the quiet of a beautiful northern lake.  

 

The Colors of January

This year, I’m having a difficult time with January. We have had bad colds for most of the month, and that has totally impacted my enjoyment of this deep cold time of the year. In spite of this, though, there have been great happenings – right outside our door! When we moved here 8 years ago, we had very few birds visiting our feeders. However, after faithfully filling the feeders, we have been blessed with a fantastic display of birds (and squirrels) at the feeders this winter. And there is such variety – Blue Jays, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Pileated Woodpeckers, Goldfinches, Nuthatches, Chickadees, a lovely pair of Cardinals, and last week, the Redpolls made their annual appearance. Although it seems like it’s a feeding frenzy out there sometimes, each of the groups seems to have a distinctive pattern of coming in to feed. My Dad and Mom fed birds for many years at their home on the St. Croix River and it’s such a gift and given us so much enjoyment to be able to continue their tradition.

This week’s painting reflects where my thoughts are this month! Sunset Colors, a 4” x 6” Lilties Series watercolor painting, captures the glorious colors of a summer sunset.

Back to Lilties

As the snow gets deeper, it spurs me on to paint. January is typically my busy creative season – with temperatures below zero and my favorite garden tools locked in the shed – it’s the perfect time to pull out my photo collection, gain new inspiration and bring out the watercolors. This week’s painting, “Fall Birches,” 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, features my favorite trees against the backdrop of an autumn lake scene.

Planting Trees

I just discovered this quote by the renowned Indian poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore.

“The one who plants trees, knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” This so speaks to my heart.

January Crud

I’m usually a positive person, but the two weeks after Christmas this year threw me for a loop. Both Paul and I came down with pneumonia/bronchitis and all our talk about being strong and healthy went down the tube as we spent most of those days binge-watching Hallmark movies and taking long naps in the recliners. The truck which usually is on the road every day sat in the driveway covered with snow for many days.  We are so thankful to be fully vaccinated – we are convinced it kept us from getting COVID – and to be on the mend.  

And part of feeling better is regaining energy to paint. This week’s painting was finished last night, and we delivered it to the Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner today. Morning Sky, 4” x 6” watercolor, reflects the wonderful warm light of a morning sunrise.

Change . . . of Place.

Achill Island, County Mayo, is an amazing place located on the western-most edge of Ireland. We discovered this place on a whim – I had signed up for a seaside painting class that was subsequently cancelled – but by then we had already reserved a house on the island. The cottage communities on the windswept hills seek shelter along the beach strands or behind small groves of trees and hedges. But there is a magic here. White sand beaches give rise to haunted ruins, mystical fairy leas, remote villages and a tribe of hospitable people – all who bear witness to the strength of home and family in the face of eons of change. 

This week, I'm preparing for the January show at artZ Gallery in Amery, WI. With the theme, "Change," it's presented a welcome challenge to spur my creativity. This week's painting, Island Brooke, 4" x 6" watercolor, captures a freshwater stream flowing to the sea. 

 

Thinking about May!

I know this seems strange, but it's the time of year when many artists in this region are registering for the Earth Arts Spring Tour 2022. It’s always held the first full weekend in May, and this year, I’ll be celebrating that weekend with an exhibit at the artZ Gallery in Amery, WI. This time of year, I usually navigate toward “snow” pictures, so thinking ahead to Spring is a bit of a stretch. But the deadline is three days away - yes, I'm still that "pressure-prompted, deadline-driven" individual - so I'm thinking warmer thoughts this weekend and painting for Spring! 

This week’s painting, Resilience, 8” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, features one of my favorite trees – the White Pine – growing with determination out of a rock outcropping in the middle of the St. Croix River.