Not only did yesterday’s snowstorm create, for me, time in the studio I wasn’t finding for myself, it also offers, now, the added bonus of turning my world into a winter wonderland of inspiration. No doubt new paintings will be born from the beauty these mountains offer up to us in as many ways as nature can provide. I wanted to share some “day after” photos with you in the hopes they may move you to your art as well.
Hi Jeane!
I will post my comments here from now on. And I will say it again……your photos are so pure and beautiful!! I can almost smell the snow, the sunshine, the sweet (I’m sure) dog breath, and the warm wood on the house….ahhhhh!
We are back form Wyoming. Will be doing a show next fall at Dixie so I am “happily” painting and glad to have a goal!
Happy Happy Everything!
Thanks Ginny! It’s fun to communicate with you here. I’m glad the photos have that effect because every time you tell me about Wyoming I can TASTE it!
Keep me posted on the show. I know you’ve told me about it but I want to know as it approaches. I want to know how the painting is going–EVERYTHING! I’m, actually, thrilled that you continue to paint. And I also love the work you’re doing. How great is that?
Thanks for all of those encouraging words – and for your encouragement to get me back into painting again! Wow, I still have that painting I did with you as your first student! It’s fun to look at.
There is finally a pretty regular group of life-drawers who meet in Hurricane on Saturdays. So that is a wonderful way to stay honed with my drawing skills. I can never get enough art!
I’ll forward some pics from Wyoming. It has that same still and pristine feeling as your area. Aren’t we just so blessed to see it, have it, and feel it!
You bet! I’m just so happy you signed up for that class and cleaned out your home studio. Do you remember that was your first homework assignment I gave you? Look at you now!
Glad you have the life drawing situation in place. That’s great.
I’d love to see more pics of Wyoming. And, yes, we are blessed!
You may have already read this poem but I just had to share it with you! I love it!
Shoveling Snow With Buddha — Billy Collins
In the usual iconography of the temple or the local Wok
you would never see him doing such a thing,
tossing the dry snow over a mountain
of his bare, round shoulder,
his hair tied in a knot,
a model of concentration.
Sitting is more his speed, if that is the word
for what he does, or does not do.
Even the season is wrong for him.
In all his manifestations, is it not warm or slightly humid?
Is this not implied by his serene expression,
that smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe?
But here we are, working our way down the driveway,
one shovelful at a time.
We toss the light powder into the clear air.
We feel the cold mist on our faces.
And with every heave we disappear
and become lost to each other
in these sudden clouds of our own making,
these fountain-bursts of snow.
This is so much better than a sermon in church,
I say out loud, but Buddha keeps on shoveling.
This is the true religion, the religion of snow,
and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky,
I say, but he is too busy to hear me.
He has thrown himself into shoveling snow
as if it were the purpose of existence,
as if the sign of a perfect life were a clear driveway
you could back the car down easily
and drive off into the vanities of the world
with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio.
All morning long we work side by side,
me with my commentary
and he inside his generous pocket of silence,
until the hour is nearly noon
and the snow is piled high all around us;
then, I hear him speak.
After this, he asks,
can we go inside and play cards?
Certainly, I reply, and I will heat some milk
and bring cups of hot chocolate to the table
while you shuffle the deck.
and our boots stand dripping by the door.
Aaah, says the Buddha, lifting his eyes
and leaning for a moment on his shovel
before he drives the thin blade again
deep into the glittering white snow.
No! I’d never seen this before. What a treat! Thank you for sharing it. I’m THERE! I think shoveling snow is a lot like doing wood chores: There’s something very beautiful in both.
“…frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices.”
But it can be a start.
Was Skye on the walk with you? I adore the head shot of Kelee with the firey mountain behind him. It may just become my new screen wall paper!
No, my little Skye doesn’t walk with us yet. She’s still too scared to go out the front door–just out to the kitty enclosure. She’s getting more and more curious so I’m hopeful she’ll come around one day. Kelee is a handsome man, isn’t he?