Reflections on the coming year

Every artist dips his brush

in his own soul,

and paints his own nature

into his pictures.

~Henry Ward Beecher

This is the time that so many of us pause for reflection on what went right or wrong in 2010 and set goals for 2011. As an artist, we are continually trying to understand and reflect in our art the world as we see it or the world that could be. It doesn't matter whether it is the dead of winter on December 31st before the new year or the middle of a hot July. At any time of the year I find myself trying to rationalize the making of my art and place it on a scale to measure the worthiness of this painting or that, the merits of making art that attempts to re-interpret a place of beauty, to bring serenity to the viewer. Making art solely because I want to express the beauty I find in nature is quite an idealistic aim but one that I gravitate and aspire to. I'm not trying to change the world, make a political statement or bring to light a social injustice.

So the simple truth is that my artistic goal for 2011 continues to be to create paintings that stir the soul to a place of rest and feeling of peace and tranquility for those who view my paintings. I'll strive to continue to develop my skills, trying to paint spontaneously with fresh, color loaded strokes. Oh, and of course, it would be great to find another gallery that would provide the perfect collaborative atmosphere for my work :) 

Guess I better get to work and quit talking.

Happy New Year to all!

Visited my favorite gallery, Around the Corner Art Gallery in Montrose, CO, and dropped off this and another small cradled panel painting.  "Rustic Rico" is an original oil, 6x6 with 1 1/2 inch sides that are also painted as you can see by the 2nd image. It sells for $85, a great price for an original. I love these old mining shacks that are so common through the Colorado mountain mining towns. The waves of golden aspens in the background were so incredibly intense when I saw them, I am still in awe.

This thing called social media

It's winter and although not as cold here in Colorado as these winter hares huddled under the tree, with the short days and cold nights it's difficult some days to feel charged up and creative in my cold studio. So while not creating, I'm trying to wrap my non-technical mind around blogging, twitter, and all the many ways one can now share their art on the internet. How overwhealming is that?!

For those of you who discovered this blog and enjoy my paintings, I've added Subscribe options on the Upper Right of this blog. You can either receive an email when I add a new painting/posting or you can subscribe to an RSS Feed. I promise to never send you postings too frequently ... that might cut too much into my studio time! Hope to hear from you soon.
Best,
Gina