Retrospective Gallery
Art & Photography Archives
Past works are exhibited to show the progression from where I was to where I am today. With most artists, this progression slowly evolves over the years as they work in one style or another, one media and then another, as each new idea catches their interest and they begin to explore. It has been that way for me as I have had new interests peaked and begun the explorations.
What drives this exploration is the dual quest to develop new techniques in different media, and investigate the relationship between humans and their environment. Very much interested in nature and Mother Earth herself, I am often caught up in the goings on of the birds, animals and people around me - the colors and textures of things - their form. These usually get translated into my works in one form or another. This may not be immediately visible to an observers eye, but these interests are so ingrained and so important a part of my being, that they are part and parcel of whatever I do. Whether it be some galactic swirl of colors I have noticed in one of the NASA photos, or the twisted turnings of connections in my brain after having read an article on the lives of people in Tibet, it gets reflected in some way in my work, as it is a part of me, and the paintings, writing, photos, drawings - whatever I do - are from the very core of my being. I cannot separate the two.
The progression from terrible to passable to better to decent to fantastic is not necessarily the way it goes either. As an artist, I have noticed a continuous fluctuation between the labels as I search new areas of interest and try to portray them, and also as I change from one media to another. It is never a straight line -- which is sort of like life as well. We think we are succeeding then something creeps up behind us and as we turn around we see things from a completely new perspective and realize just how off-track we were!
So I hope you enjoy looking through these archives, and no matter what your likes and dislikes, I hope you find some interesting thought to take away with you.
Pen & Ink Freeforms
Champagne Bubbles
These pen and ink quick sketches were done quite some time ago to experiment with line sizes and ink patterns. Lots of fun to play with and turns out some interesting designs. Who knows why, but this one makes me think of champagne bubbles. They were done as experiments, opening myself to whatever came along, and as a result it gave me a great deal of enjoyment to do them. This freeform playing is important to artists as well as to every other human being - we take ourselves too seriously much of the time. ...... Play!
Fence Post
This one kind of reminds me of a leaning fencepost in the field, with tangled barbed wire -- but there also seems to be a small figure in the middle, on a bit of a kilter and seemingly quite befuddled by it all! Perhaps feeling trapped and contained and wondering how to get out without damage!
Brambles
These rambling splotches of ink definitely came out looking like a brambles thicket, which brought out good memories of blackberry bushes at the base of the hill to my Grandfather's house. A work of art does not have to clearly depict a moment in time to trigger memories and reminders. It can evoke the atmosphere; combine the colours; have something in the rhythm or textures that recall the past. Our physical bodies absorb life in many different ways. Although we like to think of the brain as the keeper of knowledge, it is not as simple a process as that. Many parts of the body are busy absorbing information for it to keep on several different levels.
Pen & Ink Drawings
On the other end of the spectrum - these drawings have had much thought and specifically controlled work put in to them. There is very little freeness about them, and they definitely took longer to complete. These are more cerebral interpretations of the thoughts popping into my head concerning things I had read or been discussing with people. In the previous works I was experimenting and playing to see what could be accomplished if I just let it flow - in these I was definitely applying myself towards a specific outcome.
Tables Turned
From the other side of the situation - wonder how we would feel. Although, I thoroughly enjoy looking at things under the microscope to see up close the variety of shapes, colours, textures of things that I cannot see without the lens magnification. I suppose this is a part of the enjoyment I get from the closeup flower photos that I do now. Pushing the envelope as far as I can to see what the result is - what kind of colour and form can I get just being as up close and personal as I possibly can be with only the lens of my camera.
Executive Burnout
"Executive Burnout" is the title, and it depicts all the things in life we get caught up in, in the effort to be the very best we can be! At the same time, we can become overzealous and bite off more than we can chew - the end result being a fizzle, sizzle and meltdown.
It is amusing now, to look at the shapes and sizes of the phone, tape recorder and computer keyboard! They look monstrous compared to the electronic gadgets we stuff in to our briefcases these days. As we evolve, our 'stuff' evolves along with us - it would be an interesting study to ponder.
Mixed Media Paintings
My usual form of working previously was 4' x 5' mixed media canvases. I would begin my process with a kernel of an idea and let thoughts flow freely about it as I was stretching and preparing the canvas ready to paint. Once the canvas was ready I would have some definite ideas I wanted to portray in the working of the subject - connections to, similarities between, differences from "it" and other ideas. Any type of media was fair game to use, but it most frequently included acrylic paint, pencil rubbings, torn paper, photographs, inks and pastels. They were all used to enhance thin layers of acrylic paint patterns and create interpretive images on the topic in mind.
Searching
The following is written onto the painting and worked into the design. At the time I was in transition from one lifestyle to another, and asking many questions, feeling many emotions, and healing them through opening up my mind and awaiting the answers - in whatever form they might come in.
"Who am I , what am I, where am I going on these pathways through time.
The spaces that surround me are not always kind to my face.
The willows weep and leave a babbling brook that yearns to wash me out to sea,
to float without a boat eternally.
What untold secrets, locked within, hold the keys to me.
Somewhere in the depths lie the answers.
Somewhere in the flotsam and jetsam of my life -
within the garbage that washes up on the shore -
within the maze of pathways I follow, there is a reason.
For being where I am.
For being who I am.
For going where I go.
But I can't quite lay my finger on it.
It stays just far enough out of reach
- to keep me searching."
The Far Shore
This one is toying with thoughts of "the other side" of life - death. Not as in suicide, but more that one can feel an affinity with the tranquility that the state brings - and the knowledge that there are some people who toy with going as close to that edge as they can without disconnecting the chord that ties them to the living side. They want to be both places at once, thus, in the painting, there is a photo of my reflection on both sides of the 'shore'. Following is the writing from this one:
"Time passenger - riding silver threads of time
from watery birth to drifting through the tranquil sea.
The twinkling lights beckon from the far shore.
You reach for them - yearn to become part of them,
But know in doing, you will have undone.
The silver thread disconnects."
Spaces and Places
A moment at the place where the sky meets the sea and the sea meets the shore and I am in the centre of it all. It was a life altering moment that has stayed with me the rest of this life I live. The water's edge is often where you might find me - filling the well.
"Someplace where the sky meets the trees
and the trees meet the water
and the earth becomes one with itself.
The space between the sea and the shore on a windy day
when the gulls screech and the children shout,
but one cannot hear them.
Spaces and places, these I need
the hungry soul within to feed,
to recall again the overall plan,
to be at peace with who I am."
Icarus
One of my children was studying Greek mythology at the time a friend and relation passed away. She was about my own age, had just moved into a new home, had started working at home at something she loved. She left behind two young children. About the same time, a colleague at work had finally reached retirement and had long been looking forward to being at home to tend to his ill wife. He passed away a few short weeks later.
I had many questions, and this was my homage to them both, and my way of healing myself from the sense of loss. It struck me that I needed to honour my own feelings about these losses and deal with them in a way that could satisfy my needs, otherwise I would just carry the every increasing load of losses throughout my life. I have certainly never forgotten them, but I can look back at the events as a part of the cycle of all forms of life itself, and know in my heart that the energy that sustained them has been spread to sustain other things.
The words on the painting are as follows:
"Sad eyes watching speak works unspoken
trembling lips can't express the loss.
Icarus flies high but is felled at his peak,
transformed through death,
life flows energy on."
Rock Face
For a period of time I was interested in doing three dimensional works. They became quite a challenge, not only to construct, but to ship and store. This one involves the destruction of the environment.
It is created of canvas covering a wire frame which is attached by leather thonging to a willow branch frame and stands slightly larger than 4 feet by 5 feet in size.
White Tide
We have light clay cliffs along the lake that have been worn and weathered over the centuries. They stand as guardians of the valley, and have seen many changes in their time.
The Hoodoo spirit of the clay cliffs spoke -
"Once upon the clear blue waters a great wind from the east brought a white tide. Fierce as dune sand in wind storms it was blown across the land. In the wake of the storm it settled in pockets and multiplied, eroding great holes in the earth allowing her soul to seep out. It has drunk dry the fluids and spat them out as sludge. Coyote has played his greatest trick. You must summon the whirlwind so that you may know one another. It is too hard to breathe in a whitewashed skin."
This one again is canvas over wire frame and strung onto willow branch frame - about 4 feet by 5 feet 6 inches.
From Very Large to Something Much Smaller
It was about this time in my life when I packed my house up and began to do some touring in a 20 foot travel trailer. Obviously, I wasn't going to be able to work on my usual style of painting, so had to find something smaller to satisfy my artistic urges!
I did alot of writing and my photography didn't take up much room, so I did more of that - but I found that I still needed something more tactile to do, so I started making small jewellery items.
Jewellery Designs.
something small and simple - natural stones - some I could draw on.
Small Can Be Good Too
Pencil Crayons
Pencils do not take up much space, and give the opportunity to bring color into the picture (pardon the pun). So I did a few stylized works with pencil crayon. These were inspired by the stone 'dancing bear' carvings of Enook Manomie that I had seen in a gallery. There was no way I could look at them without smiling.
Dancing Bear
Dancing to the beat of the drum.
Dancing Bears
The whole family group's here.
Journal Drawings
As I travelled, I have taken a sketchbook with me for those tranquil times waiting for one thing or another - or just to keep myself creatively active. What I enjoy sketching the most is small snipets of plant life.
On To The Next Step
When I settled enough to do paintings again, they became more colour forms than anything realistic. Continue on the next page in Retrospective Gallery Two if you want to see what came along next.