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Happy Halloween!

Even though Ravens and Crows have a role in the dark side of Halloween, folklore often represents corvids as clever and even mystical animals. Some Native Americans, such as the Haida, believed that a raven created the Earth and, despite being a trickster spirit, ravens were popular on totems, credited with creating man and placing the sun in the sky.

I've always had a connection with crows and ravens - much of my young childhood was spent in the protective canopy of old growth forest, where I learned to listen to the language of birds. Although my family and friends thought I was a bit crazy, I always felt that I could talk to animals, and they to me.  Sometimes I find they are much clearer than humans to understand!

Raven's message: You are the master of synchronicity. Know in your heart that all doors are open wide. All you have to do is move through them.

Today's painting features two of my favorites, the fox and the crow. I started out thinking about color relationships, specifically complementary colors - maybe yesterday's snow had me thinking about Christmas, but I was drawn to red and green.   When the crow showed up, I was reminded of Aesop's Fable of the fox and the crow, and how the fox used flattery to cause the crow to drop the cheese, which, of course, the fox promptly ate. The moral of the story: don't believe everything you hear; not everyone has your best interests at heart.

As totem animals,  fox and crow  together are  a reminder to be adaptable, and to go with the flow. Fox reminds us to use all our resources; people who resonate with Fox are usually creative problem solvers. Crow reminds us to pay attention to our thoughts and to omens, that clear thinking and perhaps a bird's eye view are necessary to see the big picture.

Today's painting certainly reflects the weather here in northern Colorado. The temp is hovering around 12 degrees, and, with the wind chill, feels like about -2. A good day to stay in the studio and paint. I did have plans for today...shipping artwork, delivering a painting that I'm donating to a fundraiser, grocery shopping...it can all wait until tomorrow!

So often when I start a painting, I have no real plan for how it will end up. But I do choose colors, mostly based on feel - whatever appeals to me as I look over tubes of paint. This morning the cold, snowy weather inspired cool colors. I had in my mind a snowy forest...so when the polar bear showed up, I figured that was pretty appropriate.  Often, when an animal shows up by chance in one of my paintings, I research the symbolism of that animal.  What I found today is pretty accurate - and if you feel drawn to this painting, maybe it will resonate with you, too.

"Polar Bear is reminding you how enormously strong and full of courage you are. He has come to help you stand up to your current challenges in life, no matter how intimidating they are. You will never be overwhelmed. This white bear also reminds you that you can thrive in environments that may be hostile to others." Click here to read more.

Once in a while, a painting just seems to paint itself, and this is one of those. When I sat down in my studio to begin my daily painting, I had some leftover paint on my palette, so I just grabbed a handy gessoed panel and used the paint that was there to begin. Within a very short time, the horse appeared, and seemed to be floating in water. I quickly recognized it's significance. In the last few days, my family has been dealing with some pretty stressful situations...some of which I am able to help with, some I am not. My tendency is to want to help everyone, make things better, feel their pain. Such is the life of an empath, and it is easy to get overwhelmed with other people's pain and anxiety.

Over the last few years I have learned to protect myself while still being empathetic...and I try to live by the serenity prayer, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference."  Such simple words, but a challenge to actually live. I was tested this weekend, and then again this morning, not to get myself sucked into anxiety and drama, not to let my mind race off to worst case scenarios, not to feel guilty for not doing "enough".

This little painting seems to me to be a reminder, in the midst of chaos and drama, to come up for air and breathe.

This piece feels more like a study than a fully realized painting. There are things that I love...the color palette, the unexpected yellow in the otherwise cool, muted scene.  The loose, gestural quality to the painting - nothing too labored or over-thought. There is something about the immediacy of the mark making (all palette knife) that I find satisfying.  So I will leave it - and love it - as is.

I was listening to "The Holly and the Ivy" by Loreena McKennitt as I worked on this painting today...the line from the song, "...the running of the deer," has always evoked a feeling in me, and I've wanted to paint the scene that plays in my head.  I got a late start with my painting practice, and this piece did not come easily.  I don't know how many layers of paint I applied and scraped off and reapplied - all using a palette knife. Finally, I have something I can make peace with - and I learned much with this one!

I had one challenge for myself today: to use only three colors (quin magenta, dioxazine purple and green gold) and unbleached titanium white. Why those colors? They were the first ones I picked up!  They were tricky to work with as a combination and even trickier to photograph - so this is not exactly how the piece looks in real life, but close.  And after all that I failed my challenge, because I got a wild idea to add a little teal in for highlights. Why? Because I wanted to! It's good to be queen of my painting universe.

For a long time - like years, really! - I've been thinking about painting a bee. I've started bee paintings, but always gave up on them, because they seemed too contrived or too...something. But this morning, this little worker bee showed up and I am rather pleased with it.

Honey bees have intrigued me for some time - since I planted my first blue spirea bush when we still lived in the Waverly log house. I was pretty thrilled that the bush seemed to thrive where I planted it, but even more so, that in late summer and early fall, when it was full of blue blossoms, the bees would come in hordes...all kinds of honey bees, from big bumbles to teeny tiny little bees. As I would work around them, they paid me no mind - they were gentle little souls, just buzzing about doing their part for Mother Earth. In the two houses I've lived in since, planting bee friendly plants is my first priority. I even have recently learned to make peace with a colony of European paper wasps who decided the pergola on our back patio was a perfect place for their busy hive. I made a deal with them - don't attack me and I won't attack you. It worked - and even as they got a little more frenetic in their search for food in early fall, they never got aggressive. 

I don't know. Maybe there is a moral to the story.  Bee kind to others and they will bee kind to you.

Painting #2 of my daily painting challenge. Returning to an old, familiar subject but treating it differently than before. I thought I'd experiment with a very limited color palette and try to loosen up with mark-making.  I like how it turned out and hope you do, too!

The open heart says, more than anything else, “Go on, ride the horse backwards. Let the impossible unfold.” Native American tribes often spoke of a “Heyoka”, a crazy-wisdom trickster figure who did everything differently. His horse went forwards, for instance, but he rode it facing backward.

This is where creativity comes from—experiment, do something different, maybe even something forbidden, and voila! A breakthrough occurs! Ha! Ha! We are released! The world is created anew! Do something backwards, break your own traditions, the barrier breaks; destroy the world as you know it, let the new in.

This is what I hope to accomplish with these daily paintings...by working small, I hope to think big.

Some years back I started a daily painting project which was an attempt to discipline my art practice by not only committing to paint on a daily basis, but to complete one small painting a day. Last year around this time I revived the practice...in both cases, life intervened, as it often does, and I abandoned my practice of completing one small work daily. So, here I am again, reviving the practice. My reasoning is, completing a small painting each day stimulates the creative juices while allowing a sense of completion - something that is difficult now as I work on an extended series of paintings that I am only revealing to a select group (my art letter subscribers) until the series is complete. So many of those works are various stages of completeness that it is hard for me to feel like i am accomplishing anything!

The other reason is, that with the approaching Holidays, I am hoping you will consider giving the gift of art to someone on your list. The gift of art is a two-fold gift - something unique and special for the recipient, and a much needed gift of support for the artist.  Supporting artists through the purchase of original artwork is what allows us to keep on creating - financially, of course, but more than that, emotionally. We need that connection, that affirmation, that what we do matters. In a culture where consumerism is rampant, where most "things" are disposable - designed and destined to last only until the next trendy version comes out (yes, cell phones, I'm talking about YOU!), the very fact that art survives and thrives is a testament to our human need for things that last, things that mean something, things that give us joy way past the time it takes to make a purchase.

So here's my plan:

Starting Oct. 21 (which starts my next trip around the sun) I'll complete one small (8x8 and under) painting each day, 5 days a week for the next 4 weeks. I will send out an email to my peeps (that's you, if you are subscribed to my art letter) with the daily painting and a chance to purchase it. The next day, I'll post the painting on social media, making it available to everyone else.

Today's painting is called Powerful. It is a return to one of my favorite subjects, the American Bison. "The iconic Buffalo has numerous symbolic meanings in various settings. Some Buffalo and Bison symbolism includes manifesting our desires, the Earth element, bravery, kindness, strength, and respect. Buffalo spirit walks a sacred path, knowing the planet is truly a holy space and living creature. All things under Father Sky and on Mother Earth are connected through Buffalo medicine. When Buffalo travels with you, remember to live in gratitude and stay true to yourself. Honor the gifts the Universe bestows, and the lessons Buffalo teaches." (read more about Buffalo as a spirit or totem animal here.)