Spring!

Yes, it's spring, finally happening in Wyoming. It has been raining a bit and everywhere I look is green as can be. This is so refreshing after the monochromatism of gray winter days. Nature has come to life again and because of the harsh climate, it's a yearly celebration.

I find myself wanting to paint everything green, in fact. It's such an amazing color and it's fascinating the know that most of the world is green -except for the oceans and seas, indeed. So it's the most "natural" color around, but it's never been an easy color to reproduce. What comes out of your tube of Permanent Green Light you will never find outside. Green is difficult to reproduce, and it has often been made of metal, or rather, the corrosion of metal.

I am loving all the nuances and thinking I need to explore a painting that encompasses them all, without being boring and overly uniform.

In the meantime, I'm back in my studio painting a lot! I had a difficult winter with my sweet beloved dog being sick and passing away and it took me a long time to recover. Now on, my art will always be dedicated to him, for he was a grand presence in my life.

Here is one of my latest studies, mainly green, I guess. It will most likely change in design and values, but for now this feels good.

Festival

Acrylics on wood board - 10 x 10

I had started this as a simple study in texture but it developed in a lovely way. I work intuitively, very often, letting the piece lead me into a certain direction. I had many doubts that I was going down a good path on this one, but after I made the decision to add some lines, some green, some shapes, it got better and better. Working with gray is also very satisfying as its variation are endless. 

I was inspired by some colors on one of our maple trees outside. It's a Rocky Mountain maple, and it has numerous of those little helicopter seeds ripening. They are amazing shades of pink and orange, and the green leaves provided a great contrast. After that, it's a world in my imagination that takes over. I like this piece a lot.