Crow Love Poem 4

Lovejoy News for Earlier this Month

The morning is dark, only traces of blue and purple behind the tree in the lot. A jet rumbles across the sky while the shadows of the room stretch and slink out the door. 
It is Saturday, only an occasional car. When a truck goes by the squeak of its brakes lays across the bed with the fragile blue light. The oak holds its curly branches still against the grey while two leaves wiggle slightly in a tiny wind.

Crow Love Poem 3

The other day I was walking home from the Post Office when I was drawn into the J Rollins Art of Framing shop by some really lovely horse paintings in the window. Inside the shop there were even more paintings by Laure Heinz. I grew up around horses and was really enamored with how Heinz captured their essence while also making really beautiful abstract paintings. The woman running the shop agreed and described them as love poems. If you have spent any time at this blog you can imagine how that description captivated me. I immediately went home and started gessoing little pieces of paper so I could paint love poems to crows. Trying to emulate Heinz turns out to be the perfect exercise for me to work on a painting style that describes tangible things without being caught up in realism. Tree love poems are next.

Crow Love Poem 2

Acrylic and ink on handmade paper 5'' x 3.5''.

Crow Love Poem

Acrylic and ink on handmade paper, 4.5'' x 4''.

Soft News for December 7th on NW Lovejoy

 

 The streets were empty, one car blinked its four-ways while the driver gathered things from inside. Soon the trucks came to scoop up the wet leaves and sweep the streets. The clouds barreled across the sky. The people scurried across the parking lot. On the corner the rough, red edges of the unfinished building took up too much of the sky and the whole block felt raw. In the courtyard the yellow leaves rattled inside the tree and settled with the rain.

Treescape 6: Between the Bristlecone and White Pine Trails

I painted this treescape in watercolor and gouache on handmade paper that I mounted on a board and sized with gelatin. It was not my favorite surface to work on. As much as I love this painting, I was having a really hard time focusing when I was out sketching. Always I am torn between wanting to make as realistic a rendering as possible and wanting to do a whimsical painting that express how a place feels. Ultimately I know I want to make whimsical paintings but I feel like I need to master realism first. Maybe there is some middle ground I haven't considered yet.