Inspiration

I've been thinking of what I wanted to write in my next entry for the last few days. So this little ditty is all about inspiration. On Sunday, I went to help my friend Monika hang her beautiful work in a gallery space in town. It was so funny how our different perspectives influenced how our eyes moved around the space. Her prairie heart preferred the horizontal lines - like the open prairie spaces. And I was naturally drawn to rolling lines and vertical dimensions - something Monika links to my love of tall Australian snow gums. But what really moved me was how amazing her artwork looked. She was so nervous and all I could think was that she had absolutely no reason to be. Her pieces are amazing. I loved hearing the comments from people passing by who didnt know I knew the artist. "spectacular"


This is Monika tweeking her space - getting the lighting right and putting on the finishing touches. I hope she doesnt mind that I've 'borrowed' this image from her blog. But I didnt take my camera to get my own snaps of her finished display and I wanted everyone who reads this to see what I mean about inspirational.

It really was inspiring to see where this art business can lead.

When I was pondering what else I would write about inspiration, I thought of all of the things that inspire me. I am (as usual it would appear) a bit tired and perhaps not as eloquent as I would like, but I will try to share a few little things.

I love the way the paint moves when I wash my first brush of the day, when the water in my glass is still clean and the ink flows off the brush and in lazy, delicate circles. I keep thinking I will have to take a photo of it... maybe I'll get a chance to capture that tomorrow.

I also love the way I keep finding the spiralling lines that make up my chakra paintings, all around me. In nature and in design... like my journal - bound in pink leather with the most amazing design stamped onto the front. Now, that really says something - a pink leather journal - lol - but I hasten to add that it was the spiral design on the front that drew me to this book and ...well, there is something ironic about choosing pink when you really arent a pink kinda girl. And I must admit, I am really not a pink kinda girl!!

stay tuned for a photo of the journal.!!

Anyway, I'll think of more things to add to that list ... but now for some artwork! Last week I showed a friend of mine the elvish piece that I had just finished and she loved it. She said she would love one as well but the perfect spot for it in her place was above her bed - and that called for a horizontal painting.

Of course, the chakra lineage represents the alignment of the chakras up the spine - traditionally a vertical position. But hey, I guess if you are lying in bed, then horizontal works just fine!! Anyway, I got to thinking about the piece.. and how it could change whilst reclining in this horizontal garb and it led me to the inclusion of the sanskrit names for each chakra.


As you can see my lighting at night is dreadful!! Hence my lack of any other photographs to go with this blog. I'm still working on this painting - as you can see, there is room on top of the chakras for the final 'petal work' - which I have started but thought I would wait till daylight to continue.

But I had to share.. the way the thought of approaching this painting from a different direction led me to the inclusion of the horizontal script... I love it and the way it has turned out. I also love the curly lines - left over from my flirtation with the elvish energy.
This is a close up the Anahata - the heart chakra. What I really like are the lighter lines where I havent loaded as much pigment onto the brush and just the hint of a line or spiral flows underneath the other markings.

And this is a close up of the end of the painting... exit stage right so to speak.


From this perspective you can see how the solid line that is part of the sanskrit script, underlines the entire piece. I've bled the colours into each other as the words move from one chakra name to the next. So hard to capture with the camera... especially with this dreadful light. Would you believe I have four lamps turned on when I work, just trying to throw enough light onto my work, but not into my eyes. I know they say that the best light to work by is natural daylight.. but unfortunately, my kids are wide awake during the day. Funny about that! And painting is often something that doesnt get done for any great length of time when they are underfoot. Another shocking revelation I know. LOL.

Anyway, that is what I've been doing and mulling over. There is so much more I want to write about inspiration but I'll leave it for when the light is better and the sleep has left my tired eyes. I hope you have found a little of the magic stuff in your day today, wherever you are.

!!!