A new year, with new challenges. In spite of everything, I am hopeful. I am determined to continue to make work that reflects the beauty of the natural world.
Today I am at the end of a new painting and looking for inspiration for the next, which I have tasked myself to get a start on today. I find that if I flow from one painting to the next, it keeps the inspiration and ideas going. I work on one painting at a time; never more than that. My concentration is fixed on that one piece until it is completed. Creating a painting is a meditative process for me.
Yesterday I cleaned up my studio a bit, which is also something I sometimes do right after I finish a piece. It refreshes my work space. In my studio I have a bright, warm yellow floor, it's quite cheery. The painting I've just finished, "Yellow", uses the same sunny yellow among the subject matter of sunflower, ginkgo leaves and roses.
This year, which is already beginning in a tumultuous way, requires us all to focus on the constancy of the natural world around us. We must find calm and peace in our daily lives, even while others may be cultivating uproar and division.
In my work you will find artwork that brings the outdoors in to your living space. With my sunny color shades and the implied movement of the plants and flowers, birds and insects, as well as how each element reaches out to it's neighbor, you may see a piece that will fit within your home. A bit of nature to gaze upon in your day to day life. A bit of my own imagination that you may relate to in some way.
Many of my collectors find that they attach a sentiment to a particular flower or bird. Do you yourself have these attachments? For me, it's the bird of paradise that reminds me of my father, roses of my English grandmother, anise and figs that remind me of my Italian grandfather, daisies which remind me of my mother.
Today I will be starting a new original artwork. I hope you will find something meaningful to create or enjoy today.
Take good care of yourself,
Lisa Skyheart Marshall
painting shown above: "On the Beach", and 8x10 original copyrighted painting. Prints are available of this piece. Please do not copy or forward or print an image of one of my original paintings without my permission.
Thank you for your understanding.
