I've been searching...

...through my photo files recently in an effort to pare down the hundreds of photos.  It's truly astounding how many floral pieces I've done over the years.

I've collaged them,

drawn them in pencil,

coloured them in chalk pastel,

sculpted them with acrylic medium,

created them from wine and beer bottle caps,

 crafted them from hand-painted papers,

turned them into altered books,

photographed and printed them on dryer sheets before adding them to a painting,

and created entire mountain ranges from them.

I'm fascinated by the number of paintings I've done that incorporate flowers (and I've kept record of some three hundred of them apparently), especially given that I'm so averse to the actual concept of getting my hands dirty in real soil.  I leave that up to my husband, John, who is so fond of gardening he's starts to resemble the dark rich colour of his favourite tomatoes in the summer.  

I suspect that the floral form is an instant connection to my beloved mandalas, the sacred circle.  I hope you'll tell me what your recurring themes are in the comment area below.  What is it that you return to again and again? How does it connect the dots for you in your life?

Intimidation...

...comes in many forms for an artist.  Drawing portraits and figures is at the top of my list, and I avoid doing so at every opportunity (and there are plenty!).  I am in awe of artists who make their living doing portraits, am amazed at every artist who incorporates the human figure into a painting, and appreciate anyone who is willing to work beyond the 'stick man' form.

My skill ranges from the appallingly disfigured,

to the thoroughly out-of-shape,

to the acceptable, (if I squint really hard),

dependent upon whether I've been exercising my muscles regularly. 

I'm here to tell you that I've not done any portrait/figure drawing for over four years, so you can guess where I'm currently at in the spectrum. 

Tomorrow, I'm joining a group of fellow artists at the home of Karen Arrowsmith in Boswell in a life-drawing class.  I'm not sure whether we'll have a male or female model, but I AM sure that my rusty life drawing skills will get a supreme workout.  Please, wish me luck and at least one acceptable sketch!