Hard Times, Great Art

Jan21

I am thinking about art, feeling inspired, but too sick to paint today. It’ll pass, it’s not a big deal, just a cold or virus, or whatever. The local “ick”. So I look over old work that has not previously made it into this blog that I might share, and look for some theme.

Trying times, culturally and politically, in the USA. Hard times often produce some great art – which is not any sort of endorsement of hardship or chaos, it’s just a thing that occurs. It often seems the world is burning (wildfires, warfare, social upheaval)… I guess I’ll need more hues of red, orange, yellow… maybe some organic hues, and hues of violet and magenta? I look at older works that reflect other hard times…

Returning from deployment (Desert Storm) took me awhile to “sort out”. It was strange and difficult to come home to civilian life.

“Don’t Remind Me, I Can’t Forget” watercolor on paper, 16″ x 20″, 1992

Emotional pain, physical pain, cultural pain, violence, warfare, and hardship; it’s not the same sort of inspiration as I feel when I am inspired by love, or a beautiful sunrise. Painting just happens to be the way I communicate what I don’t have words for.

“Mea Culpa” watercolor on paper, 16″x 20″, 1992

A lot of living, a lot of memories, a lot of inspiration – some of it quite personal, some of it less so, are reflected in a lifetime of painting. I have done most of my painting in times of hardship, sorrow, and pain, because I didn’t have language for those experiences (and few experiences of joy in earlier years).

“All I Am” tinted linseed oil on paper, 8″ x 10″, 1988

We grow, we move on, we experience more and different and other, and we live again. I’m grateful that there have been more moments of joy than of hardship, and I’m grateful to be able to paint when I don’t have words. Hard times come and go, the art remains.

“Be Like Water” acrylic on canvas with glow and India ink, 12″ x 14″, 2018

Stormy Sunset

Nov25

Plein air on a recent visit to the Oregon Coast. I was fortunate to have a great view of the sunset from my balcony.

Hand of Fatima

Nov11

A look back a piece from 2019.

“Hand of Fatima” 8″ x 10″ acrylic mixed-media on canvas w/glitter and glow

This piece still gives me a feeling of peace and hope. It relies on a lot of glow, and one prominent “googly eye”.

“Hand of Fatima” seen in darkness after being charged under UV light.

Sunrise at the Trailhead II

Nov5

I take a lot of early morning hikes. I see a lot of sunrises. No suprise then that I also paint a lot of sunrises. This view is a favorite one, from “my” parking place at a favorite trail. I see the sun rise from this vantage point often. This colorful sunrise, a view seen in September (as I recall) was quite a splendid one, and I did my humble best to capture it, although there is no universe in which art could accurately convey the beauty of the colors I saw that morning. I’ll keep trying. I’ll keep wondering at those beautiful sunrises.

Full Moon

Oct12

The full moon shortly before daybreak at the edge of a meadow inspired this piece. For me, this one is an autumn moment, in September; shorter days and later sunrises sometimes taking me by surprise, thinking I’ll be hiking, but finding myself waiting for the sun. The subtle violets and cobalt blues are among the delights of the Henri Roche pastels.

Into the Sunset

Oct12

Reflecting on the recent drive to the coast on my last painting getaway, I worked from the recollection of the drive, similar other sunset drives, and the view of a sunset in-progress from the balcony of my hotel room. It was a fun quick piece that I did while the sunset flared to full vividness, and finished as it faded.

Morning Mist, Taft

Oct11

This piece illustrates how very much art is in the eye of the beholder, and how little control over that an artist really has. I painted this from the balcony of my hotel room on a misty morning, watching the mist fill the spaces between distant hills on the other side of Siletz Bay. Shortly before, I’d received a worried phone call from my partner, uneasy about the potential of a tsunami (because I’d earlier messaged at how interesting it was to be able to see the tide coming in so easily from my vantage point, then suddenly stopped replying while I was painting this very piece). When I shared the completed work with my partner, he saw the image as tsunami-like, more than any impression of a misty morning. Funny how that goes.

Stormy Weather

Oct5

I painted this with stormy weather in mind, and recollections of my July trip to the coast, watching a storm approach from the western horizon, dropping showers as it passed over the ocean and the bay.

I’ve found that one challenge using unmounted Pastelmat is the paper tends to warp just a bit when I remove the masking tape I use to mask off the border and release it from the surface I’ve secured it to. This observation inspired the subsequent (recent) switch to Ampersand Pastelbord, although I’m not firmly committed to one or the other surface; they each have their advantages. This piece was photographed immediately after completion, and before I had pressed it flat again.

September Sunrise

Sep7

Early work in a new (for me) medium. This piece is inspired by September sunrises I have enjoyed this year at a local trailhead. This piece uses a combination of Sennelier and Henri Roche soft pastels, on Ampersand pastel board.

As was the case when I first picked up a paint brush, in the early 1980s, I find myself most inspired by landscapes presently. Perhaps it is as simple as “seeing them everywhere” that makes landscape painting so approachable when I am exploring the first work in a new medium? Watercolor, oil, acrylic…they each followed a typical (of me) flow, first landscape, then botanical work or some still life, eventually breaking things down in new increasingly abstract ways. I wonder where pastels will take me, over time?

New Medium, New Inspiration, New Work

Sep1

It’s been a bit more than a month since I made the switch from many years (a lifetime, really) of working in acrylic and 3D mixed media. So much has happened since then, and I’ve been enjoying my first explorations in pastel. I’m definitely enjoying the brands I’d selected (a combination of Sennelier and Henri Roche, and a small assortment of iridescent hard pastels from Sakura’s Nouvelle Carre’ line, some of which I’d apparently purchased “back in the day”, and lay long-forgotten in a box).

I took a couple days of solo creative time, late in July, and “played in the colors” without any specific agenda or rigid goals. It was very much an exploratory time, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The results were sometimes a bit humbling (how am I this messy??), and often satisfying and delightful.

Still, it’s not about neat vs messy, so much as the results, and I am pleased with those. I’ve surprised myself, too; of the new work, one piece is already sold, and two others are already spoken for. I did not expect that. This works for me. I also did not expect this medium to feel so… wholesome? Pure? Freeing.

I’ll no doubt do a post for each of these individually at some point, although they are part of the same weekend’s work. I hope you enjoy taking a look at my most recent work, and the first in this medium.

The Art of M. Elisabeth Howell

Capturing life in color and texture, and making it glow!

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