Been outdoors...

I've been gardening.

Its one of my other great pleasures. I know I've mentioned that before...

Perennials are my favorites. From bulbs to plants, they begin their colorful show just as the snow melts. Unlike annuals that require warm temperatures, many perennials can tolerate Maine conditions. Yeah! Its only the beginning of May and I have color throughout my yard. We had a mild, early-ending winter and plants are eager to burst into bloom well before their usual debut. Tulips are still blooming and typical June flowers have large buds ready to pop!

I can't stop myself from going outside.

Everything has come early. The leaves, the grass, the birds, the warm temperatures and yes, even the bugs!

There are plants like Russian Sage and Lavender that I've wanted in my garden for awhile now. Size is a factor. I have little room left for such large plants. My solution has been to make a new garden. So lately I've been removing grass and adding compost to create a bed for these desired "purple" beauties.

I must say, we use different muscles doing this work than when we paint...

My body screams at me in the morning, but it isn't enough to stop me. My love for nature and color extends pass the easel. For me, imagining which flowers will bloom together and placing them so the colors and size will compliment each other is very similar to painting. The biggest difference being that I have to wait to see the results. Little green tufts, that will later bloom in color, or tiny bulbs are like my paints. Place each at a special spot and the result will be beautiful. My imagination peeks and I'm swept away with this more physical type of creation.

The work is plentiful in the spring. Its easiest to move plants around at this time. Spring rains and the lack of scorching temperatures help ease the transplants into their new locations. Every year the show, the completed canvas, is different. Soon my heavy work will be done. The remainder of the season is devoted to enjoying the creation in its constant performance. As one color fades a new one replaces it, like an ongoing dance titillating the eyes.

Later I will bring my easel outside. Somedays I'll paint the floral display. Other times I will paint, like in the studio, but in the beauty of my gardens. I paint best when I'm happy and at peace. In the midst of my flower dance, my creative spirit easily takes flight. All the work I do now is in anticipation of the display later.

Luka Bloom, you know the Irish singer I like so much.., spoke about writing songs. For this creative portion of his work, he requires quiet times of peace and reflection. Its when you can really hear your inner-self, your spirit speak. I feel the same about painting. There are days when its better for me to stop, relax and listen. Haste doesn't benefit my results. To paint nature, its essential that I take time reflecting in it. Quiet time.

So don't worry that I'm not painting. Soon I will be and this quiet, yet physical time, will add to my creative spirit. The more I absorb in, the more I will have to release out!

Don't spend all your time hurrying through life. Make sure you allow yourself quiet times of reflection. They're essential, for many reasons. Just like the buds on my plants ready to explode into blossoms, you will find your creativity ready to explode on canvas!

Marvelous things can happen...

Long road

When compared to painting nature, everything man-made takes on a different challenge. Unlike organic forms, these are structured and stationary. Both the mind and the paintbrush discover a change and need to adapt to capture the difference. I recently left a comment about this very subject on Jean Townsend's blog and last night, my students were struck by the difference...

I wanted to focus on the building but thought it would be better to quickly find a few simple elements on the right. "Lets put in the road quickly", was my suggestion. I must say, "quick" was no where to be found in this activity. Those two little ruts that extend only four inches up the canvas took us better than one hour to achieve!

We laughed at how little we had painted. One hour and two stripes!

My students were determined to get it correctly. (I love seeing that determination. Way to go ladies!) No matter how much I broke it down, perspective gets confusing when you put it on a hill, throw in a curve, and have it disappear down the other side. Thank goodness for the "thinner eraser"! Each rut needed to narrow as it receded. So did the space between the ruts. One rut comes towards you while the other approaches at a sharp angle. The mind tells you they are parallel. The hand wants to listen. Over and over, they redid it trying to get it right.

Finally we could move on...

I feared the building, thinking it would take us longer than an entire class after the road fiasco, but symmetry proved simpler. By the end of class, we managed to block in the remainder of our canvas. Everything is so stark and rigid right now, but its necessary when you're trying to teach it to a class. Breaking elements down to be understood by others can be an interesting challenge for a teacher. Last night felt like a mathematical lesson.

Its not the first time I do this to my poor Wednesday night ladies. Last time I had them painting a garden bench that covered two-thirds of the canvas without ever drawing it. Again I wanted the background to be free and continuous, so we painted it before ever trying to find the bench. Its a wonder they stick with me. I continue to push their limits. In doing so, they are really blossoming.

That makes me smile with pride...

Again, way to go ladies!

Posted work in progress oil 18x24" by Susan Roux

Reflections

Reflections.

Reflections of life. Reflections of the soul. Reflections of ancestry.

Reflections.

Copying, mimicking, wiggling like echos. Like echos reverberating over and over, quietly without sound. Reflections...

Like recollections in your memory. Like a mirror. Recalling a moment, an idea, an image. Calmly silent.

Add water and like adding music, these quiet images dance in a harmonious symphony! Movement in full color explodes rhythmically. Nature presents us with such marvelous sights.

So marvelous I can't resist painting them...

My "children at the beach" all play in wiggling color. Beauty, energy and innocence combine to capture the reflections of my youth. Could this be my attraction to painting this series? A blur of the past. A carefree time, joyfully playing, mud sculpting and swimming in a world of vivid color unblemished by unkind realities.

The mind wanders. In creativity the soul is exposed on canvas. Secrets are revealed. Tenderness, excitement, boldness and sensitivity surface.

Perhaps all art is a reflection of its creator. It becomes impossible to hide. Its the nature of true creativity. What are you reflecting? What are you revealing about yourself? What are the subjects and colors you use to express it best? Would you pick the same colors today as you would tomorrow if your mood changed?

Think about it.

Reflections... are they echoing you?

Posted work in progress by Susan Roux

The Cape

From Atop

Original oil painting 16x20"

by Susan Roux

More beach scenes keep pouring out of me as I prepare my body of work for delivery at the Blue Heron Gallery in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Wellfleet is on Cape Cod. The Cape is a beautiful place and I'm thrilled to return year after year. I've explored so many corners of it. I love bringing new people with me to take the two-day trip. They become my travel buddies.

Everyone is amazed with this gem of a place. Its off season when I deliver, so congestion is not an issue. Its like having the Cape to ourselves! Of course the beautiful flora comes later and to experience that, you must deal with the full hustle and bustle that tourist season brings.

Both bring me great joy.

One of my favorite things about the Cape is you can drive to both sides in a few minutes. The beach is always salty, but each side has its own special characteristics. To the wide Atlantic, the tall sand dunes aim to protect. Nature is wild however and it continues to carve them. Much like a painting, they are a work in progress. Every year their shapes are altered.

On the bay side, there are no pounding waves. The beaches are flat and long and the ebbing tide pulls the ocean far away from the dry sand. Sandbars appear. Grasses grow in the shallows. When the tide is high, the summertime green grasses dance in blue water. I love the shapes they make. In fall, the grass is orange. It can be spectacular swaying in the blue...

This painting is of the Atlantic side. From the parking lot, you approach high atop the dunes. The ocean appears all at once as a surprise. I wanted to capture that feeling, but I nearly gave up on it.

The front grasses gave me quite a challenge. After letting it stand for a few days I returned to try and gain control. Just as in Beach Path, those pesky, beautiful, sunlit grasses come together better second time around!

Maybe the accomplishment is sweeter when we work harder for it...

Colorful little towns

I loved these little towns in Ireland. What excitement it would bring driving around a corner and finding a burst of color amidst the grays and green! The landscape, so rural for such an old country, offered dotted houses over vast areas. These colorful little towns were like finding a cluster of sea glass in a shore of sand.

How inviting they were!

Being an artist and Mike a photographer, it was impossible to keep us away. Like a giant magnet pulling us in, these colorful little towns never failed to put a smile on our faces. This particular one, Portmagee, was on the tip of the Ring of Kerry. We went to see and walk up to the top of Valentia Island. Portmagee was just one of the many wonderful little surprises we found on our journey.

Valentia was across the water and a bridge connected it to the mainland. It was quite an uphill walk to reach the top, but I must say even for an out of shape woman like myself, it was well worth the effort. We walked a fenced-in narrow dirt road? I hesitate to say "road" because other than having two ruts in it, it resembled nothing like the roads I'm accustomed to. There beyond the fence lived cows and sheep, so watching our step was a necessity. The cows didn't seem particularly happy we were on their territory. The sheep on the other hand couldn't have cared any less.

Atop Valentia the sight was magnificent! One could see so far and the landscape carved in and out of the ocean. Other small islands could be seen but the most fantastic view aside from the old tower ruins which stood guard at the pinnacle, was the cliffs just beyond Portmagee. There they rose in an embrace, arms holding back the great Atlantic, protecting the colorful little village. It was as though the rocks themselves felt compassion for the town. Protecting this precious little gem even when it meant holding back the furry an angry ocean can bring. But on this day, all was calm. The ocean and cliffs were at peace. There in the calm of approaching dusk, they coexisted in their vast differences without protest.

It makes me think. Couldn't we learn from nature?

Avatar

We went to see Avatar yesterday. Wow! I kept hearing how amazing this movie was, but I was unprepared for the visual pleasure that unfolded before me. We drove an hour to the nearest Imax theater. If ever there was a movie which needed the Imax for its full impact, this is it. Avatar is a heavenly 3-D journey on an imagined planet. It is an amazing creative work art! A must see for all artists for it's filled with visual candy. I can't describe how well done this computer generated world is. I'm excited and proud that my son Josh is majoring in this field. Oh the fun he will have sculpting and creating on the computer!

I'm very sensitive to the details and subtle nuances in nature. I live in the middle of the woods and I'm always studying it. The way the sun dabbles on all the leaves and tree trunks, the chain reaction of an emerging breeze picking up in the treetops creating a wave mimicked at ball games and lately, how the snow collects on each and every branch, down to the tiniest ones. I watch the birds, squirrels and chipmunks, sometimes deer, groundhogs, wild turkeys, raccoons and yes even moose, frolic through my yard. Much of my energy is devoted to studying the sights and sounds of nature. I feel its necessary in order to interpret it with paint in a believable, representational way.

In the movie when the main character first enters into his new environment, he reacts like a playful child, running, laughing and touching everything. As viewers we too are experiencing the same amazement, wonderment and awe. As an artist, I was paying attention to the way light was draping itself on him as he walked through the sunlit forest. I was so surprised at the accuracy with which the sunspots moved across his body. I knew instantly that this was going to be a beautiful experience.

If you love nature, you're going to be pleasured by wonderful, colorful, gleaming, imaginative flora and fauna. You wish you could be walking through this paradise too. But wait, with the Imax and 3-D, you are. Eventually you'll forget this is a computer generated world. It is so believable. Watch out though, you may need to go see it again. Its like going to the art museum and needing to return to view some special masterpieces, you can't live without seeing again...

I'm sure some of you have seen it already. What did you think? Please go out of your way to get to an Imax theater. I promise you won't regret it.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/hd/ This is the trailer, but it won't give you any inclination of the beauty that awaits. It lacks the 3-D and focuses on war, a very tiny part of the movie. Avatar is closer to a grown-up version of Fern Gully, a movie I loved watching with my kids years ago.

I never expected to be posting a commercial, but it would just be too sad if you missed this adventure. Go give yourself a treat! Go experience someone else's major work of art...