Desert Art

Goal Accomplished!!!

Prickly Pear Blossom II

30 x 48

It's good to set goals and even better to reach them.  So what is a goal, anyway??  In this case it is not those upright posts through which someone kicks or carries a ball, but a desire that is important enough to a person that it requires effort to reach. Earlier this week I knew I wanted to complete this painting before leaving my studio for Holiday travel,  so I set the goal of having it done by the end of the week. 

It did take some effort.  Making time to paint during this busy month took effort, so did standing there dipping the brush into the pigment and applying it to the canvas. And it took the effort of balancing the color and values. Dare I say it took effort to claim the work complete?

Effort aside, it's done, and it is the end of the week.  Goal reached, goal accomplished.  Kicked that ball through the uprights!  Metaphorically anyway.

Time to set new goals.

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Inspiration.

My Favorite Inspiration

Actually I just wanted some exercise, I wasn't looking for inspiration, so I lowered my Alden Quest rowing shell from the davit on the pier into the crystal clear water of Lake Tahoe.  There is a process, a ceremony, to get the boat into the water, the oars in place, gloves on and myself into the boat.  Once settled, the oars skim over the glassy smooth water, as I propel the shell and my body, in a fluid, rhythmic cadence away from the shore, out towards my favorite rock formations.  This is almost meditative, it is so quiet and peaceful.  The rhythm is like a chant.   And certainly  this activity is inspirational for my painting because my mind can wander and the things I see, Oh My!

I think I see the rocks and water differently each time I am out there.  And certainly the conditions vary each time I am out there making the visuals unique.

But from these photos you can see why I am driven to paint my vision of these rocks and water.  The rocks are massive and powerful.  The colors are intensely clear and clean.  I wish you could feel the air.

Whether it is looking at the sky, the boulders, the surface of the water or down through the depths, it all become fascinating.  Captivating.  

I am smiling, at peace and energized at the same time.  I see the next painting and the one after that, and the one to follow.  All of a sudden I want to be in front of my easel, holding my palette, applying pigment to the canvas.  

Reversing the process, I glide back to the pier, go through the ceremony of replacing the boat in the davit, putting the oars away, taking a last look at the beauty of the lake and get myself inside to my sketch book.  The morning row didn't start out as a way to gather inspiration, but it certainly became that.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE