Get your flow flowing this episode as we take in a transitioning season and journey down a new visual path where colour theory is just a theory.
The meditation that follows at 8:37 in the recording is one of my recent favourites and a great reminder to accept where we are in the present moment.

It adopts the mantra:
“It is, I am, we are…” to remind us our only constant is change. This is an opportunity to join me in a brief 14 minutes of self care . If you have been skipping out on the meditation practice this is one you won’t want to miss.

“GOING WITH THE FLOW” or “THE HUNDRED ACRE WOOD” acrylic on Canvas 36’ x 48” , 2022

I hope all is well where you are and the weather is not wreaking too much havoc. I can tell you when I was considering this episode where I am, in the center of Canada, we were transitioning maybe a little bit too quickly from late summer into fall.

I'm a morning swimmer. I swim at the indoor pool at the Y and on my way home after the very first heavy frost, I could see the soccer field next to the Y blanketed white in the still morning air, and that's never a good sign. Miraculously, it was sunny and clear and there was not a breath of wind. As I drove into my driveway, the neighbor's yellow-leaved boulevard tree was dripping leaves to the ground. A growing mound of leaves was quickly forming into a play-ready pile at its base.

In my 30 years in Canada, I have only witnessed this phenomenon twice. It must have been the exact temperature that signaled this particular species of tree to let go and go with the flow of the transitioning new season. I want to go back to the ideas of release and acceptance in the meditation in a few minutes. But for now, I'd like to introduce you to a painting called both “Flow” and “The Hundred Acre Wood”. Sometimes I can't decide, so this one has two names and her eventual owner can make their own decision about a name.

These are the first layers on the surface. They are a combination of the white gesso that I inscribe my intention with. I then add a colour or two to the base coat so that the base colour shows through to the surface instead of the white of the gesso as the painting progresses. The process is fast and fun.

I didn't paint this painting in the fall, so it wasn't actually intended to be representative of a particular time or place, but its linear nature suggests, depending on your perspective, of course, trees in the process of transformation. And since this new season is already underway and reminding me our only constant is change, it seemed appropriate.

I painted this painting in the first half of 2022. I'd previously been working on a commission that turned into A Celebration of the Poppy, two paintings called “Tina's Garden: A Celebration” and “Celebration Refreshed”. (Read or listen to their story in Season 2 Episode 7)

Though you might think every choice is intentional in a studio practice, sometimes choices are made because there was a blank canvas within arm's reach.

It so happened that this canvas was the same size as the pair I had been working on at 36” by 48”. That was a bonus find in the studio because keeping to the same size and shape can help with the rhythm of my particular creative choices on the paint wall. It literally keeps things flowing.

Hanging a fresh canvas on the paint wall is always fun. I love to paint, as you know, and always have more than one project on the go .

Adding an intention to a surface as I prepare it for painting with gesso is a simple and spontaneous act. In this example the intention is clear, though general. It is quickly absorbed into the very under layers of the substrate. This intention became the general undertone of the later “Sweet Suite Series” of small 11” x 14” panels.

This canvas was inscribed with the intention flow and the simple word, CHI, using the gesso of the initial foundation layer. The word is quickly absorbed in the process of covering the surface to make it less porous and more accepting of the paint. So, I try to add the same word on the back in pencils so I can remember where the painting began when it was complete. I am not always successful at this detail.

Adding the word to the surface is intentional, but it's kind of a random thought that just feels right at that specific moment. There are no lists of inspiring words that I methodically work through. It's more reflexive and a bit more like using an affirmation to start the day. And like an affirmation, it is not carved in stone, but it is a positive sentiment to take notice of or reflect on during the course of the day, or in this case, as I work on that particular painting.

Here is a closer view of the linear marks that began to describe a transitioning forest in the mid ground

I try to keep myself mindful of the intention as the composition develops by coming back to that initial thought with each subsequent session of painting. While painting this project, I was also mindful the previous pier had featured poppies and hits of red. So, in this new painting, I was intentional in limiting the color palette by omitting reds and focusing more on line than on shape.

Each subject will generally suggest a direction under painting is always a thing for me, regardless of the subject. And in this case, I underpainted in a clear washy lemon that shows through more heavily built up areas and opens up visual space in the background, or what is perceived as a background. The foreground features some orangey pinks that establish a kind of pathway in the foreground. I wanted the subject to be an invitation of sorts, to offer the view with some depth and an opportunity to visually expand the visual space within the composition.

Colour is everywhere in the transitioning landscape. Ours is like clockwork and flows too quickly through my favourite seasons. Beware the poison ivy! It is one of the first plants to signal fall is in the air. The darker red three leaves shown here you should definitely leave be.

As this painting evolved into a dense forest, the lemon yellow kept it from feeling heavy and enclosed while still creating a visual pathway to invite the viewer to engage with the transitioning trees. I can be guilty of flattening my paintings. I like to play with compliments, colors on the opposite side of the color wheel, and sometimes that can invert the use of color our brain typically reads as coming forward and receding into the background. Color theory has some rules that I tend to play with, but not rigidly adhere to.

Painting is a process after all, and we each play where we play. For me, it has never really been within the lines and that is perfectly okay. Tweaking the features of color theory can often be what gives a composition energy. Where two colors meet can be a harmonious balance, or a competitive reaction as the eye tries to balance out the visual weight of a particular color on the surface in comparison to its neighbor.

I’ll admit I am too self conscious to paint in front of anyone or to dive in to a facebook live. For now this is me at work in the early layers

So, are the trees in this painting losing leaves at the end of the season or are they just bursting into color after the winter? I'm not sure, and I'm not sure it really matters. As the viewer, you get to make those choices, and your choices will be dependent on your experience. I love that about art. There are no right answers and everything is open to interpretation, but we connect through our common interests, focus, or experiences.

Story is another opportunity to connect. My experiences in this podcast might be the segue that inspires you to connect with your own stories or experiences. The artist will often leave clues in a painting and that can be intentional or not. Sometimes the story flows with the process. The narrative might be intentional, or it might not even exist. In The Hundred Acre Wood, I used a lot of limey greens, which might suggest new growth in the spring, but I also included fuchsia and deep purples that are more suggestive of an end of season.

I love the fluidity of interpretation and the fact that a simple mark on a surface can take us in so many different directions As the maker, I get to sketch in the potentials with whatever media I'm working with. Then you as the viewer get to complete the narrative from your perspective, and we all win when we connect to something larger than ourselves. I hope you'll check out the images on the blog to make your own determination. I really like the simplicity of this painting. The marks are loose and colorful, and the general subject feels fresh and clear, like the new beginning it was for me on that paint wall at the time.

I love the details. Sometimes it’s hard to describe why a small mark can leave such a large impact. It is those elusive marks I am always seeking.

I called this painting flow in recognition of its original intention, but I also called it The Hundred Acre Wood at a friend's suggestion. Her experience takes her to the playful side of story and illustration, to her connection to bears, and of course, one of the most beloved. I can get a little serious and too involved in my head, so I loved the reminder of the willingness to play, and to be playful.

As a soul or solo practitioner, I am always grateful for my friends and their impressions. It makes me feel like I have colleagues and collegial interactions and suggestions are always welcomed.

Lately I have taken to making story labels on instagram and taking a screen shot to help me keep track of my work. For now it’s working but I am definitely open to discovering a more efficient process.
As of press time for this episode this painting was still available.

Getting ready for the meditation…

Change is our only constant. Change is what we can expect. It is the one thing we can be assured of. Have you ever found yourself leaving an event, packing up at the end of a holiday, or been heading home after a particularly inspiring gathering, and thinking to yourself, I can't wait to get together for a repeat performance next week, next month, next year? The same players might be present, the same landscape might be explored, but each subsequent event or annual retreat will have its own unique set of circumstances, its own stories that become the narrative of new memories.

We might like or hope for the world to stay the same, pine for it to do so even, and hope that it returns to a former status quo, a time before X or Y occurred, before things changed. But in reality, the sun rises and sets, the moon follows in a constant cycle where the only constant is change.

It’s true i am a doer. The meditations are all about trying to BE more. We’ll get to doing more of that in the meditation on the recording but first I wanted to show you my very sophisticated seasonal photography wall. Clearly I need a new photographer :) so I can avoid schlepping paintings to the side yard fence in bright shade.

I sometimes have trouble accepting this. Go figure. I'm a doer. I always have a helping hand at the ready to share with you. My hand is always up to help you solve your problem or raised in the air to answer your question. Surely there must be something we can do. What if we did this or tried that? But despite our best intentions, all of these efforts are futile.

When we can't say or do anything to help or to alter circumstances, what can we do? The only thing we can do is to accept where we are right now. We can, as a wise friend once pointed out to me, simply be. We can be present with and for each other. It is, I am. We are. Right here. Right now.

And that is the only given within the constancy of change.

This is the neighbours tree that literally dripped its leaves gently yet rapidly into a quick and growing pile at its base while i stood mesmerized watching for at least 10 minutes.

It seems we have reached the end of todays backstory. Thanks for tuning in to this episode. I really appreciate you spending some of your valuable time with me. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine by listening in to the podcast, or catching up through this blog.

Given that the constant in this world is change I thought it would be nice to spend a little time being present together in the meditation.

Join me on the recording only. Press the arrow in the player at the top of this blog or the button below.

The meditation this episode is 14 minutes of self care. It begins at 8:37 in the recording.

LISTEN HERE

If my work or words inspire you please consider sharing the podcast with a friend or writing a review on Apple Podcasts. You can listen to the full episode on apple or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Thanks for joining me. Hope to see you next Tuesday.

All best,

Amanda

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