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Monday, July 25, 2011

I Love These Fossilized Shells!



Ammonite shells again...my visit to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has inspired  me to paint these gorgeous shells.  Not only are they incredibly beautiful, they also resonate with me on a more meaningful level.  





These ancient shells are call ammonites.  They look very much like shelled nautiloids but are actually more closely related to octopus, squid and cuttlefish.   Very similar to a nautilus, however, they grow and move into a larger chamber which has grown ahead of it.  It adds newer and larger chambers to the open end of the coil and grows like this until it has reached maturity. 












Isn't that just like life?  We are constantly building and growing on what we have already know based on what we have learned and what we have experienced.  Sometimes it might take a couple of tries to get it right, and there may be a few bumps along the way, but eventually we do learn and grow :-)




And here is my latest painting.   It is a mixed media and incorporates collage.  Let me know what you think.  I hope you love it.  


8 x 8  x 1.5 inches







Thursday, July 21, 2011

Ancient Shells and Building on what we Already Know



One of my favorite places my family and I went to on our recent vacation was the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.  It was the first of the Smithsonian museums that we were able to see, and I was in absolute awe the minute I walked in the door with my husband and my two kids.


I was so excited, I started taking pictures right away.   I was taking as much in as my little brain could handle, reading all the little information cards and doing my best to commit the information to memory.  


"Look, kids...this is a blah, blah, blah!  And look at this, isn't that interesting?"

My husband, who had been to the Museum of Natural History before was shaking his head.  "Ah, Jo-Ann...this is just the small stuff, are you sure you don't want to move along and see some of the bigger stuff?




But I didn't want to miss anything and I was determined to take it all in!  I loved these ancient fossilized shells!  They were so beautiful!  










The artist in my was creating mixed media collages in my head.  Here is a mixed media painting that I created this week.  It is 8 x 8 x 1.5 inches on gallery wrapped canvas.  


 These ancient shells are call ammonites.  They look very much like shelled nautiloids but are actually more closely related to octopus, squid and cuttlefish.   Very similar to a nautilus, however, they grow and move into a larger chamber which has grown ahead of it.  It adds newer and larger chambers to the open end of the coil and grows like this until it has reached maturity. 


I love how David Weber of Thou relates the nautilus shell to life






And therein is the story of everything else. A baby is born with an infant’s consciousness: everything, beginning with Mom, is an extension of itself. As a 1 to 2 year, the toddler begins to understand the distinct nature of itself. The second level of consciousness supercedes the first, even as it is wholly built upon it. Cognitive abilities continue to increase as the child grows older: from the manipulation of its environment to the complete separation of its personality from parents and others, to an always heightening understanding of cause and effect, then adopting a social self, a critical self, a self-critical self. Each point in the process is built upon the previous one, and is always a part of the previous state of consciousness and understanding
The whole is a result of previous and lesser sized parts, one built upon the other. No part loses its significance, even as its specific usefulness ha been transcended.
An acorn becomes a shoot, becomes a sapling, becomes a young tree, becomes a mature oak. Everything about the acorn is still a part of the great oak tree, but has been transformed and functions as a much larger and much more complex part of the tree’s wholeness.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Here's My Tree!





Phew!  I'm finally back from an amazing vacation with my wonderful family.  Sorry I've been slow to keep this blog updated!  We were busy travelling across Eastern Canada and the United States.  What a fantastic trip!  So many sites, so many museums (including the National Gallery of Art!)  I have came back refreshed and with tons of great ideas for posts, so please stay tuned!


Right now, though, I'd like to update you on this project... 


My last post was all about the Trees for Life Charity Exhibition..a wonderful fundraiser started by Trevor Jones.  He has asked artists from Twitter and Facebook to donate a piece of artwork, preferably of a nature inspired theme to raise funds for Trees for Life, a fantastic charity supporting the growth of the Caledonian Forest.

I decided to do a watercolor painting of some trees at my favourite trail...I always find it so incredibly peaceful and quiet in these woods.  There is nothing like hitting the trails at a run or a peaceful walk to clear you mind.


 I started with this sketch...
Then I added color wet into wet.  The tree is a birch, so I wanted the main trunk to remain white.  I worked around this area, being careful not to get the trunk wet which would allow the paint to seep where I didn't want it.


 The color dried a fair bit lighter as you can see in the following pic.  When it was completely dry, I began adding some shadow to create a bit of value.  Because I was working on a dry surface, the dark color stayed put and did not mingle with the other colors already in place.




 Getting closer to being finished here...


A bit more work on the detail in the roots and earth along with some finishing touches and Voila!
Done!

On Monday, this 6x9 inch painting will be shipped off to join the other paintings in this exhibit.  Please have a look at some of these amazing paintings go to: http://treesforlifeexhibition.blogspot.com 

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