Early last Spring, I was counting my many blessing and as a Thank You to the Universe, I vowed I was going to post one "Happy" thing a day on Facebook. A week later, one of our beloved Shelties was diagnosed with his second go round with cancer, and suddenly, it became very difficult to find a happy thing each or any day. The saga went on for many months, with the darkest day being the morning last summer when I lay flat out on the floor of the emergency Vet hospital, face to face with our fragil dog, pleading with him to keep fighting to stay with us. (It delights me to be able to tell you that this same little Sheltie was out chasing squirrels this morning!)
I still felt I had to honour my committment to post about happy things, so despite the ongoing fatigue and sometimes absolute terror we felt most days at that time, I tried to find happy things to post. And you know what? There was always something. Maybe it was only looking at the amazing, endless blue of the sky, or a hummingbird hovering, serenading us with the low hum of his wings, but there was something. As Sara Teasdale said, "Look for a lovely thing and you will find it." It helped us through the year, and looking back, I see that we have changed. The future might be bright, it might be scary, but today is good. So we have learned to let go of small annoyances, small worries, and focus on the good of today. I wish you all the blessings of "the good of today."
In a way, I've been working on RETURN FROM AVALON for years - and years. It's been in my mind that long, but I've only just put it down on paper. I love the stories of King Arthur, and in Tennyson's "Idylls of the King", just as Arthur is being placed in the barge that has been sent from Avalon, the magical island where he will be taken, he promises to come back when the world most needs him. I've been counting on that.
In my painting, I see him returning from Avalon as promised. With him are his wonderful white horse, his pale wolfhound, and his best friends, Merlin the Wizard, who is far too smart to stay locked in his crystal cave forever, and Sir Bedivere who was with him at the end and helped him into the magical barge. Together, they are bringing light back to the world and pushing back the darkness. But the dark forces will try to oppose them. Dark faeries and elves peer from the shadows and malevolent eyes glare from the dark.
Arthur is saddened by what the world has become, but Sir Bedivere merely sneers at the efforts to stop them and keeps his hand ready to draw his sword, and Merlyn is serene, knowing that light will always overcome the dark. Even now, the good faeries and elves are gathering to welcome them back as the dark fades away. In the background, you can see magical Avalon wrapping itself in mist, and in a few moments, it will vanish until next time.
I am very pleased with this painting - it is a huge step forward for me. I learned a lot with this one. I learned that if there is a mass of tiny things in the painting, it is better to keep the idividual details simple. And I learned how hard it is, but how very satisfying, to work almost entirely without reference. I didn't want the three riders to ressemble anyone at all except the way I saw them in my mind, so they were extremely hard to do. It was also a challenge to fade dark as the light advanced, but I'm satisfied with the result. And it was difficult to pull a painting of this complexity together. Although (as always) I see things I would like to improve, I love the way this turned out.
RETURN FROM AVALON is a 14 x 18 watercolor on Arches 300 hot press paper. It is available, but at this time, I have not settled on a price.
It's been a while since I've done a blog post, although I've composed a number of them in my mind. But somehow, they just didn't get written. Since the last time, we've lost one of our fur-family and even though he was an older dog and not in good health, it is never easy to say goodbye to a loved one. In the wake of that, I've found myself with a decided lack of energy and a tendency to feel not quite up to par, although that's improving steadily.
Maybe that's why I've been thinking in very gentle images these past few weeks. With Halloween coming up, that can be difficult, because everywhere you look, you see goth and gore and horror movies/costumes. I started to think back to when I was a kid. Halloween was fun, spooky, and silly, and a that's where the emphasis lay. People decorated with pumpkins, jolly or fierce, with maybe a ghost or two blowing from a tree. Dry leaves skittering down the street, a cold, sneaky wind blowing down your neck, and pumpkin-light were the main spooky effects. Costumes ran the gamut from little witches, princesses, pirates, and cowboys/girls to polite vampires, skeletons and ghosts. Boys and girls had wonderful costumes (mostly Mom-made) to match interests or fantasies that did not include chain-saw murders. Makes me wish we could bring back more of the fun of the occasion instead of focusing so much on the darker side of things.
With these things in mind, my new painting is based on a memory of going Trick-Or-Treating with my dog. It is an 11 x 14 watercolor on Arches Hot Press. I love the porch-light and pumpkin-light shining out of this one, and the body language of the Sheltie. "The things I do for my kid!" EXPECTATIONS is an original watercolor and is available at $400.
There's nothing hard about these darling Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They were posted on my old blog, and deserve to join the other spaniels on this new one. They are wonderful, sweet natured little dogs who make fabulous companions. FOUR CAVALIERS is an 11 x 14 watercolor, and is available as the original painting, as note cards, and as small prints.
So what's the hardest thing? Getting started of course. When I am confronted with a piece of pure, snowy watercolor paper, panic sets in. What if I mess it up and ruin an expensive piece of paper? Am I truely committed to the image I'm thinking of painting? What if I get tired of it part way through? So I tidy the studio, clean the sinks, check on the dogs if they are not in the studio with me, find out where in the house the cat is hiding, have a snack (after all that cleaning and hunting up of animals, I'm peckish), have a drink (Please! I'm talking ice water!), do a couple of stretches, and look out the windows - first the front, then the back overlooking the garden. THEN I pick up my brush, take a deep breath, dip the brush in water, then in paint, and . . . .. . finally get that first blush of color on the paper. And then the image and the paint grip me and I'm off. But getting started - oh dear.
When you've been used to life being quite hectic, a day or two when everything is going well and you can just noodle around becomes a very precious commodity. These last few weeks, there always seems to have been something to make me crazy, but things are opening up to a peaceful day here and there where I can paint again with all my concentration. Bliss.
I embarked on a series of Spaniel paintings a while ago, and I'm finally nearly done. Two more to go, and my set of Spaniels is complete - until I decide to revisit them.
This one is the English Cocker Spaniel, a lovely, lively companion who is quite different from his American cousin in looks. This fellow is a Blue Roan, but they also appear in solid colors and Parti-color (black or any shade of tan/red/blond and white). I don't see many of these little beauties where I live, so every time I meet one is a treat.
This 6 x 8 watercolor is available as the original, a small print, or notecards. Any one of these, or a combination would make a great show award.
HAIR! I love HAIR :-0 And I love these little American Cocker Spaniels too. I've spent time with these cuties and they have lovely personalities and then there's all that hair! It's a challenge to paint, and I find it such fun to work at bringing those long, wavy ears and flowing skirts to life in watercolor. In this 11 x 14 watercolor painting, I've done a BLACK, an ASCOB, (Any Solid Color Other than Black) and a PARTI-COLOR (white with any other color). The American Cocker colors are rich, their coats are sumptuous, and their eyes are melting. Although they are in the Sporting Group, their main career now is that of loving companion. Who could resist?
This breed painting is part of my series on Spaniels, and is available matted and shipped for $400. Note Cards and small prints are also available. Please inquire.
anderson.animalart@sympatico.ca
http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/
Jo-Jo the Chipmunk thought it was safe to get into the water. Who knew there was a Shark in the bird bath, just waiting to take a big bite out of him?
Sadly, life is sometimes like that, and a place where we should feel safe and welcome as artists, or as a neighbour or co-worker is home to a lurking spirit, waiting to take a spiteful bite out of US!
Spite bothers me - it's so deliberately mean. And I hate meaness and bullying in all its forms above everything else. They are a coward's weapons.
The way I deal with things that bother me is through humour. My two favourite Chipmunks, Biff and Jo-Jo help me see the humour in things by presenting me with fun images in my mind.
Jo-Jo is in trouble, but his dear friend Biff is about to launch a life boat to rescue him. I've found in life that when something nasty hits, there is always a friend or two who is there to help us with just the thing we need.
So "When the Dog bites . .. When the Bee stings" (My Favourite Things - Sound of Music) let laughter put things in perspective for you. That mean ol' shark? it was just an inflatable thing, easily punctured after all :-0
