Georgia On My Mind (and Easel)

"Abiquiu Poppies" 20x24 acrylic on gallery wrap canvas--SOLD

Well! Well! Well!... This is wonderful. No one told me it was like this!Georgia O’Keeffe upon arriving in New Mexico

 Last weekend I too had a wonderful trip to the Land of Enchantment--New Mexico. Thankfully Santa Fe is only about 6 hours from my studio in Denver. It’s easy to see why artists so many artists and painters call this beautiful state their home. (Love New Mexico too? You'll enjoy my Pinterest New Mexico art board.)

There are endless artistic and cultural influences in New Mexico but one artist who clearly left her mark and legacy on the region is of course Georgia O’Keeffe.  Whether you’re a fan  or not, I see her as an artistic pioneer. 

Not only did she find success as a woman over 100 years ago but she also elevated “simple floral”  paintings to fine art. And she clearly loved the New Mexico high desert landscape and nature. Today’s colorful poppies painting was inspired by my trip to O’Keeffe country. (Available at the Summer Art Market in a few weeks.)

As part of my trip, I planned an entire O’Keeffe “immersion” day starting early at the Georgia O’Keeffe museum in Santa Fe. One of the featured exhibits were her atypical tropical Hawaii paintings. Did you know she went to Hawaii?

O'Keeffe in Maui in 1939

 There’s an interesting New York Times article about her excursion —20 years before Hawaii’s statehood. Here’s one of her beautiful ginger floral paintings she painted for--of all things--a Dole pineapple ad which you can see here. 

O'Keeffe painted this ginger flower for this Dole pineapple ad circa 1940

The other highlight at the museum was a display of O'Keeffe's studio supplies, props, etc. as well as her easel.  On the large canvas was an unfinished light tree painting sketch (charcoal?) as if frozen in time waiting for the artist to return.

O'Keeffe studio table, supplies, easel and unfinished painting in progress

After the museum I drove directly to her studio and home in Abiquiu (space is limited so be sure to RSVP online before you visit). Unfortunately, photos are not allowed at the site (which is also a national landmark) but in my next post I"ll share some pics of the area including Ghost Ranch and a fantastic pie I had. (Yes...Chocolate was involved.)

Love to shop for art? Reminder that Denver’s Summer Art Market is June 7 and 8. Hope to see everyone there if you’re in town. Remember the Market is open longer hours on Sat. until 7P.

Days Like This

"Good Day Sunshine" 8x8 oil on linen panel

SOLD-Thank you!

You can't use up creativity.
The more you use, the more you have. Maya Angelou

Happy September all!  One of my favorite Van Morrison’s songs is “Days Like This.” I couldn’t help but think of this song while painting this sunflower.  Particularly the lines: When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch. And: When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit--Then I must remember there’ll be days like this…

It’s not uncommon to have a frustrating creative slump—it’s part of being an artist. But on the flip side, it sure is a blessing to have a day when everything just seems to go your way in the studio.

The light in the studio is perfection. There’s no noisy neighbor mowing.  The oil paint is just right—not too thick, not too thin. You don't need to correct your drawing.  You mix that strange violet in the very first try.  Ahh, you’re in the ZONE…

There’s only one tiny problem with the ZONE. It never seems to last as long as we’d like. Why can’t every painting day be like this? What’s the secret? The answer is likely different for all of us since the ZONE is so personal. But, in general, I think of the ZONE as a numbers game--You can’t win if you don’t play. The more I “train” as a painter, for example, the more likely I’ll find myself in this sweet spot of creative energy.

Also, I think we are more in control of our creative environment than we think we are. I’ve read successful athletes employ a variety of techniques to help keep them sharp. One should be pretty easy for all us painters and that’s visualization—What does your perfect painting day look like?

Another is taking proactive steps to control any behaviors that may keep you outside of the ZONE. Such as negative thinking, fear, anxiety, etc.  Thankfully, I’m at the stage in my art career where I don’t have much fear, but I do tend to juggle many projects. I like to remind myself I’m not alone trying to balance my creative life. Just Google “Art and Fear” and you’ll find dozens of books, articles, etc.on the topic.

Finally, there’s a reason the Nike slogan Just do it is so powerful. It works. When it comes to finding your ZONE I think it’s better to be doing rather than thinking about doing. And I promise the more you do the more you’ll have days like this.