Category Archives: Art

October 4, 2012 · 05:25

Diagnosis: Nuts

Picasso,  Science and Charity, 1897.

One note… this was Picasso’s painting when he was 16 years old. And before I go on with the subject at hand (which is why I chose the above painting in the first place),  this next painting was when he was 15 years old.  He had nowhere else to go but …well…Picasso.

Picasso, First Communion, 1895

I was diagnosed with an ailment last week that has me a bit concerned.  It actually is a disorder, that if not treated it will continue to get worse and ultimately attack my total health, both mentally and physically,  they said.  The doctors  prescribed several different medicines that will make me healthy again.  The thing is, I don’t like, or I haven’t heard wonderful things about these particular meds.   But I did find a medicine that I think I like better.  It doesn’t do the things the ones prescribed do but I think if I take the ones I like, I will get along.    I called the dr. and told him that I found ones that I liked better.   He said ,  under any circumstances, they would not work.   I don’t buy it.   So, I think I’ll stick with my own treatment.

You are probably thinking at this point – “has she totally fallen off her tractor!”

I really wasn’t diagnosed with anything last week.   But wouldn’t you think I was bonkerly crazy if I had said that and meant it?

Ok….Let me reword the above statement.

I was diagnosed with an ailment last week that has me a bit concerned (anything chronic).  It actually is a disorder, that if not treated it will continue to get worse and ultimately attack my total health, both mentally and physically,  they said.  The doctors  prescribed the  foods that will make me healthy again.  The thing is, I don’t like, or I haven’t heard wonderful things about these foods (fresh veggies, protein, fruit and whole grains) that are good for me.  They are boring and don’t taste yummy.   But I DID find foods  that I think I like better (sugar, processed foods, colas).  My food wont  heal me like the ones prescribed will,  but I think if I take the ones I like, I will get along.    I called the dr. and told him that I found foods that I like better.  He said those,  under any circumstances,  they would not work.   I don’t buy it.    So, I think I’ll stick with my own treatment.  Which is called (for lack of a more effective word)  poison.

The cycle of chronic illness continues to go ’round and ’round.

Really?  Do we really sound and act that nuts?   It is our health for goodness sake.  It is our mind.  It is our body.  Let me take this one step further….It is our ONE mind.  It is our ONE body.

NUTS

I think we all have these nutty marbles rollin’ around in our heads.  Don’t you?

Can we, maybe,  try to think of our food as the medicine needed to stay far, far away from chemical manufactured medicine?   SOOOOOOOOOOOO many illnesses can be relieved and avoided if we would only take the best “medicine”.    Try thinking about it from another perspective and see if it has an impact.   It is hard,  HARD.  But with practice,  it can have huge benefits.

I seriously pray  that God will give me the wisdom to know better and give me the strength to resist temptation and give me the patience to do what it takes to eat properly.  For my health and those that are dear to me.

I hope that you don’t think this preachy….I am as guilty as the next guy.   It just is really serious business.  And I am really  concerned about my own health, my children’s and their children’s.  Our food, and therefore,  our health,  is in dire jeopardy.

God bless,

Karen

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August 8, 2012 · 10:57

Unlearn and Learn

Have you ever wanted something but weren’t willing or wanting to do what it takes to get it?  I find myself in that place now.  I actually wasn’t willing but now I am.   I only became willing when I realized it wasn’t going to just come to me in a dream in the night.   I just don’t want to be patient while I wait.  Or rather work for it.

I have painted in acrylics for 15 years.  I have painted pretty contemporary for 15 years.  When you paint contemporary, to an extent,  you can make up rules.  Maybe not even,”to an extent”.  You CAN forget all the fundamental rules that we learn when we begin to paint.  Values.  Perspective.  Drawing.    I still paid attention to those elements.  Somewhat.  But there was clearly a contemporary bent to them.

“Honor”

“River of Hope”

So, since  I haven’t picked up a paint brush for two years, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out the good ol’ oils again and paint using a more representational approach.  HOLY COW.     I have forgotten how to paint.   I have adopted so many  bad painting habits in the past 15 years.  Especially paint mixing.  I basically did not mix paint.  I’m not sure what I did but it is not translating well in oils.  AT ALL.

But I want it to.

But I don’t want to take the time to do it right.

The past few months I have tried to just FORCE the old habits into my painting.  One disappointment after another.  Well,  maybe if I paint another subject matter it will improve.    It’s like skiing.  I kept thinking that the reason I did not like skiing was the venue was not good.  Like Jackson,  Wyoming??  Colorado?   Come on.   I didn’t want to admit it was that I don’t know what the heck I’m doing.  That is why I don’t like skiing.  That is why I am AFRAID of skiing.    That is why I am afraid of walking into my studio these days or those days for that matter.  I was wingin’ it.    I don’t want to wing it anymore.  I look at  phenomenal  artist’s work all the time.  I want to paint like them.

So, I begin with a color chart.  Of 4 colors.  White.  Black.  Red and Yellow Ochre.  Mixing 120 colors that those 4 colors can make.

Color chart using white, black, red and yellow ochre

Pretty amazing you can get that many colors, huh?  Great exercise.  And I will only use those four colors ’til I get a good grasp.  Only then will I add more colors to my palette.  But still SOOOO much work to be done to GET WHAT I WANT.

I read that it is much better to paint from real life than from photographs.   I have painted from my maniac imagination for the past 15 years.  So, I not only have to mix paint colors accurately but I also at the same time have to look at a real object and interpret the shape, colors, values,  and perspective.  Sounds like chewing gum, walking, milking goats and eating pizza at the same time.  That is how foreign this is to me right now.   I used to know how to do it.  But I forgot.  It is not like riding a bicycle.

BUT…I want to do this right and I will go to any length it will take to get it right.  The easiest thing for me to do would be to walk away from it.  Go milk a goat that I cannot drink from.   Or paint the way I was.  But I feel a strong call from God to do this.  The last thing He wants from me is to “wing” a gift He has given me.   So  I WILL learn it.  Because He wants me to.   And like everything He wants for or from me, the end result is great satisfaction.   It is hugely rewarding and ultimately brings me and others joy.

I’ll let you know how its going.   I hope it doesn’t take the rest of my life to learn how to paint one painting.  But I guess that would be ok too.

The following painter, Anders Zorn,  is the “author” of the 4 color palette.  He has painted many beautiful pieces with just those four colors.

Anders Zorn    ( 1860-1920)

God bless,

Karen

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July 30, 2012 · 12:28

Diggin’ a Ditch Where Silence Lives…

…Words sung by Dave Matthews.  Those words strike my core.  One of my favorite lines of all time.

 When I started spending a lot of time in my studio about 12 or so years ago, I  thought I was going stir crazy with the isolation.  I would emerge from the dungeon of creativity in late afternoon and be beside myself with the need to communicate.    I really thought that it was a negative.  You don’t understand, I have to be BY MYSELF ALL DAY !!!   is how I felt.  And it was,  as long as I thought of it in those terms.  Isolation.

BUT THEN ……. (I cant figure out how to make my font bigger on this program.  I would like to see those words bigger.)

…. I saw it differently.  I began to study Contemplative prayer.  It is  a type of prayer where you learn to sit in quiet.  And listen.  And learn.

It sounds like meditation.  And it IS a form of.

Wiki’s definition for meditation is:

The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices (like sports), which range from techniques designed to promote relaxation, contacting spiritual guides, building internal energy (chi, ki, prana, etc.), receiving psychic visions, getting closer to god, seeing past lives, taking astral journeys, and so forth, to more technical exercises targeted at developing compassion, love, patience, generosity, forgiveness and more far-reaching goals such as effortless sustained single-pointed concentration,[3

That is not what I wanted to learn.  That is WAY to broad for me.  Too much wiggle room.  I wanted a tight fit.  My intention was to narrow in on Christian contemplation.  The wiki definition refers to it as a “gaze of faith”  or “a silent love”.  I love that.  A silent love.  Wow.    It also says it is   “the soul’s inward vision and the heart’s simple repose in God.”

So,  in my journey,  I have learned that there is a difference between “isolation”  and “solitude” .  Isolation  can bring about negative feelings and emotions.  It is not intentional state of being.   We get stuck inside ourselves and negative thoughts and feelings swirl around.  It is just the act of being alone.

Solitude can be a rich experience where we empty the contents of our mind that  float around getting clogged and jammed and invite God in to teach us wisdom,  guide us and just simply love us.    But it is an intentional act.  We have to want it.

I am amazed at what difference it makes.  I leave my studio time  with a sense of calm and peace and a feeling of being loved.  It is truly remarkable.

You do not have to be sitting doing nothing to be in contemplative prayer.  You can be doing.  The only requirements are to allow your mind to empty.  And allow God to fill.   Pretty simple, eh?  Not really.  It is hard.  But anything we put our mind to is hard.   Dave’s  song is all about it.  Diggin’  a ditch aint no easy task.

Sometimes it takes A LONG time to quiet ourselves and just be.   We live in a loud,  over stimulated world.  The media and what not want us to be overloaded with “stuff”.   And it is SO easy to invite it all in.  And maybe we don’t want it all in,  but if we sit in its presence its comin’  ready or not.  Unless we get quiet with some solitude.

Also,  since it is a form of prayer  we have the idea that  we should be the ones doin’ all the talking.  Not so.  Speaking for myself,   I need to shut up every now so that I can hear, learn,  and be loved.

So, how can this be done?  It can be done anywhere, anytime.   Turn off external hardware (radio, tv, computer,etc.  It will all be there waiting for you.  And believe me when I say you will not be missing anything).  Invite God to your side.  Then just be.  When your mind wants to go somewhere without you.  Yank it back.    Your plan will suit it better.  Take in the present moment without making a judgement about it.  Look  what is going on outside your car window.  Without making a judgement about it.  Spend the moment NOT MAKING A JUDGEMENT about it.  Just take it in like it is the first time you’ve seen it.  Let your mind slip from that moment into the next and just sit in it keeping it open to hear what He wants you to see, hear and learn.  Without making a judgement about it.

Takes practice.  I hope you’ll give it a try.

It will take you to new heights.

God bless,

Karen

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July 20, 2012 · 11:26

What Hour Trips Your Trigger?

The Witching Hour?   Or the Darkest Hour?   I read that the witching hour is around midnight. When the goblins come out and bad things happen.  The term is supposed to stir anxiety and fear.  I’m thinkin’ that is not the hour that trips my trigger.  There used to be a time when “darkness”  held something desirable for me.  I thought being out in it, milling about with it , was comforting.  I still find it peaceful at times and I love to walk out at night-time and look at the stars and sit around a camp fire but I am not drawn to the dark hours.  Darkness now for me means day is done.  Job well done.  Get cozy between my sheets.

Night Window      Edward Hopper

The Eleventh Hour?  Oooh.  That almost always triggers panic in me.  Getting everything done at that last-minute.

Happy Hour?  Or Cocktail Hour?  Are we only “happy” at cocktail hour?  Just wondering.

Rush Hour?  That is my favorite hour.  (Just kidding.)  But about 10 or 15 years ago I changed my tune about this hour.  It can be used for MAJOR contemplation.  Or clipping my fingernails.  Or plucking my face.  It’s all a part of  that Serenity prayer I spoke about,   “Help me accept the things I can not change”  I have learned since I can’t make those cars get out of my way I can use  that time for myself and sit in it with peace.

Dinner Hour?  Great time.  It is T-bone and Ribeye’s  favorite time for sure.

They like to throw their dinner on their backs. Gee. Maybe we should consider that.

Consider the Golden Hour.  Now THAT really trips my trigger!  Early in the morning when the sun is rising and it causes the dew to glisten on the vegetation and the shadows be long.  The yellow light is falling everywhere.  And in the evening when the light again is making all the colors in nature rich and luscious.  An artists dream.  Landscape painters find the golden hour(s)  to be the quintessential.

My chores lead me to the golden hour in the morning and the evening.  The smells that go along with those hours are earthy, heady and intoxicating.  The sun is warming the earth in the morning or cooling it in the evening and it seems to emit aromas that send me over the edge with delight.

Our pond

Marc Bohne Painting

The Angelus, Jean -Francois Millet, 1857

Enjoy your hour today what ever that may be.  I am nosy.  I would love to know what hour trips your trigger.

God bless,

Karen

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June 22, 2012 · 11:00

Open Your Gift

We are so blessed that God gave each and every one of us a gift to be shared.   A gift is not just when someone is given the creativity to draw or paint or sculpt.  A gift is when we possess something unique that when we project it out into the world,  it  makes a difference in someone’s life.  It is a gift if only we impact one life!  I have had people look at me squarely and say they wished they had a gift and that God did not bless them with such.  What they do not know is they have impacted my life in such a profound way and that, yes, they have a gift that I could not possess if I practiced it my whole life.

  I may be able to paint (on some days) but I couldn’t teach a first grade class if my life depended on it.   I couldn’t manage a team of workers and feel good about it.  I don’t have the gift of affirming and lifting up others but I’d give my two front teeth (darling) to.  I continue to pray about that.    I am beginning to recognize a gift as something that comes natural to us, not a burden.  It is something that fills our hearts and those around us.   It is easy for us and delightful for them.  You can tell when you get a groove on and when it is right and that it should be passed on with love.  It is meant to be.

I was invited to participate in the publication of a  book  called 100 Midwest Artists by Ashley Rooney  several years ago.  It was an honor they  considered me.  I just received the copy in the mail today and am quite humbled to be sitting on the same pages as many of these artists.

I’d like to share a sampling  of  a few of  the artists who have the   gift of expression in paint, pastel, bronze and the like.  Please enjoy!

Brock Cagaan, Statehouse from Circle 1920’s, Oil on Canvas 48″ x 60″
Dave Tilton
Lon Michels        The Magi         Acrylic on Canvas 56″ x 68″
Rob Jefferson    At The Races    Oil on Canvas 8″ x 19″
Kenneth G. Ryden      Illumination     Cast Bronze 7′
Ron Monsama        Vessel        Pastel, 40″ x 30″
Claire Malloy         Grey Barn in a Snowfall       Pastel 30″ x 33″

Jonathan Queen           Exploring the Wilderness        Oil on Board 14″ x 11″

Adam Hayward           Gabriel’s Light             Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40″

Just a few of ,  beautiful pieces.   This book can be found on Amazon.  It is a celebration of American’s heartland.  Pick up a copy if you desire.

God bless,

Karen

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May 31, 2012 · 13:14

Rainy Days

This morning I drove down to feed the cows.  It was raining for the first time since we got the cows infact.  Yeah rah!!   That means this farmer doesn’t have to worry about gettin’ her corn crops watered.  All 30 of them.  Plants that is.   I usually walk with the dogs.  It gets our blood pumping and we can take in all the smells and sights.

You would think a drive would be down and back in the rain.  The sights in the rain were so wonderful (and strange) I ended up going back and getting my VERY COOL  camera that Pops gave me for Mothers Day.  He is such a joy!   It makes things look as wonderful as they really are.  My old camera made things look really bad.  Most probably user error.  This new thing,  you can’t miss.

Mystery bales

So here we have bales of hay on our property.  We have no idea where they came from.  We do not bale hay but yesterday they showed up at the foot of our driveway??  I love it.  You can bet there will be a painting on this  someday.  I’ve always wanted bales of hay hangin’ on the property.  Too cool.

I discovered a Hydrangea growing in a shed by the cows. It is taller than me.   huh?  I have tried to grow Hydrangea for 20 years.  How can this be?  What is going on around here?

Mystery hydrangea

This water thing is such a miracle.  Every morning I get up and go outside and there is always water on the ground usually in the form of a nice dew.  It is like manna for the Israel people.  Provision for the day to keep nourished,  not enough for tomorrow. But  just for today.     And today there is  more than usual  water in the form of rain and I noticed how  it sits on leaves and my car window and how it splashes on the surface of the creek.  It is truly a miracle that we have this available to us.   My goodness, why do I take it for granted?

Daisy

Our farm hand, who comes one day a week and saves our lives with his efforts,  loves our property as if it was his own.  Mr. Shady (Character).  Mr. Shady loves the outdoors as much as I do and he has a lovely place of his own that includes huge gardens,  animals ( including our Bart),  an outside bath tub! and a gentle hand that tends to every little thing.  He gave me a cactus “part” .  I have no idea what to do with it.  I put it in a bucket about two months ago with the intention to plant it.  He keeps telling me to not touch it,  it will prick me bad.   So I keep not touching it.  It is blooming in the bucket.   You have to understand it is not planted in anything!  It is just sitting there in the bottom of the bucket.  ??  But beautiful it is!  What a day this is so far. 

Have yerself a blessed day,

Karen

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May 29, 2012 · 07:52

Stop the Chaos!

I hope you had a great holiday weekend!

Jasper Johns

In our digestive system there can be huge chaos when we try to shove all of our yummy food down together.  It is no wonder our digestive systems even talk to us anymore with all the garbage we throw at it.  Any one item by itself may not be considered garbage but combine it with another and it turns to garbage.  The whole system is so integral to our overall well-being.

All food digests at different rates and each food type needs different enzymes to aid in the digestive process.  Some enzymes are acid and some are alkaline.    When these different enzymes try to work together they are neutralized and hampers digestion.

Steak. Me steak.

When, say,  steak which is a protein is taken with a baked potato which is a starch (carbohydrate),  the starch gets hung up in your intestines while it waits for the protein to digest.  The potato begins to rot in your system. (really yuck,  right?)   The fermentation that takes place producing alcohols and sugars  AND GAS.  Yeast gets an opportunity  to feed on the yeast that creates more toxins in your body.

potato

Proper food combining  enables proper digestion and CAN ACTUALLY CAUSE WEIGHT LOSS. 

Imagine that.  Imagine also not getting a fraction of the gas you probably are experiencing.

So here’s the poop:

EAT FRUITS ALONE.

WHEN EATING PROTEIN (meat, eggs, poultry, fish) ONLY COMBINE IT WITH NON STARCHY VEGGIES (all veggies except potatoes and winter squash.)

DO NOT COMBINE GRAINS AND BREADS (bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat,etc.) WITH PROTEIN.  Only combine grains and bread with non starchy veggies.

When I prepare a meal I must decide whether I am having a grain/starchy veggie (rice, pasta, bread, potato) OR protein (meat, poultry, eggs, fish).  I cannot do both at the same meal.  Then with either one I can throw as much non starchy vegetable  at it as I want.

Sound confusing?  It really isn’t after you get use to it.

It makes pizza, sandwiches, and the ol’ American stand by of the “meat and potatoes” a challenge.  These are the kind of meals that put HUGE stress on our bodies.  Understanding the digestive process helps me justify these types of changes in my eating.  Rotting food in my system doesn’t make me feel good.  It gives me headaches, fatigue, constipation, etc.  The way I look at it is  our good Lord is going to shower me with as much pizza, cookies, sandwiches, etc.   I can stomach in heaven!  And I am going to be there a lot longer than my nano second here. And you can bet I will indulge!   So I can wait.  And while I am here I really want to feel good.  It is that important to me.  We just have so little time.   I feel sometimes  that if I don’t  get to have what I  want  or deserve  than I am being held in some bondage or that I am not “free” to do as thy will  .  But it is  that VERY THING THAT I WANT that may not be so good for me that is actually the thing keeping me from being free.  I get it backwards so often.  I am living and learning.  The hard way.

The whole idea here is to become more intentional  in the decisions we make about how we eat.  It makes you feel really good!

God bless,

Karen

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