Creatively Creating Crescent Lake

I really enjoy pursuing my creative interests.  The other night Myles took the initiative to paint a small canvas of mine.  The next morning was greeted with rays of sun blasting through the windows.  I had that surge of creative energy and responded to it.  I got out a canvas, paints, and a brush.  I know my materials aren't high quality, but that's okay because with my experience I don't really know any different.  The concept for the painting is Crescent Lake, Oregon a place that is much more than a beautiful geographic location that I visit for at least one week in the summer and long for the rest of the year.  It's a place of numerous experiences.  Above all it represents meaningful relationships with family and friends.  However, I don't draw people, let alone paint them.  So I focused on the lake itself.  I felt like I was producing a decent image with my one and only sorry excuse for an artist's paintbrush, and I was having fun.  But I didn't like how I was trying to make it look like there was the lake with sand and rocks in the foreground and tree covered mountains in the back.  I made a mental shift and aligned it with my preference (quite possibly due to my lack of skill and experience) of simple shapes, lines, and colors and started painting a woven pattern in one corner by changing the direction of the paint.  I continued to paint over what I had already done (it's just paint, no big deal) by using the paintbrush to create a woven, tiled, or quilted texture.  Kim was encouraging with the new direction, which was nice.  In the end I like the idea of what I created, but not necessarily the specific solution or outcome of the idea.  The painting is titled Crescent Lake Quilt.  Each square represents an experience and relationship at the lake.  There are many more actual experiences as I have been going nearly every year of my life.  The water isn't painted like the trees and sand because there are many more experiences and relationships yet to take shape.  I now have lofty visions of presenting actual quilts sewn based on this idea to every member of the family ... maybe when I'm older and my grandkids are eating the mouth-watering Dutch oven dinners and salmon bake, digging in the pumice beach, and swimming in the clear, frigid, refreshing, youth inducing water.  Anyone up for camping?

Art is Great

One of Kim's friends sent this along. I know nothing about it, other than that I like it and wanted to share it. I know any person with any ounce of creativity will appreciate it. I think it also resonates with the philosopher in me. I tend to think about things, like the meaning, value, or importance of things like art, design, nature, power, intelligence, truth, education, and learning. Sorry, didn't mean to bore anyone with that last sentence. Enjoy the show.

P is for Paint

Today the family decided to celebrate the letter P. Kim was inspired by some friends with kids who are about our kids ages. The day started off with going to starfall.com followed by eating pancakes, picking up, playing at the park, pastries after lunch, painting, taking pictures, and pizza for dinner all while in pajamas. It was fun except for when kids were being a pain.

For my last birthday Kim gave me a big canvas, acrylic paints, and a brush. It's been years since putting to use the wonderful things I learned from LBCC art classes. I've been neglecting to make that part of me a priority. I'm really glad today was P day because while Kim and the boys went to pasear (to go with the P theme - it's Spanish) on their bikes I stayed home with Cedar and I painted. Cedar watched movies, but she got to paint later.

Kim really likes daffodils. I try to get her a boquet every year for her birthday. Keyword: try. It doesn't always work out but she has some good memories. Hopefully this will add to those good memories. I'm not sure it's any good, though I'm proud of it. I would put it on the fridge except that it's too big for that.

Anyway, this is my first acrylic on a canvas of any size but I had fun painting.