Sunday, January 1, 2012

Cozy Little Shed

The first day of this new year, 2012, and I am sitting on a North Carolina hillside inside my cozy little shed aka art studio. It's fully-insulated for the cold winter months ahead -- complete with a skylight to bring in that southern exposure sunlight, track lighting for that extra bit of light and an electric radiator.

Outside, the temperature is near freezing, so the little heater keeps the 8x12 foot room cozy. A strong wind is blowing the tall poplar and oak trees -- and the pines are whispering through their needles.

Over the last few weeks, I've worked up a series of new paintings from this little shed -- feel free to view them here.

I wanted to move in a new direction with my work and have started adding symbols -- mostly ancient ones -- to the pieces. One exception is the painting the Russian Ballerina.

I recently watched the grand re-opening of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow after a multi-million dollar renovation. One of the performances included Swan Lake. I was really struck with the passion of the performers in the piece.  It was performed with a stark blue background -- which worked well with the white costumes.