This was a mild winter for pretty much anywhere in the United States, but especially for Montana. But it made the cold days all the frostier. There were still times of snowy silence. There were still moments when the distance from the front door to the car was far enough for my eyelashes to start freezing together. There were still plenty of satisfying moments when I made good layering decisions and could remain outside for hours on end. And there was all the more moments when retreating into my kitchen, which doubles as dining and living room, was the most welcome activity of all. My whole world could exist in one room. I often had water boiling for tea, winter sqash cooking, and a painting in the works all at once. Jumping from activity to activity is easy when they are all taking place on one table. Winter is for multi-tasking if you believe in such a thing.
I have been adjusting to a new job and my painting schedule has been erratic, almost exclusively using the views of, and through, my house's windows. Rockwell Kent said in a letter written while he was living in Alaska, "In the midst of letter writing I stop to note down a dramatic cloud effect. If I am out of doors busy with the saw or axe I jump at once to my paints when an idea comes. It's a fine life..." This is pretty much sums up my work practices right now. The series that is emerging looks at stable interior features and the ephemeral landscape beyond them.
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Walking into my kitchen you will see a window, which is now partially obscured by a gaudy azalea bush that a woman sold me in the grocery store after Valentine's day. It has braided branches and is very pink. But I like how it stands with the backdrop of snow covered mountain peaks and looms over the bison and elk cutting down the first grass shoots in the yard. It does not make a lot of sense, and you will probably see it make an appearance in a painting or two in the future. Imagine the paintings below with a pink azalea growing into them. It is magical. Both paintings below are 4.5 x 4.5 inches, gouache on paper.
I have been adjusting to a new job and my painting schedule has been erratic, almost exclusively using the views of, and through, my house's windows. Rockwell Kent said in a letter written while he was living in Alaska, "In the midst of letter writing I stop to note down a dramatic cloud effect. If I am out of doors busy with the saw or axe I jump at once to my paints when an idea comes. It's a fine life..." This is pretty much sums up my work practices right now. The series that is emerging looks at stable interior features and the ephemeral landscape beyond them.
***
Walking into my kitchen you will see a window, which is now partially obscured by a gaudy azalea bush that a woman sold me in the grocery store after Valentine's day. It has braided branches and is very pink. But I like how it stands with the backdrop of snow covered mountain peaks and looms over the bison and elk cutting down the first grass shoots in the yard. It does not make a lot of sense, and you will probably see it make an appearance in a painting or two in the future. Imagine the paintings below with a pink azalea growing into them. It is magical. Both paintings below are 4.5 x 4.5 inches, gouache on paper.
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