Into the studio...

So not quite the next day, but here are a few photos from my new studio! It has been such an interesting week (really, has it only been just over a week? wow!). I am definitely settling in and feeling more at home in this space. It still feels a little uncomfortable, in the fact that it seems so exposed and open there - a little hard to get used to after hiding away in my safe little room at home! It is great though, to have this entire space dedicated to my own painting, where I can really focus on what I'm doing and get absorbed without the distractions of home. A little harder when you face resistance in this space though because there aren't so many distractions! For this reason though I've been so much more productive already - let's hope I can keep it up over time.

 (It didn't take me long to splash some colour around!)

 I was given both of these beautiful old wooden chests from two lovely people in my life to have in my studio...I love them! Don't you think that sometimes just having something old around you can make a place feel more comfortable and...I guess, 'worn in'? I love thinking about where these cases would have travelled to, what were they used for, what was the story of the people who owned them? It is sometimes a reminder that we are connected, people's stories continue long after they may be gone physically from the earth.

Actually, one of the first days working in my studio I hit a bit of a wall, so I started reading some of the interviews in the book 'The Artists Lunch' and I came across the interview with Mirka Mora (who is quickly becoming a fav of mine!). She articulates her relationship with art so eloquently and beautifully and her words often resonate with me. I love this quote, below, because it is such a great reminder to allow mystery...because with that comes, well, beautiful things! 

I thought I would also include a few photos of some of the pieces I've finished since moving into the studio - feels good to be 'getting on with it'! There is a place - definitely - for sitting back and contemplating and doing the thinking and living that is then put onto the canvas, but I sometimes have the tendency to use this as a little bit of an excuse when really I'm just resisting the doing. 

Above: 'fly fly fly'...8" x 10"

mixed media artwork on wood panel.

Below: These are a series of teeny tiny canvases that I started last Friday... here are the ones I've finished so far! It has been interesting working on such a TINY space - it can sometimes feel even more challenging than painting on a large canvas, but I had a lot of fun with this too... I always find these smaller canvases a great way to push myself in terms of l.e.t.t.i.n.g. g.o.

SO...I am learning to 'fly without fear'... wings spread wide open, in the face of all the obstacles, frustrations, hesitations, moments of doubt, that are all very real on this path...just keep on flying, going further and further forward... toward truth, and sometimes mystery.