Stopping into Jake's, not for coffee or the great bagel I love beginning my day with, but for the sense of being part of something. That "being part of the Jake's neighborhood" feeling. Nan, Joe, Katie, Char and all the people at Jake's are part of a feeling of family. The feeling I get at Jake's I carry with me into the studio. This beginning of each day is a part of each painting. Mary, handing me my warm bagel wrapped in foil with a napkin wishing me a great day, lightens my step. As does Nan, making sure there is fresh German Chocolate coffee for my friend George and I. I pick up energy from the little things around me each day. From the teen rushing over to help me in the door when my arms are full, to my ducks greeting me as I leave the studio at night. I know it's the corn in my pockets the ducks want, yet still they bring me a smile.
Studio painting carries me to a world that I want others to see. That landscape that lightens a collectors world begins with a feeling I have, that I cultivate. I no longer have to go out painting to bring the feel of the landscape to me. I still love going for walks in the woods and exploring farms with great country aromas. I need more exercise these days so I do more walking and less sitting under a tree painting. I take in what I see as I walk and hope to hold it in my mind till I need it.
Others do not see what I see in my studio. For me it's a place where I can mind travel, and time travel. The lovely ladies that pose in my studio become friends resting under apple trees sharing stories with other friends, as I become a bird resting on a branch or a father looking down from the porch. I love taking these trips while painting. I smile as I bring Kim to life in my world. Painting is a total mind set for me; sitting in a park or in front of my studio easel painting, it is what is in my mind that affects my work most of all.
Kim, Jordan, Sylvia, and Chenoa have carried me out to other ideas of wonder, and respect. The respect is for who they are as individuals and where they come from. The wonder is from the dreams they share with me. More than beautiful bodies, these ladies are hopes and dreams inspiring me to capture more than their physical forms. These ladies add to the feelings I pick up at Jake's, I build on being a part of Jordan's family and seeing Chenoa's kids on Facebook. I bring everything to every painting and drawing I create. Jordan's daughter Josephine, hearing her first church bell, is part of the still-life I paint. Adrienne's musings and texts are part of the sketches I do, seeing her smile and seeing her at the bakery she works at is now part of my paintings.
In my studio I plan how to create more than a painting, I plan out how to make every painting special, even those I have painted before.
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