It all turns on affection...
“…how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives
” – Annie Dillard
“The people we love are built into us.” – May Sarton
Marc Chagall was my first art love. He seemed to work without gravity or rules. His boundless color choices incite joy. Monotype was a medium that Chagall enjoyed. His mark making carried an impetuous-ness that renders everything with love. Monotype amplifies that mark.
I channeled my inner Chagall for this print. If you’re local to the Bay Area, you might recognize the location. This is a large print for me and I spent hours creating the plate.
"Ocean Beach" monotype 12"x18"
Vincent van Gogh was my second art love. Vincent had rules and gravity. He painted what he saw. His mark making was innovative and textural regardless of this medium. He never worked in this medium; but if he had, can you imagine what he would have done.
And again, the bright colors call my name. I channeled him directly for this work.
Michael was also one of my art loves. When Michael was very ill, he spent eight weeks at Kaiser Oakland. He had an amazing view of the bay from the tenth floor. Every morning, he would send me a picture of the view with an update on how he felt. Most mornings were gray and overcast. This particular morning (December 18, 2024) was a lovely day.
I had some leftover ink on my plate. There was a visitor to the garden. She stopped for a snack.
This medium allows me a lot of freedom to render quickly and emotionally what I see. I do not overthink this. The butterfly was long gone before I finished this, but the flowers remained.
Black and white has always felt dubious for me. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Yet, these small prints took hours to create. What I love about the dark is that it shows us where the light lives.
My comp copies of the 2027 Syracuse Cultural Worker’s Women Artist Datebook landed. If you want a copy for yourself or a friend you can order here.
I’m approaching the ten-year anniversary of writing this blog and hope to reach 100 posts before April 2027. There might be a mid-month post sometime between now and April. We’ll see if I can do it.
And, in case you missed it. I used the title of an article written by Wendell Berry for my header. You can find it online in many places. I read it at a very young age and absorbed its principle. The big takeaway for me was "Knowledge without affection leads us astray every time." I built the message into my life. I hope you’ll read it too and see what it gives you.
Take care and more out of me soon…
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