Drawing Upon Ancient Wisdom

She Sees the Future & Smiles

While layers of 6+ paintings are drying, I completed this graphite drawing for my beloved, wise friend, Viki. The drawing named herself, "She Sees the Future & Smiles". It reminds me of the ancient wisdom we carry within.

in this moment

eternity

lives.

Graphite

4" x 6"

Archival paper

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

New Discovery-Pioneer Hilma af Klint

Paintings by Hilma af Klint

The other night, I found myself drawing the face of a woman. Her eyes gazed directly into mine. Though I didn't recognize her, I felt connected somehow. While scrolling through Pinterest the next day, I saw her! Her name was Hilma af Klint, a Swedish artist and mystic who lived 1862-1944. And she is amazing!

Hilma left behind over 1,000 paintings. Very few were seen in her lifetime. In fact, she left instructions that her abstracts would not be shown for at least 20 years after her death. She felt the world was not ready for her spiritual insights. You can watch a wonderful video on YouTube by the curator of a 2014 show. Video about Hilma's art and beliefs

Hilma was way ahead of her time by painting abstracts in a large format at the same time or even before the modern masters, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Malevich, etc.. But Klint did not move in their circles. She received inspiration and guidance from her own higher consciousness and other sources as a result of her activity as a medium.

Klint's abstracts are not just about pretty shapes and colors. They express her understanding of the nature of reality. Her use of symbols, language, geometry make her artwork look incredibly contemporary and justify her title as the Mother of Modern Abstraction. What a joyful discovery!

Swan Ranked No. 9. 1914/1915

Visit my Pinterest Abstract Art board for more examples of Hilma's art.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

She Dreams of Spring-New Quick Painting

She Dreams of Spring

This lady came to me when I was looking at a semi-complete floral painting. I did her in a quick, sketchy fashion like capturing a blossom when it first blooms. She's a little dreamy and unfocused as she emerges from the floral background. (I do love her, though!)

Mixed-media 16" x 20" on canvas.

Detail- She Dreams of Spring

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

The Sun Rises in Her Eyes--New Painting

The Sun Rises in Her Eyes

This is another mixed-media painting, 16" x 20". It is comprised of layers of washes, glazes and textures, graphite and ink. Once again. she named herself. I love the detail below:

Detail

I rise

before dawn

a new day is coming!

Thank you, dear one, for your visit.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

They Come in a Sketch

Sketch- She Sings

Paintings don't usually spring up fully formed. They usually show up as sketches first. I sit down to relax and find a pencil in my hand. It is more like play than anything else--no purpose, no plan, just watching the pencil move across the paper for the sheer pleasure of the movement.

Sketch-Face of Dreams 4" x 6"

Sometimes I focus on individual features to see what arrives, such as the sketches below:

Picasso once said (I am paraphrasing): "You need to know the rules so you can break them."  It is helpful to know what things look like in the material world before expressing their essence as you see it. At least that is what I find. The late John Paul Jones taught me how to draw with graphite, charcoal and conte crayon in the style of the masters. Today I am grateful for the foundation like a rock that serves as my trampoline. Thank you, John Paul. I absorbed every word you said.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"She Dreams in Florals" Latest Mixed-Media Painting

She Dreams in Florals

My latest painting is 16" x 20", mixed-media on canvas. I used acrylics, graphite, India ink, stencils and iridescent glazes. She named herself while I was still working on preliminary layers. In person, she glows and shimmers with the change of the light. You can see more shimmer in the detail below:

I love her so much I can barely take my eyes off her. While she rests on my easel, I sneak into my studio just to admire her before I go to bed. I will give her a few days before spraying 2-3 coats of varnish on her surface. 

PAINTING

like creating a new life

with every blank canvas.

Thank you for showing up, my beautiful one!

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Sacred Art Makes a Comeback in the Work of Ludmila Pawlowska

Ludmila Pawlowska

Last Sunday, my husband and I met Ludmila Pawlowska at her show, Icons in Transformation, at the Riverside Art Museum. What an inspiration!

Born in Russia and now living in Sweden with her family, Pawlowska is a deep, gentle soul determined to reveal the hidden reality beneath the material world. Her series of contemporary icons range from about a foot square to monumental in size. She has shown her work throughout Europe and is now visiting several U.S. museums and churches.

You can learn more about the artist on her website: http://www.ludmilapawlowska.se/  A press release from the Riverside Museum states: "Ludmila Pawlowska brings the whole world into her art. Using pigment, painting paste, found objects, masonry, ceramic fragments, wood, glass, burlap, and a myriad of other materials, she creates an inclusive metaphor for faith: it is both vast and intimate, profoundly personal, and yet universally recognizable as a source of humanity and truth. This exhibition was designed with sacred venues in mind to highlight and explore the deep mysticism of the art, hence the museum’s collaboration with All Saints’ [Church]. The exhibit includes 12 large sculptural pieces that provide a stunning and dramatic visual impression. Also included are 15 traditional icons painted at the workshop of Vasilevsky Monastery in Suzdal, Russia. Icons in Transformation uses traditional Russian icons as a source of inspiration for this vibrant and spiritual contemporary art."

        

Most of all, I was excited to see a successful, contemporary artist devote her career to sacred themes. Her works transcend the profane and ironic so prevalent in today's art. Ludmila's pieces are sacred and stimulating while being intensely personal at the same time. Such an inspiration!

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Suzanne Valadon--Extraordinary Painter & Mentor

Suzanne

While working on a painting last week, I repeatedly sketched a face. Not my face and that of no one I know with strong, large features. Then I saw her! On Pinterest, I came across a self-portrait by Suzanne Valadon.

Suzanne was born in France on Sept. 23, 1865 and died in Paris on April 7, 1938. I remember seeing her work during my art school days. She's often remembered for her artist son, Maurice Utrillo. She was a wonderful painter in her own right and started out as an artist's model, who sat for Morisot, Renoir, Modigliani, Toulouse-Lautrec and others. Below is a detail of a Renoir painting for which Suzanne modeled:

By watching the artists and with the encouragement from Degas, she began making pencil and pastel drawings. Later, she specialized in portraits of women and children and female nudes considered shocking in their authenticity. Suzanne was the first woman admitted to the prestigious Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts or National Society of Fine Arts. Below is a portrait of Suzanne by Amedeo Modigliani:

Naturally, I wanted to know why I kept drawing Suzanne's face, so I asked her during one of my meditations. She responded with a lengthy discourse on painting. Here are some highlights:

"Do not paint like me. Paint with my love of the subject."

"Warm colors are like a warm caress. Cool colors are like a cool breeze. The paint and the process is like making love...one touch leads to another. If you try to rush and complete the act too quickly, in one stroke, it is lacking in joy and usually lacks love's expression."

"Go slower. Build layers as if one caress leads to the next."

"I only painted what I loved. I didn't care about bridges and ponds. If I didn't love a subject, I didn't paint it. Paint was just a way to express love and experience love, because painting was an act of making love."

I asked Suzanne what I could do for her. She said: "Think of me. Love my work. Speak of me that I may continue to spread love." I am keeping my word with this blog post. I hope she is pleased.

Thank you Suzanne. You are a beautiful reminder that all the great artists, thinkers, saints who went before us are here to guide and support us when we tune our ear to their message.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"Still as a Cat"

I just finished this graphite and charcoal pencil drawing. It isn't a finished artwork, yet a sketch for upcoming paintings. I've been producing a drawing every day, hopeful that "muscle memory" will kick in soon. 

When I was in art school, there was no internet, digital files, editing software, instructional videos, online workshops, etc. If we wanted to immerse ourselves in art, we went to museums, galleries and libraries. That was it!

I am deeply grateful for instant access to fine art, teachers and online tools. Most of all, I am grateful for the inspiration and guidance from artists who went before me. They whisper in my ear, nudge my hands and cheer me on from their infinite viewpoint. Blessings, my loved ones!

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Blooms

My latest class assignment involved painting a pillow cover. I grabbed an old pillow case. Then I taped the cotton over plastic and lightly sprayed the fabric with water. I then used Golden High Flow acrylics straight from the bottle to imply blooms and leaves in the garden. Here's a detail:

Detail of Blooms

I thought of adding line work, details with a small brush, yet I once I stopped painting I couldn't force myself to go further. The painting was done!

Blooms drying

This project reminds me of clothes I made from hand painted fabric when I returned from my trip around the world. The fabrics of India, Africa and Thailand were so inspiring! I brought back many yards of the batiks and block-printed fabrics. I was just 21 years old when I laid yards of heavy cotton on the floor of my parent's garage. I wet the fabric and loosely painted abstract designs. With my mother's help, I cut the dry fabric into pants, vests and tops. It was such great fun!

Fabric, especially silk, is so luscious and wonderful to paint. Colors blend on their own with a flow that doesn't require control. Such a great exercise in letting go and trusting in the beauty of creation.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Up the Garden Path

In my online art class, Pauline Agnew asks us to use a Monet painting as a reference for an oil pastel. This is quite small, about 6" x 8". It will never dry, so it will need to be framed under glass.The watercolor paper is white and looks blue in the photo. I never worked in this style, so it was fun to stretch a bit! Monet suffered with cataracts late in life, so his later paintings are quite abstract and very contemporary looking. I like the suggestion of flowers rather than depiction of every petal.

Monet Pond

Here is another oil pastel study inspired by Monet's paintings of his beloved lily pond. Oil pastels are great fun to use. They are smooth as warm butter!

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"We Bloom Together"

"We Bloom Together."

In the book, "Life, Paint and Passion", Cassou and Cubley wrote: "The painting and the person are one- they bloom together."

This is an exercise for Pauline Agnew's e-course, "Flower Power." I used a Van Gogh painting as a reference and had fun seeing how I could capture the spirit of his painting. He painted with such movement and exuberance!

24" x 30" acrylic on canvas.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

More Art from Early 2015

"Ancestral Home"

Mixed media painting of Castle Clun in Wales. Home to some of my Norman ancestors and now in ruin.

"Luminous Body"

Mixed media painting on board. Inspired by participation in Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen's online class, Collage Fusion. It was a great way to start remembering how to paint after a long time out of the studio!

"Story of Creation"

One of the ways I keep my hand moving. Very meditative pen and ink. I start with a dot, like an idea in the mind of God, and let it go from there!

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Early 2015 Paintings

Durer-Inspired Self Portrait with Haiku

one job.

allow my good

to find me.

Mixed media painting on canvas. 24" x 30".

"Joy to Love"

Mixed media on Ampersand panel. 12" x 12".

Detail of Underpainting

Acrylic on watercolor paper.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

New Painting-"Brief Bloom"

One morning we noticed a surprise bloom from a long-forgotten bulb. Beautiful. Perfect. It bloomed overnight and withered with a week. I rushed into the house to grab my phone so I could document its beauty.

Only when the painting was complete did I notice its resemblance to the work of Georgia O'Keefe. I love to think she was peeking over my shoulder as I painted! She is one of my favorite artists--such an individual, an independent woman with a love for the sensual forms and colors of nature.

16" x 20" Acrylic, oil and cold wax on canvas.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"To paint is to love again."

"Paint what you like and die happy," Henry Miller once wrote.

Recently, my beloved friend, Viki, reminded me that Henry Miller the writer was also a prolific painter of watercolors. In fact, he was painting years before he began writing. He completed over 3,000 paintings during his long life. One of his books was entitled: "To Paint is to Love Again." It is now out of print and available at some university libraries. You can hear Miller recite the book in a series of videos on YouTube.

How true! The above painting is "Paint Happy" done in acrylic, oil and cold wax on 16" x 20" canvas. I think of it as a self-portrait. It started with a dot, just one dot. I allowed my intuitive self to go from there--picking the colors, shapes and lines.

Miller said: "Painting is like stealing a glimpse of your beloved while she sleeps."

For me, painting is pure joy, meditation, adventure, trust and celebration. It is love incarnate.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Watercolor Fun

I rarely play with watercolor, yet we had a watercolor assignment in my Flower Power class. I made these monoprints from a Gelli plate. The top one was an "accident" on a paper towel, while the bottom image was printed on watercolor paper.

I added line work below:

 
In this exercise, I find the line work irrelevant. I like the fluid shapes of the top images best. What do you think?

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

Flower Power

This is my first exercise in Pauline Agnew's class, "Flower Power". Her assignments are deceptively challenging, and great fun! This is a line/contour drawing on 31" watercolor paper using my non-dominant hand. I often write and draw with my left hand, which uses a different side of the brain.

The class Facebook page is filled with dazzling artwork from students around the world. I'm doing my best to treat myself kindly leaving judgment outside the door! The class is turning out to be an opportunity to experience self-love (while learning new techniques).

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"Blessings Bubble Up"-New Mixed-Media Painting with Haiku

Here's another mixed-media summer painting with one of my Haiku. I'm having so much fun exploring new materials and techniques. (So much has changed since art school in the early '70's!) "Blessings Bubble Up" is 16" x 20" on a cradled, wood panel. I used acrylic, graphite, stencils, collage, oil paint, cold wax and oil sticks.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"Cat Talk"-Newest Mixed-Media Painting

I love cats! It doesn't matter where they find me--in my house, yard, neighborhood, internet and art. This painting is an expressive interpretation of our beloved ViVi, a stray who has adopted us.

The mixed-media painting is on a 12" x 12" birch panel using graphite, acrylic, oil pastel, oil paint and cold wax. I will add more layers of cold wax as a final finish.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"God Lives"-New Mixed-Media Painting

God lives

in every happy thought
of no apparent purpose.

Here is another new creation, "God Lives". It is mixed-media painting on a 12"x 12" birch panel, created with collage, acrylic, oil stick, oil paint and cold wax. It includes one of my Haiku.

I discovered cold wax just a couple of months ago after finding the work of Serena Barton and Rebecca Crowell on YouTube. Oil paint and cold wax is an amazing technique that allows you to build layer upon layer of pattern, texture and color. You can scrape and incise to reveal underlayers.

For me, the technique mimics the depth of being. Just a fraction of the self (our skin) shows on the surface, yet if you continue to look, you see the depth, complexity and beauty of each unique being. Like a minimalist painting, a person can appear like a simple composition comprised of arms, legs, head, facial features...Keep looking and the minimalist painting reveals its depth and beauty to the beholder.

© Claudia Rose, Ph.D.

"It is a Joy to Love"-Latest Mixed-Media Painting

Two of my first loves are poetry and painting. Yet, I set them aside for decades to work in the "real" world. Now, 40 years after graduating from art school, I am renewing my love for poetry and painting, refreshing techniques and allowing inspiration to bubble forth! What fun!

The internet is full of inspiring artists, such as Serena Barton, Rebecca Crowell, Judy Wise, Jylian Gustlin. It seems that I discover a new artist every day!

 "It is a Joy to Love" is a new 12" x 12" mixed-media painting. I played with acrylic, collage, stencil, monoprint, oil paint and cold wax for a rich texture.

© Claudia Rose