A Quick Study

Being in the midst of Christmas planning and prepping, being far away from my studio, there is not a lot of energy or inclination for art making...not even Christmas cards will be hand made this year. 

But today, just before dashing out on still more errands, I  felt compelled to grab my little box of water colour pans and whip up a quick sketch of the view from my bedroom window.

Toying  with the image a little in Photoshop tonight,

I found myself feeling pretty much in the pink.

I hope you're all feeling many shades of happy.

Four for All

I went to my studio today with the intention of making a watercolour of a luna moth I came across this week--the first and only one I've ever seen.  The result was more than disappointing.  Even scribbling and dripping and stamping into the picture couldn't save it.  But ripping the paper into 4 sections provided me with new fodder to work each piece individually as a new collage.

©2011 L.Ciacco, Granada, watercolour/collage on paper, 6 x 4.75 in.

©2011 L.Ciacco, Reception, watercolour/collage on paper, 5.25 x 4.75

©2011 L.Ciacco, Monsieur Hulot, watercolour/collage on paper, 5.25 x 4.75 in.

©2011 L.Ciacco, Garden Buzz, watercolour/collage on paper, 6 x 4.75 in.

When in doubt, rip it up and repurpose the pieces.

Sounds like good advice for living one's life.

Maybe.

Having a Bird

Another week slipped by with no studio time!  I decided to get in there this afternoon and rectify the situation.  Nothing planned, a quick sort of scribble sketch, and then let the watercolours flow.

©2011 L.Ciacco, Strange Birds, watercolour on paper, 9.5 x 11 in.

Now, I don't want anybody looking up this bird in an ornithology book! 

Slipping a mat (even though it's not the right size) over the painting gives an idea of what it would look like if it was framed.

This was about an hour's worth of play time. 

I hope you're finding time to play as well.

Make a play date with your self!

(I must remember to follow my own advice)

You Never Know

For days (if not weeks or months even) I've been wanting to get to my studio and make something that could be classified as art.  For the past several days, I've had a vague image of a girl floating in my head and I felt that I wanted to do a drawing/painting of her...with crinolines and bare feet and long hair.  Today I finally got to my studio and this is what happened.

©2011 L.Ciacco. Domestica, watercolour, graphite, Caran d'Ache pencil, on paper,  11.25 x 12.5 in.

Not quite what I had in mind, but I just let it flow, without question or criticism...other than the criticism of my trusty eraser from time to time.  I've been thinking about relationships lately, for various reasons.  Does it show?
There is a lot of symbolism in this piece, which I could describe, but I prefer to let the viewer bring her (or his) own interpretation to the picture.  I will say, though, that the choice of colours has to do with the chakras, and the positioning of the feet and hands is very important.  The cat, I'm not so sure about: I had intended it be a dog.

When the Red Red Robin

When I was a little girl, one of my favourite songs was "When the red red robin comes bob-bob-bobbin' along."  The other day, our yard was practically seething with robins.  I had never seen so many in one place, all bob-bob-bobbin' along for worms, I guess.  Each one was plump and robust looking, with his red waistcoast practically bursting at the seams.

©2011 L.Ciacco, Red Red Robin & Heron, watercolour on paper, 7 x 5 in.

 

Maybe this is what subconsciously prompted me to paint this image,
which was entirely spontaneous, when I went to my studio.

Looks like a curious heron also popped by to see what all the twittering was about.

It had been awhile since I'd put paint to paper and I just felt the urge.  Do you know what I mean?

"I'm just a kid again, doin' what I did again!"

Wild Woman and Friends

This watercolour is based on a dream and a conversation I had a couple of days ago.  The dream involved a dark man who stole everything I owned after I unlocked my door and let him in.  The conversation talked about the book Women Who Run With the Wolves, particularly about confronting and befriending the animus.  Yesterday I made a fast pencil sketch of those elements. 

©2011 L.Ciacco, Wild Woman and Wolf Befriending Animus, watercolour on paper, 13.5 x 10.5 in.

And then I looked for unexpected details, discovering a little masked man bearing a large heart, and a yellow bird stretching its wings. For some reason, I added three shapes that became burning candles stuck in the hair of the animus.

 I painted in the main colours and then today I painted the details and nuances.  It took a lot longer than I had anticipated.  But digging usually does. 

Last night, just before going to sleep, I picked up Women Who Run With the Wolves, which I haven't read in several years, and opened it to a page that was bookmarked.  Here is a quote that jumped out at me:

"There is a tremendous correlation between women who are afraid to create, making their ideas manifest in the world, and their dream images of injured or injuring men.  Conversely, the dreams of women strong in outer manifesting ability often feature a strong male figure who consistently appears in various guises."

Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Obviously, I don't have trouble creating, but making my ideas manifest in the world is quite a different matter.

By turning the painting on its side (and squinting a bit), it looks as though Wild Woman is being embraced by a Being in a long, striped, fringed shawl. Do you see it?  Hmmm, maybe I should paint that version...

Do you ever write down or draw images and scenarios from your dreams?  Can you even remember your dreams when you wake up?  Is there a recurring male figure who visits you in your dreams? 

P.S.  About those 3 candles?  I just read "So the animus travels the road between two territories and sometimes three:  underworld, inner world, and outer world."  Coincidence?