NEW HORIZONS

I  didn't jump out of the womb with a brush in hand. I came from a family of artists who encouraged us to express ourselves in creative ways. This old painting from high school reminds me that what talent I have comes from perseverance, lots of hard work, stacks of sketchbooks and paintings, portfolios of drawings, prints, and boxes of doodles. These have all led me forward to where I am today.

Some days I feel on top of the world and think I am "really good." But a brief glance at another artist's work will bring me quickly down to earth. Take a quick run through Pinterest and you will see what I mean. What I need to remember: I am having fun making art, I am not trying to be world-famous (well, maybe a little!), I am improving my skills, I am exploring all kinds of different media, and I have limitations, just like we all do. I can stand back and admire those people who continued through their lifetimes developing their skills. I am still trying to catch up.

What struck me about that old painting was its theme: horizons. I have shown you previously some paintings from a recent series I call Horizons.  I didn't realize that I was looking back to an earlier self as I created new paintings.

With two good friends, I visited the J.M.W. Turner exhibit at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco. We all marveled at his work. He has inspired me anew to continue with my Horizon series, now emphasizing the sky.

Since Turner was a master at clouds. I've been practicing clouds.

I tried masking some areas of white on this page by using masking fluid and a sponge. The sponge left marks that were too square, so I did some touch-up with the blues and violets to make the clouds more realistic.


Some of the same colors in this painting of mountains are the same colors I used in that old painting from high school. Life goes in circles, doesn't it?