tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9013725078961476892024-03-14T03:13:47.700-07:00The Spiral in the SkyThe fine art of Tammy Mae MoonMoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-26981743785072972892014-04-18T10:07:00.000-07:002014-04-18T13:56:05.066-07:00The Temperance CardI am very honored to be included in the <a href="http://www.seventy-eight-tarot.com/" target="_blank">78 tarot project</a>. This is a global project that includes 78 artists, each making one tarot card for a collaborative deck. My card is the major card "Temperance". I thought I would briefly write a little about my process and why I chose the symbolism I did for the card.<br />
First I sketched this out on paper with my first ideas for the work.<br />
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I wanted to include some of the traditional symbols of the Temperance card, but change them up a little. Usually the card pictures an angel, often thought to be the Archangel Gabriel or an androgynous being, holding two cups and pouring water both out of and into each cup at once as if he is maintaining a delicate balance of the water (which is usually symbolic of both emotions and spiritual essence). Gabriel stands with one foot on the earth and one foot in the water to also symbolize that delicate balance between our emotions and being grounded, or between the spiritual and the material worlds.<br />
For my card I still chose to draw an angel, possibly Gabriel. I have chosen to represent the two forces that need to be balanced as swans as swans are an animal that live both on the land and water. For this reason swans are a strong symbol used in a lot of ancient myth the world over. They were believed to travel across the veil into the Otherworld and can often lead people from this material world into the Otherworld, or spirit world. One of my swans is painted black and stands in the water, the other is white and stands upon the earth. The black swan represents the material world and yet stands upon the water of spirit. The white swan represents the spirit world, and yet stands upon the material. So in a sense I wanted to continually mix up these two symbols showing their need for balance or temperance, just as the water has to be continually balanced in the traditional card.<br />
The swans are also standing in a defensive pose as if they might attack one another. This is showing how these two forces are always at odds with one another and again our need for balance. The triangle on her chest is a traditional symbol and represents the feminine energies being protected by natural law.<br />
I changed up a few things from my sketch into the final painting, which was done in soft pastel and colored pencil. Here is the final card:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WAPn6ADYAWk/U1GNtFvEtWI/AAAAAAAAA5w/aa2oUMDvGAE/s1600/Temperance_LORES_Tammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WAPn6ADYAWk/U1GNtFvEtWI/AAAAAAAAA5w/aa2oUMDvGAE/s1600/Temperance_LORES_Tammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The egg shape above the triangle is representative of the ancient Orphic Egg or Cosmic egg. In ancient Greek myth the first hermaphroditic being hatched from the cosmic egg. The Temperance card is about bringing balance, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">patience, and moderation into your life. The cosmic egg represents our dreams protected </span><span style="text-align: left;">delicately</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"> at our heart, and shows the need to protect it, and to balance it in the middle of those warring energies of spirit and material needs, so that we can manifest those dreams when it is time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Those are the main symbols in the card. I had a lot of fun manifesting it. Please be sure to check out the <a href="http://www.seventy-eight-tarot.com/" target="_blank">78 Tarot project</a> to see all the cards and learn about their creation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Temperance card original painting is also currently available. Please contact me at moonspiralart@yahoo.com if interested in purchasing.</span></div>
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<br />MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-33189803007484851012014-02-05T10:26:00.000-08:002014-02-05T10:39:33.823-08:00Who is Melusine?What I am currently working on is a painting of Melusine. I have been wanting to paint her for a long time and am really excited to finally do so. So who was or is Melusine? Quite simply she was an extremely popular legend in Medieval times. Her myth was popular throughout Europe from Scotland, to Avalon (though it is suppose to be a mythical place), to France. Here is my shortened and quick synopsis of what <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melusine" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> says:<br />
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<i>Melusine is a figure of European legend, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers.<br />She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down. She is also sometimes illustrated with wings and a tail, sometimes two tails. </i><br />
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<i>During the Crusades Elynas, the King of Albany (Scotland) went hunting one day and came across a beautiful lady in the forest. She was Pressyne, mother of Melusine. He persuaded her to marry him but she agreed, only on the promise — for there is often a hard and fatal condition attached to any pairing of faerie and mortal — that he must not enter her chamber when she birthed or bathed her children. She gave birth to triplets. When he violated this taboo, Pressyne left the kingdom, together with her three daughters, and traveled to the lost Isle of<b> </b>Avalon.<br /><br />The three girls — Melusine, Melior, and Palatyne — grew up in Avalon. On their fifteenth birthday, Melusine, the eldest, asked why they had been taken to Avalon. Upon hearing of their father's broken promise, Melusine sought revenge. She and her sisters captured Elynas and locked him, with his riches, in a mountain. Pressyne became enraged when she learned what the girls had done, and punished them for their disrespect to their father. Melusine was condemned to take the form of a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. In other stories, she takes on the form of a mermaid.<br /><br />Raymond of Poitou came across Melusine in a forest of Coulombiers in France, and proposed marriage. Just as her mother had done, she laid a condition, that he must never enter her chamber on a Saturday. He broke the promise and saw her in the form of a part-woman part-serpent. She forgave him. When during a disagreement, he called her a "serpent" in front of his court, she assumed the form of a dragon, (sometimes a it is said a swan) provided him with two magic rings, and flew off, never to return.</i></div>
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To me Melusine is the ultimate "Animal Bride". I am super intrigued by the Animal Bride myth in mythology and often my work is of these faerie women. These are the stories of the swan maidens, the selkies, mermaids, etc. They are in almost all myth the world over. They are tales of human men that marry a faerie woman who is some sort of animal, but turns into a beautiful looking human woman when the man captures her and brings her into our world to marry her.</div>
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There is so much good symbolism in the Animal Bride myth. Mainly I think it represents our longing for an intimacy with nature, but how we usually try to possess and control her. The Animal Bride myth always ends with the faerie woman returning to the wild from which she came, as she can never be possessed by man.</div>
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I am guessing these tales began popping up as soon as humans began creating civilizations. As we moved out of the forests and became increasingly dispossessed from nature, so began our longing to return to her. I think Melusine is the ultimate Animal Bride because she combines just about all the myths into one. She is a serpent, swan, dragon, mermaid of sorts. Her tale stretches across Europe and is not concentrated in one place. She is connected to springs and bodies of fresh water as these are so representative of our subconscious selves that are always there whispering secrets we can not hear like bubbling brooks.</div>
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So here are a couple of wip pics of my Melusine.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZ3rmmsw9us/UvJ-N53ZRvI/AAAAAAAAA1U/lu9lAyGjuYI/s1600/Melusine+1+Tammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZ3rmmsw9us/UvJ-N53ZRvI/AAAAAAAAA1U/lu9lAyGjuYI/s1600/Melusine+1+Tammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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The above shot is of the acrylic underpainting of Melusine. I added a serpent and a swan in a sort of oroboros design (one of my favorite symbols). They represent her two tails, or her two natures, earthly and spiritual. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EAiiYd454KM/UvJ-8JaSHMI/AAAAAAAAA1c/t1-T6q-b4I8/s1600/Melusine+2+Tammy+mae+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EAiiYd454KM/UvJ-8JaSHMI/AAAAAAAAA1c/t1-T6q-b4I8/s1600/Melusine+2+Tammy+mae+Moon.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is a shot of her after a layer of oil. I still have more detailing to do, but you get an idea of what she will look like.</div>
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One thing I am noticing in my own art, and in a lot of contemporary art, is that my women are growing more child-like or innocent looking. For me the underlying message in all my works has always had something to do with our longing for that connection with nature that is slowly slipping away from us. I think the prevalence of these fragile, innocent women we are seeing so much in art these days has to do with that too. The more entrenched we get in this technological world, the more we long for a simpler time. We are longing for a more innocent time. We stare at our computer screens all day long and the stress of this technological filled lifestyle often makes us feel like robots, not alive. We long to be wild. We all have memories of being children, running in the woods. Somehow that seems like lifetimes away now, why can't we have that again?</div>
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Okay, enough writing for today....off to finish my Melusine. </div>
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MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-38233759791265735442013-07-26T09:51:00.000-07:002013-07-26T10:02:59.056-07:00Bach Flower Series: ClematisI haven't wrote in this blog in so long I am not sure I remember how it works. I recently started a little series loosely based on the Bach Flower remedies. I decided that these needed a little writing to go with them to explain each remedy I do, so I am back on the ol' blog. I plan to do as many of these as I feel drawn to do and then write about the essence here after I am done. <br />
First I should explain what the Bach Flower remedies are. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bach flower remedies were introduced in the 1930s by Edward Bach, M.D., a British physician, who developed what he called a "theory of types" by which he divided people into seven groups based on their reactions to illness. He listed these types as fear, uncertainty, loneliness, oversensitivity, lack of interest in present circumstances, despondency, and over-concern for others. Dr. Bach believed that negative moods and emotions were responsible for the breakdown in health that leads to illness and determined that treatment had to address patients' emotional and mental states. He devised 38 wild flower essences, or remedies, for treatment for these negative moods and emotions.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"> </span>The first one I completed was "Clematis".<br />
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Clematis</div>
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2013 Tammy Mae Moon</div>
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Clematis relates to the soul potential of creative idealism. In the negative Clematis state a person tends to withdraw a lot into their own imagination. Many creative types can use a little Clematis from time to time. Creative people tend to be people that are easily in touch with their imagination. Sometimes though that inner world can be more attractive to us than the "real world". We have our heads too much in the clouds and can't get grounded. Clematis helps alleviate the spaciness and helps us bring our creativity to physical realization. It is a good remedy to take when you are feeling creatively blocked.</div>
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I added the dragonflies in this one as a strong symbol for integrating the "Otherworld/Inner World" with our outer world. The dragonfly <span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">inhabits two realms: air and water and teaches us how to walk in both worlds.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you fall into the Clematis state some, you are probably a "walker between the worlds". Try taking a little of this essence to help you stay grounded and transform all of that unused creative potential into physical form (Painting, weaving, writing, etc.).</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">*Most of my info on Bach Flowers has been taken from the book "Bach Flower Therapy; Theory and Practice" by Mechthild Scheffer.</span></span></div>
<br />MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-55615724012352898262012-07-22T11:20:00.000-07:002012-07-22T11:20:51.121-07:00"Medea" Work in ProgressI seem to have forgotten that I have a blog. Thought I would update you all with a little work in progress I am currently working on. It is only 12x12 inches so a fairly quick work for me. It is Medea, the villain witch of Euripides' play. I do love those enchantresses with a bad rep.<br />
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Here is the beginning sketch done in graphite on a Ampersand artist panel. <br />
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I plan for there to be roses and a moth surrounding her. I think the moth will be there to symbolize death and transformation.</div>
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After I have the sketch drawn I have to seal it. For this work I used clear gesso. After it dried it gave the work a really nice surface that the paint and I both really loved.</div>
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The next step is deciding on an underpainting color. Doing soft pastels for many years I discovered I really hate to start with a white surface. Pastel paper is often toned to a color that helps to build up skin tones in the work. I try to paint the work a color that will help me build the skin tone I am shooting for. Lately I have been using a lot of crimson red tones to start with. For this one I want her skin pale, almost frosty. I decided to start with a sea green color.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KWqTkjRNu5g/UAxAYFaUZ4I/AAAAAAAAAsE/44hdVTdZLUc/s1600/Medea+wip+gymnastics+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KWqTkjRNu5g/UAxAYFaUZ4I/AAAAAAAAAsE/44hdVTdZLUc/s320/Medea+wip+gymnastics+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can barely see it in the pic, but it is a nice greyish sea green. I remember reading an artist once saying that there is a lot of grey in human skin color, but our eyes just don't really register it. Putting little hints of grey in there can help you achieve a more realistic skin tone. <br />
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Next I play with some drips and background fun. I decide to go with two of my favorite colors here, sea green/or turquoise and yellow ochre. Which will both look great with the red roses I add later.<br />
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Now to go at that skin tone. I never have a set formula for skin tone. I usually use some combo of white, yellow ochre, unbleached titanium white, some kind of pinky orange. I basically just start slapping colors down and slowly add more or less of one or the other depending on what I want to achieve. This happens in many layers. Here is the first one:</div>
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She is a little too pink at this stage, but I like the transculent feel, which is what I am going for. I am really liking the sea green shadow areas too. Still need to work on her nose and mouth....not quite right.</div>
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This one was a bad pic...but I am laying on more skin tone, getting it closer to where I want. I also have her nose looking better. I started adding the roses also.</div>
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This last pic is where she is right now. I am going to go to town on that moth and the roses now, but I am pretty happy with her face at this point, just needs a little cleaning up....and the hair needs detailed. Should be done with her soon though. Hope you like her.</div>
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<br />MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-38755339890262840102012-04-17T17:39:00.001-07:002012-04-17T17:47:52.905-07:00"Nimue", a white hart, and a goat?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p4-19x_bdDY/T44PJ2PjB_I/AAAAAAAAAnA/E7W8QNmGxms/s1600/Nimue+lo-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p4-19x_bdDY/T44PJ2PjB_I/AAAAAAAAAnA/E7W8QNmGxms/s400/Nimue+lo-res.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Nimue"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">16x20 acrylic on masonite</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2012</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tammy Mae Moon</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I finally got to finish this up this week. I have been working on it in spurts for weeks now. My original plan was to paint Nimue, one of the names for the Lady of the Lake, and a white hart. While I was working on her a goat appeared, and I really had no idea why at the time. It wasn't until I really started to think about the symbolism of the goat that it hit me why he was there. I figured I had better do some "splaining".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First, Nimue is a goddess that has always intrigued me. We know that she was one of the ladies of the lake, and that she was an enchantress. Supposedly she used her feminine ways to seduce the great wizard Merlin into teaching her all of his magic, then she used this magic to entrap him in a tower, or in some stories a hawthorn tree. Some of you may remember one of my older works from 2009 "Merlin and Nimue":</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/17370_422042580289_228738940289_10823773_7560711_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/17370_422042580289_228738940289_10823773_7560711_n.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> You can imagine how the Patriarchy loved this tale of an evil temptress destroying the powers of the greatest wizard. One who really studies the writings of the courtly love era, the Camelot myths, certainly will understand the story differently though. <span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The writers of these Courtly love tales believed that all women were to be honored as the goddess, and it was through the love of the goddess that man transcended this world and became immortal.</span></span></div><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Merlin would have been able to predict his own death, and yet he willingly hung out with Nimue. In one tale Nimue changes him into a hawthorn tree. The hawthorn tree to the ancient Celts was the symbol for the chalice itself (the Holy Grail). It held the divine secrets of everlasting life. Therefore Merlin became one with those divine secrets by way of Nimue (the goddess).</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">Now the white hart appears a lot in Camelot myths too. Usually it is the hunt for the white hart that leads the knights into the forest, or the Otherworld. It represents the legendary beast of the chase and represents both heavenly and earthly love and is similar to the symbol of the unicorn in medieval lore. It represents innocence, and the goddess of the land. It leads you into the Otherworld where you will be forever changed.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">The goat has been a strong symbol through out history. It was sacrificed routinely by ancient cultures so it represents sacrifice. But it is also represented by strong virile, wild male gods like Pan. Of course we have all used the phrase "horny old goat". Goats represent that wild, sexual, masculine energy that drives the world to procreate.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">So these two animals represent two facets of Nimue. That innocent, pure feminine goddess of the land, and that wild, evil, sexual temptress that she has become and the goat represents the sacrifice of the land. In between these two animals is a healthy large heart. The heart of the goddess being fed by opposites.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">So there is some of my thoughts on this one, at least the ones I can form somewhat coherently.</span><br />
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</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-52336006756801187402012-03-22T10:20:00.000-07:002012-03-22T10:20:55.854-07:00Cush show in CA and some other stuff :)I have been feeling so non creative for about 2 weeks now. I haven't painted much at all, and can't seem to finish the stuff I start. Worst of all I think I have already hit my breaking point with the political season. Facebook has sucked me in and I have been shooting my mouth off left and right. This is never really a good idea. I think the last couple of weeks with the bills being proposed in every other state to limit women's health has been the tipping point for me. I will try not to go off on politics here, but I am so tired of religious extremists targeting women all over the world. I am just now getting to the point where I realize babbling on Facebook is not going to change this. As an artist though, I have a public platform...even if it is small. I need to paint my feelings into my art. I just, as of yet, have never been able to produce something that powerful that makes people even a little uncomfortable. I am a lover of beauty and tend to have that as my theme in my work. I am wondering though if this little lack of creativity and pissed off political phase I am in will help me take my work to a new level of social awareness that I would love for it to go into. We shall see I suppose.<br />
What is a little different now with this dry spell I am in is that I do the Totem Spirit drawings. These are commissioned work, and commissions can not always wait until your creative urge comes back.<br />
I have been working on a larger Spirit totem painting for a client. In this work I am painting her actual face to go with the totem animals and symbols. This kind of work is always a little harder on me because I get a lot more nit picky. Plus I am trying real hard to paint on it when I have a clear mind that is not full of political garbage. It has been slow going, but it is turning out really nicely.<br />
I am super excited about the opening of the inner portrait show at the end of this month in Beverly Hills. Here is the flyer for the event. I can't believe how many of my favorite women artists I will be sharing gallery space with!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you are lucky enough to live near Beverly Hills, please attend the show and send me some pics...I can't make it out there unfortunately.</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-54346720815683444412012-03-04T07:46:00.001-08:002012-03-04T08:09:55.134-08:00A mother or an artist first?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/q9iLJFWlrdQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Have you seen the movie <a href="http://www.whodoesshethinksheis.net/" target="_blank">"Who Does She Think She Is?</a>"? It is really inspiring, especially if you are an artist and a mother. Actually every woman should see it because it touches on something for all of us as women. <br />
I became an artist after I had kids. I thought it would be the perfect way to stay at home with my children and bring in some income for my family. I thought it would be easy....haha. What soon happened was I uncovered my deepest desire was this need to create. Images flood my head constantly and I needed to get them out. I did not know how much this was a part of me until after I had my children. In my twenties I was pretty aimless. I was happy waiting tables to make money to go out and see live music and drink a pint or two of Guinness. I didn't have the depth and wisdom I own now, and I doubt my artwork would have held much meaning then.<br />
I can't say I am not more than a little jealous of female artists in their twenties who are often single, but even when they are not they do not have kids. I imagine them locked in their studios all day painting away with no one tugging on their shirt sleeve asking when dinner is going to be ready. I guess it is just my fate that I didn't discover this desire to be an artist until late, but also I had another desire that hit me in my mid twenties....I wanted to have a baby.<br />
I had my first child at 27, and my second at 30. I didn't start painting until my youngest was about 2, so only about 5 years ago. I remember when she was 2 I was working in soft pastels. She always wanted to (and still does) draw with me while I was working. I set up a little easel for her in my studio next to mine. I remember once I wasn't looking and she decided to add a bunch of scribbles with a sharpie to a beautiful angel with a dove I just completed. I think that was the first moment I realized I had a conflict within me. What was more important to me, my children or my art.<br />
Now that may sound crazy and selfish. Of course my children mean the world to me, they mean everything to me.....and yet, they are not all of me. They actually do not define me as much as my art does. I have known a lot of my mom friends that do define themselves by their children. I have watched them deal with depression as their children grow and they begin to realize they need another definition or they are going to disappear.<br />
So I have this art, and yet I struggle constantly with guilt. Am I ignoring my kids to paint? Yes, and no. They get to see a woman following her deepest desire. They get to see a woman who will give up so many things to follow her dream. And also, they get to see me struggle inside when they ask me to play while I am in the middle of a painting.....and just as many times as I say "not right now", they hear "okay". I do give up painting a lot for them, but I say no to them too. It is a fine balance that I struggle with constantly.<br />
So obviously this movie has me thinking a lot about us mom artists. I am toying with the idea of creating some kind of artist collective of mom artists. I would like it to be a group of really good mom artists that are really making it as professional artists....to show the world it can be done. It's just a thought. But for now I am thinking I might start a little group on Facebook and maybe start another blog. I am not very good at writing in this one, so that might be too much for me. But I would like to start a blog that highlights an amazing mom artist each week with an interview that touches on subjects like I just talked about above. You rarely hear that kind of personal struggle in an artist interview. Most artists interviews are full of a bunch of intangible philosophical dribble that really doesn't inspire you. I think it would help a lot of women to hear how an artist struggles everyday to balance her life, and yet still follow her soul's calling.<br />
So please let me know what you think. Would you like to read a blog like that, or maybe be involved in whatever comes out of it.MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-51085593127267841522012-02-13T12:06:00.000-08:002012-02-13T12:06:25.251-08:00Collaboration with Stephanie Allison<a href="http://stephallison.blogspot.com/2011/12/end-of-year-wrap-up.html" target="_blank">Stephanie Allison</a> and I have decided to do a fun little collaboration. We each are going to paint half a canvas and then mail it to the other one to finish the other half. I started on an 11x14 canvas panel and thought I would give you all a step by step look at how it evolves. After I send it off to Stephanie she is going to do the same at her<a href="http://stephallison.blogspot.com/2011/12/end-of-year-wrap-up.html" target="_blank"> blog</a>, so be sure to follow the whole progression over there.<br />
I often post a few wips of my work over on my Facebook page, but rarely do I remember to take photos at every step. Since this one was a small quick piece I tried to stop myself and take some photos. I wanted to especially show you how much I often struggle to get the perfect skin tone and hair color on my girls. Unfortunately with me, it is often just guesss work and not really an exact science. So here we go:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d8Mnlbjk7PQ/TzlpWuaEydI/AAAAAAAAAfA/boRo4fLO1Vo/s1600/peacock+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d8Mnlbjk7PQ/TzlpWuaEydI/AAAAAAAAAfA/boRo4fLO1Vo/s320/peacock+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The beginning sketch above. With a quick wash of ultramarine blue below (after I sprayed it with a light layer of workable fixative).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qM6Om5lmNb8/TzlpvUbGSfI/AAAAAAAAAfI/t6e_xIeKSj0/s1600/peacock2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qM6Om5lmNb8/TzlpvUbGSfI/AAAAAAAAAfI/t6e_xIeKSj0/s320/peacock2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wh0SuzMFrHQ/Tzlp4MaTICI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/D8R1i8f4DgU/s1600/peacock3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wh0SuzMFrHQ/Tzlp4MaTICI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/D8R1i8f4DgU/s320/peacock3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When I first start adding skin tones they can look a mess for awhile. Adding fixative over the canvas makes the first layers of paint not stick so well too. I have to lay down a lot of thin layers early on and let them each dry. At first they can look a mess for awhile, but I try my best to add the shadows and dark areas first.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z2qOFhkgMzk/Tzlp66y6ozI/AAAAAAAAAfY/JBjqmti0njE/s1600/peacock4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z2qOFhkgMzk/Tzlp66y6ozI/AAAAAAAAAfY/JBjqmti0njE/s320/peacock4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Below I am adding in the darks of her hair. I am trying to figure out where to go with her skin tone. She is a little too pink and pasty at this point.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y88JHoFX7Ao/Tzlp9cEI94I/AAAAAAAAAfg/58YD-iGtQVI/s1600/peacock5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y88JHoFX7Ao/Tzlp9cEI94I/AAAAAAAAAfg/58YD-iGtQVI/s320/peacock5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I think I want to go blonde, but it does not look good with her skin tone.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gEnjNXFclDU/TzlqBE3Vh_I/AAAAAAAAAfo/EzIrLz3lbcA/s1600/peacock6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gEnjNXFclDU/TzlqBE3Vh_I/AAAAAAAAAfo/EzIrLz3lbcA/s320/peacock6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So I added some orangey tones to her skin and decided to go dark with the hair. Had to add a mask too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1jRcpzi83tU/TzlqFwdiJ9I/AAAAAAAAAfw/ZznXgcLLs90/s1600/peacock7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1jRcpzi83tU/TzlqFwdiJ9I/AAAAAAAAAfw/ZznXgcLLs90/s320/peacock7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Getting close to done now. Just got to add the peacock details.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OhiDk7pwF_U/TzlqLnIOjTI/AAAAAAAAAf4/bH7eSjUPPIs/s1600/peacock9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OhiDk7pwF_U/TzlqLnIOjTI/AAAAAAAAAf4/bH7eSjUPPIs/s320/peacock9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And here is she is all done...well at least my side. I kind of hogged a little more than half, I hope Stephanie doesn't get annoyed with me!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HtznyNTk4Gc/TzlqVPGv_5I/AAAAAAAAAgA/7Mg-1X9EsX8/s1600/peacock+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HtznyNTk4Gc/TzlqVPGv_5I/AAAAAAAAAgA/7Mg-1X9EsX8/s320/peacock+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QGn7b5eXJS4/TzlrHd6ei-I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/NtiJBtjdUE8/s1600/peacock+lo-res_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QGn7b5eXJS4/TzlrHd6ei-I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/NtiJBtjdUE8/s320/peacock+lo-res_edited-1.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-12421390522849590342012-02-01T13:41:00.000-08:002012-02-01T13:41:36.986-08:00Spirit Totem DrawingsI think I have mentioned in this blog before that I got my start doing art by drawing spirit guides for people. This is basically how I learned to draw people. About 2 years ago I decided to focus more on doing fine art, and let the guide work go. Of course the guide work did not fully let me go. I have struggled a little the last 2 years wondering how to bring the work back in. A few times I thought I was ready to do it again, and then pulled it back.<br />
Working with spirit in that way is no easy task. I am looking into people's "stuff" and their energy and trying to make sense of it, and then drawing and painting on top of that. With a family to raise, a house to clean, and other creations to paint, it just seemed like too much. Recently the tug to do the work has returned. I suddenly sat down with my own name (that is the tool I use to connect with people's energies) and did a different kind of drawing. It is a symbolic drawing more than anything, and different than just drawing the spirit guides. Here is a little write up on my website that explains them:<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #515655; font-family: Helvetica, Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span data-mce-style="line-height: normal; font-size: 14pt;">These drawings contain a combination of animal and plant spirit guides, archetypal symbols, and higher dimensional energies. Somewhat like a tarot card, these drawings trigger our subconscious mind and our deeper knowing. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #515655; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span data-mce-style="line-height: normal; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Times, serif;">I spent many years giving tarot readings both professionally and personally and feel a deep connection to symbolism. I feel that artists often understand the language of archetypal symbols. With these drawings I want to create a sort of road map of your soul, almost like your own personal ta</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">rot card</span>.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #515655; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span data-mce-style="line-height: normal; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I work with y</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Times, serif;">our full name to uncover many of the symbols and archetypes you work with. I use a process called Lexigramming your name to connect me with your Akashic Record, the record of your soul. There will be a combination of about 7 animals, archetypes and/or angels in the drawing done in my unique style. You are welcome to tell me any totems you would really like in the drawing, or you can just let me uncover them for you; or better yet, the drawing can be a combo of both.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #515655; font-family: Helvetica, Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span data-mce-style="line-height: normal; font-size: 14pt;">The drawing is 8x10 inches and comes already matted in an 11x14 inch black or cream mat. The media is graphite pencil, watercolor, and ink on cold-pressed watercolor paper. It will also come with a note letting you know all of the symbols and their meanings.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #515655; font-family: Helvetica, Times, serif; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span data-mce-style="line-height: normal; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are a few examples of what the drawings look like:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://moonspiralart.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Totem_1_lo-res.4191056_std.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://moonspiralart.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Totem_1_lo-res.4191056_std.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/404742_10151195255295290_228738940289_22825454_797401588_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/404742_10151195255295290_228738940289_22825454_797401588_n.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/418334_10151224794615290_228738940289_22921365_2005271957_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/418334_10151224794615290_228738940289_22921365_2005271957_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The faces in the drawings are more symbolic of the people's energies, a sort of combination of the goddess or god energy that they carry. Although, the last drawing was a guide that came in and was adamant that he be drawn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am really feeling back in my element with this work. I feel like a fog has lifted that I have been stuck in for the last 2 years. I also now realize (hindsight is 20/20) that Saturn has been in Libra the last 2 years (I am a Libra) it is now starting to leave Libra and go into Scorpio. This has really effected my life in areas of business and relationships. I can see it as clear as day now, and it has been part of the fog that has clouded my vision when it comes to areas of my "career".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another beautiful thing that these drawings are doing for me is helping me realize how much I really do love to draw men. Seriously, I have only drawn women for years now. Suddenly I am being forced to draw men again with these and I am enjoying it. It is helping me feel more balanced actually. I am currently working on a drawing for a man and a lot of powerful, heroic energy is coming in. I just did his drawing but haven't added any paint yet. I thought I would show you what it looks like in it's raw unpainted version. I am wondering if I should just leave it like this. I am not adding a lot of color to these, just a little watercolor, but this one almost seems perfect with no color. We will see..... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lGo8BKWD7WQ/TymvoVPA7EI/AAAAAAAAAeY/69dA8mbcxjw/s1600/Aragorn+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lGo8BKWD7WQ/TymvoVPA7EI/AAAAAAAAAeY/69dA8mbcxjw/s320/Aragorn+004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He reminds me of Aragorn...swoon.... ;)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you would like to commission yourself a Totem Spirit drawing please go to my<a href="http://www.moonspiralart.com/totem_spirit_drawings" target="_blank"> website</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</span></div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-2657985830871222782012-01-01T11:08:00.000-08:002012-01-01T11:08:02.319-08:00Happy New Year and last painting of 2011.I spent New Year's Eve day trying to finish my Psyche. I started her a few weeks back, and I felt like she needed to be done before 2012. So I barely got her finished before it was time to start ringing in the New Year. So here she is:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WnduEyiBePw/TwCr46SIukI/AAAAAAAAAdg/FrsqSHksQEo/s1600/Psych+lores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WnduEyiBePw/TwCr46SIukI/AAAAAAAAAdg/FrsqSHksQEo/s320/Psych+lores.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">"Psyche's Abandonment"</div><div style="text-align: center;">24x36 acrylic on canvas</div><div style="text-align: center;">$600.00</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I think this painting sums up my 2011 in some ways. It was a year that on some levels seemed uneventful. I often felt like I was just going through the motions this year, and have often felt very unconnected to my spiritual self. I almost felt like my psyche (or soul) had abandoned me. But as 2012 approached and as I was working on this painting a new light is being birthed in me. I can not really described it, but I know there is something re-awakening in me that has been hibernating for awhile. </div><div style="text-align: left;">I am excited for the New Year and the direction that I want to take my art in. I am being drawn to a lot of Christian/Gnostic imagery right now and I plan to mix it up with Pagan myth like I did in this Psyche painting. I have some big plans for paintings, and yet I am going to have less time to paint. I am now working at a Law office part time to make some extra money. I am not happy about the loss of painting time, and yet I feel that making some steady money will take some pressure off of me with my art. I do think when you are a professional artist it is easy to fall into a trap of "painting what you think will sell". I look forward to creating out of a space of love instead out of space of survival issues this year. </div><div style="text-align: left;">I hope you all find that Creative space of love this year. Happy 2012!</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-20269823354766580342011-12-10T12:20:00.000-08:002011-12-10T12:20:11.846-08:00Christmas original painting Give-AwayI have decided to give this painting away for Christmas!!!!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oBrl7rfjUw8/TuO99Nt-R_I/AAAAAAAAAbg/Xl2wOkYdUNE/s1600/free+painting+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oBrl7rfjUw8/TuO99Nt-R_I/AAAAAAAAAbg/Xl2wOkYdUNE/s320/free+painting+002.JPG" width="285" /></a></div><br />
This is a 12 inch by 12 inch acrylic painting on a cradled wood panel that I painted earlier this year. All you have to do is go to my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Moon-Spiral-Art/228738940289" target="_blank">Facebook fan page</a> and press Like if you haven't yet. Then go to the post with this pic of the painting and comment. Your comment needs to be a short poem describing who this lady is. Tell me her story in a poetic fashion. I will pick my favorite on Sunday Dec. 18th and ship it to the winner free of charge. I will even ship her Internationally!<br />
I can't wait to see what you come up with!MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-84683552124888084212011-11-13T10:31:00.000-08:002011-11-13T10:33:00.420-08:00The Birch Tree Spirit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F32lk0DwusQ/TsAIxWPwykI/AAAAAAAAAYg/RYNcv0Z1BYU/s1600/Birch+Spirit+lo-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F32lk0DwusQ/TsAIxWPwykI/AAAAAAAAAYg/RYNcv0Z1BYU/s320/Birch+Spirit+lo-res.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Birch Tree Spirit</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">12x16 acrylic on panel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was originally inspired to do a Birch tree spirit after reading the book called "Celtic Tree Mysteries, Secrets of the Ogham" by Steve Blamires. Blamires discussed in depth how the ancient Celts saw trees on physical, mental, and spiritual planes. In Celtic shamanism trees are worked with much like animal spirit guides are in Native American shamanism. Each tree has a spirit and a message for us and can be our allies in the Otherworld.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Birch is the first tree in the Ogham, and the one that I am most drawn to right now. Birch trees can grow in places that other trees can not. Infact, the Birch tree is often the colonizer of new forests. It's leaves are light and it's bark peels off easily and falls to the ground. It feeds and fertilizes the soil around it so that other life can grow. It helps other trees such as Oak and Beech to grow in places they would not otherwise. But eventually the other trees grow taller than the Birch depriving it of light and killing it off. Therefore the Birch is a tree of new beginnings, and a tree that sacrifices itself for the benefit of others.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Birch is a wonderful tree to work with when you are starting something new or change is upon you. Meditating on it's self-sacrificing character is very healing, for the Birch is also regenerating and has life-giving properties. She is a true goddess tree and we can learn a lot from this silvery lady of the woods.</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-27187736921758548482011-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:002011-10-20T09:34:24.130-07:00Reflecting on how far I have comeI was cleaning out my basement studio space last night and came across some old drawings from 3 to 4 years ago. I did not start posting my work online until late 2008. I have only felt like a "professional artist" in the last 2 years or so. Before then I just fooled around with soft pastels. I use to do spirit drawings for people and that was really how I began drawing people.<br />
I came across a pastel drawing I did of White Buffalo Calf Woman in early 2008. I was so struck with how rudimentary it seemed to me now. I always loved to draw, and I always felt like I had some inkling of talent in me. But now I really understand that talent in art is simply discipline in some ways. When you work out everyday you eventually get a very toned body. Art is the same way. Sometimes it takes years to get very toned, but it takes doing it everyday. <br />
For the last three years I have been painting or drawing something almost constantly. I think I am finally starting to get some art muscle, although I am sure I will look back 3 years from now and think my current work is rudimentary (I hope so). <br />
I wanted to post this picture of White Buffalo Calf woman for those that have just started drawing, or for those that don't think their art is very good. Hang in there and practice everyday, you will get better. Really all it takes is wanting it, and as I am sure most of you artists will agree....wanting it more than almost anything else.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1nB1ROPq6OE/TqBMhtVAq3I/AAAAAAAAAVg/Y4oSvoo9qIo/s1600/May+12%252C+2008+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1nB1ROPq6OE/TqBMhtVAq3I/AAAAAAAAAVg/Y4oSvoo9qIo/s320/May+12%252C+2008+015.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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and here is what all my faeries use to look like :<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LOZKn8izPT4/TqBMjIEj8fI/AAAAAAAAAVo/ayaC28PREfE/s1600/May+12%252C+2008+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LOZKn8izPT4/TqBMjIEj8fI/AAAAAAAAAVo/ayaC28PREfE/s320/May+12%252C+2008+012.JPG" width="256" /></a></div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-28857325915361178902011-10-18T10:00:00.000-07:002011-10-18T10:00:19.522-07:00Gwragedd Annwn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rd8g-IcbSho/Tp2wDwqTR-I/AAAAAAAAAUw/yiVkX3DEK7M/s1600/Gwragedd+Annwn+lo-res1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rd8g-IcbSho/Tp2wDwqTR-I/AAAAAAAAAUw/yiVkX3DEK7M/s320/Gwragedd+Annwn+lo-res1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Gwragedd Annwn</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">14x18 in. acrylic and ink on panel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2011</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Available</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">See her at the Forgotten Goddess show at the Rico Adair Gallery in L.A. on Nov. 18th.</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-34317218356174357182011-10-14T07:10:00.000-07:002011-10-14T07:10:45.275-07:00LA show Nov.18th and Big SALEIf you haven't noticed yet, I started a big Half Off Sale on my website of older works. The sale started on Oct.11th and runs until Oct. 18th. There are currently only about 4 paintings left that are on sale, so go check it out at <a href="http://moonspiralart.com/original_paintings_for_sale">www.moonspiralart.com</a><br />
The main reason I decided to have a sale right now is I am trying to raise money to go to LA on Nov.18th. Many of my works will be in an exhibition to launch the <a href="http://theforgottengoddess.com/">Forgotten Goddess</a> company. I am really excited about this for multiple reasons. For one, it will be my first time to show in LA and my very first trip to California (can you believe it....I don't get out much). I am also really excited about being there to help launch the Forgotten Goddess. I think many of us have dreamed of a company like this, one that empowers women and sells beautiful goddess art and other products along with inspiring others to create. I am so happy to be involved with this company. Russelle Marcato Westbrook and Jenni Ogden Klein are two amazing women with a visionary plan, and I am very grateful they found me and have supported me and my work the way they have.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nqsJ3DZf8wY/TphCzWYNeUI/AAAAAAAAAUo/BLpXT7-fqxY/s1600/Lilith+lo-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nqsJ3DZf8wY/TphCzWYNeUI/AAAAAAAAAUo/BLpXT7-fqxY/s320/Lilith+lo-res.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So, I am going to be at the opening of the Forgotten Goddess exhibition on Nov.18th at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rico-Adair-GalleryBoutique-Multi-Sub-Cultural-Center/214661831877183?sk=wall">Rico Adair Gallery</a> in Studio City (I guess that is in North Hollywood). I know some of you that read my blog and follow me are from California, I would be overjoyed to see some of you at the show.<br />
Thank you to all of you who bought paintings this week and helped me to make this trip a reality.MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-25319433342526285442011-10-06T08:13:00.000-07:002011-10-06T08:17:03.151-07:00Mary, Queen of SorrowsI decided to do a Mother Mary recently mainly because of the influence of my new friend and amazing artist <a href="http://theforgottengoddess.com/">Russelle Marcato Westbrook</a>. She is doing a whole series of exploring Mary and the opposites of dark and light within us all.<br />
In the Bible, Mary was still a teenager when she was called upon to bear the Son of Man. She became a mother in innocence, and lost her son in the height of his greatness. She knew his fate, and had to bear the sorrow. Mary is the one goddess that has been allowed in Christianity. She stands for compassion, nurturing, acceptance and love. I think her archetype deeply effects women, especially mothers. <br />
I am writing this right now as I am struggling with my son. He is in 3rd grade and he is beginning to hate school. He daydreams a lot and doesn't know how to handle his emotions very well. He is a typical boy in our society. Boys are getting more and more lost everyday. I think the Mary archetype has a lot to do with mothers and their sons. We are losing our sons to war and violence, and we are suppose to just grin and bear it. We are suppose to be strong and just let our sons go, at least this seems to be the underlying message from our society. But I think it is time for Mary to wake up. <br />
I thought I would show you a few of the work in progress pics of Mary so you can see exactly how she evolved. Sometimes I change them and play with them a lot before they are finished.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CIeVsTje7MA/To3C3kXZYxI/AAAAAAAAATc/drST1cVRVMA/s1600/Mary+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CIeVsTje7MA/To3C3kXZYxI/AAAAAAAAATc/drST1cVRVMA/s320/Mary+004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rlPUJqKqGQM/To3C8whJLlI/AAAAAAAAATg/vX-RtoKoNJo/s1600/Mary+wips+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rlPUJqKqGQM/To3C8whJLlI/AAAAAAAAATg/vX-RtoKoNJo/s320/Mary+wips+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TytieBCLvGE/To3DFZJUqII/AAAAAAAAATk/mT66LmbS8DI/s1600/wee+folk+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TytieBCLvGE/To3DFZJUqII/AAAAAAAAATk/mT66LmbS8DI/s320/wee+folk+003.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">"Mary, Queen of Sorrows" </div><div style="text-align: center;"> 16x20 acrylic and ink on panel</div><div style="text-align: center;">2011</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3UUuopIQrvY/To3DPIy4oOI/AAAAAAAAATs/kMcjXBKYZOE/s1600/Mary%252C+Queen+of+Sorrows+lo-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3UUuopIQrvY/To3DPIy4oOI/AAAAAAAAATs/kMcjXBKYZOE/s320/Mary%252C+Queen+of+Sorrows+lo-res.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-68020028637984662462011-09-09T09:03:00.000-07:002011-09-09T09:03:38.738-07:00Leanan Sidhe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EwWvlCQTHUI/Tmo38wXhR5I/AAAAAAAAASs/AJQueO8k-z8/s1600/Leanan+Sidhe+lo-resTammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EwWvlCQTHUI/Tmo38wXhR5I/AAAAAAAAASs/AJQueO8k-z8/s320/Leanan+Sidhe+lo-resTammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Leanan Sidhe</div><div style="text-align: center;">16x20 acrylic, ink, gold leaf paint on Gessobord panel</div><div style="text-align: center;">$350.00</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-13435583696400984862011-08-30T07:44:00.000-07:002011-08-30T07:50:12.596-07:00Struggling with Perfectionism and my latest workPerfectionism can kill art. It killed one of my pieces I started last week. I had a beautiful drawing, but then I started painting. I was trying some techniques that I saw another artist do. I was trying to be that artist I suppose, and got aggravated that I wasn't...and ruined the piece. I realize that I don't need to be another artist, but sometimes perfectionism, or the ego, creeps in...and kills art.<br />
So I started on another one. This time I found the perfect face somewhere on the Internet. She is my perfect model, my perfect symbol of beauty. I wanted to draw her and it had to be exactly like her. Well I started drawing, and lil' miss perfectionist came right back in. "It doesn't look like her", "You can't get the lips right", "that left eye isn't right". I erased and erased, and finally decided that I had a pretty close representation, even though it was not perfect. Here is the beginning drawing:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wf8p4u-VEtU/Tlzwf6DyjJI/AAAAAAAAASY/3BEzz6H4F2Q/s1600/wips+and+cert+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wf8p4u-VEtU/Tlzwf6DyjJI/AAAAAAAAASY/3BEzz6H4F2Q/s320/wips+and+cert+005.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The lips were driving me batty at this stage....and that left eye still. But I started to slap on some paint. I am experimenting with a more neutral background than my norm. Here she is with the first bit of paint:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMwPLq8z5fk/TlzxCQdH_9I/AAAAAAAAASc/Ah_oR10sgWs/s1600/Leanan+Sidhe+wip+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MMwPLq8z5fk/TlzxCQdH_9I/AAAAAAAAASc/Ah_oR10sgWs/s320/Leanan+Sidhe+wip+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Starting to come to life, but I was still very displeased. She doesn't look enough like my model. I was fretting a lot about the lips at this point. Now I am looking at them here and suddenly they look great to me. I changed them a bit though, and here is where she is now (I think I might try to take the lips back to where they were above though).:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Du4U1GWfsU/TlzxiAOHsXI/AAAAAAAAASg/I9ZdFwMkbbU/s1600/Leanan+Sidhe+wip+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0Du4U1GWfsU/TlzxiAOHsXI/AAAAAAAAASg/I9ZdFwMkbbU/s320/Leanan+Sidhe+wip+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Sorry the pic is a little grainy, it was taken last night. Anyway, this little gal is a Leanan Sidhe. These are faerie women that are believed to attach themselves to artists. Irish folklore says they are beautiful dark muses that both provide inspiration and suck the life from their host. Many artists are driven mad and die young because of their relationship with a Leanan Sidhe. <br />
I think this is in a way a metaphor for the artistic inspiration itself. It comes in and you fall in love with it like it is a beautiful lover. But often, the ego mind sets in and you think the artistic inspiration is all you and from you, or your mind. Eventually the inspiration wanes, and the artist can be driven mad when they can no longer find it anymore.<br />
Then there is the perfectionism. Driven by your mind, or ego, to create the perfect work of art, you can drive yourself mad. I am laughing at myself here. This little Leanan Sidhe is truly doing her job on me. But I am starting to get that you can create your idea of perfect beauty, and it doesn't have to be perfect. Although, if you are doing it in a state of joy instead of anxiety....it will in no way be imperfect.<br />
I was inspired to write about artistic perfectionism after my gifted artist friend <a href="http://simplesoulfulart.com/">Steph Granshaw</a> posted a work of <a href="http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/index.php">Audrey Kawasaki's</a> today on her Facebook page. Audrey of course is a very gifted artist and fairly famous. Her work always seems like sheer perfection, but the first thing I noticed about this work was that the right eye was way too far over to the right. Now maybe most people that do not constantly paint faces wouldn't notice this. But I sit and stared at it and thought about how much it would have drove me crazy and that I would have had to fix it. But Audrey left it, and it is still perfect. <a href="http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/galleries.php?g=1&r=79&p_id=606&page=1">Here</a> is the painting, go have a look and marvel at her other work if you haven't before.<br />
Hope you are all walking the path of non-perfectionism today........<br />
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MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-48919637609469060222011-08-22T13:44:00.000-07:002011-08-22T13:44:38.840-07:00Upcoming Events<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-38ZKqOUj9Lg/TlK8NgRR92I/AAAAAAAAASU/rdORLKKf3WM/s1600/chicken+pox+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-38ZKqOUj9Lg/TlK8NgRR92I/AAAAAAAAASU/rdORLKKf3WM/s320/chicken+pox+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I had a great time at the Woodland Arts Fair this past weekend. It was a little too hot, but at least it didn't rain. Now on to September events.<br />
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September 10th:<br />
I will be displaying my art at <a href="http://www.oh-yoga.com/">Open Heat Yoga studio</a> which is located in the Unitarian Church in Lexington. They will be having a day of free yoga, free henna and food. I will be be there with my art and will be drawing names for free prints. The fun starts around 10 am, hope to see you there!<br />
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September 16th:<br />
I will be participating in the Artist Trading Card event put on by the Lexington Art League and Citizens Create. Over 50 artists will be trading cards at the Mayor's office during the Gallery Hop. If you are doing the hop make sure to come by and check out the fun.<br />
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October 1st:<br />
I will be vending at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wee-Folk-Fairy-Fest/117150585036764">Wee Folk Fairy Festival</a> in Covington, KY. It is from noon to 5p.m. This is a really fun family event. So put on your fairy wings and come and join in on the fun.MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-72635745265918214442011-08-18T05:18:00.000-07:002011-08-18T05:18:42.172-07:00Woodland Arts Fair and a beautiful video.Lexington's biggest arts fair is this weekend. I have been a busy bee getting ready to set up my booth. I will be in the Woodland Christian Church's lawn this weekend. The fair runs Saturday 10 am until 6 p.m. and Sunday 11am until 5pm.<br />
I am running a little promotion of sorts, the first 12 people to come up to me at the fair and say they heard about this on Facebook, or here on my blog, will get a free postcard print and maybe some other goodies too. So definately make sure you come by and say hello this weekend.<br />
Last night I saw this video for the first time and just thought it was beautiful. I think it was pretty viral at one point so you might have already seen it, but it is worth another watch. Lately it seems the news has been littered with things that bad men are doing. Sometimes when I hear too much I begin to get afraid of men. I begin to think that the world is not getting any better, that men are not learning to love. I needed to see this video. I need to watch it everytime I hear too much about the bad men and to remember that there are many men that are trying to be the change, to honor love, and to restore the divine masculine.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/K_uRIMUBnvw/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K_uRIMUBnvw&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K_uRIMUBnvw&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-42608919262306864792011-08-15T14:24:00.000-07:002011-08-15T14:24:59.442-07:00Finished "Dakini"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S5N_dsN8bYY/TkmOJmJUQqI/AAAAAAAAASQ/zGrdIUoiuy8/s1600/Dakini+lo-res+Tammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S5N_dsN8bYY/TkmOJmJUQqI/AAAAAAAAASQ/zGrdIUoiuy8/s320/Dakini+lo-res+Tammy+Mae+Moon.jpg" width="241" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dakini</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">14x18 acrylic, ink, gold leaf paint</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">on gessoed hardboard panel</div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-87298459145775011292011-08-08T09:33:00.000-07:002011-08-08T09:33:44.689-07:00Dakinis in bikinis...Okay, not really dakinis in bikinis. I just thought that would be fun to say. Sorry I haven't wrote much in ye olde blog lately. I usually fall into a pattern in the summer where I turn into a virtual hermit in between all the trips. Needless to say this summer has been busy with the kids and trips, but I have managed to get some painting in here and there.<br />
My latest obsession has been with the idea of dakinis (sometimes in bikinis I suppose). <br />
A <b>dakini</b> is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered <i>khandroma</i> which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'.<br />
A dakini comes in many forms and in some ways is related to angels or thought of as bird women of sorts. In many parts of Tibet vultures are considered physical representations of dakinis. Vultures have been revered by many ancient cultures as they are able to transmute negative energies and disease from the physical plane.<br />
It is believed that all women are dakinis, but most do not ever realize this. I like that dakinis are not always pure and perfectly nice, sometimes they are scary and mean too. They are similar to the Valkyries of Norse myth. <br />
I feel that dakinis are muses. I once read where the amazing visionary artist <a href="http://www.sublimatrix.com/">Andrew Gonzales</a> said that he felt like all the women he painted were his dakinis. I really understand this, because as I paint each one of my ladies I form this mystical connection with them. They are me in part, they are my muse, and they are dakinis.<br />
Obviously two of my favorite subjects are birds and women, so I am planning to do a whole series of dakinis I think. Here is some progress pics of my first dakini....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wq49JpXYSTg/TkANee9CRKI/AAAAAAAAASA/lnAGwWQPzaA/s1600/Dakini+wip+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wq49JpXYSTg/TkANee9CRKI/AAAAAAAAASA/lnAGwWQPzaA/s320/Dakini+wip+010.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xgRdjREhdHc/TkANls-GnwI/AAAAAAAAASI/uyb9-jTJDMo/s1600/Skating+015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xgRdjREhdHc/TkANls-GnwI/AAAAAAAAASI/uyb9-jTJDMo/s320/Skating+015.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kBoI0lBvMTY/TkANpa16McI/AAAAAAAAASM/-pQV-uGTYq0/s1600/more+Dakini+wip+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kBoI0lBvMTY/TkANpa16McI/AAAAAAAAASM/-pQV-uGTYq0/s320/more+Dakini+wip+003.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
I am working on the feathers around her eyes now and really loving them. Be prepared for lots of feathered masks in the future. I am also giving her some wings, but not really sure how I am going to make those look yet. I hope to have her completed soon. I am hoping to have her done and framed for the upcoming Woodland Arts fair. I will have a booth that weekend in the lawn of Woodland Christian Church, hope to see you there!<br />
MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-37419032564478729252011-06-24T07:18:00.000-07:002011-06-24T07:18:59.243-07:00The Ever changing PersephoneI showed a sketch of my "Persephone's Folly" on my Facebook fan page a couple of days ago. I started painting on her yesterday, and noticed she changed a lot. That often happens when I start painting on them, their faces change and morph on me. I was a little sad at first because there was something in the face of the sketch that I really liked. But now I am realizing there is no way to control Persephone, she is a force that can never be defined or fully understood.<br />
Sketch with some background color added:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d69XJNxnUK0/TgSZGOD586I/AAAAAAAAANg/G0v1hkRKOM0/s1600/Persephone%2Bwip%2B001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d69XJNxnUK0/TgSZGOD586I/AAAAAAAAANg/G0v1hkRKOM0/s320/Persephone%2Bwip%2B001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Beginnings of skin tone added, she changed already:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YwMT03_s3d0/TgSZU44SkRI/AAAAAAAAANo/FhW52z3zDAc/s1600/Persephone%2Bwip%2B002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YwMT03_s3d0/TgSZU44SkRI/AAAAAAAAANo/FhW52z3zDAc/s320/Persephone%2Bwip%2B002.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Where she is now:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L1Acj2K5eM8/TgSZcXWDTFI/AAAAAAAAANw/Arqq184ykhM/s1600/Persephone%2Bwip%2B004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L1Acj2K5eM8/TgSZcXWDTFI/AAAAAAAAANw/Arqq184ykhM/s320/Persephone%2Bwip%2B004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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Luckily I don't have to write a novel here telling you all about Persephone. We all know her story, and yet none of us really knows if she ate all those pomegrante seeds on purpose or if she was a victim (I don't think she was a victim). <br />
One thing I am trying to bring through in this painting is the tree of life. In a lot of old paintings a snake is wrapped around a tree to signify it as the tree of life. I have a snake wrapped around Persephone and vegetation in her hair along with the look of her hair to hint to her being the tree. She represents the Underworld, the subconscious, the tree of life that connects to both the Underworld and the Upperworld.<br />
She is also holding the fruit like a tree bearing fruit. I am also paying homage to one of my favorite painters and my favorite Persephone painting. Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Proserpine":<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/books/vinal/proserpine2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="531" src="http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/books/vinal/proserpine2.jpg" width="350" /></a></div>MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-48412175128386127612011-06-22T07:42:00.000-07:002011-06-22T08:10:20.402-07:00Demeter and beesI finally finished Demeter this week. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rYlCj4seNPw/TgH14mGZ1tI/AAAAAAAAANY/tgRY7u6mAGc/s1600/Demeter%2527s%2BDream%2BTammy%2BMae%2BMoon%2Blo-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rYlCj4seNPw/TgH14mGZ1tI/AAAAAAAAANY/tgRY7u6mAGc/s320/Demeter%2527s%2BDream%2BTammy%2BMae%2BMoon%2Blo-res.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><br />
I lost my inspiration to work on her about three-fourths of the way through. I have been struck with that a lot lately...lack of inspiration. In fact I have been feeling very disenchanted about everything of late. I have been way too focused on the physical. Sometimes we get too wrapped up in being validated and we translate validation into how much money we are making. Like many artists, it's often feast or famine around here and mostly leaning towards the famine. It is very easy to fall into the "what's the use" thought pattern, and when you do it is very hard to find inspiration.<br />
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So that's where I was a little over a week ago. I was walking around in my backyard barefoot playing with my daughter when I stepped on a honeybee. He stung me twice on the right foot and it hurt like all get out. I got most of the stinger out, but I guess missed a small part of it. A couple of days later my foot swelled up. That little bee sting caused me a lot of trouble.<br />
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After I realized I still had some stinger left and got it out, it suddenly dawned on me that that little bee might have been sent to wake me up. I was led right to an article on the internet about the magicalness of bees. Rudolf Steiner believed that bees were sent to Earth from Venus. Venus holds the energy of the heart chakra for our solar system. Bees form their honeycomb in the patterns of hexagrams which are connected to the heiros gamos or Star of David; also a symbol for the heart chakra.<br />
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Bees are all about love and bliss. They are our example of unity consciousness and what working together for the higher good can do....produce the sweetest of life's nectar. The biggest message that came through to me was that for a bee <strong>"THEIR WORK IS THEIR BLISS".</strong> Every time they gather nectar from a flower they are in complete ecstasy. Wow, that is what I have been missing focusing too much on my validation. I paint because it is blissful. I paint because I love to paint and to create. My focus should never be about if the paintings will sell, but about how much ecstasy I will receive from each brushstroke.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01403/bee_1403498c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="288" width="460" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01403/bee_1403498c.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Also as I was reading about bees I came across the fact that Demeter's priestesses were called bees. Wow....very serendipitous! So I finished Demeter and included a little honeybee on her shoulder. She is dreaming of a better world, a more love centered world. She is the consciousness of the Queen Bee and she is asking for some worker bees to help create this world she is dreaming of. But the honeybees are disappearing and the world seems to be losing hope...too many of us are thinking "What's the use..."<br />
It's time to wake up and follow our bliss.<br />
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I feel magical again, and the world is reflecting that to me. One of my magical friends Julia Inglis posted a blog about bees the other day and I noticed it last night. I wrote her to share how wonderful I thought it was that we were synchronized. She wrote a lovely <a href="http://www.sacredfamiliar.com/2011/06/welcoming-light-at-winter-solstice.html">blog about the Winter Solstice</a> (she is in Australia) that has a lot to do with what I just shared. I think there is a big message to many of us to just follow our bliss right now.<br />
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I am gestating a Persephone right now. She is going to bring me a lot of bliss....MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-901372507896147689.post-75927619457616339062011-06-03T07:31:00.000-07:002011-06-03T07:34:34.003-07:00Demeter's Dream, new WIPI don't know what it is about this time of year, but my creative spark always seems to get extinguished. I guess all I feel like doing is hanging out at the pool with the kids and drinking a beer on the patio. Ahhhh summertime :) <br />
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I finished the Cosmic Clown, but was still not completely satisfied with her. I need to take a good photo of her, but just haven't yet. I think I forced her when I just was not in the mood to paint. So I took a couple of weeks off. Then a commission came in, and I needed to get back into the swing of things. I hate to start a commission when I am in a creative slump or it ends up being forced too. This coming commission is one where I really need to connect in a heartfelt way so I decided to try a new piece to warm me up. I think it worked, I am feeling the spark light up again.<br />
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So I thought I would show you more of the whole progression of this one. She is one of those pieces that I changed a lot as I went along. Here is what I have done so far on her:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jyNdhZpSWno/TejtQDvcbkI/AAAAAAAAAM4/g8KZ7JKUkEo/s1600/Fun%2BDay%2B009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jyNdhZpSWno/TejtQDvcbkI/AAAAAAAAAM4/g8KZ7JKUkEo/s320/Fun%2BDay%2B009.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5OZSqrycCUU/TejtUnoN1eI/AAAAAAAAANA/EnEqMJ10pHA/s1600/Fun%2BDay%2B010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5OZSqrycCUU/TejtUnoN1eI/AAAAAAAAANA/EnEqMJ10pHA/s320/Fun%2BDay%2B010.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X0UIjeNsBDs/TejtbFVptZI/AAAAAAAAANI/Lvj1vWLYGgI/s1600/Fun%2BDay%2B011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X0UIjeNsBDs/TejtbFVptZI/AAAAAAAAANI/Lvj1vWLYGgI/s320/Fun%2BDay%2B011.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cytaWrnv1UM/TejthChywvI/AAAAAAAAANQ/uemm2QVnzxk/s1600/Fun%2BDay%2B013%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cytaWrnv1UM/TejthChywvI/AAAAAAAAANQ/uemm2QVnzxk/s320/Fun%2BDay%2B013%2Bcopy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I still have a lot of details to work out on her, but I will probably start that commission now. Got to do it while I am on a creative roll :). These days I seem to need to grab it while it lasts. The kids have their last day of school today, so things are going to be different around here for awhile. Trying to paint with them around can be interesting at best with them chanting "I'm bored, there's nothing to do" in the background. I end up painting a lot into the wee hours of the night during the summer, which is okay since I don't have to get up at 6 a.m. to get them to school.<br />
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When I do finally get "Demeter's Dream" done I will write a little more about her for you. Until then, happy summer (or winter if you are in Australia).MoonSpiralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05378224323689006853noreply@blogger.com9