The Desert in Outrageous Bloom

I have been working so hard in the studio that I think I have finally hit a creative wall. I think I actually have to take a day off! (whoa.) I know, but there's nothing else that can be done. I tried to paint a cottontail rabbit today - nothing new, nothing I haven't tackled before - and I just couldn't make it work. There was frustration. There was a throwing of a brush. There were breaths drawn to calm down. More working...getting more awful by the brushstroke. I finally had to WALK AWAY. Sit down in a different room. Gather myself. And then, I went back and wiped the whole painting off. (oh yes I did!)

So I have decided to write you here, my dear blogger friends. Hi. I promised to share with you some photos of the Joshua Trees in bloom. I am going to do that, and I am also going to share some photos of the Mojave Yucca blooms. We've got one in front of our house that is exploding with flowers. Astonishing flowers. Here are the Joshua Tree blooms (and one bud):

Here are the Astonishing Mojave Yucca Blooms:

Taken in the last light of the day - so delicate

Don't you LOVE them?

Send me your encouraging words, as you have done before. Please. Since delivery for my April show is less than two weeks away. And I need to have at least two more (preferably three!) paintings. (And this is oil paint we're talking about here.)

The Joshua Tree in bloom

I just can't seem to get enough of it. Those white blooms, teetering at the end of a branch. They wear large green spiked collars. For some reason, none of the trees near our house are in bloom. It doesn't seem fair, but then, what in life really is fair? Well, not much. I think maybe this is just God's way of telling me to get more exercise. So I strap on the camera, call for the fuzzy dog, and we are off in search of a tree with a bud or a blossom on one of our many favorite trails. Pono isn't really as interested as I am, but there's always something to sniff, so that's good. It's better that I don't drive, this time of year. If I see a Joshua Tree in bloom, there's a good chance I will veer off towards it - maybe even slamming on my brakes in the process. Perhaps I need a bumper sticker that says "CAUTION - this vehicle stops for flowers."

Here they are.

Wasn't that fun?

I had a photo of a new painting to share with you, but now that I have pondered it, I decided it's not finished yet. So back to the studio I go...
Have a happy Sunday, all you dear things.

Art at the library

The Head Scarf. Charcoal, 16 x 25 inches. 

On Saturday, I hung some of my portrait drawings and paintings at the Joshua Tree public library. The work will be up for several months, so if you happen to stop in to get a new book, take a look and let me know what you think. I will be giving a talk about creating a portrait from life on March 3rd at 12:30pm in the library. I am hoping to find someone to make a video of my talk, for those of you who are far away. The drawing above is one of fourteen pieces in the show.

I have been hard at work in the studio, and hopefully, I will be able to post some photos of the new work this week. I find that once I am in the studio, nothing else gets done. No blog posts are written, no dishes are washed, no trash is taken out,...nothing. I will stay in there with brushes and painting knives in hand until I am too tired to paint anymore. How fortunate I am to be able to lose myself in my work! I know this blog has been neglected, and at times I am tempted to give it up entirely. It is only your comments and emails that keep me writing. Thank you all, for your encouragement, my dear readers.

A gift for you - some more photos of our beloved Joshua Tree.

Spring Already?

Well, according to the Joshua Trees near my neighbor's house, it is. I wasn't sure there would be any blooms on the trees this year, since it has been so dry. I noticed these on a walk with Pono last week, and now I have my eyes on high alert every time I pass a Joshua Tree. So far, I have only seen three trees with buds or blooms.

These photos were taken with my phone. 

We also have the wind, which seems to be another, much-less-loved harbinger of spring in the desert. It just arrived today, and is causing me to want to hole up indoors, under a blanket.

I was attacked by a not-so-nice head cold/flu last week, and spent a couple of days flat on my back. I rarely get sick, and I must say, now I know why I try to hard to be healthy. YUCK! Unfortunately, the studio time suffered as much as I did, and there isn't much new work to show you. I did manage to complete another portrait for a show at the Joshua Tree public library which is going up next week. I will be spending this week framing the drawings and wiring the backs of the canvases. So exciting! I am looking forward to this show, since many of the works have never been shown before, and I haven't really had a show with all of my figurative work together. A big thank you goes out to Marjorie Franklin, for all of her help organizing it.

A recently finished oil painting of the lovely Erin Michner, which will be in the library show.

Happy almost Valentine's Day, everyone!

Windy, 44 degrees

 I cursed the wind this morning.  Not because I felt that it would make a difference - I know better than that.  I was running against the wind, and every step seemed to take an incredible amount of effort.  It felt like the only thing propelling me forward was my obstinate will.  It felt the same way everything else in life has seemed to me lately.  Life feels hard right now.  It feels like running against the wind, all day, every day.  So finally, today, while running, I cursed it all.  I yelled.  I used all of the best expletives I wasn't allowed to use growing up.  It didn't really make the run any easier.  The wind didn't let up.  The one thing it did do was release the frustration that has been building within me, and it made me feel better.  It also allowed me the chance to laugh at myself.  How silly is it, to yell curses at wind???  It's pretty silly.  But sometimes that is what it takes, I guess.  At least I know that the wind won't suffer from hurt feelings.

We are on the third day of cold wind, and today some rain was added into the mix, making for the kind of day where all one wants to do is curl up under a blanket with a cup of hot tea.  One also tends to fantasize about frosted cupcakes, or cookies, hot out of the oven.  It must have something to do with needing extra fat and sugar to stay warm.  That's my theory.  Of course, there were no cupcakes being delivered to my door, despite all of my wishful thinking, and I make an effort to not have cookies in the house, to prevent overeating of sugar on days just like this one.   Not that I was spared from opening the pantry door about 5 times, just in case I had missed a cookie in the back corner.  I finally resorted to a piece of sugarless gum.  A poor substitute, when you can visualize the swirling icing atop a perfectly made cupcake.

It has been difficult to keep up with the blog, as of late, because I have been busy painting.  Everything I have to say is said in the paintings.  It is more than a little perplexing to me that an artist is supposed to be able to talk and write about a painting, when painting is really beyond verbal communication.  I have been pushed, over and over again to describe my work, write about it, and explain it.  Honestly, if I felt I could say it with words, I would be a writer!!!  I can't say it with words, despite my repeated efforts to do just that.  I will still try, of course I will.  But if you really want to know what the paintings are about, you need to look at them.  You need to spend time with them, just as you would when you are just getting to know a new friend.  I think if a person was to spend time with a painting, and let it say what it has to say, they would not need my explanation.  We are so in love with words.  We think that words are the only way to communicate.  We have convinced ourselves that words will explain and clarify.

"Inferno."  Oil on canvas, 12 x 9 inches.  ©karine swenson11

I am not so sure of that.

I recently read a quote by Albert Einstein that I have been rolling over and over in my mind:
"Everybody is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."
(a big thank you to Marcia Yudkin for putting that quote in her weekly email newsletter.)

Today was my mother's birthday.  She recently asked me on the phone where I get my rebellious nature.  Upon reflection, I believe quite a bit of it comes from her.  Mom, I admire you and love you.  Happy birthday.  Here's a bunny painting for you, because I know how much you like them:

"Sniffing."  Oil on board, 9 x 12 inches.  ©karine swenson11

Blooming

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you the fantastic blooms of the Joshua Tree. 

This one is the tree in our backyard.  I check on it every day.

Glorious!!!  The last photograph is a bud, still in the first stage.  In this first stage, I am reminded of a King Protea.  It is a flower I did a number of paintings of when we lived in Hawaii.  The Protea is a flower that I love.  (Well, I love all flowers, but that one is dear to me.) 

The Joshua Tree does not bloom every year.  The last time the Joshua Trees bloomed was in 2008.  If you want to read a little more about the Joshua Tree, this is an interesting article.  

Now I am armed with more ideas for paintings, so I cannot stay and write.  I must go paint.  We will return to our discussion of Las Vegas in our next installment of the blog.  Until then, my dear readers, enjoy your weekend! 

A New Series

I have been in the studio pretty consistently lately.  That is always a nice feeling, since it provides some continuity that may be lost when I get interrupted for days or weeks.  I have begun a series of paintings that has been on my mind since we first moved to Joshua Tree.  It was love at first sight for me and the Joshua Tree, and I decided it is about time I explored these amazing "trees" in paint.  I have always thought the Joshua Tree (yucca brevifolia) resembled a human figure.  Clearly, I am not alone, since they are named for the prophet Joshua.  Morman settlers, when first confronted by these strange cacti, gave them the name "Joshua Tree" because they resembled the prophet Joshua, raising his hands in prayer.  I am not sure where the paintings will take me, but I am anxious with excitement and curiosity. 

I have begun with photos I took our first spring here in the high desert.  It had been the right temperature and the right amount of rain had fallen that winter so that the Yucca Brevifolia bloomed.  I was so excited to see it, since they do not bloom every year.  I ran around the desert with my tiny point-and-shoot, clicking away happily at any Joshua Tree bloom I came across.  Since we have received a bunch of rain so far this year, I am wondering if the Joshua Trees will bloom again this spring.  That would be delightful!  If you read my blog a few weeks ago, I posted a photograph of the under painting for the second of these "blooming" paintings.  I think I have finished both of them, but I only have a photograph of one for today.   

This painting measures 20 x 16 inches and is oil on canvas.  It is not the best photograph, I am sorry to say, but you can at least get an idea of what I am up to.  I may go back in and work a little more on the spiky foliage.  Or not.  This one did not get an under painting, and I did struggle a bit.    

Here is the under painting for the next in the series.  I have discovered that the painting is more successful if I figure out the values and basic drawing with the under painting.  I did not do that with the first painting, and I think the difference will be obvious to you, once I show you the second painting.  I will try to post it for you soon.

 

I leave you with a photograph of the sky in the setting sun.   This was taken last Friday. 

 

Parry's Nolina

When my friends from Colorado were here visiting about a week ago, we had a chance to go to Joshua Tree National Park and hike around. You would think that since we live 5 minutes from the entrance of the Park, we would go there all the time. Funny how that is not the case at all. We seem to only go there when we have visitors. Even though the wind was cold that day, we still had fun.



One of the most exciting parts of our day for me was when we saw that the Parry's Nolina were beginning to bloom. This member of the Lily Family is another thing that I had never seen before we moved to the high desert of Southern California. Some of the specimens we encountered in the park were the largest I have seen yet. This one made me think of an old man, hunched over by age.



I am sad to tell you that I don't think the Joshua Trees will bloom this year. I am now feeling thankful that I took so many photographs of them in bloom last year!!! Here is one, just for nostalgia's sake. This photo was taken near Darwin, California last year.



I must get back into the studio now. I have been experimenting with some new techniques. It is often difficult to break oneself of old ways of approaching a painting. Having said that, I also recognize that when you do things the same way, you will get the same results. To attain NEW results, you must get brave and do things differently. I want new results, so I am willing to stretch myself. It is not without frustration, but I know it will pay off. At least, I hope it will. At the moment, I am feeling a little discouraged. Good thing I am stubborn, or I would already be reverting to my old techniques!

Thanks for stopping by!

An error

Matthias has informed me that he thinks the photos I've been posting of "Joshua Tree Buds" are actually "Joshua Tree Blooms"!!! He says that the individual bracts don't actually open up. (which is what I was thinking happened.) I don't know!!! How am I supposed to know? I have never lived here before, and it's not like anyone in South Dakota (where I grew up) ever taught a class about "the life cycle of a Joshua Tree". Ya know? So, my darling, beloved readers, please don't be angry with me. I was not trying to lead you on, or deceive you into thinking there was some grand finale of the Joshua Tree blossom. Nothing like that. Deep down, I am still hoping that the individual bracts will actually open, and then I will have my envisioned reality. However, I feel that it is important that I keep that to myself, and tell all of you that this is "as good as it gets". So you won't hunt me down and destroy me for disappointing you. Not that I think you would ever do that, but I hate to let people down. Forgive me?

To hopefully console you, I have painted another painting, just for you. And I have walked all over the desert, taking more photos of Joshua Tree, whatever-they-ares. And more wildflowers. This white one, I am pretty sure, is Desert Chicory.