Roadrunner, snakes and art - a desert mix

Ahhhh...fall. This is a wonderful time of year to be in the desert. It's really a wonderful time of year to be just about anywhere, really, but since I am in the desert, I am saying "the desert." Cool nights, warm, sunny days. Can't beat it!!!

I have some exciting news!!! I just found out yesterday that one of my paintings was accepted into the Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition!!! The opening reception is December 5th at the 29 Palms Art Gallery. The show runs until December 28th. I am joined by 53 other talented artists. You can read more about the show here: jtnparts.org. Below is the painting that was chosen:

"Predator." Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches

I am also part of a group show at the 29 Palms Gallery that opens this Sunday from noon to 3. The show was curated by Rhonda Coleman. This show will stay up during the Hwy. 62 Art Tours, if you can't make the opening this Sunday. Here is the poster for the show:

I have been seeing more snakes and evidence of snakes since the rainstorm. Yesterday, I saw a small snake, possibly a rosy boa, that had just caught a lizard. It was underneath a shrub, so I was unable to get a good photo. The lizard was still thrashing around in the snake's mouth! I wish I could have captured that moment, but I really didn't have a clear shot. (plus, there was a lot of quick movement by both snake and prey.) I do have these photos to share with you:

King Snake - maybe if I were a parselmouth, I could have convinced it to come out of the hole.

We spent the rest of the hike thinking "somewhere nearby is a very shiny snake!"

The Hwy. 62 Art Tours catalogs are back from the printers and many have been delivered to information centers in the high desert. You can also see the online version or order one online from the website. http://www.hwy62arttours.org/hwy62arttours.html

How is your fall season so far? Leave me a comment - I'd love to hear from you!

Cold and colds

Hi everyone! I am recovering from a nasty cold, and happy to say I am finally beginning to feel more like myself. It's irritating enough to be sick, but it's been cold here too. We even got a little bit more snow on Tuesday night. Pono thinks snow is fun to roll in. I am sure if I had a fur coat, I would agree.

This will be a short post, since the illness has made me feel way behind. Here's my thousand words:

"Speed Walking." Collage, acrylic, and oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches. ©Karine Swenson 2013

Connecting with art

I enjoyed the comments and emails I received after my last post. Thank you all, for making the effort to tell me your thoughts! The things you wrote have led me to another topic - one about connecting people through art. I do think there are times when a piece of art draws us closer to ourselves. We respond to something un-nameable within that just feels "right" somehow. It's as though you look at the art and feel a bell, deep within, resounding. I love it when that happens! When it does happen, then the artist has truly tapped into something universal, and I suppose that is really what we are striving for. Connecting with other people and with someone else's art is all about finding a common thread. Something that we can relate to.

Don't you often think that finding differences is sometimes easier than finding commonalities? I think encountering "strange" art (and I mean "new to us" when I use that word) is often just like encountering "strange" ("new to us") people. At first, we might feel threatened or unsure. Do we like this? Do we feel a common thread? Is there anything about this "strangeness" that we can relate to? I have always asserted that time is what we need in order to find the common links with something new. The more time we spend with something or someone, the better chance we have of knowing and hopefully, understanding. Of course, the reverse is also true. Sometimes, we meet someone or something and we think we really like them, but after spending time with them, we find that we don't really like them as much as we thought. Or maybe we are just looking at differences, instead of searching for commonalities. What do you think?

I remember when I was in college, I read an article about people who cried in front of a work of art. Here I was, studying art and creating art, and nothing like this had ever happened to me. I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. Maybe I wasn't even a real artist!!!! Then, about five or six years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. I have always loved Van Gogh's paintings, but I don't think I had ever seen one in person. I was so excited! The things that I remember about that experience will stay with me forever. For one thing, despite years and years of looking at reproductions of Van Gogh's paintings in books, I was unprepared for the colors. The colors he used and the way he put color together literally blew my mind. Being in the presence of his paintings was nothing like seeing them in books! Then, towards the end of the museum visit, I came across a painting he had painted for his nephew. It was a painting of a flowering tree. As I stood before this painting, I was suddenly overcome with emotion. And there I was, crying in front of a painting.

For me, that says a lot about the difference between seeing a reproduction of a work of art versus being in the presence of the actual work. It is the reason why the internet will never replace the physical world. It just isn't the same thing. It is also the reason why a reproduction of a work of art will never be the same as the original work.

Let's face it folks. Nothing beats the real thing.

Another new painting:

"Going Postal." Collage, acrylic and oil on board, 8 x 10 inches. ©Karine Swenson2012

Happy Wednesday, all!