Mindfulness: a journal by Catherine Price

The Mindfulness journal is a wonderful method of paying deliberate attention to your life and the living in the present moment without judgment.  It is a helpful method to slow the mind and really pay deliberate attention to life being lived.  The journal gives prompts that can help you start the writing process.  You can go through the book in a linear fashion or skip around if desired.  This slowing down of the mind opens up new avenues of thought that I find helpful in artistic practice.  How does this relate to a practicing artist?

Creating art is a combination of many aspects of a person's mind, body and soul.  There are the technical skills developed through practice and time.  There is the careful observation of other artist's works.  There is the inspiration that comes from creative ideas and insights and the incorporation of them into artwork currently being worked on or those of future projects.  The Mindfulness journal has been helpful in allowing ideas that are floating in mindspace to be captured in print and then reflected on later.  For me, personally, it has been as valuable as a sketchbook in guiding ideas and thoughts related to artistic practice.

Blue Dog

Stella 6x6 Acrylic on Masonite

   I had the good fortune of having my sister find clients for me for painting. Today she told me she has a third person that wishes to have a painting of their pet.  Now she is asking for commission.  Sisters!
    It is interesting how some paintings go easily and others are more of a struggle.  This painting went relatively smoothly, everything falling into place and I knew when I needed to stop.  I like the diagonal, rather restless nature of this painting.  This is an active dog and I think the diagonal line reflects that.

Samson Smiles

 Recently I visited my sister in St. Paul.  I was helping her with a day of Gelli Printing with her third grade classroom as the artist-in-residence.  When I arrived, she was entertaining a few quests on her front porch from an event that she was hosting and it was winding down.  I got to talking with one individual about my painting of pets and she commissioned me to do her daughters dog, Samson.  So here is the results of my efforts.  It is a 6"x6" painting and I think shows his personality fairly well.  I believe her daughter lives in Oregon so the painting will travel a good distance away.

The Butterflies Disappear as Autumn Progresses ....Tiger Swallowtail

Tiger Swallowtail acrylic on masonite, 6'x6'

The butterflies are gone.  I am doing a series of them.  This tiger swallowtail happens to be resting on a background of yellow leaves and I had a difficult time making a strong contrast with the yellow of the butterfly from the background.   They are certainly delicate creatures and much appreciated after gazing at them for a period of time.  Then.....one day they are simply gone as the nights chill and the leaves turn they migrate and all that flower activity ends and the garden becomes very quiet.  The late ones I understand will overwinter in chrysalis state and emerge in the spring.  DD