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Gathering Evidence
‘Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.’ Mary Oliver Let’s set the rules. Go outside. No expectations. Be astonished. Gather. For me, plein air work is just that: work. I gather evidence. No expectations on creating a masterpiece but instead to gather. I am out there, and yes, my senses wake up and I see,…
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MOSTLY
My Teacher, Skip Lawrence https://skiplawrence.com. Sometimes one get’s lucky in life. I was introduced to Skip and his workshops by my other teacher Dawn Emerson https://dawnemerson.com. I took 3 workshops with Skip and also a mentorship in the past 8 years. + He continues to guide me everyday in studio and his guidance has strengthened…
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working in a series
Series: a tool for finding and refining one’s artistic voice. Last week in studio, ‘one thing leads to another’, and there I was working in a series. It was refreshing. Limiting my constraints and culminating with a still life theme of color and line, I produced 9 paintings(monotype and trace monotype ). The work feels…
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Clean-up in Aisle 3
It is time. Aisle 1, 2 ,3 ,4….it’s time. and so….’A place for everything and everything in its place.’ (English proverb) So perfect when it comes to ‘clearing one’s head’ usually includes clearing one’s studio. And it is almost the New Year, you know, new beginnings, new ideas and time to clarify. I always say…
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Divide by 4
While in studio or plein air, I find myself finding inspiration and letting all the spirits and muses come to me. ‘Letting go’ is just right, right? My 2 (R + L) brains wander…and then i need to decide, how much can I say, do I want to say and what may I let go? My…
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NOTE-TAKING
Small Notions, creative thoughts and key ‘take-aways’ are included in my many pages of my sketchbooks. I was referring back to my figure drawings this morning and was thrilled about the note taking that accompanied the drawing: ‘painting what you see’, ‘a collaboration between you and the paint’, ‘bridges and barriers.’ Moments of lost edges,…
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Connections
“When we seek for connection, we restore the world to wholeness. Our seemingly separate lives become meaningful as we discover how truly necessary we are to each other.” (Margaret Wheatley) Creating community and making connection, that’s why I teach. The students are amazingly earnest and hard-working, finding their way through the art process and their…
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Sketchbook Lessons
Sketchbook = collecting concept, thoughts, searching for direction on any one given day as an artist. I have countless sketchbooks, dating back to 1985, if not before that date. Reasons for keeping a sketchbook have changed for me over the years. So many lessons and never a regret for keeping them for almost 40 years,…
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Retracing my steps
‘It’s a lot about love and relationships and the memories of the experiences that I’ve had in connecting with people. And so it really felt like a process of retracing my steps, reflecting on those experiences and trying to make some kind of meaning or new language from those memories.’ Jamilia Woods About my travels…
ANITA H LEHMANN 