It's been a very cool, rainy spring up here in the Pacific Northwest. But even on cloudy, rainy days, my studio is always welcoming.
On these slow spring days I've been exploring how to take my botanical print collages in a more abstract direction. I took a giant step forward this week when I sampled Louise Fletcher's Taster course for her workshop, "Find Your Joy."
Louise is an art therapist's dream. She continually reminds her students to "find what feels good," pointing out that you need to know what you love before you learn the technical pieces of color and composition, etc. And, as an intuitive artist, I needed that reminder.
I had a delicious time painting swathes of color, using string and a toothbrush as mark makers and capturing what is going on internally in a lively and visceral form.
I'd already been working with a limited palette of red oxide, ochre and turquoise prior to the course. Going forward I'm giving myself the assignment of continuing that limited palette and using those colors to make prints to be added to a painted ground.
The collage on the top right is my first attempt at merging the two approaches and I like how it reflects my surrounding landscape--can you see the influence of rain? I'll share more of this exploration with you throughout the summer.
