Rewinding a forest...Do you love to walk in woodlands or forests

[Julie]

What is it that brings you joy through walking in the woodlands and forests...how do you express this joy, does it make you feel creative...

internet image above

photo ~ Julie ~ "Trees are a part of who we are" 

Our planet depends on the oxygen from trees

It is proposed that one large tree can provide a day's supply of oxygen for up to four people. Trees also store carbon dioxide in their fibers helping to clean the air

Do you feel inspired by trees....

I've always loved photographing trees, sitting by trees, walking through trees...

Trees are our friends

Julie

photo ~ Julie

there is such beauty in trees

Please add your own pictures of trees......

[Julie]

Maybe we each are "keyed" into certain areas of land, drawn perhaps is the best word, because of past ancestral memories for locations.  

When I read through on the link I could trace similar ancestral memories for the land and occupation.  My grandad worked in a flour mill, my grans mum and her family lived next to a water wheel, I live near to the "Mill Race", which is a water wheel.  

The urge to paint something...why does that happen, what is the trigger that pulls you to desire to paint an image, to get closer to something, to feel a feeling? To engage with an image I believe is to feel into it and be one with it...is that the answer.

[Tara]

Oh yes, I really do believe this. We have areas we are stewards of and our true humanity is vital for earth. 

[ënagualí~ᏉLAᗪἇ ኔጡ።]

As an artist the reason why I wish to paint something is I wish to recreate it.. to be a immortal image I can visually look upon over & over again.. but from my own perspective of looking at it,  as every artist see things differently, I guess you also choose what to see and not to see when you paint things. I also think that other artist may see other things than I do, as if we are all wearing different filtered glasses, and that's ok. It's one of the aspects that makes us all different artists right. 

I’ve always been a detail oriented person but I look even closer than ever at what appears to define an edge of the subject, the edge of colors, the variance of colors that compose the highlights, shadows, and the spectrum in between. This heightened focus is now something I can’t “turn off, that eye for detail comes into play with each and every thing I wish to immortalize.. when I look at those old buildings for example I know one day they arnt going to be around anymore.. so why not paint them to look back on forever fixing them on paper.

Julie said:

Maybe we each are "keyed" into certain areas of land, drawn perhaps is the best word, because of past ancestral memories for locations.  

When I read through on the link I could trace similar ancestral memories for the land and occupation.  My grandad worked in a flour mill, my grans mum and her family lived next to a water wheel, I live near to the "Mill Race", which is a water wheel.  

The urge to paint something...why does that happen, what is the trigger that pulls you to desire to paint an image, to get closer to something, to feel a feeling? To engage with an image I believe is to feel into it and be one with it...is that the answer.

[Julie]

thanks Tara, good to have you on discussion

Tara said:

Oh yes, I really do believe this. We have areas we are stewards of and our true humanity is vital for earth. 

[Julie]

"every artist see things differently", yes this is so, each new look reveals something too, so we see things in change. 

"what appears to define an edge of the subject, the edge of colours" - an interesting thought Vlada, one that I read several times.

What I've tried the last few months is something new for me, eg my painter friend will draw a subject he enjoys then I paint the subject and somehow or other the image is "vitalised" by the merging of energies.  For instance he's always loved circuses and clowns so I've tried my hand at clowns, not a subject that I would have chosen, but I've managed to capture something I wouldn't normally have been attracted to.  

[ënagualí~ᏉLAᗪἇ ኔጡ።]

Yeah I'm not into painting things like clowns I'm more nature orientated only, flowers, trees, plants, native nature scenes, animals, birds things that take my eye when I'm out n about on my treks.. plus they are the things I'd like being seen on my own homes walls really..so I have a distinct style in my media with water colour paint being my specialty medium preference. I just know how to work with it to bring out the thing I'm painting.. I can sit in nature and paint directly too define it from the pencil sketch to the painting itself adding more & building it up as I go, thus I do have difficulty with larger paintings, I tend to get bored of the long process, I tend to get impatient with it, so I stick to smaller projects to be able to finish them, to move on to the next.. this is why the blossom one is being put on the back burner for now, not forgotten fully as I really do want a larger painting of that, but keep putting it off, and doing these small ones, it will eventuate one day ..I will endeavor to get the tulip magnolia one done.. I can do that in a smaller size and I have another of native manuka tree trucks I'd like to paint also, so these can be like grouped on a wall together..

[Julie]

Yes, for me too, the large scale painting on a big canvas was a test of both confidence and patience.  My attention has been on a couple of smaller paintings recently on the subject of narrowboat art, one painting being the canal boat roses and another of a castle with a rose.  The narrowboat painting I mentioned a while back I decided on glazing it and I know that if I need to add a tweak here and there that it will come when ready.  During this time  - the last 12 months in particularly I've tried out acrylic paints and recently I bought some metallic acrylics to experiment with.  I painted off and on with watercolours during the time I've had an interest in learning to express myself in colour and form.  I really stepped out of my comfort zone with the clowns but in some ways I'm glad I did as it was a totally new experience.