I bumped into my old blog....untended for several years. I'm not sure I know why I stopped blogging. Life gets in the way. But I once enjoyed doing it, as well as and sharing my art.

 The current show in Litchfield reminded me how I like sharing about my work. Listening to and talking with the folks who attended my opening was a particular delight. 

I am on my way to the gallery this afternoon with some additional 4"x4" paintings that were requested. I will make some photographs and publish them either here or on my website.

Kindly stay tuned......

In my "studio" (aka corner) there's been some experimenting going on.........with new ways of mixing and manipulating my paint.  Sometimes I thin it to an ink-like consistency. The painting below comes from that magical somewhere between a childhood greenhouse memory and a victorian conservatory I saw in a dream.

The painting makes me happy. 

I call it Flowering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been a while between postings. Here are a few new paintings. I will be taking some to Otis Library in Norwich on November 17th along with some of my limited edition wooden Christmas ornaments for their Holiday Sale. I also have work at Gallery On The Green in Canton and The Artists' Path in Litchfield.

                                                                       
                                                                          Psalm

                                                                          30x40





Then I went from kind of big paintings to pretty small ones.............it's fun to switch it up.

                                                                 In The Beginning

                                                                           6x6

                                                  

                                            
                                                                    Sail Away 


                                                                        5x7

                                                                 Beach Stars

                                                                
                                                                      5x7

 

 

Sea Current

 

5x7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                             Morning Stars Together

                                                                        5x7

                                                                     The Shepherd


                                                                          5x7

 

 

 

Meteor Shower

 

5x7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

                                                                  Pond Autumn


                                                                         6x6

 

 

 

 

 

The 30 x 40 painting I call A Poem God Made is hanging in The Artists' Path Gallery in Litchfield. I inadvertantly deleted the July posting of it. Here it is again............

My last posting was two months ago! I have been painting (but making photographs of my work....not so much). A week at Cape Cod reminded me I have salt water in my veins. Days on the beach plunked the idea for this next painting into my head. Like A Poem God Made, it is 30 x 40 inches. While I  was working on it, I realized I'm really happiest when I have one of these " imaginary-landscapey-primitives" on the easel. (Which I do right now!)

                                                            The Fullness of the Sea

Every morning after I read from The Oswald Chambers Daily Devotional Bible and pray, I write in a journal. This is what I wrote on February 12, 2011................



It is not a coincidence that certain readings appear at certain times. Or perhaps certain readings just zing into my understanding when God knows my understanding is ready--like planting. Jesus talked a lot about planting, seeds, and soil.

I think now about waiting for the ground to be unfrozen and kind of warm enough. Certain plants are cold crops and can be planted in very early Spring. Cabbage for one. And radishes. Peas go in early too. My dad used to plant peas on Saint Patrick's Day--but that was in warmer Westport.

Anyway....my mind soil and my heart soil have been thawing......thawing. So God is placing the seeds of His Perfect Word into me. My visual self imagines a finger from heaven pushing, oh so gently, on each seed as it is placed on the surface. I should paint that! The strongest hand in the universe planting the tiniest seed with gentleness beyond comprehension. O, dear God, thank You!






Just about one year later.....this painting happened.

                               Plant Your Word Down Deep

                                                                      16x20


                                                                      $100.

And my journal entry continued..................


My most favorite job in the greenhouse was planting seed trays and cell packs--bazillions of them! Sometimes a sprinkle, but often one seed was put in each cell. And I loved looking each day to see what had sprouted. I was literally touched at the sight of a yellow-green seedling half in and half out of the potting soil---pushing a weensy clump of soil above its head so it could get to the light.

All this reminiscing is helpful to underscore what I am experiencing daily in the readings from the Bible, from Oswald Chambers and T. Austin Sparks, and other daily Christian readings. I am not surprised, but I do acknowledge how very aware I have become. How I am growing. Thanks be to God!






++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More paintings coaxed onto this blog by Moore. The reason she gets to "coax" me is because she has just created a beautiful book--
                                  Latebloomers Volume 1: Claudia Wood Rahm.
Which may be ordered during my Warren Library exhibit --March 10th through April 14th.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have already posted a lot of the paintings I made since the Litchfield show in September. Here (I think) are all the rest.

Pentecost

18 x 24

$250

                                   
                                              The Darkness Tries To Hide


                                                                 16 x 20

                                                                     $150








                                   

                                           High Places

                                                                   30 x 40

                                               $ 300

                                         

                                                    Green Cathedral

                                         18 x 24

                                             $200

Tidal Pool II

24 x 30

$300

Sing Halleluia, Come On Get Happy!

18 x 24

$ 200

Glimpse

11 x 14

$ 100

It's Raining

12 x 12

$75.

Sold

Jumble

8x10

$ 75.

The Goldfinch Moon

11 x 14

$ 100.

Sold

Relationship

(Four 5x7" paintings)


$100/4

The paintings that follow are some of my newest. I'm tempted to say they go from "the sublime to the ridiculous" (who said that, anyway?)


The first is called Beyond, and is a larger (24x36) variation of an earlier work- Above and Beyond.

Beyond

24 x 36


$ 300

This next one is inspired by an Old Testament story I love where God sent ravens to feed Elijah in the wilderness. I call it Provision.

                                                                   Provision

                                                                        18x24

                                                                         250.




Gumbo is the next one. It's right from my sketchbook. It was fun working it out in color.

                                                Gumbo

                                                                            18x24

                                                                             200.



Through It All is an invitation to contemplate what is seen (or unseen) on the canvas. A play on words?.....not so much.

                                        See It Through

                                                                 12 x 24

                                                                   250.

And.....
every so often a painting just blasts out of me and I am as surprised as anyone to see where it lands. Once Upon A Time is one of those!

Once Upon A Time

12 x 24

$ 150

When we were kids......

A few weeks ago, my wandering mind strolled back beyond fifty years to Old Orchard Road. Our house was at the very end of this little street.  I guess cul de sac is what real estate ads would call it today, but it wasn't that fancy. Although there was no sign to label it, Old Orchard Road was a dead end.Our driveway was at 10 o'clock off  what our parents called the circle. Apple trees were everywhere a house wasn't. A particularly good climbing one was smack dab in the middle of the circle. It's branches were our look-out and it's large lumpy trunk was home base for lots of our games. There were five kids in the house next door and two of their cousins lived a couple of houses away. Add my brother and me to make nine. But there were always a few more..either our school friends or kids from the neighborhood "over the stonewall" behind our house.

Summers were the best. After dinner we kids would gather. Rocks, nearly boulders, edged the circle and were perfect perches for planning. Would we ride bikes? Climb trees? Have an apple fight? Or would we race and run and hide playing Ringolevio? It seemed like hours and hours before dark. And with dark came fireflies, which for some reason we called "lightning bugs".

Then either our kid-calling bell would clang or the mother of five would shout their names in birth order. And home we went...with our skinned knees, mosquito bites, and magical blinking jars.

These three paintings came from those memories..................a fourth is in the works.


                              they are 11x14 in acrylic using frisket for masking

                            

The Old Orchard

11 x 14

150.

                                                                   Ringolevio

                                                                   11 x 14

                                                                    150.

                                                         
                                                                    In A Blink

                                                             11 x 14

                                                               150.

That old year........

"Happy New Year!" we say to each other. Family, friends, even strangers. We do sincerely hope the brand new year will be better in some way than the one we have just left. Is it an old year? A used year?
 In keeping with the latest jargon, howabout a gently used year?

I think I like that. Not taken for granted or misused, but treasured and lived in with care. A gift. A gift some never receive. So thank You God for 2011. Here are some more paintings that came out of this grateful gal last year.

                                                               Dynamic Balance

                                                                   18 x 24

                                                                     $200.

                                                  
                                                                   Night School

                                                                     18 x 24

                                                                       $250.

                                                                  Interface
                                                                
                                                                    18 x 18

                                                                     $ 200.

                                                             Breaking Through


                                                                      12 x 12

                                                                        $100



                                                        

                                                    
                                                                         Shelter


                                                                          8 x 8

                                                                           nfs

It's about TIME?

Suddenly it's December! How did that happen? I remember my elders saying time seems to go faster as one gets older......I'm there. Since my last posting, I've tried to paint some each day. If I didn't have other responsibilities, however, I'd paint ALL day EVERY day. Over the years, I've come to the realization I'm an all or nothing kinda gal. ( I'm not sure why....but I am sure it's not anything I want to spend too much time analyzing.) I just am.

 My kids grew up hearing these words from their dad: "Do you need it...or do you want it?" I understood what he meant, why he said it, and that he had probably heard some variation of those words his entire childhood. Yet I did wonder if those two words had to be mutually exclusive!

 I'm pretty sure, now, that I not only want to paint...but I need to paint (or at least draw in my sketchbook.) I can liken it to needing to read in the Bible and pray first thing in the morning-- or  needing to take a walk to benefit my brain chemistry. So it's problematic when housework and cooking and errands and appointments happen. (Note to self: find a bumper sticker that says, I'D RATHER BE PAINTING!) But, oh well, they do.

So what is this about...  And what's up with allornothingitis? Is there a cure? Which motivates you...need or want?  Does it matter? Got an opinion? Or a philosophy? (Maybe you don't have time to post a comment.) I think I'll go paint......after I fix lunch!

Here are a few new ones...................................

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                      
                                                                   

                                                              

                                                                      Pond Morning


                                                                         12 x 12

                                                                           $75.


                                                             

  
                                                                  After You! 


                                                                    16 x 20

                                                                      $150                                                                       

                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                        Dining Alone 

16 x 20

 $150

(Peter's Stole)

a linear study 

18 x 24

$200.

Newest paintings

                                                 
                                                               Rahab's Window II
                                                                    "Redeemed"

                                                                        18 x 24
                                                                         

                                                                          $250

                                                               
                                                                   The Clearing

                                                                       16 x 20

                                                                         $200



                           

                                                                        
                                                                      
                                                                      Earthsong
                                                                         $300
                                                                       24x36
                                                                        SOLD