Karen Phillips Curran
NEWSLETTER
February 10, 2023
mornings
This morning,
The soft, gradual apricot glow of the winter sun pushes its way to the crest of the far hills of this Bear River valley.
With patience, I soak in the grace, the gradual mesmerizing ascent, and its measured glow. It's as if it waits each day to rise and awaken us all from our slumber from that deeply speckled night sky.
The colours put a smile on my face, and I have the sense to rest back into my pillow with a sigh.
My days these days begin slowly. Sunrise is followed by coffee and yoga. Both are inspirational in their own particular way. They guide me into the art practice of the day…
For every day is an art now, because life is an art. I spend my time using my many moons on this planet as fodder for my expression. Life, love, heartache and sorrow all guide me to paint images on canvas and paper. My years of exploration of mediums, style, colour and texture or light, inform me and my hand, and on it goes… that basket of tools is within reach when I need them.
My artistic journey is filling me up. I find myself falling into it most of the time. A drive to the village gives me ideas. Country roads expose me to the imagery that I want to capture for its delight of simplicity or its radical colour combinations. Some texture on the sidewalk in town astonishes me with its particularness. Its rough beauty touches me somehow. A row of chip packages in the shop delights my graphic artistic sensibility. I notice that the sea is an amazing colour today ( I say every day)...I watch silently some mornings as the fog creeps up the river valley pushed ahead by the tide.
My daily art practice involves more than just paint and paper and canvas. I have to navigate the modern way that we connect. I have to have a grip on photoshop, canva, canvy, Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, and photography …while I bring in wood for the stove to heat my home, and spread scratch for the chickens who dominate my winter view.
That part can all be a bit daunting I must say. (I man the tech art not the wood) But I carry on, regardless… I just spent the better part of half an hour trying to change the format of a file to send as a gallery submission, there goes my schedule for the day, (mostly because that trial has mentally exhausted/frustrated me) and I know I will have to go through the same thing next time I do a submission.
But my painting tools don't frustrate me, I let them wander and carry me to places that tell me about life and my passion(s). I have so much artwork here that no one sees because the process of cataloguing it becomes an enormous task that I cannot face except in small pieces.
BUT
My show (Life Is An ‘Art) in Artsplace in Annapolis is on the walls until Feb 25th, and I will be there on Saturday the 11th in the afternoon to meet and greet whoever walks through the door. I am considering doing a facebook live event but I'm not sure if I want to…the tech of it seems daunting somehow. I'm also a bit touchy about rejection lately. I don't usually let it bother me but it did, and now I find myself tentative.
Well the fire is getting low and so is the light,...and I must brave the elements before dark and fetch a wagon load of wood for tonight.
Carry on everyone and thanks for being part of my life as an artist. I appreciate each and every one of you.
Please do feel free to share my newsletter musings with anyone you think may benefit from it. I will, again, be grateful.
Here is a link to the show in Annapolis https://www.artworkarchive.com/rooms/karen-phillips-curran/d02dcb
love
Karen
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