25. De Laveaga Court Pond & Water Symbolism

When I look at a lake or pond, I am reminded of how ancient is the symbolism of water. Ancient peoples noticed that water can only take the shape of the thing that surrounds it and never creates its own shape. Also, humans start out as water creatures in the womb of their mothers. Water makes a person feel clean and new and is essential if we are to stay alive. A standing body of water is very horizontal and calming. In Eliade's Sacred and Profane he talks about water as being the "universal sum of all virtualities, the reservoir of all possibilities." The water represents the complete dissolution of form from which can spring a new creation. It's not surprising that water is one of primary symbols in Baptisms.  The next time you paint a standing body of water remind yourself of its symbolic nature. Ask yourself this question. What symbolism in water speaks to me personally at this time? That symbolism is capable of opening up a deeper perception of your everyday world. 

This video is about painting a small body of water. There's a beautiful little culdesac in the well known Delaveaga Court Mobil Home park right by Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, California. From the culdesac you can walk out onto Natural Bridges Beach. This is a wonderful gem of a place to paint as you can put your attention on a small pond complete with swan inside the park. Or, turn in the opposite direction and paint the ocean and beach. It's usually very hard to paint at the beach in the afternoons as the wind usually picks up.  One of the nice things here is that the culdesac is somewhat sheltered from the wind. Happy Creating!

25 De Laveaga Court Waterfall & Water Symbolism

24. The Magical Shapes and Colors of India

 Learn to See Like An Artist  As you view the video notice that the colors and shapes have been simplified in a similar way that an artist might choose to simplify colors and shapes. When you are sketching or painting a scene, I find that breaking the scene into simple shapes that actually create an abstract design is a very good place to start. After you have the initial abstract in place you can add emphasis and details where you desire. 

In my recent trip to India, I marveled at the vibrant colors of India. The colorful saris stand out and blend into the scenery adding flowing colors and shapes to the landscape. Many colors were in contrast but they somehow blended together in a wonderful mishmash that seemed to harmonize the land. The picture that stays in my memory is an image of  saris of all hues and patterns blending together as the women ascended a staircase into a mountain temple. It made me feel that art had merged with life and everywhere I looked was a painting.

23. The Real Flowers of India

I recently returned from a trip to southern India. I was so impressed by the women there that I dedicated this video to them. They truly are the art of life as they walk through a grayed out background and add vibrancy and color.  

They remind us that in landscape painting it is the spots of color that make gray come to life. And only a small amount of color lightens up a whole canvas. In the case of India, the women add many more things than just color. They add dignity, grace, endurance, and exquisite beauty. Just seeing them along a road made me realize how powerful they really are but may not realize this fact. I’m sure that my landscape painting will never be the same. My hats off to India, where art and life live hand in hand. 

The Real Flowers of India

22. Roaring Camp Caboose and Letting Go

Roaring Camp, nestled up in the Santa Cruz Mountains off Graham Hill Road, is a wonderful place to paint or just enjoy the quaint atmosphere of a 19th century village. The park give train rides through the Redwoods so you have trains and old equipment by old tracks. 

My subject for this outing was a caboose lying dormant with the dark redwoods' of Henry Cowell Redwood State Park in the background. Anyway, this all got me thinking about the symbolism of a caboose. It's the ending piece on a train that is coming or going away. 

In art it's rather hard to know when to end your piece. It might help you if you remember that after the flare or the orange and the charm of it's shape has passed, you must let the caboose go. Think of your work like a caboose and let go of your piece when you sense the charm and vividness are diminishing. Learning to do this just at the right time is a skill. Just like a caboose traveling down the track over and over again, it gets easier and easier to say goodbye. February is a month of letting go. We let go of winter to get ready for spring. The next time you get to see a train, remember about the symbolism in the caboose and let it inform your own art.

Roaring Camp Caboose and Letting Go

21 Ecstatic Places to Paint and Feel Creative in 2014

Happy New Year 2014. I hope everyone had wonderful and blessed holidays this season. I just wanted to thank everyone on my list and give you this little gift of places you might want to visit in 2014. For those people who do not live in California I hope these sites inspire you to look for places of inspiration in your own areas. Here are some wonderful places to visit,  paint, and just feel creative in Santa Cruz County, California. I have painted at each of these sights and they offer me endless inspiration.

21 Ecstatic Places to Paint in Santa Cruz County for 2014

20. Redwood & the Axis Mundi

I have painted many times at Henry Cowell Redwood State park in Felton, California. Each time I go I am reminded that many of the old trees have been there since the time of Christ. Sequoia Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. As I have stated in earlier Blog post (see Davenport Cypress Grove and Tree Symbolism) Trees and forests have been prominent in myth and symbol. Trees reach up into the heavens where in many early civilizations it was thought that the Gods lived. Below the earth was thought to exist the underworld or dark beings and condemned souls. Because trees reach into the sky and then have roots deep into the earth, they have often been seen as a bridge between the spiritual worlds. The fact that the Redwoods are so old and so tall they seem to represent the ultimate connection between the heavens and the underworld.  

This overpowering symbolism turns these sacred trees into what is known as an Axis Mundi. An Axis Mundi is a centering device used by many tribal peoples to be a connecting rod with the divine. This is why an Axis Mundi creates sacred space. (You can read more about Axis Mundi's and Sacred Space in my Sacred Space For Artists) I learned from a botanist that redwood trees also give off a euphoria creating chemical into the air. You can certainly feel it while you stand for long periods of time painting one. 

I hope you get the chance to paint or go to a redwood forest. These trees are filled with deep symbolic meaning and you can feel it when you let yourself be quiet in their presence.

Redwoods & the Axis Mundi