Pilgrimages- An Art Release
plein air in the high sierras
Painting on site is a powerful way to pay attention and connect to places that are healing. So, if I can, I make a special point to return to places that I feel a strong personal connection to- the ocean… the redwoods… the high sierras. Each trip becomes something of a pilgrimage. It feeds the soul and reconnects me to spaces that are important to me emotionally.
As we age, things change. Places we thought we would be connected to forever go away or are sold. Work or love calls us to a new region. We move. We’re busy, helping others, or working, or raising kids. But somewhere deep inside, a special space remains that’s safe and where our roots grew deepest. At its best, that’s what plein air painting can reconnect us to.
plein air in the redwoods
plein air at navarro beach
For me, I grew up in Northern California, in the rural foothills of the Sierras. Gold Rush Country. I spent a lot of my youth in the mountains. Granite, pines and oak, red lean soil and swimming holes. Later, in difficult times I found the coastal redwoods and it was a like a second homecoming. They were deep and peaceful and quiet, when I needed to a place to rest. Painting there made me feel like I steward again.
Feeling the breeze or the brisk morning air, hiking in a little ways with your pack on your back, pulling water from a stream or the ocean, to embed it in the body of the painting, paying attention to the light and where the sun will travel over the course of the day… they’re all part of the ritual of attentiveness, of being in my body and very clearly being where I am. When I return home, what remains is the painting, like a talisman from a time and place.
laundry Day
a space outside of time
“Pilgrimages”- An Art Release
December 2nd, 3rd and 4th only!
This winter season, my art release is about this subject. I’ll be offering for sale a set of paintings from the Sierras and from my time along the coast and in the redwoods. All the work will either be plein air or will be larger studio works that I grew from those plein air outings.
As is normal, the store will only be available to folks on my Art Buyers list and it will be open only for a limited time. Subscribers get special early bird access on Thursday evening, December 1st, before I release the show to the public at my local art gallery on Friday.
The Heart of the Woods
Yuba Pass Meadow
If you missed earlier posts I did on these two outings, you can find them here-
Painting in the Redwoods and on the Coast
If you’re interested in potentially getting a painting to bring into your home this holiday season, be sure to sign up for my list, here. It is the only way to access the store when I release the URL.