Tuesday, October 13, 2009

All in the Wisp of a Feather



Do you ever want to do something... but hold off from doing it... because you feel you may be interrupted and have to stop, for some unknown reason....then have to put it all away and not have the time to finish it...

... well never mind that...

... Just Do It...




... that is what I finally told myself...

... and I finally listened!



...sometimes we are the ones standing in our own light...





... pen and ink of a crow's feather with watercolor ...

31 comments:

Danielle Barlow said...

Good to see you back!
Your words are good - I have spent a lot of time procrastinating recently and haven't picked up my pencil in over a month - despite deadlines looming!

cathyswatercolors said...

This is soooo true. We have all missed you hopefully you've had a productive few months.

Anet said...

Now that's what I've been missing,
You're incredible art!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I thought of you!

pRiyA said...

beautiful post, lovely drawing. this is what i've missed gwen.
and yes, this is a good reminder about something that i should just do. the paper and pastel is on my desk waiting for me.

ArtPropelled said...

Yes! This happens often and it's time to just get on with it. So many lost opportunities for fear of being interrupted. Lovely to see your inspiring photos again Gwen. (There are a few beautiful feathers in my latest post)

Arija said...

Welcome back Gwen. I have missed you so much over the long months.

A lovely feather...I'll have to take your advice, I feel shy of drawing with someone else about but am slowly starting to surmount it.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful drawing and a wonderful sentiment. Great to have you back!
x

Ruth said...

Yes, I do that all the time.

" . . . sometimes we are the ones standing in our own light . . ."

Oh Gwen. I live with a loss of Gwen, but when you come back, you fill me right back up.

mansuetude said...

your "feather" is enchanting; if i were a child and had this in a book i would be more fascinated by your feather than a feather.

(oh... i am a child ... joy to you!) ;)
.

i want to be the one standing in my own light (am i being difficult?)
i want to be the one shining it; is it the moon or the light we look at?

what would we be without our shadows, too?
Its all wonderful!
.

Guillaume said...

Great post, lovely images. Feathers can be aesthetic objects of themselves, as well as useful writing tools. Well, maybe now quite writing tools anymore, as now we have fountain pens, but they are descendants of the feathers. They are aptly called "plumes" in French.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you kathi, I am sure you know exactly what I mean.. and as to the endeavors that never happen because of it... so many rules we give ourselves that need to be broken...

**

Danielle, do you think we should call it "Artist's Block".. if Writers can have it, then we can too.. Your crows and their feathers are a delight to everyone who sees them...

**

Thanks for coming by Shicat.. yes it was been a summer of planning.. and we are now making headway... Hallelujah!!!

**

Oh Thank you, Anet... you make me shy... and oh yes you have connections to Canada... yes Thanksgiving gave us lots to be thankful for.. sometimes we need reminded!!!

**

Priya, Thanks so much... do you suppose it is the blank page that intimidates us... maybe we should do a little scribble down on one corner so the spell of perfection of the clear white surface is broken... Then we are free...

**

Robyn, Glad to hear that it just doesn't happen here... Funny things that we do to ourselves!! I can't wait to see your feathers!!!

***

You are so kind, Arija... I bet everyone who would come upon you drawing would feel they were given such a lucky moment in time... just become lost in it and suddenly nothing else exists... then everyone is happy...

**

Thank you my dear Rebecca, You accomplish so much and you have a little one to care for too.. I should take a lesson...

**

Ohhh Ruthie... you sweetheart... what am I going to do with you... you always set before me, a sense of Peace... thank you so much for that!!!

**

Oh Mansuetude, savour your child and keep her inside of you forever.. she is a treasure.. I think the moon and its light can never be thought of separately... Do we ever see one without the other?......... and as far as shadows... don't we all have our darksides!!

**

Thank you, Guillaume.. I absolutely love the word "Plumes" for feathers.. Don't the French have such a sense of Romance... I would like to try to make a writing pen from a "Plume".. have you done this?

mansuetude said...

:)

Thank you.

herhimnbryn said...

You are so right, so right. Just do.

Shelley said...

I saw a feather lying in the field last week and thought of you and how your family naturally bends to collect them - so soft and wonderfully crafted.

"Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”
Quoting Napoleon Bonaparte

Until next time my Seaside friend.

Debbi said...

Very nice post and sentiments. I recognize that bottle of ink as well! I will have to come back and share with you a quote I love which echoes (on a tangent) what you write about. Best, D.

Anonymous said...

In French plume can mean both feather and pen........and you want to make a plume out of a plume.

Gwen Buchanan said...

So kind of you Shelley....

and finding that even Napoleon spoke of this common hesitation...
It has been around for a while hasn't it... as long as there has been humans, I guess!!!

****

Hello herhimnbryn, glad you agree... I feel in good company now...

***

Debbi, from the looks of your beautiful work, you don't hesitate very much..

Everyone, Please check out Debbi's beautiful, sensitive work... her drawings and paintings are utterly amazing!!! Superb!!!

http://www.dlfriedman.com/

***

BLACK AND WHITE said...

Great post, Gwen! Beautiful images!

pRiyA said...

gwen, before i began my last picture of the woman, i did a scribble on the page. then it was far easier to begin my work.
canson and arches papers are expensive here and sometimes the intense fear that something may go wrong can be paralyzing.

i am so glad to enjoyed the link to the utterly beautiful home. i love the way she's creatively used things that are usually thrown away. in your blog profile you mention that you and your husband have done that too. it adds so much character to a home.

Shayla said...

It's lovely, Gwen and good point about not waiting to have the time.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you Black and White!

***

Yes Indeed Priya, good paper is expensive.. I am always timid to put a pen to it.. but I'll scribble all over the newspaper .. don't feel intimidated there..

Yes the Utterly Beautiful Home you linked to in your blog was like a fingerprint of the owner... it said so much in a quiet calm manner, I could feel my pulse slow.

**

Thank you Shayla, time is so precious isn't it...

rivergardenstudio said...

Oh Gwen, I am so happy you are back with your beautiful feather and words. I find the feather that you painted more wondrous than the real one... more free. I am glad your are not holding back... whatever it was you were not doing, but are doing now... have a lovely week.... Roxanne

Debbi said...

Gwen, as promised, I've come back to share this quote that I love so much. And I find that you have sent people to my blog, which is so sweet of you. Thank you so much, that was so generous in spirit of you and means so much to me.

"How often - even before we began - have we declared a task "impossible"? And how often have we construed a picture of ourselves as being inadequate? . . . A great deal depends upon the thought patterns we choose and on the persistence with which we affirm them."
- Piero Ferrucci

Believe it or not, I used to have terrible artists block. I find it much easier to work consistently now that I'm older (and wiser ;)
I just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Oh Thank you Roxanne, you are sweet!!.. and the way you twisted your words around like that I had a great laugh.. Funny!!!

***

Debbi, Piero Ferrucciis' examining quote hits the spot perfectly!!!
...
I so appreciate that you came back and shared it with us...

Your work certainly shows you put your whole self into it... it is always stunning!!!

Chris Daly said...

Lovely painting Gwen

Seth said...

So glad you did not hold yourself back on this one. You have captured that silky smoothness of the feather so well.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you Chris and Seth...

Jaliya said...

How exquisite ... and what a gentling reframe of "Just do it." My ears had always it as a stridently upbeat, barking *order* ... Here, the phrase is hushed, and daring in a merciful way ...

Thank you :-)

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you Jaliya... your thoughts and kindness are gratefully accepted and appreciated!!!

the best to you...

leanne pizio said...

Sigh. the crow feather sings to me. Flapping wings and rustling of the break against the wind. Cawing first thing in the morning. A murder of crows in the pasture next to the house. A crow feather is a mystical thing.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Leanne, you are child of Nature... it shows in all of your beautiful and imaginative work...