Monday, September 29, 2014

Through the rainbow series: #3






















Here is the set of 24 watercolor pencils that I am using for this series. This palette is called "Walk to the Sea." No wonder I love these colors. I bought this set at the Bellingham Community Food Co-op some time ago. The sketchpad came from the Dakota Art store. Now I understand why the colors are named as they are:



















fog rolls in
along the lane

rabbit boots
hop skip jump

squirrel jacket
dew at 5 am

carmine bird
hedgerow


While I was working on mandala #3, I wasn't able to keep everything as symmetrical as I wished. Oh well. It looks fine to me anyway. I don't need to aim for Fearful Symmetry. Leave that to some immortal hand or eye. Progress not perfection.

For this mandala, I started with "dandelion" and made my way through the rainbow to "tupelo honey." I haven't been using "biscuit festival," "fog rolls in," "wildfire," "teddy bear," "brown bear," or "picket fence." I use "grizzly bear" to date each mandala.  At some point, I could made some mandalas with the browns and the grey. 

It feels good to watch this unfold.  I feel better than I have felt in a long time. The counselor I am working with in regard to my war-related PTSD suggested processing my experiences through art work. I am grateful to her for that suggestion. 

From 1980 to 1991, I did process much of my old trauma, but beginning with the First Gulf War and with the wars that have followed there was new trauma that had the effect of blocking me from drawing and painting. This blog has been my creative outlet for almost 8 years, and there have been a few times when I have been able to paint or draw or weave in addition to writing blog posts and taking photographs:






Now seems to be a time for fearless and asymmetrical mandalas. Start at the center and move outward. Anyone can make one or be one. Each one unique.

P.S. Somehow I lost control of the fonts and text sizes and colors as I worked on this blog post today. 

Oh well (-:























2 comments:

Zach said...

hey, did i already mention i think this is the best one (so far)? i especially like the green triangle in the center (i counted 3 shades of green).

it totally caught and held my attention until it felt like i was flying above a very tall building surrounded by pools or lakes. this is really stunning work. i'm eager to see what's next in the rainbow series.

am said...

Thank you, Zach!