It's always fun to announce good news. My work is featured in the coming issue of Juniper Rag, a beautiful visual arts and lifestyle magazine based in New England. In addition, the Winter 2022 issue of the magazine Rochester Review published a huge photograph of me with my eleven-foot-wide painting The Procession of Hope and Feathers. And I was just accepted for juried membership into the National Association of Women Artists. Looking ahead, I'm beginning a new series of 24" square paintings. Loving the square format!
When I was a child, I lived near the coast of Massachusetts, just where it meets Rhode Island. The light is different when you're by the sea. My mother always called the color of the sky at dawn "sky blue pink", an accurate description if I've ever heard one. It's a glowing blend of pale blue, violet, aqua, pink, and salmon. To recreate it, I under-paint the whole sky in brilliant red, layering ultraviolet, ochre, cobalt, phthalo turquoise and pale yellow on top. That crimson glowing through the layers infuses the sky with the imminent sense of a dawning sun.
Now that Fledgling is done, it's time to start a new painting. I have prepared a 24-inch-square wood panel with this sketch. I played around for weeks with the composition. The painted Caribbean wooden chair, carved with birds, is the only part remaining from my original concept. Egrets came and went, and these are the ones that stayed with me. Four or five different women sat in that chair until I found Lauren, the right one.
The bending girl feeding the birds was my final addition. So much will change again. The paint will show me the way.
Egrets are symbolic of purity, strength, balance, concentration, longevity, and spirituality. Because they enjoy solitude, their spirit also represents freedom and independence. Their undulating necks, luminous wings and origami shapes against the sky are a graceful, meaningful addition to my avian repertoire. I look forward, too, to watching my brush move along with the texture and color of the sand, the beach grasses, the waves, that amazing chair, and the hairy islets across the water. And making the women come alive.
So much of my work holds memories of the sea. Do you remember my pastel Float, the six-panel (yep, that's called a sextych!) depiction of a whirlpool? I have made museum quality prints - like the originals, full of texture and vibrant color - available in limited editions at affordable prices. You can have the ocean with you all year-round with a set of Float - or maybe just a pair from the set, if your space is limited.
Make your bedroom into your own private beach house - that's what one Manhattan couple did by purchasing an entire set. To display multiple panels, I often suggest white wood museum frames - they give the illusion of floating over a reef.
Do you know that my original works can start as low as $500? If you are interested in a painting, pastel or monotype on my website, please feel free to email me for a price. Or stop by R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, MA - they maintain a changing selection of my work, both on display and archived.
Please share my work with others. You can forward this link to a friend, curator, or art gallery or sign someone up here to receive my very occasional e-newsletters.
