Fresh Horses
Farewell Fresh Horses
Friends sometimes ask: “Are you doing lots of painting?” Now I can answer: “No, only as much as I want to.” It seems to have taken me a very long time — well over 70 years — to learn to do what I want and not what I feel obligated or driven to do. I [...]
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Fulfillment
Revolted by the very real risk of a pipeline being dug through the most sensitive and precious area of my province, British Columbia, I wrote a letter of protest to the joint review panel for Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project along with thousands of others. There is still a real risk of this foolhardy [...]
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Redemption
After changing a couple of old boring paintings I felt confident enough to undertake a brand new blank canvas, mimicking no one else’s work. It took loads of courage in a willingness to discover other things and let go of trying to control the outcome. It was a back and forth between free spirit [...]
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Emerging
Once I had finished Original Innocence it hung near the table where I could see it. Every day I loved it more. I thought it would be a good idea to paint another of the same style right away, so I began. Trouble was I’d forgotten what the many steps were in my process. It [...]
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Original Innocence
On the occasion of my birthday today, the first day of summer … in those days, 21 June was in Gemini … I want to share with you my latest breakthrough. I wrote a poem called Original Innocence, and began a painting at the same time. The painting took longer, as usual, but I kept [...]
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The Voyage Continues
The Voyage Continues Since the very long drawn out death of my late husband, it has felt almost like I’ve been recovering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I had expected to get painting again right away, but somehow I didn’t. This rushing into things attitude has blocked my creativity many times, and is something I [...]
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Completing the Loop
First came the words, in poetry, as I witness the prolonged death of my husband in: Transformation Trilogy — Part One. My thoughts on an afterlife follow in: Part Two. My next step comes crystal clear in: Part Three — Starting Now. I am admittedly staggered at my own transformation. Though it has taken [...]
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The Long Good-bye
Can you grieve in slow motion and rejoice in life at the same time? Seeing a dark sunset, sadness overcame me. Was it something I was trying to avoid? I was reluctant to go deeper into my own sadness and loss. It seemed too selfish to give into the occasional bouts of grief, because for [...]
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Awakening
It didn’t occur to me at the time. I was resolving some personal stuff when the painting and a poem I was working on turned out to be about the same subject. Not that I set out to illustrate this, in either paint or poetry. I had something quite mundane in mind. I was just [...]
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Creative Play
“The first time I picked up a paintbrush I was a natural. It’s been uphill ever since.” But the essence is still true. Exploring creative solutions might be seen like experimentation to an adult. Children call it play. It has been shown that a group of children given a new fangled toy, with instructions on [...]
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