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Paintings . Photos of the Studio . Work with Students . Light Words . Why the Bottle?
Last modified December 31, 2000
When I moved to the countryoutside
of Longview
,Washington and away from
city lights and enclosed spaces, I was thrilled by my daily
experiences of the landscape and the powerful and spiritual
presence of natural light. Through the disciplined approach
of drawing what I saw out my window I understood that
without stopping to focus I would only be partially seeing
this world. What I wanted was a real physical
experience of light. In order to get closer and more
intimate I chose a bottle, spray painted it "primer" gray,
and secured it to a sculpture stand in the open landscape
about six feet away from the covered shelter where I
draw. Many people have asked me
"Why the bottle?" and "Why that
bottle?"
The answers are found in
words and images in this link.
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On the winter solstice, December 22, 1999, I began drawing at dawn and dusk to explore the seasonal changes of light. This year's solstice was also a full moon so I am grouping the drawings on a 28-day lunar cycle instead of using a traditional calendar month. New drawings will be posted after each full moon. Each page of the sketchbook has a dawn and dusk drawing so they can be compared. Written notations for date, place, time, temperature, direction, wind speed, and general weather conditions accompany each drawing. Each drawing is 3" x 5", and I use a template so the placement of the drawing on each sketchbooks page is the same. The dawn template has a cover that I use when I'm making the dusk drawing so I am not influenced by it. I will be using a variety of wet and dry media such as watercolor, inks, colored pencils, and graphite. The color of the media will reflect the month and season. |
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It is important to me that this project spans an entire year's solar cycle that begins on the winter solstice. It is the day with the least amount of sunlight, and it is the lowest point in the solar cycle. As it has been in many cultures, it is a time of renewal for me that is more natural and fundamental than the calendar date for the new year. From the darkness of this day the upward swing begins towards the summer solstice in June, and days that are filled with more light than dark. About June 21, on the summer solstice,the reversal begins and our days have less and less light until the circle is completed about December 21, on the winter solstice. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE SOLSTICE you can visit the following sites:
Click below for a page of
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Exploring the light at dawn and dusk has nudged my idea pool and made it ripple. The daily drawings have become springboards to new forms and expanded my definitions of dawn and dusk. I am incorporating images of transparent vessels into collages. |
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