- Published on
Blowing Like Shadows
"Blowing Like Shadows" - acrylic on repurposed wood panel, 24” x 58” x .75.. Ready to hang (sides are painting; no need to frame. Hanging wire is attached). Part of the series "A View From the Gorge". Available for a limited time exclusively at Get the Gallery.
All night these trees in the woodlot
have been the veins and arteries of darkness, carrying darkness
out to the capillary twigs and into
the thick black leaves that filled the night
but that at dawn are falling,
blowing like shadows over the snow.
From Winter Morning Walks: One Hundred Postcards to Jim Harrison by Ted Kooser.
(Many thanks to artist Dotty Seiter for recommending this book, which is the perfect way to begin every day in the winter, especially a hiking day.)
The light changes things in the gorge. Especially at dusk, when the sun hides behind the mountain before your feet have left the trail, casting the valleys into shadows that whisper “hurry, hurry!” There is pressure to get up the mountain and down in the winter, before the light disappears and you are left in the dark Where The Wild Things Are.
All night these trees in the woodlot
have been the veins and arteries of darkness, carrying darkness
out to the capillary twigs and into
the thick black leaves that filled the night
but that at dawn are falling,
blowing like shadows over the snow.
From Winter Morning Walks: One Hundred Postcards to Jim Harrison by Ted Kooser.
(Many thanks to artist Dotty Seiter for recommending this book, which is the perfect way to begin every day in the winter, especially a hiking day.)
The light changes things in the gorge. Especially at dusk, when the sun hides behind the mountain before your feet have left the trail, casting the valleys into shadows that whisper “hurry, hurry!” There is pressure to get up the mountain and down in the winter, before the light disappears and you are left in the dark Where The Wild Things Are.
About the art: beginning with a repurposed wood panel (I think part of a wardrobe door perhaps?) and throwing layers of paint on it. The goal was to build interesting colors, texture and varying lines and patterns. I got pretty wild with the color for a sec! But knowing I wanted a night scene, I toned it down a wee bit. Using a circle-shaped board, I coated it with thick paint in neutral moon-tones and pressed it into the layers to keep it spotty but round. Then hours of tearing painter's tape (the torn edges make everything more organic) and rolling it down firmly with a brayer. A fast coat of glaze, sprayed with a water bottle while partly cured and then toweled back in places. Let the paint dry, pull off the tape and VOILA! A final coat of clear spray added to protect the colored pencil markings within the paint.
Jen, you have CAPTURED dusk in the gorge.
And your PROCESS—SO captivating.
Thanks for sharing that great quote as well as the many stages of this inspired and inspiring piece! I loved watching it’s journey. That is confidence and bravery in a painter akin to a rock climber needing just that finger grip to leverage to the next place to ascend. Bravo.