Of Fossiled Escarpments

"Of Fossiled Escarpments" - mixed media on gallery-wrapped canvas, 16 x 20 x 1.5.  Ready to hang (Sides are painted; no need to frame.  Back has been pre-wired for hanging)  Available here and at Artfinder.

Stay, to the earth
of riverine valley meadows,
​of fossiled escarpments, 
of limestone and sandstone.
It looked back 
with a changing expression, in silence.
from "The Promise" by Jane Hirshfield.​

​The studio has been re-invigorated with mojo.

A flurry of outrageously gorgeous hikes, up steep mountains, overlooking the gorge, whipped by wind and clouds and mist - have filled my noggin with breathtaking beauty.    And, just as with the portraits of October, I reach for the elusive border between realism and abstraction.  That border, much like standing on a cliff edge in a white out of wind and mist, feels both perilous and exhilarating at once.

Of Fossiled Escarpments

Simultaneously, I've found books of poetry in my hands every day.  Mary Oliver, Jane Hirschfield and one new to me, Edwin Morgan.  The combination of pitting my body against physical challenges and the elements and the overwhelming beauty of nature AND the heart-wrenching poetry of these people who paint with words has my spirit cracked wide open.  Which, in itself, is much like standing on the edge of a cliff.

---

About the art:  I have exceeded the 80 millions layers requirement in this piece!  Beginning with an older painting on paper, mounted on a canvas, painted over with a portrait.  Add to that a thick layer of textured gesso, the ephemera of torn palette paper from old oil paintings, and layers of acrylic paint.  It only makes sense that a painting rocks and sediment should contain the heavy layers of life.