Donna watson themes

THE WAY, acrylic and collage, 2009 Everyone knows that even a single line can convey an emotion. ---Piet Mondrian Zen is a school of behavior and thought based on austerity and an appreciation of the simplest acts in life. Line: Of all the design elements, I think line is the most expressive and the most versatile. With just a few strokes one can convey a variety and range of emotions. Line can be: thin, light, airy, playful, happy, dancing, lyrical, rhythmic, static, musical, repetitive, staccato, dark, thick, heavy, moody, angry, dramatic, boring, exciting, and on and on..... "Lines on a map, words on a page, tracks in the snow, carvings on rocks, drawings on cave walls, or recipes in a book; marks record our thoughts, our passages, and our existence. I am drawn to records mark makers have left us from their time in the past. And I make my marks now, constantly saying I am grateful to be here, on this planet and in this time." Leslie Avon Miller. Leslie incorporates dancing lines and lyrical mark marking into her works. You can find her blog Textures Shapes Color here. This wonderful line work is by Imbi Star from Darwin, Australia. "(She) scratches, makes marks, collects stuff, paints, and thinks a bit". You can find her blog Two Worlds here. Calligraphy signed by the monk, Nichiren (1222-82) Antoni Tapies, from the cover of the 1987 Chicago International Art Exposition catalog In Kyoto, the dark heavy roof lines of the temple buildings against the light sky were striking and attractive to me and I took many pictures of these temple roofs. "The line has in itself neither matter nor substance and may rather be called an imaginary idea, rather than a real object."--- Leonardo da Vinci The large bonsai-pruned trees in the temple grounds and parks often needed large bamboo stakes to hold up their long, heavy limbs and branches. Their roots also created beautiful line patterns. "One must always search for the desire of the line, where it wishes to enter or where to die away." --Henri Matisse "Nature contains the elements, in color and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the notes of all music. But the artist is born to pick and choose...as the musician gathers his notes, and forms his chords, until he brings forth from chaos, glorious harmony." ---- James Abbot McNeill Whistler

Renewed, 24" x 24" For a number of years now, the main theme of my paintings has been "the passage of time, and what remains". A large part of this theme has included the cycle of life. One symbol or metaphor in my paintings for the cycle of time has been bird nests. I am drawn to the lines in the nests of course, and the textures, and the usual round shapes which fits my love of textures, lines and circles. And the fact that birds, with such small brains, are hard wired to create such beautiful 'homes' for their offspring is a miracle of nature. But the main fascination for me, is the cycle of life... the renewal. Nature's Gestures, 30" x 30" "The spiritual journey is a creative journey. It's about birth. It calls us past the boundaries of convention. It tests our willingness to see life in a new way and our courage to express it: for new ways of viewing life in the face of what is commonly accepted. We become new, and in this ongoing birthing, we bring new forms to life as well. Life itself has become a creative act, full of vitality and richness and passion. --- Anne Hillman, from Dancing Animal Woman Histories 24" x 24" For those who have been touched by the loss of a loved one... a partner, a family member, a friend... they know how hard it is to wake up to a new day, to find new meaning in life. I want to dedicate this posting to all those close to me who are facing their new life filled with change, with so much strength and hope. --- Healing in words, healing beyond words. Like gestures. Warm gestures. Like friendship, which will always Be like a mystery. Like a smile, which someone described As the shortest distance between two people. --- Ben Okri, from the poem Healing The Wounded Learner or the Pygmalian Complex

THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, book by Donna Watson "Creativity has more to do with the elimination of the inessential than with inventing something new." ---- Helmut John THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, Donna Watson, page 9 I found some blank journals that were perfect for creating a book. They are square in format which I like. The paper seemed sturdy enough for collage and the best of all, the pages lie flat when opened. And the journal is not too thick....just 45 pages which was perfect for what I wanted to do. THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, Donna Watson, page 14 I had been reading books on Zen all summer and I wanted to use words and phrases that helped to explain a Zen tenet... the importance of NOTHINGNESS. Emptiness or nothingness in Zen philosophy can be mistaken for sheer nothingness, but is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities. THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, Donna Watson, page 20 In meditation, one can 'empty' their mind of all the daily clutter, the constant inner dialogue that can be distracting, negative or creating barriers. THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, Donna Watson, page 21 The Still Point is at the heart of creativity. In Zen, you access this still point through meditation. To be quiet, to simply be in the moment, and in stillness.... is the basis of our existence. It is not a void... but a means to empty yourself from the incessant flow of thoughts and create a state of consciousness that is open and receptive. THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, Donna Watson, page 27 As one counts the breath: inhale, one; exhale, two... the mind empties of all the incessant inner dialogue of judging, complaining, analyzing, wishing and so on. We can spend our time preoccupied with the past, or with the future which has not happened yet. As a result we miss the moment to moment awareness of our life. THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, Donna Watson, page 29 After 2 trips to Kyoto, Japan and their flea markets, I had accumulated a large supply of old envelopes, old letters, post cards, receipts and books. I used these envelopes and letters as well as my hand painted rice papers to create 43 collages (43 pages in the book). I have posted some of the pages here as examples from the book. You can view the whole book at this Blurb.com link here. You can also purchase the book. There are 3 options: soft bound and 2 hardbound versions. THE BEAUTY OF NOTHINGNESS, Donna Watson, page 37 "There are two journeys in every odyssey, one on worried water, the other crouched and motionless, without noise." --- Derek Walcott

Zen Garden, Folded accordion book, by Donna Watson Here are some of the books I have on Zen and Wabi-sabi. Wabi-Sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Actually, Wabi-sabi

Explore dwatsonartist's 190 photos on Flickr!

contemporary mixed media collage painter Donna Watson

A New Dawn, cold wax and oil with collage, by Donna Watson It all happens in silence. The way light happens in the eye. Love unites bodies. They go on filling each other with silence. -- Jamie Sabines, Pieces of Shadow photo image by Donna Watson "There are all kinds of silences and each of them means a different thing. There is the silence that comes with the morning in the forest, and this is different from the silence of a sleeping city. There is the silence after a rainstorm, and before a rainstorm, and these are not the same. The the silence of emptiness, the silence of fear, and silence of doubt. " Beryl Markham, West with the Night photo image by Donna Watson "There is a certain silence that can emanate from a lifeless object as from a chair lately used, or from a piano with old dust upon its keys, for from anything that has answered to the need of man, for pleasure or for work. This kind of silence can speak." Beryl Markham, West with the Night photo image by Donna Watson "Its voice may be melancholy, but it is not always so; for the chair may have been left by a laughing child or the last notes of the piano may have been raucous and gay. Whatever the mood or the circumstance, the essence of its quality may linger in the silence that follows. It is a soundless echo." --- Beryl Markham, West with the Night photo image by Donna Watson Silence. It has a sound, a fullness. It's heavy with sigh of tree, and space between breaths. It's ripe with pause between birdsong and crash of surf. It's golden they say. But no one tells us it is additive. -- Angela Long photo image by Donna Watson "Silence is something more than just a pause; it is that enchanted place where space is cleared and time is stayed and the horizon itself expands." Pico Iyer photo image by Donna Watson "Silence is essential for deep transformation. It allows the practice of conscious breathing to become deep and effective. Like still water that reflects things as they are, the calming silence helps us to see things more clearly; to be in deeper contact with ourselves and those around us." --- Thich Nhat Hanh photo image by Donna Watson I go to nature be be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. -- John Burroughs

I am home from my big trip to Japan. I want to thank everyone who left a comment on my last blog post... wishing me a good safe trip. I had a wonderful time. In Japan, we spent our first 2 nights in Osaka at a ryokan... a traditional Japanese Inn... this one is Carpe Diem. Our room below had tatami mats on the floors, where we slept on padded mats. The only furniture in the room was a low table. The wood/paper doors slid open and closed. We arrived late at night... and in the morning this is the view we woke up to... our room was surrounded by the most beautiful Japanese gardens... the weather was sunny and warm... there were stone bridges... which I sat on... the pine trees were large and twisty and bonsai-like There were stone lanterns everywhere... there were rocks and paths and water basins... From Osaka, we took a train for a day trip to the town of Nara. Most of Nara's sights, including temples, shrines and their famous 1200 deer... are concentrated in Nara Park. According to legend, the god of Kasuga Taisha came riding a white deer in the old days, so the deer enjoy protected status as envoys of the god. The deer are very tame and because people can buy deer "cookies" to feed them, the deer hang around the temples and the food venders.. hoping to be fed the special treats. Nara Park is home to several large temples. Below is Nigatsu-do, which had very large lanterns hanging. Kasuga Taisha is a shrine that is worth visiting because it has hundreds and hundreds of stone lanterns... lining the path toward the temple. So we spent our first day in Nara Park... surrounded by deer, stone lanterns... shrines and temples. It was the perfect wonderful beginning of my returning pilgrimage to Japan. "The deep parts of my life pour onward, as if the river shores were opening out. It seems that things are more like me now... --- Rainer Maria Rilke I think that one's art is a growth inside one. I do not think one can explain growth. It is silent and subtle. One does not keep digging up a plant to see how it grows. --- Emily Carr

landscape theme - work in progress

Oneness, acrylic and collage (including old Japanese map) Poem by Jacques Prevert, french poet To Make the Portrait of a Bird First, paint a cage with an open door next paint something pretty something simple something useful for the bird then place the canvas against a tree Elsa's Images at Flickr here in a garden in the woods or in a forest hide behind the tree without saying anything without moving.... Jill Burgess, Bailiwick Designs, more at Flickr here Sometimes the bird arrives quickly but he may as well take years before deciding to show up Don't be discouraged Wait Wait if you must for years the speed or the slowness of the arrival of the bird having nothing to do with the eventual success of the painting Aino, more images at her Flickr site here When the bird arrives if he arrives observe the deepest silence wait until the bird has entered the cage and when he has gently close the door with the paintbrush Solarixx, more images at Flickr site here then erase one by one all the bars being careful not to touch any of the feathers of the bird Paint next the portrait of the tree choosing the best of its branches for the bird paint also the green foliage and the cool of the wind the dust of the sun and the sound of insects in the grass in the heat of summer and then wait until the bird decides to sing Kate Castelli, more images at Flickr site here If the bird does not sing that's a bad sign a sign that the picture is bad but if he sings that's a good sign a sign that you may sign So, you gently pull one of the feathers of the bird and you write your name in the corner of the picture. -- translated from the French by Yvone Lenard Elia Mauceri, blog here and more images at Flickr site here

Looking at the art of some of my favorite artists is an enjoyable way to take a break from creating. Since I have been very busy working in wax getting ready for a demonstration I will be doing, I need to see work other than my own. The demo is at Twigs and Leaves Gallery, in North Carolina, and when the work is framed I will post some of it. . Donna Watson's paintings are elegant in their simplicity, always a challenge to accomplish using just the right amount of puzzle pieces to complete a work. She does it so well. I have such a fondness for nests and really like where she has placed this one. Please visit her website to see more of her work. It seems she also enjoys gardening, another good way to take a break from your artwork, as she has posted lovely photos of her Zen garden on her blog. Histories 24 x 24 Spring + Light Another artist that does understated beautifully is Rebecca Crowell. The textural quality of these paintings is what draws me to them. Visit her site http://www.rebeccacrowell.com for more like these. lanlanzarote l lantimanfayal 1

In February and March and most of April, I woke up to fog. I’d look out my front windows toward the water and see a milky veil over everything. Slowly, as the day came alive, the mist would clear, and I could start to see the view.