Artist Ruth / Art Is Truth
One Eye Sees
"One eye sees, the other feels." Paul Klee Moonlight Mist, mixed watermedia, 29 x 21" In teaching art, it is hard to teach folks to listen to both sides of the brain. Paul Klee's quote really speaks to the dichotomy of what we pay attention to as we paint. Both the...
The inner critic and newly minted work
The inner critic can keep us from doing our best work if we let it. Successful creatives find a way to work around it. I had a conversation with a writer friend last night that reinforced my belief that writing and painting share many commonalities. He has been...
Studying Notan
Studying Notan will help you create better paintings. Whether you want to prepare for a painting workshop in Umbria or just for an afternoon painting in your local park, notan will help you simplify and test your composition or design.
What is notan?
New Horizons
New Horizons and workshop registrations. You can see a mini-tour of my new space on my instagram page here on my instagram page.
Inside Scoop: guest post by Alice Bonham
I mentioned to my friend Alice Bonham that marathon packing in November and moving in December has kept me from being very active here. She kindly offered to write a guest post!
Procrastipainting Relieves Stress
Procrastipainting is when you have a million things to do, but ignore all of them and go make art instead. Being an artist is a bit like living with a pressure cooker lid on your calendar. If you don't relieve the art valve every once in a while, you might end up with...
The Dark Side
I’ve been looking at the dark side a lot lately. This isn’t about perspective, it’s something I have to go through as part of the process of grief and loss. Although I often find myself trying to ‘bright-side’ everything, the pain and fears for the future have been overwhelming at times. I’ve always been a bit of a night owl, and now that I’m alone that proclivity is even stronger. Like many women my age, I struggle with insomnia a bit, and I find my ideas flow more easily at night. Maybe it’s just that I have had the chance to clear the slate of ‘to-dos’ by this time of day – or maybe the to-do’s wake me up.
A Tribute to my Mentors
In my first show at Waterstone Gallery, I pay Tribute with nine abstract paintings based on artists who have influenced my work and invited each to show their work alongside mine.
Experiential Travel vs. Tours
Attending a workshop at La Romita Art School means you’re signed up for experiential travel rather than a tour. Staying in one place for a week and really studying its light, textures, atmosphere and people by drawing and painting.
Color Notes
Color notes have been so important as I prepare work for my June show "Tribute" at Waterstonte Gallery. Usually I begin my paintings with a title, which guides my decisions as the work progresses. Now, the 'Tribute' show is different, in that each painting will be an...
Making Sense of Challenges: 2021
The past year has been filled with challenges that have been a mix of good & bad. We need challenges to help us grow, yet they can also be discouraging if the grade is too steep. Looking back can be productive and help me make sense of challenges achieved and...
Is Art-work Play?
Do you think art-work is play? I just finished teaching a 4 week workshop with Winslow Art Center. It amazed me how students mentioned that when they began to 'play' around with an idea, they were more successful. I'm always a bit annoyed when people talk about how...
Time Does Not Return
Travel: because money returns but time does not. Time is one slippery beast. It cannot be caged, nor tamed. It passes quickly when we least want it to, and slowly when we want it to speed up. I wish our time in Switzerland and France had been longer. When it takes so...
When You’re Unaware
When you use social media, you're unaware of its impact. People could be simply scrolling - or they might be turning into your biggest fan. I prefer to think of social media as an easy way to stay in touch with lots of friends. I had a nice surprise this week when...
In Praise of Impulsive Ideas
Being impulsive is often seen as a character flaw, but I see it as a good thing. More errors arise from inhibited indecision than from impulsive behavior." -Morris L. Ernst I just returned from an impulsive week-long trip to New Mexico with my...
Tohubohu and Art News
Tohubohu is today’s Dictionary.com word of the day. It fits this house to a ‘T!’ Tohubohu (noun) means chaos, disorder and confusion.
I’m still in the throes of unpacking
Humble Brag Blog Celebration + Giveaway
This isn't really a humble brag - it's a proud brag - but not about me. Right now I'm really proud of the work students in my Roaring '20s have been doing, and I have to brag! I haven't been able to paint recently because of our upcoming move... so this is a good...
Magical Places + Blog Anniversary Giveaway
Magical places are an important part of an artist's inspiration. I built a tree house when I was a little girl. Well really my mom built it. Actually it wasn't a tree 'house' - it was more of a tree 'seat.' It was a smooth board, probably 6"x12"x1" nailed over two...
No Path: Influence, Ideas and New Vistas
"Traveler, there are no paths. Paths are made by walking." I need to keep moving here. Literally. We've sold our home and I'm packing up the studio. We have a new place picked out in Vancouver, WA and hope to be moved in in early July. It has been quite a journey...
A Change in Perspective
I wonder how many people would prefer the horizontal instead of the vertical? I’d love to hear your perspective.
