Shiela Branson Artwork

Original Artwork On 100 Year Old Cedar Roof Shakes

One of the benefits of having a 100 Year Old Home is that on the roof are quite a few 100 Year Old Cedar Shakes. As I progress in getting the roof shingled with modern shingles (have you priced cedar shakes lately?) many of those 100 Year Old Cedar Shakes get put into boxes. I use them for lots of things, from shims to kindling to ... well, artwork.

I BELIEVE THERE ARE ANGELS AMONG US

Some of my first experimental back-lighting pieces. These four angels represent the four daughters of my mother. They are painted with acrylic and pearls on fabric, using the screens from the windows themselves, hinged together, as easels. When cut from the screens, they fit right into the windows. I'll try to get a photo without all the tree shadows...!

Here are the angels from the back side, as seen from inside the front porch with the morning light illuminating them. The same effect happens at night, viewed from the outside, with a light on inside the porch.

DRIFTWOOD AND ROOTS

NATURALLY PROCESSED WOOD IS AMAZING

Some are driftwood, some roots, one is a chunk I was going to burn until I looked at it again...!

These are some of the pieces I've gotten sealed with poly semi-gloss. They're displayed in a three foot square box, to give you an idea of their size. I'll incorporate them into sculptures, most of them to be used for hanging jewelry on. A couple of them will go into paintings.

And off to work on them I go!

REDISCOVERING MY OWN SELF

NOT AN EASY TASK

Considering the fact that I'm not quite sure exactly what or who this discovery mission is all about, I'm going to have to depend a lot on faith, hope, and love.

Even so, I at least have a glimmer of an idea regarding how to go about it.

I have been writing more lately, which has always been a route to finding out what's inside of me wanting to get out where I can see it.

I have ALSO (drum roll please) after almost a year of not really doing much on that front, begun painting again.

Here's a new work table I put together in the bay window of my studio, one of my most favorite places in the world:

These are just warm up pieces. Figured I'd better do a couple of them before I went back to work on the painting I want to finish.

For this one I was looking for something soft and calm, not necessarily warm, but quiet.

And so I'm finding that yes I do still have a calm inside of me and that I can indeed find it! You would not believe the anxiety induced by the fear of having lost that. It has been so long since I've felt it that when it actually showed up in that simple little painting I almost wept with relief.

The other pieces, not so much, although it was pretty nice to see the meadow flowers popping out in front of the rock wall. They were un-planned and so a pleasant surprise to me.

WORKING ON THE BIG ASPEN PAINTING

Progress is Progress, Sez I

I can see that I'll have to add yet more leaves (sigh) and extend that trunk whether I want to or not (big sigh). Otherwise I'm thinking that I'm going to just call it good enough - which is not something I usually do. On the other hand, leaving a painting sit for months on end without touching it isn't something I generally do, either. Plus I don't really like that sky - tried a different blue for this one - I'm going back to cobalt.