Birds of A Feather Sculpt Together

I had a blast making my mini-sculpture with the other visual artists at the west campus (Christ Church – Rockaway, NJ).  I loved the energy and the exchange of ideas.  It was a nice change of pace to work in another medium.

Here are the artists hard at work.  No pics of me — I’m behind the camera.  I think Rosemarie moves at the speed of light… she’s a blur in some photos.  Yvonne is hard at work, Leslie struck a pose, Marco’s walking around, Charles finished quickly, and… where’s Doris?

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The Past Catches Up To You

I remember the experience of taking art history classes in high school and college.  A lecturer would drone on and on; slides would pop up one after another in a projector… click, click, click.  We covered art throughout history and around the world, from cave paintings to modern masters.  My eyes would glaze over a few minutes into the lecture.

I find it particularly amusing that the style which has evolved in my own work would be so influenced by 16th to18th century painters.  How did that happen?  I don’t remember those lectures at all.

Landscape with Hunters by Lucas Van Uden (ca.1640)

Browsing the internet, I came across works by Lucas Van Uden (1595-1672).  His skies are amazing.  His treatment of clouds is something to which I totally relate.  I don’t remember seeing such works in class, but then again… I guess the past catches up to you (even when you don’t remember it)!

Here’s a link to some of  Van Uden’s work.

Art & Inspiration

I think about art and inspiration; the two are inseparable to me.  When I say art I’m not necessarily referring to a finished product but to the process of taking the intangible and giving it shape and form.  How we create and why we do so seems a mystery to many and sometimes to ourselves as artists.  What is it about something seen or experienced externally that connects intrinsically to something within us?  And what is it that prompts us to express it to someone else?

Airport Dawn by Barbara Peterson (6"X8", oil on canvas board)

Walking through the airport on my way home from a recent trip, I was intrigued by the sky and clouds at dawn.  The orange-y sunrise and the wisps of cotton-candy-like clouds hanging overhead inspired this painting.

See what I mean?