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Last night I ventured out into the dark time just to see what the world would look like when the sun had gone to its rest.  Stepping out into the night, the chill brushed cheeks and forehead and my finger tips tingled with the cold.  I gazed about at all the lights we have put along the paths and seemed to be in a wonderland.  Stars of brilliance radiated from each of the small lamps and above my head in the canopy of ink....A field of stars twinkled as if a thousand eyes were watching me through pin pricks in a curtain of shadow! 

Motionless, alone in the night darkness, the world and all that I knew seemed forever away.  This was the Dwelling Place of the Lord. The place where He dismounts from the Throne of His Grace, descending on the stairway of stars to walk upon the wings of the wind and accompany us through our pilgrimage of life.

To be more perceptive...to glimpse into moments that plumb the depths of beauty and wonder, we artists...whether painter, doctor, student or vagabond...need to study the world around us.  Remove our eyes from what we routinely view and notice that which waits to return our gaze in the world around.  Then, only then, will the flame of passion take flight in our souls and we will work, live and pray as never before....honoring, reverencing the life we were given!

Just the other day a friend of mine reminded me that there are over 9 million people living on the streets and in tent cities!  I have on my wall a photo that was taken by a Life Magazine photographer, of a young man sitting on a crate in the midst of a tent city, where he and his family ended up at the onset of the crunch. 

There is a great saddness about him.  When I look at him I find myself thinking, There but for the grace of God, go I.  As I look back on my years of artistic endeavors I discover that I do my most powerful work during the times of the most challenging circumstances.  Struggle seems to bring out creative pathos.  With suffering comes a sensitivity that enlivens visual art.

From living on the street to living in a trailer so small you could not stand up, times have shaped my perception of life. "Counter Point" , the work shown above, is sort of a self portrait.  For I have always found myself going in a direction that was against the tide of most others.  In doing so, portions of life are revealed that would have been hidden to me.  I see people in a nuance of light that brings out characteristics that perhaps they would rather were hidden, like the artfully constructed counter point that plays a complimentary cadence to the melody in a symphony. 

Suffering often times begats compassion, as contrasting colors play a counter point to complimentary colors.  What if I lived in a tent???  What if I had no place to lay my head?  What if I had nothing to eat??  How would I paint???  What would it be like?  Would my saddness and suffering color the ocean of my hues?  Would I still be able to gasp with awe at the suffusive bloom of the sunrise or sunset????

WHAT IF YOU LIVED IN A TENT???HOW WOULD YOUR WORK REVEAL YOUR SOUL? 

That which attracts one person does not always attract another!  Choices...taste...preferences...styles...desires and needs make up the complex web of living. 

Watching people browse an art show is an art in itself, for it is what catches and holds the attention of the viewer that makes them notice or focus on an artist.  People are so individual, I often marvel at their response to my work.  Recently a couple of women were looking at Raptor's Cry, pictured here.  It was fascinating to hear their responses.  One of them said...."how beautiful, look at the detail, it almost looks like a photograph".  While the other said, "  I don't like birds of prey, they look too mean!"

Perception makes up a great deal of the reason buyers choose a picture to own.  Whether it is because of their attraction to colors, subject or design, the context of their response is framed by whether they view the subject as favorable.

Creating new works must be about communicating a message to the viewer.  When we artists try and guess what will sell, we lose the ability to focus our love of creating and produce less than great work.  What others see in my work, I hope they will pass on to others.  Joy, amazement, intensity, interest...all of these responses bring people back to look again and maybe even to buy.  Wouldn't it be a delight if we could bottle motivation?  New work, is motivation.  Day by Day, I strive to begin something new.  That which comes to completion by hard work, inspiration and the grace of  God, adds a measure of hope that more will explore the landscapes of my creations.  Come one, come all, let me share with you. Then, perhaps...you will share with me!,

Waking up to a new day means making an inumerable amount of choices.  Each one leads to a path we have not yet traveled.  I see myself as a "Feather Bearer"  someone who is delivering essence of message to the world.

The days sprawl before each of us blank canvases ready for us to make our mark on them.  A word, an action....even a thought creates the foundation for a decision that will lead to the ending of a day.  Each morning we have a chance to begin again!

As artists, beginning a new work is like beginning a new day.  It starts with trembling expectation and a tangible image in our minds of what we desire to accomplish.  Life is a gift of choices. 

I recall painting Feather Bearer, my greatest challenge was deciding what background to paint the cooper's hawk against.  What would make the best contrast, or compliment? 

Living a day we too must decide on a background.  Our emotional state is a background.  You have heard the old saying, "She got up on the wrong side of the bed!"  How you greet the day starts the results of your actions rolling.    In many Native American Tribes the people greet the day by giving thanks for waking and for the gifts to be given, whether challenges or graces. In doing this they orient their minds to openness toward the "good".

Many Christians recall a verse from one of the Epistles in the Sacred Bible to began their day.  Loosely para-phrased, it says, "Think on these things, the right, the good, the just, the beautiful, the true, that you may please God and be blessed."  Choosing the right frame of mind brings things into focus.  Being out of sorts brings attention to all that is irritating and troubling.

Readiness to see and do good, brings good.  Just as lovely colors fill the mind with peace and wonder, lovely thoughts and actions lighten the heart.

The world is full of choices.  Each choice made, genders another choice from you and from others.  Do harm, receive harm.  Do good...great and true things and receive good, great and trueness in your life. Are you ready to began again?

ARE YOU READY?

Creativity is an illusive thing.  Some say if it could be bottled they would make a fortune!  It is hard to explain what spurs one to make a work of art.  A sense of wonder...a sense of wanting to capture the indefinable moment that beauty strikes the soul.  Whatever it is the elusive nature spurs the soul on to keep striving to make new work! But sometimes it is a struggle.  One may even find themselves wondering if there is any reason left to keep creating, when the fire of inspiration dies to a spark.

Once a friend asked me, "Why do you keep painting and painting when no one, in this economy, is buying?"  For a time the question stuck in my mind.  I had to think about it for some days before I decided to answer.   It is because of the elusiveness of creativity itself, that I continue to paint and paint....

 

The Hope that I will achieve mastery and be able to share my personal spark of creativity...and....the spark that urges me to create, is a sense that when my mortal body is gone, these works will be left for my family; the family of mankind, to wonder at.  Each drawing, each painting...each image wherein I strove to capture some ineffable essence of wonder, will be somewhere that souls may contemplate. 

 

 With my images, a sense of who I am will remain.  A sense, I hope, of my ardor for the natural world and for The Divine, will flow forth from the blending of colors, the merging of hues and the strength and contrast of illumination to all those who gaze upon what I created...my spiritual, if not actual masterpieces...

 

 And with my Masterpieces, I pray, the illusive spark of creativity will set souls on fire to conceive and bring into being great works...wondrous works of their own...to add to the pool of mankind's creativity, the expression of the Essence of life...

Perhaps it was the mystery of Yule, a festival that comes just before the beautiful Feast of Christmas, that caused me to began the painting of the Fantastical Felines.  I remember thinking,  "So many people love cats, wouldn't it be a delight to create a "self-help card deck" with fantasy Felines depicting the subject matter???"  Of course, I answered myself, "Sure Would!!!"  The exciting spirit of the season filled me up and I plotted to create 54 designs to be included in the deck.  It took me 6 weeks to paint the cards and another 10 months to write the text of the deck.  The Fantastical Felines were born! 

I never laughed so much and felt so uplifted as I did creating these crazy cats.  It felt so Joyful, I decided to carry the tradition forward and add designs, that were not in the deck. So the others were conceived and continue to be created as the League of Feline Friends.

Fantastical Felines are  what I consider an "artist's Brainchild".  A design group that is unique to an artist's style and imagination.  Some artists specialize in particular subjects, some in particular composition colors or hues, and others in particular techniques that make their art unique.  Fantastical Felines have become family and friends....A little bit of me offered to your household...to your family...I hope you will add many of them to your life and share them with your family and friends.  Thank you in advance for taking my hand and heart,as you bring them into your home....Blessings.....Tricia

Long ago, I had a tortoise shell cat named Sara.  She was not a pet...she was wild.  One of those cats that someone abandoned and left to herself.  She came to me, bedraggled and wounded.  By some little miracle, she allowed me to care for her wound and set out food for her.  She healed and became a faithful visitor and friend.  It astounded me how a little bit of compassion cemented our friendship, even though she showed many signs of abuse and neglect.  Still, she was drawn to love... That is how humans are too.  Broken, bruised, shy, hurting....No matter the trauma they are drawn to compassion, beauty, kindness, loveliness and caring.

  As artists, we pore all our compassion, kindness....vision of the beauty we paint into our work.  It is understandable that others are drawn to it.  When they look at my work, I always hope that they will see I am saying,  "I am with you, whoever you are!"  When they gaze at my images I hope they will have respite from their own personal traumas and stress.  Even if the image is a fierce wild cat or....Sara....Perhaps the beauty...the sensitiveity will encompass them and they will feel calm and succor in their spirit.  This is what I hope.  For all of you who honor my work by studying it...."I am with you....whoever you are!"

As an artist, I convey my feelings, ideas and hopes through my work.  It is both my living and another way to channel my prayers to my needs and the needs of others.  As I work I hope to receive inspiration from the composition,  the Lord and my  view of the subject.  This is the way life is.  We receive messages that will help, renew and guide us, from what we do, from God and from others around us.  Listen and look for those messages.

  Being aware is a great part of the solution to enhancing our  quality of life.  Watch others who are successful, learn from past mistakes, most importantly do not ever stop trying to improve.  That is an artist's creed and a creed for a successful life.  Listen for the messages!

The Artist's life is one of continually creating, learning and exploring new experiences.  As time progresses we hope we learn from our mistakes, in life, and continue to try new things to add to the richness of our lives.

  Browsing through photos of work that I have done years ago shows me whether the new things I have tried added beauty or took away from what I was trying to achieve.  In life, we look at photos of times gone past, remembering the richness or the sorrows, the joys or the suffering.  How does that help our now? 

   Because each person is a work in progress, looking at how we were may strength our resolve of what we would like to be.  In my mind, the art I would like to create is effulgent with light, color....beauty of composition and strength of character.  In real life I seldom acheive my visions.  But day by day, painting by painting I come closer by avoiding the errors of the past and finding new ways to create the images in my mind's eye.

 Each of us are beautiful in the Mind of God, our constant struggle is to keep what we adorn our souls with as beautiful as our spiritual essence.  We are, as art is, works in progress.....