Nothing renews my faith like nature. God is everywhere, but the line from the natural environment to the Creator is direct.
Not gonna lie, election day made me restless. So I got out of the studio for some exercise, and found some peace and beauty at the canal that winds its way through the city. It has always held mystery and adventure for me--it's the place I went as a kid to scramble around and find snakes, frogs, and salamanders. My mom would wait at the front door for my return and yell, "If you have a snake with you, go right on back and let it go!" Most times, I had to go back.
Yesterday, exploration--as usual--trumped my lame effort at exercise. But it was a gorgeous day, and my camera-eye was wide open. Found this creepy bug-faced root hiding beneath the bank.
I should spend more time drawing out of doors, but I'm about as good at that commitment as I am to exercise. Just getting outdoors though, has a great effect upon my art and spirit.
At the end of the walk, this beautiful old house came into view.
A lonely building buried in the trees--even better than snakes and frogs!
A small detail of my latest painting--inspired by the weird way autumn creeps into the trees almost without notice. Hoping to finish this artwork today, now that there's some relief from the politics.
Gerard Manley Hopkins is one of my favorite poets. He loved to draw as well, and was totally in love with the natural world. I'm heading up to the studio, and will leave you with some of his words:
“All things therefore are charged with love, are charged
with God and if we knew how to touch them give off sparks and take fire, yield
drops and flow, ring and tell of him.”
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
I also had a collection of found critters as a kid - then as a mom guess whose kids and all the neighborhood kids brought critters to?? :-)
ReplyDeleteYou lucky dog :D
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