Tuileries Sunspot

Julie Has posted her recent newsletter on
the France workshop as well as other workshops for 2010.

Mountain Mist

The skies of Upcountry Maui are ever changing.
The clouds roll across the mountainside and
create a magical mist. This stand of eucalyptus was almost transparent in the clouds. I am drawn to the emotionality that the upcountry landscape presents.

Motion

I am very drawn to the square format. It seems to contain the composition within a perfectly balanced frame. I find the
square to be the most harmonious of forms. This is a direct departure from the traditional rectangular landscape format that I am accustomed to using. I find the square does not compete with the visual, but only enhances it.

The Clearing

An 18 x 24 gessoed panel is the support for this piece. I am inspired by the misty clouds over upcountry Maui on way way down the mountain late this afternoon. The clouds seem to dance along the landscape as though flirting with the trees. Can I paint this, I wonder? I use this as an exploration for larger pieces to come. I give up the small filberts I am used to using for large flats.
I work staedily,wet into wet and allow the paint to call out my next move.

Getting Looser

I pick up a long panel that has a gessoed surface. I have the idea that I want to capture the windy sky that is blowing outside across the cane fields. The sky is dark and moody, yet the fields hold a tint of color. An occasional tree dots the horizon.
I use the gessoed surface to my advantage and the brush strokes stay fluid and loose. This is how I want them to be. Not too much literal information, but more the suggestions of what I see. The result is, "Portal."

The Tempest

After a trip to the Northwest, I am transfixed by the skies and the light. I decide to capture the expansiveness of the atmosphere and paint large. I push myself more and decide to work this painting using transparent layers of acrylics. I work the layers not unlike the old masters did. I find I love the large format. It frees me up. Suddenly, I am not painting a sky, a horizon or the earth. I am one and part of each element as I paint it. I am in the sky, I am feeling the earth and I hear the wind.

Another Step

This painting was a departure. I found myself working the paint with soft cloths. No brushes were used. I had such pent-up feelings inside about where my work was going and how to capture something fresh. As I worked the paint, this image arose.
It is highly influenced by the Maui cane burns. Cane fields are burned to bring down the stalks, which are then harvested. These mushroom clouds fill our pristine skies with chemicals and pesticides. They have been cited as causing respiratory problems in
the aged as well as those who are sensitive to smoke. I find when a burn happens, I cannot breathe. The toxic waste that is released into the air in "paradise" is one of the unspoken anomalies of living here.