MY PROCESS--DOCUMENTING "WORKS IN PROGRESS"- NEW PAINTINGS AND PRINTS. -- INCLUDES PALETTE AND COLOR NOTES.
Sunday, April 14, 2024
CLOUD PEOPLE - 40"x30" Original Oil
Sunday, April 07, 2024
WORD PAINTINGS #142 - GUATEMALA 1991 PART III - CIVIL WAR
WORD PAINTINGS #142 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life) - GUATEMALA 1991 PART III - CIVIL WAR - https://donnaclairwordpaintings.blogspot.com/2024/04/word-paintings-142-guatemala-1991-part.html
Saturday, March 30, 2024
WORD PAINTINGS #141 - GUATEMALA 1991 - CHICHICASTENANGO!!
WORD PAINTINGS #141 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned avbovut Art and Life!) - GUATEMALA 1991 - CHICHICASTENANGO - https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/7034907808229634019/3441015536756478147
"A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep". Remembering that day in 1956 when teachers Ms. Schaefer and Ms. Flynn regaled my Spanish class with colorful stories of their trip to Guatemala. Their excitement about spending Easter Sunday in an exotic-sounding place called Chichicastenango was joyful!!! Chills, goosebumps, their excitement was contagious! I said the strange name to myself over and over "Chichicastenango" - it needed to be tucked away - never forgotten. Thirty-five years of life passed....children, marriages, divorces, recovery. It was possible that our move from Chicago to the alien planet of Santa Fe, New Mexico, trips to Mexico - my life on the horse ranch in Truchas was as far as I would go. There would be no more surprises. No time for my Dreams of Distant Places! The name was almost lost to me until that morning in my Taos studio when I heard it again on the radio ad. Shivers of anticipation. Nothing was holding me back (except for my agoraphobia). Excitement. Yes indeed, my much younger self jumped for pure joy.
1991 - Walking through the plaza of Chichicastenango on Easter Sunday morning!!! Brilliant colors, clouds of incense, firecrackers -wonderful heart-stopping chaos! Christ was risen. I couldn't breathe! I couldn't hold enough of the experience in my body. Noise, crowds of strangers , I was transported - five feet off the ground - having the most amazing experience of my life!!!! A dream fulfilled! Following the cobblestone paths wherever they led I had a day full of adventure.Vendors with their bright weavings propped up on poles leaning against the walls of the houses lining the streets. Some of the huipils still had a sweet smell of smoke - they had been woven on looms next to their home fires.
The Cofradia processed to the Iglesia of Santo Tomas. Solemn. All my young girl Catholicism rushed back to life. How much of their ancient religion was still there, covered by the pomp of these more modern rituals? Their strong faces mirrored the sculptures in a museum we visited - in Tikal and Copan. The Mayan culture that had "disappeared" was living and breathing right before my eyes. The wonder and the mystery is still there. Their culture survives in secret places - private rituals - heart prayers. This might seem heretical to both cultures, but I have an idea that their ancient gods and our not so ancient saints are somehow all connected. It is quite possible we all pray to the same God.
For most of my adult life I had been asleep to the ways of the world....until Guatemala! Easter Sunday was only the beginning......
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WORD PAINTINGS #140 - GUATEMALA 1991 - SEMANA SANTA PART I
WORD PAINTINGS #140 (How I came to New Mexico and Learned about Art and Life) - GUATEMALA 1991 - SEMANA SANTA PART I - https://donnaclairwordpaintings.blogspot.com/2024/03/word-paintings-140-guatemala-1991.html
Monday, March 18, 2024
FIRST LIGHT - Prints, Greeting cards.....
FIRST LIGHT - A quiet New Mexico morning - waiting for the rain. Prints, greeting cards and many other great items now available at Fine Art America....https://fineartamerica.com/.../first-light-donna-clair...
Saturday, March 16, 2024
MAYORDOMO (Spring cleaning)
Saturday, February 24, 2024
OJO SARCO - 30"x30" WORK IN PROGRESS (UNDERPAINTING) - COLOR NOTES
2/23/24 - OJO SARCO - 30"x30" Work in Progress - For most of this canvas I just mxed the tube colors with English Distilled Turpentine - very little Underpainting White. COLOR NOTES: Sky-Portland Grey Cool, Paynes Grey, Warm Titanium White. Green Trees - Chrome Oxide Green Opaque, Prussian Blue, Cadmium Green Light. Yellow Trees: Cadmium Yellow, Naples Yellow Deep. Reddish Trees: Mars Orange, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna,
Sunday, February 18, 2024
DREAMKEEPER - 12"X12" Original Oil, Framed
Wednesday, February 07, 2024
RIO FERNANDO - NEW! 8"x10" Original Oil - SOLD
RIO FERNANDO (New Mexico) - NEW! 8"x10 Original oil on linen panel, custom framed in gold with linen liner, free shipping -SOLD