TAKING THE SUN (Taos Pueblo, New Mexico) - Hand-signed small Studio Edition print on Premium Matte Presentation Paper. Mailed Flat - https://www.ebay.com/itm/155532674820
MY PROCESS--DOCUMENTING "WORKS IN PROGRESS"- NEW PAINTINGS AND PRINTS. -- INCLUDES PALETTE AND COLOR NOTES.
Monday, May 01, 2023
Sunday, April 30, 2023
WORD PAINTINGS #131 - UNCOMPETITIVE PURPOSEFULNESS!
"NOCHECITA" (Trujillo Road - Llano Quemado, New Mexico) New! 8"x10" Original Oil
WORD PAINTINGS #131 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life!) - UNCOMPETITIVE PURPOSEFULNESS!!!
30 April 2023 - Saying Farewell to winter and "Hola" to Spring! It is a quiet Sunday morning here on Llano Quemado. Woke up with a long "to do" list running through my brain until I remembered that I have given myself a weekly reprieve for this "day of rest".
It has been a month since writing about the dicey stay in the ER at Holy Cross last September. Many days focusing on "mortality" and "retirement". Finally decided that sometimes the difference between staying alive and brain death are small daily choices. This isn't a fight I wanted to have at my age. From the time I was a young child, my only purpose was to raise my children and paint. There it is - PURPOSE!!! Rather than plop around in my own thoughts of perpetual darkness, I decided to take out this ad in the Taos Gallery Guide, believing that Centinelas de Oro was one of my best canvases to come off the easel!
About
this time last year I decided to leave my gallery and just wing it
again. Having done this before, it was a little scary. In this
process I remembered all the other times I felt like a "cash cow" and
walked away from the hype. This has always been my way of maintaining
artistic integrity and a healthy creative life . Turned down a sure sale
because it was absolutely necessary
for me to sit with this painting for a year before deciding to let it
go. Hoped with all my heart this work could stay in Taos where it
belonged!
Buying this ad renewed my self-confidence and PURPOSE! Within a day of its publication the painting was "adopted" by a local family just down the road. The man had visited my studio on Santistevan Lane over 30 years ago, but waited for his perfect piece. He and his wife had decided that this was "the one" before they ever set foot in my studio! We three hugged and cried. Told them it felt like a "divine appointment"! My spark was lit one more time!
Now
what??? Later next month I will celebrate my 37th year of sobriety
thanks to all my angels and helpers along the way. My sponsors drummed
into my head that life needs to be lived One Day at a Time! Who can do
that when a hundred images run through your head - empty canvases as far
as my mind can see! Well, here I am where time matters and I need to
make creative choices on a daily basis. It turns out that my choice to
be on my own again was a solid decision because I no longer feel the
need to
compete and am free to choose what to paint one day at a time. This might be called a late in life New Beginning- a new adventure! Amazing Grace....DC
Saturday, April 29, 2023
NOCHECITA - New! 8"x10" Original Oil
Studio #1123 - NOCHECITA (Trujilllo Road - Llano Quemado, New Mexico) - NEW! 8"x10" Original Oil on Italian Linen panel, custom framed in gold with linen liner. Free shippng. https://www.ebay.com/itm/394597001014
EARLY MOONRISE AT TRUCHAS - Large Studio Edition Print
EARLY
MOONRISE AT TRUCHAS (Truchas, New Mexico) - Large hand-signed Studio Edition print on premium matte presentation paper - enclosed in clear
polyurethane envelope and mailed flat - https://www.ebay.com/itm/394596694961
Friday, April 28, 2023
YELLOW MUMS - Hand-signed Studio Edition Print -SOLD
Friday, April 21, 2023
MY TAOS WILDFLOWERS - Prints, greeting cards, posters, etc.
Thursday, April 20, 2023
LILAS DE TAOS - Prints, greeting cards, posters....
LILAS DE TAOS (Years ago in front of the Old Taos News on Ranchitos - old fellow walked past there every day!) - Prints, greeting cards, posters and many other great items at Fine Art America - https://fineartamerica.com/.../lilas-de-taos-donna-clair...
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
ESTACA IN BLOOM - Prints, Greeting Cards, posters....
ESTACA IN BLOOM - Prints, greeting cards and many other great items available now at Fine Art America - https://fineartamerica.com/.../estaca-in-bloom-donna...
Monday, April 17, 2023
PLACITA AFTERNOON (Placita, New Mexico - New 12"x12" Original Oil, framed
LOS PINONES (Chimayo, New Mexico) - New 6"x8" Original Oil
Saturday, April 08, 2023
BEARERS OF LIGHT - Chichicastenango, Guatemala
Saturday, April 01, 2023
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
SUMMER STORM (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) - New! 8"x6" Original Oil
Studio #623 -SUMMER STORM (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) - New! 8"x6" Original Oil on linen panel, framed - free shipping. https://www.ebay.com/itm/394534853952
Monday, March 27, 2023
STUDIO #723 - OLD FENCES - NEW! 8"x8" Original Oil
STUDIO #823 - IN HIDING - NEW! 6"x8" Original Oil
Studio #823- IN HIDING (Taos, New Mexico) - NEW! - 6"x8" Original Oil on Linen Panel, Framed - free shipping. https://www.ebay.com/itm/155474695936
Saturday, March 25, 2023
WORD PAINTINGS #130 - "A CAUTIONARY TALE
WORD PAINTINGS # 130 (How I Came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life) - A CAUTIONARY TALE!
Sometimes when we least expect it, Life Happens!!
Had a fall last September (I slid rather ungracefully to my bedroom floor) - was unable to raise myself up. The EMTs arrived and were concerned that my oxygen levels were very low. They put me in an ambulance and whisked me to the Emergency Room at Holy Cross Hospital. What happened next was Terrifying!!!! The ER doctor asked what happened and I pointed to my right knee and said "I leg lifted 400 lbs....." - with that she left the room and didn't hear me add "25 years ago and my right knee gives way now and I fell this morning."
She got on the phone with my son-in-law a retired brain surgeon. He and I hadn't had any contact for long time, so he didn't have a clue to my state of mind or physical condition. Together they, along with one of my helpers, decided that I needed to be transferred to the Psych Ward for evaluation. The "brain" surgeon diagnosed me with delusions of grandeur! Through some miracle, they reached my daughter Sarah in Germany - 3AM and she's in bed with Covid. Finally she convinces the girl at the desk that she had seen me only ten days before and besides - she had my Power of Attorney!!!
Why
am I sharing this story? Certainly not for entertainment! This is a
cautionary tale to anyone of a certain age who hasn't done the work of
making end of life choices. I know, I know - but if I had been sent for
evaluation, my rise in blood pressure from the fear would have caused
them to medicate me. Once I was medicated I was just an 83 year old
woman with delusions of grandeur. I would have no more choices about
anything. All my belongings - my easels, paints, brushes, precious
things would be scattered to the winds. (Remember that scene in Zorba the
Greek when the woman dies in the village her neighbors take all her
things in minutes and empty her little house to the bones?) I would have been sent
to some old people's orphanage and left there just staring at the gray
walls just waiting for someone - anyone - to visit!!! Do your
homework!!! Don't wait for a medical crisis!!!
Thanks
to Sarah, I had a stay of execution. I had no injuries and was
released from the hospital that evening....along with a new and very
noisy companion in the form of a respirator and a very long hose that
follows me all over the house 24/7. It is an awkward ballet daily to
avoid the loops and tangles, but am still able to get to the easel every
day. Still making plans for new work. As long as there is
breath in my body I plan to keep moving - albeit just a little bit
slower now! (Read Amy B. Scher's amazing book This is How I Save My Life.)
Now I am going to have a cup of coffee and head back to my easel to paint another day!
Best regards, Donna
PS
- a few months before I fell, I purchased a Thrive Medical Alert system
through Amazon. At first I hated wearing that medallion every day - but
I was able to get the help I needed by just pressing button! When one
gets to the ripe old age of 83 the word for the day is ADAPT!!!
Monday, March 13, 2023
THE LITTLE RED FENCE ON PERALTA STREET - 14"x18" Original Oil
Thursday, March 09, 2023
PUESTA DEL SOL (Llano Quemado, New Mexico) - New! 8"x*' Original Oil
WAITING FOR SPRING (Taos, New Mexico) - New! 11"x14" Original Oil
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
ON THE ROAD - Prints, greeting cards......
ON THE ROAD (Another back road adventure in northern New Mexico) - Prints, greeting cards, posters and many other great items now available at Fine Art America - https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-donna-clair