Hidden in Plain Sight. . .

Graylyn, June 2012 . * my favorite tree

I'm much better and in large part because of all the wonderful e-mails I received after the last blog.  Thank you all for writing such touching, beautiful words and sharing your most intimate moments and thoughts. . .you know who you are.  It felt remarkable. 

What to do when you are feeling a bit blue?  I walk and work.  Yep, I stayed out of the studio and mowed the grass, trimmed the gardens, washed and waxed my car, painted the wooden love seat on my deck a Colonial Red.  I also spent a wonderful day meeting up with a "bestest," dear friend in Greenville, SC.  We lunched and talked non-stop and walked the park by the river. . .it's a good "halfway" mark between our homes - she's in Georgia, I'm in North Carolina - note:  do consider a day trip to meet up if you find you are living away from good friends.

I took a weekend walk over at Reynolda House and crossed over the street to Graylyn, now an International Conference Center maintained by Wake Forest University.  The above photo is of my favorite tree in Winston Salem, on Graylyn's property.  Yes, my very favorite.  I just had to visit it.  It's so feminine and uber-elegant and conjures up snow-tipped limbs, winter thoughts. . .then on to Christmas - all lovely things to think about.  But, I must say it's particularly attractive in summer, don't you think?  It's hidden from the road, but once you turn into Graylyn it's right there on the right - standing singularly impressive saying "look at beautiful me."  I LOVE this tree and think I've found another one on their property that's following in the footsteps of the "elegant" one. . .see below.  Just a small baby, but nevertheless quite possibly a contender in the years to come.  Very satisfying to know there's progeny of some sort for the future tree lovers. 

All this brings me to the color green.  Today I read that a German study reports the color green sparks creativity.  Study author, Dr. Stephanie Lichtenfeld of Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, says (to paraphrase) that green is a signal of growth, both physical and psychological - this may account for the spike in creativity when exposed to green!  

Is it a strange coincidence that I started back at the studio this week with a new small painting in shades of green?  

    The Way Home . 8" x 8" . oil on panel

- Garth Road . Huntsville, Al -

The home of my teenage years sat behind the trees on the left - the corner yard with the deep shadows.  I drove Garth Road innumerable times. . .it was the only way out of the valley. . .teenage "business" required many miles.

My art life has been filled with green - it was portrayed as something undesirable by the watercolor community at one time (difficult I believe was the word) - of course, putting aside fear, I made up my own rules and stuck to what resonated with my heart.  Loving the land and trees, all nature (except snakes!) just reinforces the thought that green spoons me a special nurturing broth. 

Garden . Chris Van Allsburg fashion . watercolor 

Sunnywood . watercolor . 26" x 40" . ML's Canadian property

Storybook Garden . 22" x 30" . watercolor

I am shrouded in green summer trees at my house. . .feeling as if I live in a tree house because of the elevation and surrounding forest.  I reflected this morning at how happy it makes me.  Now I find it may spark creativity too!

The subtle strum of joy can often be found in what's hidden in plain sight.