Paintings by Dianne Mize

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Paying Attention

Do you ever wonder why it is that you pay attention to some things and ignore others?

I notice I'm drawn to windows, that I'm proned to unconsciously walking to a window and staring at the world outside it.  And during our recent snows, I spent hours watching the squirrels and birds as they scurried to find a morsel.  And almost obscessively I took pictures.  Every formation, every gesture was intriguing. 

I remember from my childhood, my grandmother who we called Mama Cole, used the phrase "make haste" whenever she wanted one of us to get something done in a hurry.  Never "hurry", always "make haste."  It seemed to me as I noticed the speed with which the squirrels were searching for and relishing each sunflower seed, an inner voice was telling them:  make haste.  Was that why I couldn't stop watching?

And so what does an artist do but paint whatever she is paying attention to.  Here's my interpretation of watching those squirrels.
"Making Haste"    Oil on Canvas  16" x 20"
Enjoy your Tuesday.
Dianne

6 comments:

Casey Klahn said...

On your lead, I did a wildlife image last week. These squirrels are the equal of the bird from the last post.

Wonderful.

Annice said...

Love it. You've really captured them.

Anonymous said...

The subtlety of your rendition astonishes me...thank you...you are such an inspiration in so many ways. Thank you, your former student, Rochelle.

Art with Liz said...

Ah Dianne, they are making haste beautifully! A really lovely painting - but you always paint your local 'wildlife' so perfectly.

Franziska San Pedro said...

Those little guys didn't even know you were there watching them and now they are even famous. If they'd know!
Such a peaceful artwork,

Franziska San Pedro
@FlavorDesigns

rob ijbema said...

lovely dianne
so fragile as life