tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17755987423409739972024-02-07T20:29:02.834-05:00One Artist's JourneyThis blog is dedicated to the memory of my life partner of nearly thirty years, Dr. Howard G. Hanson-- artist, writer, musician, and teacher-- who with me celebrated a belief that we can achieve whatever we allow ourselves to imagine. This blog reflects the whole person that our lives together enabled.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-8961334278877682062016-04-02T14:59:00.001-04:002016-04-02T15:00:23.905-04:00Notan Video Series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-70410875420391297512015-06-06T12:20:00.001-04:002015-06-06T17:41:17.722-04:00Fleeting Light on Tugalo<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Fleeting Light on Tugaloo</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrBDLkAt7D4mXz2l3p-aLmZbVGKjZiF2yhjMWXB7O3k1SG79gaEycv94tKkTR-penBocEf_0JtLAi-QG2hy2v7QIPBpThmJdxJdbhuHtBM6sv-YqWw_adZGof7vYwFPfkKzJv4ZONkeQ/s1600/fleeting_light_on_tugalo-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrBDLkAt7D4mXz2l3p-aLmZbVGKjZiF2yhjMWXB7O3k1SG79gaEycv94tKkTR-penBocEf_0JtLAi-QG2hy2v7QIPBpThmJdxJdbhuHtBM6sv-YqWw_adZGof7vYwFPfkKzJv4ZONkeQ/s400/fleeting_light_on_tugalo-small.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fleeting Light on Tugaloo" 14 x 18 inches Oil on Canvas<br />
<a href="http://www.diannemizestudio.com/fleeting_tugalo.html" target="_blank">PURCHASE INFORMATION</a></td></tr>
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I'm transfixed by late afternoon light, most especially during those few moments just before the sun sets when you can see the light moving, bouncing from spot to spot. There's a radiant glow in the shadows unlike at any time during the day, not even in the mornings just as the sun is rising. <br />
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Here on the Tugaloo river I was floating in a canoe, knowing it would be dark before reaching a place to pull in, but not really caring. A couple of other folks were paddling, so my entire attention was on the light and those radiant shadows. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-26178152514739457222014-11-01T11:07:00.000-04:002014-11-02T09:40:39.056-05:00Late Afternoon October<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Late Afternoon October" 16 x 20 inches Oil on Canvas</td></tr>
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October suddenly turned gold in my woods, then there was a storm that took all the gold leaves to the ground, but it wasn't long before things began to turn gold again, emphasized and spread throughout the woods by the late afternoon sun.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-59258552190556799252014-10-10T08:31:00.000-04:002014-10-10T10:01:54.602-04:00Last of September Greens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Last of September Greens" <br />
<a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/last-of-september-greens/272904" target="_blank">Purchase</a></td></tr>
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The North Georgia leaves began turning color early this year. Late in the afternoon on a clear day, my woods glow as if from within, areas of white at first, then slightly gold before for about two minutes brilliant golden orange floods the tops of the tree trunks. At that moment the lingering greens become reminiscent of the golden greens of springtime. It is nature's light show.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-3574243434594850982014-09-18T10:20:00.004-04:002014-09-18T10:20:56.907-04:00September Woods, One<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"September Woods, One" 14" x 18" Oil on Canvas<br /><a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/september-woods-one/258307" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><b>Purchase</b></span></a></td></tr>
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With each painting of my woods, some new level of belonging to them emerges and weaves itself into all that I am. These are not just scenes nor are they just paintings to be admired. Rather each of these is a search for finding my oneness with every ounce of sap that moves through these trees, with every bug that's busying itself among them, with every leaf that is undergoing its metamorphosis, getting ready to change its color and then drop to the ground. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-53589255996012381172014-09-06T12:44:00.000-04:002014-09-06T12:44:15.301-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"August Woods, Two" 8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Board<br /><a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/august-woods-two/255345" target="_blank">PURCHASE</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11.1111116409302px;">I have spent my summer absorbing the light within the woods where I live. Finally, I am doing a series of paintings that studies the power of light's story told within the green of the foliage, how it moves and changes every moment, and how mirrors the very life of our universe. This is the second painting of the series.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-17593166438138442852014-08-31T11:12:00.000-04:002014-08-31T11:12:26.824-04:00My August Woods<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"My August Woods" 16 x 20 Oil on Canvas</td></tr>
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This summer more than any during the twenty-six years I've lived in these woods, they've held a devoted magic for me. It could be that during the winter, I blazed trails throughout my six acres of woods, paths I walk daily with Maggie who delights in exploring all around the trails, checking with me from time to time, but always cognizant of where I am whether or not we're within sight of each other. Or perhaps as I get older, I'm learning to stroll through these paths soaking in the life around me rather than being distracted by brain chatter. Whatever the reason, our walks along these are the most special part of every day.<br />
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How the lights and shadows carry on their perpetual dance from sun up to sundown and even in moonlight has always filled me with a sense of mystery and feeling that I am one energy with them. Quantum physics is now revealing to us that all our ordinary reality, even our physical bodies, is made of energy. This feeling of being one with all was within my conscious awareness while working on this painting of a section of the path toward sundown.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-60757033659214240642014-07-28T09:54:00.000-04:002014-07-28T09:54:38.410-04:00The Lesson of a Moneyplant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What the Tree Frog Sees" 12 x 16 Oil on Canvas</td></tr>
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If you were a tree frog, this is the size you would see the moneyplant blossom. The human eye, though, sees it as a tiny member of a larger cluster. But the closer we move our human eyes to it, the larger it becomes, and the more brilliant the purple. As our focus become more intent on the petals, the surrounding foliage surrenders to soft patterns. Do we then remember the moneyplant blossom as tiny or large?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-21705408583528438782014-06-14T12:21:00.000-04:002014-07-23T15:01:58.778-04:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"As the Sun Is Rising" 12 x 16 inches Oil on Canvas</td></tr>
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This painting marks the beginning of the first series following the release of my book,<u> </u><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Freedom-Create-Painters-Roadmap/dp/1452596948" target="_blank">Finding Freedom to Create. </a> </b>Oddly, during the development of the painting, I thought I was painting wild violets, but when I began defining the foliage, I became away that this was a money plant, many of which are growing in my back yard. Maybe there's a metaphor there.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-91764863446541832962013-05-15T08:38:00.000-04:002013-09-03T20:26:43.753-04:00Wren Studies Complete<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Wren Quartet"<br />
Four individual watercolor studies<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-31220260215170998902013-05-13T12:53:00.002-04:002013-05-13T12:53:29.642-04:00Fourth Wren Study<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fourth Wren Study" 7" x 10" Watercolor</td></tr>
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Most likely, this is the last of the wren studies, at least for now. The little painting's colors are a bit richer than I was able to capture in the photo, but I hope this is close enough. <br />
I mentioned in an earlier post that after I began these studies, the wren stopped coming to the feeder, almost as a tease to dare me to capture his (or maybe it is her) image. Later, I discovered the little rascal poking around the front porch. <br />
Either a mama phoebe who's nesting in the rafters of my carport or a hummer frequenting my feeder will be next. Both are keeping me busy trying to capture videos of them, neither having yet given me enough footage to begin their studies, but I will win this one. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-55636005974127660792013-04-27T10:10:00.000-04:002013-04-28T09:33:47.875-04:00Third Wren Study<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Third Wren Study" 7" x 10" Watercolor on Paper<br />
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Here is my third study of the Carolina Wren I spotted at my bird feeder. Scan down to the previous two posts to see the other two.<br />
One of the joys of spring unfolding is the busy activity of our feathered friends building their nests, laying their eggs and keeping vigilant watch of their future progeny. A bird feeder usually guarantees that its visitors will choose a nearby area for their nest and continue to show up, but once I began the studies the wren disappeared. Until then, he was a regular visitor.<br />
One thing I have learned from these studies: it is better to video them rather than take still shots. By doing so, I am able to watch the video repeatedly enabling me to register their gestures and expressions, so important to how I interpret them. And, too, in the case the subject goes away, I have a more complete record of whatever it was that drew me to it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-63849805336946227012013-04-22T16:42:00.000-04:002013-04-22T20:32:55.732-04:00Second Wren Study<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCr17-wIAxUmHdr8UZ-KZqsckzoXRLYCd7TyXMc9OxJkz-iR3OIUk4Zg2pq0PwBenCDfy2XjSHj3mEaiw7q80lPZhWz1niCB8iwxCp9C0Y6Pu3ZU_fBpvaAqjqs0fMcN6eHNzkdOpBoU/s1600/wren_study_2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCr17-wIAxUmHdr8UZ-KZqsckzoXRLYCd7TyXMc9OxJkz-iR3OIUk4Zg2pq0PwBenCDfy2XjSHj3mEaiw7q80lPZhWz1niCB8iwxCp9C0Y6Pu3ZU_fBpvaAqjqs0fMcN6eHNzkdOpBoU/s320/wren_study_2a.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Carolina Wren, Study II" 10" x 7" Watercolor on Paper<br />
<a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/126908" target="_blank">AUCTION: BID NOW</a></td></tr>
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This is the second of the watercolor series of studies I am doing from a video I made of a Carolina Wren at my bird feeder. The<a href="http://www.oneartistsjourney.blogspot.com/2013/04/carolina-wren-beginning-of-series.html" target="_blank"> first study</a> was done before the greens filled out in my woods. This study shows the wren in an environment of spring greens.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-21915396702207155572013-04-19T11:08:00.001-04:002013-04-20T07:59:23.072-04:00Carolina Wren: Beginning of a Series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehgfeg0DWD80yzbmhu_e070PKAp4qLCaYQg97SAPLl5AGcRQHmkNZqTVnb4P7Fnb-GULhFP9gRSKFRWyK4xNZPS5z7zLmLDLvTHA0mLNza4e0Ma59i_rSgcpBST_gzp8AF_htH-Kqtrg/s1600/wren_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhehgfeg0DWD80yzbmhu_e070PKAp4qLCaYQg97SAPLl5AGcRQHmkNZqTVnb4P7Fnb-GULhFP9gRSKFRWyK4xNZPS5z7zLmLDLvTHA0mLNza4e0Ma59i_rSgcpBST_gzp8AF_htH-Kqtrg/s320/wren_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"On Alert" 7" x 10" Watercolor on Paper<br />
$125 plus S/H<br />
<a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/carolina-wren--beginning-of-a-series/136949" target="_blank">PURCHASE NOW</a></td></tr>
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This is the first in a series of studies I'm doing of a Carolina Wren who has been visiting my bird feeder. I was able to shoot a video of this little guy, then capture a number of still frames of his movements. From these stills I have been doing a number of gesture studies.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLZShMCPKaQaAUy1Pp5ldulX6-N7W4T9_PduI7SHqPAFSdujIZ-XbHQfQa4azt1PjUArscYEBpvhC_UnTO6ZUTHSHzLh_EtwOdGijBSs6XurzVh5XwOyh-xMS0RrwEXQJpQvg7dDAvDY/s1600/wren_gesture_1a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJLZShMCPKaQaAUy1Pp5ldulX6-N7W4T9_PduI7SHqPAFSdujIZ-XbHQfQa4azt1PjUArscYEBpvhC_UnTO6ZUTHSHzLh_EtwOdGijBSs6XurzVh5XwOyh-xMS0RrwEXQJpQvg7dDAvDY/s320/wren_gesture_1a.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPP3i7WP2hFaqMasYX2Ct8d_GFRpGNxsMwj2YYhyPEd1K5fbY1zUDhjtjousnaD4IiyQWMsmz6D-dEjU9_4kxMVaq9RL_N_ZN1dHLOS65tu7d5FtSeiBtwMuPs-u326TSsXwHBPbiw7I4/s1600/wren_gesture_2-a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPP3i7WP2hFaqMasYX2Ct8d_GFRpGNxsMwj2YYhyPEd1K5fbY1zUDhjtjousnaD4IiyQWMsmz6D-dEjU9_4kxMVaq9RL_N_ZN1dHLOS65tu7d5FtSeiBtwMuPs-u326TSsXwHBPbiw7I4/s320/wren_gesture_2-a.png" width="247" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQywhtbVVYpjdp3Rk2nHw6Xq9gLXbT09_R3kUsP_8ARxBXyQ6ruVzIlZZmtp6zhaEEPhgRYVmBsXV9B1DX8-5bd23G1UAv0Fh92rNywgrl5VLP3SHqKm8BHmmZKlb0V717fnWNf0fuUD0/s1600/wren_gesture_3a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQywhtbVVYpjdp3Rk2nHw6Xq9gLXbT09_R3kUsP_8ARxBXyQ6ruVzIlZZmtp6zhaEEPhgRYVmBsXV9B1DX8-5bd23G1UAv0Fh92rNywgrl5VLP3SHqKm8BHmmZKlb0V717fnWNf0fuUD0/s320/wren_gesture_3a.png" width="244" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfJcBicM8yjGfJ_rzOa96l4XL-yFmz5PqDZHiXHSdPYWU39BSrC_KJAS1tUX-99pKtcuwQ14PdDEHQV_C5B87LnDh4tAHDjEIuUyPD_mSYkUjjIsqu8v6ciHjXjnzshfZs7_HSOdQ52s/s1600/wren_gesture_4a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfJcBicM8yjGfJ_rzOa96l4XL-yFmz5PqDZHiXHSdPYWU39BSrC_KJAS1tUX-99pKtcuwQ14PdDEHQV_C5B87LnDh4tAHDjEIuUyPD_mSYkUjjIsqu8v6ciHjXjnzshfZs7_HSOdQ52s/s320/wren_gesture_4a.png" width="238" /></a></div>
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What I'm trying to accomplish here is an immediacy with this little bird. I have spent my career focused on the creative process, with my most recent focus being on the way we artists compose our work. Now, I'm giving my attention to pure immediacy: what happens when I respond to my subject without thought, with the only goal being to tune in to how I am responding. Nothing more.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-66998046215309355862013-03-25T07:58:00.003-04:002013-03-25T07:58:59.415-04:00Double Dare<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxv_aYYERLFd6kaqLsWc8S2d3Nvleoh0Nzt4sy_NNCOTb4k2Fg7aNuvF4i6XT4ZcirQBppnGWZebJ9S9RfQy3JZinQI3kTaX6JdYnLJ4kH1uXQvPFXdcq_JDz-o-x56pjyAIQZQ6MzRls/s1600/double-dare_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxv_aYYERLFd6kaqLsWc8S2d3Nvleoh0Nzt4sy_NNCOTb4k2Fg7aNuvF4i6XT4ZcirQBppnGWZebJ9S9RfQy3JZinQI3kTaX6JdYnLJ4kH1uXQvPFXdcq_JDz-o-x56pjyAIQZQ6MzRls/s320/double-dare_small.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Double Dare"<br /> 11" x 8" Watercolor on Paper</td></tr>
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One of the entertainments of early spring is watching male cardinals duke it out. So when I was asked if I'd be willing to do a cardinal commission in watercolor, it was that territorial dance that first entered my mind as I studied their activity in my yard. <br />
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I sat up my camera aimed out my kitchen window and put it in movie mode so that when the cardinals appeared at the bird feeder, I could film their gestures and expressions. It is from these video clips that I compiled this little painting set in my woods where Spring has not yet produced a single leaf bud. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-61850602594411535702013-01-02T08:49:00.000-05:002013-01-02T08:49:25.263-05:00Dancing Light<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3oByJzJSwhp980_GT8CqznJcxU1znhZ9Yfe_CL8Dc0jIRp4kOT1EqBmLUe9YoVLMefPAx5FCPWn4KH0GFAppOV1Jmko8ftj99bDJDanhEgE1ZIRid_5mdCLhGG7piH7I3us4oI1fyASs/s1600/dancing_light-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3oByJzJSwhp980_GT8CqznJcxU1znhZ9Yfe_CL8Dc0jIRp4kOT1EqBmLUe9YoVLMefPAx5FCPWn4KH0GFAppOV1Jmko8ftj99bDJDanhEgE1ZIRid_5mdCLhGG7piH7I3us4oI1fyASs/s400/dancing_light-small.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dancing Light" 13" x 21" Pastel on paper<br />$300</td></tr>
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I finished this painting a couple of weeks before Christmas. It is the fourth in my series of paintings from a canoe trip on the Tugalo River in the fall.<div>
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The images from that trip remain as fresh today as the day I experienced them. During this moment, the surface of the water displayed its own painting, changing moment by moment with the movement of the water's ripples and the subsiding light of a sun setting. Our boat was skirting along the surface of all this, adding its own note to the pulsating motion, becoming a part of a both fleeting and emerging, a dance of light on the water's surface.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-80182705423851237712012-11-24T09:34:00.001-05:002012-11-25T08:13:05.536-05:00Just Before Sundown<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEHMl7G35RqVr3Pk6PkNbwfDhYFjQwdpmNoooAY1EpAIuZYXrSZSvQH4idvO_Y-Q6gDZTA69MM-XhCUd4BcuCvMdlyl1e00xKOtMT7zPLq8IUKZT5rIU7w18292XyJRlxwHyTe_90Shc/s1600/just_after_sundown_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEHMl7G35RqVr3Pk6PkNbwfDhYFjQwdpmNoooAY1EpAIuZYXrSZSvQH4idvO_Y-Q6gDZTA69MM-XhCUd4BcuCvMdlyl1e00xKOtMT7zPLq8IUKZT5rIU7w18292XyJRlxwHyTe_90Shc/s320/just_after_sundown_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Just Before Sundown" 15 x 21 Pastels on Paper $400<br />
<a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/just-before-sundown/103986" target="_blank">BUY</a><br />
To enlarge, click on image</td></tr>
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This is the third painting in my series from a recent canoe trip on the Tugalo River. Heading down river about an hour before sundown, the light was golden, illuminating centuries-old earth striations and exposed roots from several decades ago when trees were cleared to accompany the construction of Lake Hartwell. <br />
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These images stick with me today as fresh as when I was experiencing them.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-80985490290945962222012-11-09T14:10:00.000-05:002013-05-13T12:55:18.865-04:00Once A King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5dymlj7_0YjpOtmjqtWRQSPtlv26A73FTOcJ_SzPteV5nLZvA6UizIK5mQShyX2bBL4q5QMCZVdfYVRvNwSde1WEVT4yJ5bSCDxsicuymvpHXmVroLdngfAWR0aRWTVikwfqmn_ayM4/s1600/once_a_king-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5dymlj7_0YjpOtmjqtWRQSPtlv26A73FTOcJ_SzPteV5nLZvA6UizIK5mQShyX2bBL4q5QMCZVdfYVRvNwSde1WEVT4yJ5bSCDxsicuymvpHXmVroLdngfAWR0aRWTVikwfqmn_ayM4/s320/once_a_king-web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Once A King" 15" x 18" Pastels on Paper<br />
<b>SOLD</b><br />
<i>Click on image for larger version</i></td></tr>
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Until two weeks ago I strongly disliked painting with pastels. Over the years I have taught its techniques to my students, but have not given it the time of day as a medium I could relate to. I have complained about how I dislike the way my fingers feel when touching it even though I enjoy looking at a well crafted pastels painting, I've made a declaration "not for me." Well. That all changed and without any warning.<br />
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Not long ago, I was taken on a delightful canoe trip up the Tugalo River. Lake Hartwell into which the Tugalo flows and from which it takes most of its waters had been drawn down since spring to several feet below the rivers' banks, leaving a desert of lake bed and consequent desertion of boaters and their lake folk, but the river remains a haven for canoe lovers. As we rowed up the river, bare bones of old stumps raising their heads to light, cast breathtaking reflections on the waters. These images along with the old piers of a once covered bridge caught my attention.<br />
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I assumed watercolor was the ideal medium for communicating my impressions, but watercolor wouldn't work. It was as if the images were demanding I reach inside myself for something else. Oil wouldn't work either, so reluctantly, I dug out the pastels and the images began to flow into place, surprising me and all those who know me and the disdain I've spouted forth about the medium all these years.<br />
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"Once A King" is the second painting in this series. And I am a reborn painter, now adding pastels to the painting mediums I love. Imagine that. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-55307705834633891102012-10-27T10:40:00.000-04:002013-05-13T12:56:01.048-04:00Majesty<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQGuMyiLmRDaD_ChqZwFIOP3fK_4NkNqLF0ZiGRtPQSUpoWJvhWY6JB4URz78YUp36mepR3juFNUG25ZJvPC6lAlJi0yGsyiwrFT-4kL4kjjK9FOhMp_o7r0p1YH8AaahjUqtB8CufIM/s1600/tugalo_pier-001_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQGuMyiLmRDaD_ChqZwFIOP3fK_4NkNqLF0ZiGRtPQSUpoWJvhWY6JB4URz78YUp36mepR3juFNUG25ZJvPC6lAlJi0yGsyiwrFT-4kL4kjjK9FOhMp_o7r0p1YH8AaahjUqtB8CufIM/s320/tugalo_pier-001_a.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Majesty" "12 x "14" Pastels on Paper"<br />
SOLD</td></tr>
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The subject for this little painting sits in the Tugalo River, once one of a triumvirate of piers holding a covered bridge whose history reaches back into the mid 1800's. The stones were cut from a quarry nearby. But this painting is not so much about the bridge or even this single pier as it is about the stalwarts we humans abandon, especially in this new world of modernization. It is easier to ditch an old thing than to shore it up and keep it going. We place more value on the market than we do on the seeds that provided the produce.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-18542499519288559702012-09-04T15:37:00.000-04:002012-09-04T17:30:14.445-04:00Thoughts of Lothlorien<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs6Mf8llPwH0pnQx8yEjFv36YYPYrnfVMBCn8XwhFot6a7VmyMUWezNMJxs-f5jUjE0uJzgzurcGoYVWZsvTtd_oCdZL2y1Dx0ar4HOa_BSCq-Lx0aYkS7ME0eLZ8l_M1-n7enAOK7Bc/s1600/thoughts_of_lothlorien_pe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizs6Mf8llPwH0pnQx8yEjFv36YYPYrnfVMBCn8XwhFot6a7VmyMUWezNMJxs-f5jUjE0uJzgzurcGoYVWZsvTtd_oCdZL2y1Dx0ar4HOa_BSCq-Lx0aYkS7ME0eLZ8l_M1-n7enAOK7Bc/s320/thoughts_of_lothlorien_pe.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Thoughts of Lothlorien" 20" x 16"<br />
Oil on Canvas<br />
<a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/thoughts-of-lothlorien/88308" target="_blank">$480 PURCHASE</a></td></tr>
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This painting began because I was drawn to a bright blast of light radiating from a tree on the edge of the riverbank. As the painting progressed, the images Tolkein paints with words describing Lothlorien kept floating in and out of my awareness. <br />
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One problem in painting is finding the right balance between showing the brightness of light without blinding the viewer and making it bright enough in the right places to convey the experince of it. It's very much like getting the right volume with music without blowing out everybody's eardrums, or for a poem, choosing words strong enough without screaming. It's this balancing act, among other challenges, that keeps me fascinated with art. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-87483024044079202862012-08-26T18:47:00.000-04:002012-08-27T10:44:02.790-04:00Golden Light<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnCgvOvBoeGJQHfq8Epa7guR_ohRPJvy-L5hxaPg_7dznmKeKHc51ie5HPnFsHIlKcTSsNplc9h-GGj_9ScAjU9qoYK5Xs4Xhlu5QM2DWbjbBDqhxworOg9xaZ5Ajqw3k9Ep3zLcOxsg/s1600/golden_light_1_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnCgvOvBoeGJQHfq8Epa7guR_ohRPJvy-L5hxaPg_7dznmKeKHc51ie5HPnFsHIlKcTSsNplc9h-GGj_9ScAjU9qoYK5Xs4Xhlu5QM2DWbjbBDqhxworOg9xaZ5Ajqw3k9Ep3zLcOxsg/s320/golden_light_1_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Golden Light" 12" x 16" Oil on Canvas$<br />
$400 <a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/golden-light/86803" target="_blank"> PURCHASE</a><br />
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I began this painting while reading the section of Tolkein's <i>Fellowship of the Ring</i> where Tom Bombidil appears. Tom stole my heart the first time I read the Tolkein trilogy: his oneness with nature, his wisdom, his wholeness of heart and his perpetual singing. When I did the first drawing for the painting, I wrote "Tom Bombidil's song" underneath the drawing. To make the title more inclusive, I called the painting "Golden Light" because this interpretation of the Tallulah river feels to me like the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withywindle" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;" title="Withywindle">Withywindle</a> close to Tom's house where he found his wife, Goldberry.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-64858799830698358982012-08-17T10:14:00.001-04:002012-08-17T18:48:48.901-04:00A Place To Sing<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UcbNfRMe1NYs9N8CvnyNItV19EZacgIYkfhMwH7vM00gIjVKwkA0F-jlR5crSIslHsUqGeIlh2aL6Jnd_3P45f7VQL6W5tEHD6Df_aJJYMzJZrWWMRFW0LOS_Op2PhuDiVoBi7wjCas/s1600/a_place_to_sing-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UcbNfRMe1NYs9N8CvnyNItV19EZacgIYkfhMwH7vM00gIjVKwkA0F-jlR5crSIslHsUqGeIlh2aL6Jnd_3P45f7VQL6W5tEHD6Df_aJJYMzJZrWWMRFW0LOS_Op2PhuDiVoBi7wjCas/s320/a_place_to_sing-small.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A Place To Sing" 14" x 18" Oil on Canvas<br />
$400 <a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/a-place-to-sing/85172" target="_blank"> PURCHASE</a></td></tr>
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After just having finished <i>The Hobbit</i>, I am reading again Tolkein's Trilogy, <i>Lord of the Rings</i>. One thing that endears me to the hobbits, dwarves and elves is their love for singing. Even when not singing, the hobbits will often hum to themselves, especially late in the evening on their way back from a stroll.<br />
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This new painting is about music as much as it is about anything else. The scene is a tiny piece of my beloved Tallulah River, but on that day I was sharing this place with very special friends who are themselves musicians as well as kindred spirits. We--not unlike the hobbits traveling away from their familiar homes to unfamiliar lands, feeling a bit vulnerable, but determined to make their journey--can always find a place to sing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-87890645636768866662012-08-09T12:00:00.000-04:002012-08-10T06:33:33.191-04:00Tallulah's Early Spring<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0cnOElUSp_K8muCXoZsdg3AJz5Kpzf1MxSeGZHo52rBwovGXTX9Yu7105F9fQpAc1gRDe7STRGXauezjJUphbtEEMmk6DGhaTtQOuGvfQFInztj6jqgeEES6fgXvO0-1dt4otaSw7pI/s1600/tallulahs_early_spring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0cnOElUSp_K8muCXoZsdg3AJz5Kpzf1MxSeGZHo52rBwovGXTX9Yu7105F9fQpAc1gRDe7STRGXauezjJUphbtEEMmk6DGhaTtQOuGvfQFInztj6jqgeEES6fgXvO0-1dt4otaSw7pI/s320/tallulahs_early_spring.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Tallulah's Early Spring" 16" x 20" $400 <a href="http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/dianne-mize/tallulahs-early-spring/83881" target="_blank">Purchase</a></td></tr>
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So where is our focus when we're painting?<br />
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I am convinced that it is the peripheral thoughts that give the painting its spirit. Whatever pulled us to the subject in the first place will guide us throughout the painting if we don't allow our minds to wonder away. <br />
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What led me to do this painting was the feeling of renewal I experienced standing on the edge of the upper Tallulah River in the spring, at just the time when the foliage was getting ready to burst forth. Light on the water was dazzling and the water's sound was unusually musical. The fact that it spoke to me was all I needed.<br />
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Modern colleges and universities focus on the conceptual, concerned more about their students belonging to the modern age of expression where it is more important to reflect a culture than it is to listen to one's inner voice. What worries me about that is how many students swallow that philosophy rather than question its validity, thus shutting out their own uniqueness. One's inner voice should never be muted, but rather should be provided with skills, techniques and knowledge to enable it to speak clearly. <br />
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I yearn for the day when a thousand university art students can stand on the edge of a riverbank and paint what it speaks to them.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-67773766075827420472012-04-23T14:35:00.001-04:002012-04-23T14:35:34.834-04:00Another Iris Study<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXmYmwF9MBmHkZMWdh6OFFKW-aX4mgQvGVuxHXQyzwI-OOIe9VvFgpmPlHtvmpwLoYPx1jg-0_myTrmRwrc4fujN5tDUHiMBuEVeUboMlsXIGiZ1avz8oqc8BLBXnzOCdYDKE5Jf9EAM/s1600/another_iris_study-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyXmYmwF9MBmHkZMWdh6OFFKW-aX4mgQvGVuxHXQyzwI-OOIe9VvFgpmPlHtvmpwLoYPx1jg-0_myTrmRwrc4fujN5tDUHiMBuEVeUboMlsXIGiZ1avz8oqc8BLBXnzOCdYDKE5Jf9EAM/s320/another_iris_study-small.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Another Iris Study" 7" x 5" Oil</td></tr>
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I caught my one blooming iris in sunlight, so just had to do another study of it. <br />
Of all the flowers nature gives us, the iris is one that since childhood has continued to capture my attention. So even though most of the yard is in shade, it's the one flowering plant I get excited about during the spring months. This one ended up producing three flowers even though it was the only plant that bloomed this year. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1775598742340973997.post-69723844757342898532012-04-21T14:37:00.001-04:002012-08-27T10:45:58.060-04:00Iris Study<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTvC2aIiOGg9ptqlJ5L9I_Z2nduC2KUDSHka-halum8MI4oiu_E0empTKmHaIpL8EwLf2NLuYFr33crcDg8h2y9emKlyURC1rCnXSbsVm7MMiinOz60bulSwy1jTHL22fiiHuUOXCWrc/s1600/iris_study-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTvC2aIiOGg9ptqlJ5L9I_Z2nduC2KUDSHka-halum8MI4oiu_E0empTKmHaIpL8EwLf2NLuYFr33crcDg8h2y9emKlyURC1rCnXSbsVm7MMiinOz60bulSwy1jTHL22fiiHuUOXCWrc/s320/iris_study-small.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Iris Study: 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas Panel<br />
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I have a fairly large bed of bearded irises, but this spring only one bloomed. I caught this view of it late in the afternoon just as the sun was setting. It's amazing how much light is left at dusk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1