October Paintings and a Bit of Life

Bedroom With Starry Walls
acrylic on wood
sold

 October was a beautiful month in Kansas.  There was a nice mix of warm and cool days, and I spent as much time outside as I possibly could taking long walks in various local parks, sitting on the porch sipping coffee, sketching at the Botanical Garden and on my own patio in the evenings.  It has been a month full of activities and time spent with family and friends either in person or virtually.  Life is good.

Hammock
acrylic on wood
available on Etsy

There is Beauty in Fading
acrylic on wood
available on Etsy

detail

After spending time at the botanical garden, I am even more fascinated by spent flowers and leaves.  There is a beautiful elegance in the way they curl and their faded color.  I tried to add this fascination in the above painting.

Morning Light
acrylic on wood
(sold)

Mornings are spent inside now, cuddled beneath a fuzzy blanket with a cup of coffee and Hurley at my feet, and sometimes Mitsou in my lap.  Peet does his own thing pretty much all day.  He's earned the right to in his 17th year as a cat. 

Serve
acrylic on wood
available on Etsy

As I scroll through the pictures on my phone I am reminded of all the wonderful things that happened this month.  I took the initiative to get really active with all the events and places my city and beyond has to offer.  Trying new food, exploring museums, gardens, shops.  I went where I could, when I could and it filled my heart and inspired me so much.  I get in a rut sometimes, and exploring my own area always does the trick to pull me out of it. 

Bartlett Arboretum
My first visit to this beautiful place.

One of the events I attended was a symphony concert in a small town nearby.  I was telling my son, who is a musician that it would be great to find a podcast that discusses specific pieces of classical music for people who want to know more of the history about it.  Of course in this world there IS one that exists and I found just the perfect one in my search.  It is called Classical Classroom , and Dacia Clay does a wonderful job interviewing different musicians, directors and such about various topics, pieces of music, composers and instruments.  It is really educational and so interesting.  I started with episode 72 about Beethoven's Fifth.  Eye-opening!

Until next time!

Lisa

The Humidity in Kansas and Some New Paintings

 

Home is Comforting
mixed media on wood 11x14 inch
available here

I have been painting quite a bit, but I am a little bit delayed in posting anything because the humidity in Kansas has been so high.  It feels like a very long time from the time I finish a painting to the time it is dry enough to handle.  I am not complaining though.  We need the moisture and everything is so green right now.

Who Rescued Who?
oil on wood 11x14 inch
available here

This one changed colors so many times before it seemed to finally settle in with this vibrant palette.  I felt inspired by so many things subconsciously with this one...a love of dogs, people I know who have rescue dogs, a love of boats and water, and Monet's water lily paintings - I think.

We have been back in Kansas one year as of today.  With Covid, time seems so distorted.  Somehow, even with the pandemic I have found some rhythm with painting and living.  I am grateful for that. 

Until next time...

A Video Review of the Good Things in 2020

 

2020 was a life shaking year for everyone on earth. It will never be forgotten. And personally, in both my art and my life, it brought many changes. The biggest change was the move my husband and I made back to Kansas after living in Colorado for just over two years. Our landscape went from mountains to gentle rivers. It was with some reluctance that we left that majestic landscape, but we are home and in this season it feels right. In this video there is a chronological view of 2020. Highlights and day to day life throughout the year are sprinkled with the changes in seasons and landscapes, and of course my paintings are here.

Here's to a better year in 2021 for all of us.

Blessings,

Lisa

Paintings and Back in Kansas

 

Camping Under Trees
oil on cradled wood 9x12 inch

I have heard that campgrounds are full and campers and RV rentals are booked solid.  It is no surprise with Covid.  So for now I will go camping with my imagination.  

We have moved back to Kansas and it has been wonderful to be with family again.  This is my son and daughter in-law on a warm and muggy evening.  We were taking their photograph for their piano studio website and we were melting and fighting mosquitoes.  I had forgotten about those.  There are no bugs in Colorado if you can believe.

River With Fish and Geese
oil on canvas 10x8 inch

Since we have moved back, I am finding a lot of inspiration in the gentle river landscape and in the neighborhood we are renting in.  I am still selling by paintings on Etsy under Lisa Graham Art.  Even with Covid,  people are still buying art and I am so grateful that many of my paintings have been finding homes.  If you want to see my current paintings the link is HERE . 

Riverside Duplex
oil on cradled wood 12x9 inch

Boat Dog With Girl 
oil on cradled wood

Last winter I was asked to do an interview for Colorado Homes and Lifestyles magazine, then Covid happened and things were delayed.  They caught me almost literally going out the door...chaos and boxes everywhere, ready for our move back to Kansas, but it was a delightful photo shoot and phone interview.  I am not very comfortable being in the spotlight like that, but they made me feel at ease.  What an honor it was to be asked.

Well I am off to paint.  Stay happy and healthy.

Lisa

Coffee Painting, Colorado Winters and Shrike

Still Life With Stone Setting
oil on paper 7 x 5 inch
available here

You could say coffee and still life are the themes this month.  I joked about naming the painting below  "Ugly Mug", but I went with a different name to keep it on the positive.  Poor little mug.

Mug With Circle Handle
oil on linen panel 4 x 6 inch
available here

 Of course there has to be figures too when I paint.  I am not sure I will ever stop painting them.

Brew
oil on paper 9 x 12 inch
available here

Here is a recent shot of my art studio.  It is a loft area at our house.  It has lots of southern light.  My poor guitar just sits there.  I quit lessons some time ago when I started working two jobs and would much rather paint in my spare time.  Learning an instrument is a bit comittment, but maybe I will pick it up again some day.

It has been a snowy winter here in Colorado.  I am getting my exercise for sure with all the shoveling.  Our bird feeders are quite busy.  At the Wild Birds store I work at people complain about the squirrels eating all their bird food.  We even sell foods with hot pepper in them to deter the squirrels.  They don't like the taste, but the birds can't taste it.  I don't really mind the squirrels, they have to eat too.

We also have these magnificent Magpies here in Colorado.  They are a large intelligent bird said to know how to mimic sounds.  I have never heard them do that though.  People also complain about these birds because they bully smaller birds at the feeders.  Our Magpies are nice, they don't misbehave.

Another Colorado bird I have really enjoyed seeing is the Northern Flicker.  It is a woodpecker and it has the most beautiful markings and color.  They are fun to watch at the feeders, hanging upside down and such.  How in the world they can eat that way is beyond me.

The trees behind our house often look like this - full of birds.  It is such a joy for me to watch them and photograph them.

Speaking of birds, I am obsessed with this song by Hozier.  He learned about a bird called a Shrike, which is actually a kind of vicious bird.  After hearing about the Shrike, he felt inspired to write a song about heartbreak.  It is such a beautiful and almost haunting song though and I will leave you with this video of him performing it.  Enjoy.

Until next time.  Take care.

2019 Slideshow Video

Lisa Graham Art 

2019

Hi everyone!  I took some time and created a slide show with music reviewing all my paintings in 2019.  I used to make these videos every year, but somehow got out of the habit.  I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you for following my art!

Happy 2020!

Art on the Mesa Art Show

My wall at the Gold Hills Mesa Community Center

The Art on the Mesa Art Exhibit at the Gold Hills Mesa Community Center in Colorado Springs opened on Thursday February 7 and it was a great night.  A lot of people braved the cold and dark to come out and see the show.  I was so happy to be feeling up to it as I had oral surgery that turned out to be more extensive than I thought and it had been a rough couple of weeks.  This is my first time showing publicly in Colorado since moving here last April.

I took very few photos during the evening because I was so busy visiting, but I did get some of the beautiful venue the day we hung the show which are shown below.   It was a joint show with artists Phyllis Davis and Lelia Davis (mother and daughter in-law), and I have really loved getting to know them a little more.  The show was curated by artist Carol Naylor who teaches watercolor batik.  Phyllis, Lelia and I plan to take her class which we hear is an absolute blast.

Lelia Davis' work, hanging in progress

Phylis Davis

The views at the community center are spectacular.

I loved the comments I received during the evening.  Words like "unique", "primitive", and "story telling" were said repetitively.  For any painter, it is always encouraging when people respond to your work and take the time to study the paintings.  At this showing, people seem to like my interior paintings the best, which I am standing in front of.  (You can see them in the first photo of this post).  There were also a several that questioned the meaning behind They Have Come to Bring Us Spring and I was pleased to know that most had guessed it correctly. 

The show will be hanging until May 1, so if you find yourself in Colorado Springs you can check it out.  It is free and open to the public.

 Gold Hills Mesa Community Center
142 S. Raven Mine Road

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

Geese and Downy Pillows

Geese and Downy Pillows
oil on canvas 11 x 14 inch

I am so happy this one is finished.  It was a little more involved than the alpacas and the cows.  As I look at this I can see that the Arkansas River in Kansas inspired this.  I took many walks along that river.  People complain about the mess that geese leave everywhere and it's true it can be a big fat mess, but it always washes away with the rain eventually. 

Lately I have been really enjoying John Dalton's podcast Gently Does It.  The interviews are often very informative and inspiring.  You can see a list of all his episodes here.   I was excited to see so many artists on there that I have admired and followed for years...Andrea Kowch, Brad Kunkle, Katie O'Hagan, Zoey Frank, David Kassan and Ali Cavanaugh. All of them are realist painters which I have always been facinated with even though I have no desire to paint realistically.   I really enjoyed learning about Jane Filer and looking at her fun, colorful, intuitive style..what an inspiring human being she is, so much joyful energy.  Now I want to attend one of her openings and dance around in one of her heads!

This week I watched the documentary called Everybody Knows Elizabeth Murray.  She paved some new ground as an artist and was really up against some odds.  I thought her story was very moving.  Here's the trailer.  I rented mine on Amazon, but it may be available elsewhere.

Have a great week.

♥ Lisa

Winter Sisters and Their Cat

Winter Sisters and Their Cat
oil on cradled board 5 x 5 inch
available here

I actually started this painting last year and then set it aside and forgot about it until I was picking up my studio recently.  I used an old photo dated 1925 of two little girls unknown to me and I've been calling this series "Past People" portraits.  I love painting them because it feels a little like honoring their memory. I find myself wishing I could somehow look through a window and see the real moment these photos were taken, to understand a little more of who they are and where they lived.  

Now that most photos are digital, don't you wonder what will happen to the memory of us once time marches on?  Fewer of our photos will end of up in a box at some antique store, and what about our blogs?  Our facebooks?  Our own computers where all our photos are stored?  The other day I uploaded 3,000 photos!  What will happen to those in 100 years?  It would be interesting to know, wouldn't it?

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

Night Beach: The Last of the Cape Cod Series

Night Beach
oil on canvas 16 x 20 inch
sold

This is the sixth and last painting in my Cape Cod series.  As I wrote before, I painted the first painting last year which was sold.  All the others were painted this Fall.  I could probably keep going with this, but I think I am ready to paint other ideas.  Maybe I will come back to it.  Maybe not.  I change my mind often, so who knows what will happen.  I've learned not to promise anything because that way the ideas flow more freely.

I can't believe Thursday is Thanksgiving.  We will be traveling back to Kansas to visit our family and friends.  I am really looking forward to it.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all who live here in USA!

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

Kite by the Sea

Kite by the Sea
oil on canvas
12 x 16 inch

Another work in my Cape Cod series.  I will have one more to share and then on to something else.  I have many ideas bouncing around in my mind right now.  With the approaching Season and the beauty of Colorado, it's not hard to find inspiration.  As the weather cools my walks grow more peaceful and thoughts deepen.  Cozy nights listening to classical music or watching a good movie add to my growing list of ideas.  

Until next time,

♥ Lisa

Sister Was Responsible and a Little Peek at Our New Place in Colorado

Sister Was Responsible
mixed media on canvas 16 x 20 inch

It felt great to work on this over the last two weeks and finally finish it.  Boy was it a pain to photograph for some reason.  This photo was actually take with my cell phone!  Would you believe it came out more true to the colors than my fancy camera.  Go figure.  But here it is!

This was painted from a vintage photo of a very serious looking little girl and her what I assume to be younger brother.  It got me thinking about the people I know who often had to look after their younger siblings when they were growing up.  I was the youngest of six, so I have no idea what that is like.  They say your birth order has A LOT to do with the personality you develop and I believe this is true.  Don't you?  Which reminds me of the book The Birth Order.  Have you heard of it?  I have never read it, but it has always interested me.  If I can ever find the time I plan to read it.

Speaking of finding time, I am spending most of my time these days getting to know this new-to-us state.  This is a photo of our neighborhood...a HUGE change from the gentle Kansas landscape and the old tree-lined neighborhood we lived in.  This is Castle Rock and it is very open and more desert-like.  

See that spiky plant?  Desert.  But beautiful for sure.  I think this is a Yucca plant.  Correct me if I am wrong.

I walk this area regularly because I love how quiet it is and it's near our house.  My dog Hurley loves it too.  And yes...that's a New York hat.  I will probably always favor the east coast since I was born there.  :)

I will show you more of Colorado soon! I am going out regularly to photograph this beautiful and lively place we now call home. I would like to get this rusty old blog up and running again if I can find the time and make the effort.  Wish me luck!

Until then...

Have a great weekend!

♥ Lisa

Rest Requires Releasing and the Meaning Behind the Painting

Rest Requires Releasing
oil on paper 16 x 20 inch

It is hard to believe it has been five months since I have posted here, but on the other hand it is not.  At the beginning of the year I was at lunch with several friends and one of them said he would like to kick 2017 in the behind and right on out the door.  My sentiments exactly.  I could not have said it better.  Last year was a rough one.  However, rather than lamenting here on this public space about how hard life can be, I would much rather write about things that bring hopeful thoughts and a spirit of peace because that attitude has always served me better than hanging onto what cannot be changed.  There is so much in life we have no control over and if we accept this, we are much better off.  We can be more productive, we can be more at peace, we can love others better, we can have rest inside our souls, and this is what inspired this painting.

detail

When I was a child, I used to love letting helium balloons go into the sky.  What child didn't, right?  It was always a special thing to be given a helium balloon, and whenever I was given one, I remember I used to worry that it would slip out of my grasp too soon.  I wanted to position myself in just the right place to release it, making sure it would not get caught in a tree, or the sun would not hinder my view of it once I let it go.  I remember the thrill of opening my hand and watching it slowly and quietly float upward, becoming smaller and smaller until it was a tiny speck in the sky and then it would vanish.  In my child's mind it seemed to always carry something from me to some unknown place, to some unknown person, and once that person found the balloon we would be forever connected in some mysterious universal way.

detail

That childhood memory gave me the foundation for the idea of this painting which has been dancing around in my mind for a couple of years.  I was considering making it one of the paintings in my Finding Faith series, but committing to a full blown Faith project seemed really daunting to me at this time.  Getting multiple people together, finding costumes and props, the video, the photos, it was going to require energy I didn't have.  I finally decided to just paint it.

detail

The chairs were an idea that evolved as I worked and they became the symbol of the rest we so need and long for in hard times.  I also thought about how during the bad times in our lives, there can often be something good that is tied to them.  Sometimes bad times can make us more resilient and wise, or make us appreciate life a little more, or live it a little better than before.  Bad times can teach us gratitude for the good and more about WHO we are and WHAT we are about as individual souls.  That is why I painted the balloons in the sky white.

detail

In the closing of the first month in 2018, I still find myself looking back and feeling really sad about all that occurred in 2017, and there are still sad things very present. There are several different "balloons in my grasp" that I am working to let go of and some days are better than others.  Letting go takes time.

detail

The key for me in getting through hard times is recognizing where I have control and where I don't.  And once I sort that out, I am able to let go, and feel more peace.  Restorative rest finally comes.  And even if that rest is only for a day or for an hour, I am grateful for it.

Wishing you peace, joy and love always.  Thanks for reading.

♥Lisa

Little Interiors

Little Blue Kitchen
oil on canvas panel 4 x 6 inch
available here

These small interior paintings were done a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed the challenge of getting all the details in such small spaces.  There is something about tiny interiors paintings that remind me of doll houses filled with tiny furnishings.  I never had a doll house as a child, but I was always fascinated by them when I did see them.

Glow Desk
oil on canvas panel 4 x 6 inch
available here

My fifth painting in the Finding Faith series is underway and going well.  Slow, but well.  As usual, the nice weather, family time, and work is where I am spending my time these days.

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

His and Her Space and a Little About the Next Work in the Faith Project

His and Her Space

oil on canvas panel 4 x 6 inch

available for purchase

In preparation for the next painting in my Finding Faith series, it seemed like a good idea to get out the oils again.  Interior spaces has been the thing and I have completed three very small 4 x 6 inch paintings.  I love the challenge of putting a lot of detail on such a small canvas.  I will share the other two paintings when they are dry.  

Katie and I will be filming the next video this Sunday and I am so excited to be back on this project again.  The other day as I was out on my daily walk, I went through the scenario step by step, trying to organize the video in my mind.  Once I got home, I sat down and jotted down all my ideas with all the variations I could try if any one particular scene didn't work out.  I have to make sure I don't forget anything on the days we shoot the video and photographs, otherwise I would have to call Katie back and try to recreate "the look" we had previously.

The other challenge is actually coming up with stories that flow in a short amount of time and that actually make sense.  I want to keep them simple, but interesting enough to hold attention for 3-5 minutes.  It is not easy to do.

This is the dress for the next project.  I can't wait to paint the patterns on it.

See you soon!

♥ Lisa

Mother's Teapot: The Sketch and the Story That Goes With It.

When I was young, I was playing dodge ball with another young family member inside the house. We were playing near my mother's hutch where she kept her collection of pretty things...breakable pretty things like China plates, her large collection of salt and pepper shakers, and a couple of tea pots. And during one of the throws (our "ball" was a waded piece of paper) my playmate backed violently into the hutch causing the whole thing to tip over. The crash was so tremendous, I'm sure my mother thought that someone had died when she heard the noise, which seemed to last forever.

My playmate and I stood there wide-eyed and aghast over what we had done, waiting for my mother to come flying downstairs screaming "what happened!!!!?" which she did. Needless to say, she was very upset. Nearly everything was broken.

As punishment for about a week after school she made me sit at the dining table and glue her broken collection back together. I successfully reconstructed only a few, many were broken beyond repair, and I would forever have to face my guilt every time I looked at salt and pepper shakers without a match.

This teapot was a survivor on that dreadful day, and I keep it in my kitchen, high on a shelf out of harms way. I was thinking about this memory very recently and thought it was time to paint my mother's pretty pot. It was a favorite of mine and I remember handling it often as a young child admiring it, carefully lifting the lid and placing it back again. There was something about the shape and the flowers that drew me and still does.🌿🌼🌱🌿