art and memories

shaggy forest study, 8.5 x 4 inches, cps on sanded pastel paper, copyright Teresa Mallen

I really like how memories can be triggered by a song, or the smell of a certain dish cooking or even art. This little study triggers a specific time and mood memory for me.

 

The time was early last December and my mood was playful and indulgent. I had just worked my fanny off preparing for a Studio Tour, held the last week of November. I had spent a week moving studio furniture, putting all sorts of stuff away, got my display grid walls up, my art that was for sale unpacked and hung, Paypal buttons set for all of the items so that I could accept credit card payment easily, etc. etc.

 

Following this week of preparation, plus two days of smiling until my mouth was sore and talking about and demonstrating cp techniques until my brain felt scrambled - well I was cooked.

 

I remember the effort it took to put my studio back into a working studio setup, versus a gallery. Art was packed up, grid walls stored away, the floors mopped...

 

And then I found myself wandering around the studio, feeling lost, unable to even think of working on something 'real'.

 

I decided to play. I got a small section of olive coloured pastel paper (the sanded, toothy stuff). I grabbed my pencils and I quickly started creating a shaggy forest. :-)

 

Alright, so I don't name my work for sale in quite such goofy terms but seriously the shrubs in this quick bit of fluff makes me think of a shaggy animal's coat, like a long haired yak, you know the gorgeous beast that people get fiber from for spinning?!!?

 

So plain and simple, this was a joyous, recovery piece. Nothing serious, no lengthy time considering perspective and composition or, or, or anything. Just lots of fun stroking down lines of colour.

 

Every time I come across this little study, I quickly get hit with the memories of that week following the Tour weekend and how I really needed to mess about and do something freeing and fun. No expectations, it didn't have to be 'good' or worthy of framing or something someone would buy. I get a warm, positive feeling when I look at it. Maybe I should leave it out so I can remember to connect with the shaggy side of me. :-)

 

What art memories do you have? 



wrapping up the explorations...

I think I am done hauling out wee explorations for show and tell. I am working on some new stuff and I will show you that in the days to come.

The above small study is one I rather like (3" x 4", cps on Colourfix paper). Yes there are a few things that need tweaking but as a quick, improvisational piece it worked for me. Some day I might create a larger image using this study as inspiration.

When we moved here, I was thrilled to discover that we had so many varieties of flowering shrubs and trees. The honeymoon is over. While I am still thrilled to enjoy the beauty and the scent of the blossoms, it is the reality of maintenance that is hitting us. Shrubs keep on growing until they are unruly, seriously unruly. We spent the past weekend cutting back shrubs that have become bushy trees!!!! Maybe buying a property from people who were retired and enjoyed gardening wasn't such a great idea. :-)  Every summer the weeds and overgrowth get ahead of us. One of the many reasons I like winter. LOL

more exploring...

Wine Glass Trees, 4"x 3", coloured pencil on Colourfix paper
copyright Teresa Mallen

 

Here are two more examples of my 'exploring' adventures from recent months...the one above is a small study that started off with some stylized trees. The trees eventually ended up looking like wine glasses. I am wondering if the fact that I like to take a glass of wine to the studio some afternoons, might not have had some influence here?!

My husband has been making wine in recent years. He has a grape crusher and a wine press and in the fall he lines up at a shop with the elderly Italian men in Ottawa's 'Little Italy', to buy the variety of grapes he has chosen. This means we have lots of tasty, inexpensive wine readily available!  Oh and my husband is not an elderly Italian gentleman, in case it read that way... :-)

 

 

 

The work above is very small, just 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches. It is a bright and  fanciful landscape and I completed several others in a similar fashion. Some got downright garish!

 

tree advice wanted

autumn marsh study, 4" x 5", coloured pencil on colourfix paper
copyright Teresa Mallen

I love pastel landscapes...yet oddly enough I have never explored doing landscapes of my own, in cps of course, until recently. Here is a little something I did this winter. I can see things I will tweak someday but my main goal was to get in and out quickly, to suggest movement and to delight in the autumn colours. As a lover of detail, getting in and out quickly takes getting used to but I have really started to like the process.



old apple tree in our backyard

As the title of the post states, I am looking for some tree advice. If you have a fruit tree variety that you simply love, please let me know. Our small farm has some old apple trees on it and a terrific chestnut tree. Since moving here, we have planted a small apple orchard as well as pear and plum trees. Ah, but there is room for more! :-)

I was at a garden center a couple of days ago and I was delighted to see that they have a very good selection of fruit trees. I was quickly overwhelmed by all of the lovely choices. I would like to plant more fruit trees but I would like to get some help on this. I am looking for something that bears fruit that is truly good to eat. So if you have a favourite cherry or pear tree variety or whatever, that you would like to recommend, please leave a comment. If you don't wish to leave a comment here, you can email me at: teresa at teresamallenstudio dot com (of course exchange at and dot for symbols and leave out the spaces). Thanks!

We received cold weather just after the apple blossoms opened. I am hoping there were a few days that were warm enough for the bees to do their pollinating business. If they did, this year will be a great year for the apple harvest.