It’s time! It’s time for something new and beautiful. I’ve had it on my mind and finally took the leap!
And voila! Moving the paint around for this piece was so much more thrilling than anything that I have painted before…freeing!
So, you might see more of this from me.
I could never have dreamed this. My dear friend, Aurora Hill, has put my painting on the cover of her new book. I am so honored and surprised by her gift of confidence and esteem for me and my expressive artwork. Thank you, Aurora!
Her book and oracle cards, named Dreamscape Consciousness, are available through her website, https://www.dreamscapeconsciousness.com/book. Read more about it there! And live in the L.O.V.E., the Living Oneness of Vital Energy. Be inspired by it every day.
Aurora teaches a year-long program called Consecrated Personal Mission [CPM], which, by the way, put me back on my own path, as well as dream analysis, workshops, seminars, and retreats. She is also a life coach, minister, and developer of the Gathering Thyme Movement School of Ministry.
You can contact her at gatheringthymemovement@gmail.com
Yes, the Universe loves us and brings us wonder-full surprises.
“Becoming” an 11×14″ oil painting by Christine L. Owens, SOLD
Well over a year ago I began a new journal with my painting “Becoming” on the cover. I haven’t written much in the journal.
Why?
I think it is because “becoming” is such a slow process that it’s been difficult for me to write about it. I am who I am, unique, yet knowing there is more deeply within. And so, the surface doesn’t need changing; it’s the inner workings that need changing, the roots. This kind of “becoming” takes a LONG time to process and change. I firmly believe that the best progress is a slow and careful process, like the skills needed to become a surgeon or a painter. One doesn’t just jump from crayon drawings to a beautiful oil painting. It takes time.
That’s not to say that there haven’t been some surface changes. I am exercising more, eating more nourishing food, avoiding sugar (well, except at Christmas), meditating every day and drinking more water. These are just not exactly what I had in my mind when I started the journal.
My roots are deeply imbedded in the Gaelic culture with ages and ages of mythology and stories, of cultural musts and must nots, angers, resentments, oppression, and aggression. So, I follow one root toward its source and find myself in a rabbit hole. Gasping, I have to turn around and scurry back to the beauty and fresh air of what I have come to know as “my life.”
I am gaining some wisdom in this process, it’s just that I don’t have the words to reveal what I’ve learned. And, so, I paint, not to sell, but to reveal to myself something bubbling up. Perhaps someday there will be another painting that others will understand.
Yeah, it feels like that.
The past weeks have brought many distractions, Covid-19 restrictions and very strong opinions, plus some unbelievable actions. This particular piece was painted prior to the election, but portrays for me the state of my being these last months. Last fall a dear friend asked me to collaborate with her for a book she is writing. I agreed with gusto. Certainly every artist knows that what is inside us WILL come forth whether we wish it to or not. While our title for this painting is “I AM” and signifies the energies we all wield, there is, in hindsight, a significant amount of energy coming into my “space” from others that I AM attempting to shield from my Self.
While I did some consignment paintings for another dear friend, there hasn’t been much painting in my studio since Thanksgiving, I have continued my creative path with multi-cultural textiles that have been calling me since purchasing them on my travels. An artist will find a way home, a way to balance the energies and continue to express in whatever manner possible. I AM happy to say that the brushes and oils are back on the easel! It is still a bit of a rollercoaster ride as winter and restlessness jostle me from highs and lows. But, no worries. Creativity is a powerful tool for finding balance in a world that gets a little wild sometimes.
Photographs are essential for most artists. We see something magical and we want to interpret it in our own way. However hard we try, sometimes that camera just cannot capture the color and sense of wonder that we encountered. Perhaps the angle is just not reachable. Sometimes the light or shading doesn’t help. But with a paintbrush we can create an image full of color and fantasy if that is our path.
My friend, Haunnah, and her daughter grew the most beautiful sunflowers this summer and wanted to preserve the memory to hold the sunshine through the long, gray days of a North Idaho winter. As usual, my cell phone camera and Photoshop weren’t able to get the painted colors correct on the top right sunflower. It is always best to see a painting in person, yes? Nevertheless, the brightness and love of bright, pure colors and the possibility of editing a background and contrast are revealed when the originals are compared to the final paintings. Like magic, nature sings her song in full, fantastical flare.
Thank you, Haunnah, for sharing your magical powers for gardening. My magic is in a paintbrush. Shine on!
Stretching our skills can seem a bit like jumping off of a cliff into a deep ocean. My paintings have been based on my travels and photographs. I do sincerely want to push the boundaries of what I can do with my oils. So, when a friend asked me to help her with some paintings for her book, I jumped, but just into a pool, not an ocean. It turned out to be so much fun that I want to do more, of course. Still, I am not averse to painting beautiful florals to brighten my own spirit and that of my friends and family.
The four paintings are all oils on canvas. All but the top left piece were based on a photograph and painted with my love for intense colors. My friend gave me her ideas for her inspirational card images, we discussed some visuals and, once she approved of my visuals, she gave me free reign. I am happy to say that she loves the final results. And I truly loved the experience!
From top left clockwise, they are titled and sold to her for her upcoming book!
“Perspective” 12″x12″
“Integrate/Release” 12″x12″
“I AM” 12″x12″
“Play” 12″x12″
It’s every artist’s dream: To sell a painting the day it’s finished! Yes, it happened. One of the paintings in my art exhibit sold and the buyer wants it now, so I began another painting to fill the empty space…and now THAT one needs to be replaced. Lucky for me that this new buyer wants a person-to-person delivery in a month or two.
And what a painting it is. I undertook this challenge for three reasons:
Bryan’s father bought it immediately upon receiving a photo in an email. The beach is by his home. My heart breaks every time I think of Bryan, living the last of his days bravely and with good humor. I am happy that it is staying in the family.
“She Carries the World” by Christine L. Owens, 18″x24″ $450.00
At last, the date is arriving: the hanging of my one-woman show. I have been painting all year working towards this showing and am delighted to say that I am ready! Labels, prices and notifications are in the works, but what artist doesn’t relish the day of completion?
The Hayden City Hall, at 8930 N. Government Way, Hayden, Idaho, (208) 209-1082, invited me to show my artwork from October 1st, 2018 through December 28th, 2018! So, I gathered myself and created more colorful work to fill their halls. What an adventure! My blank cards and some jewelry will also be displayed for sale.
Some of my friends and buyers with actual addresses in my book will be getting a postcard of “She Carries the World” as a reminder to visit my Hayden City Hall show. If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the postcard, you can email me at Christine@christineowensart.com. I will send a postcard for as long as they last.
If you don’t live in the area, but are traveling through, please stop by to see the show during regular business hours. I take all major credit cards. You’ll need to ask at the desk for my phone number as the office there cannot take payment.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement! Dreams do come true!
“It’s Complicated” is a 12×12″ oil painting by Christine L. Owens
Artists, have you ever completed a project and found that it perfectly portrayed your current emotional state? Of course you have. Such is not always the result, but at some points in our creative lives the emotional chaos screamed to be released.
As an artist, I tend toward colorful, beautiful and joyful oil paintings. I am currently working towards a one-woman show, so I am painting through some crazy times and finding that the process of painting calms me. Normally, the viewers’ comments are “That is so beautiful!” That may be true of this piece, too, but thorns and psychedelic colors will evoke more questions than simple comments on how pretty it is. “It’s Complicated” does that for me. The colors, the shapes, the contrast make me wonder….
What IS going on in my head? As an observer who doesn’t know me personally, what do YOU think it portrays? Your comments are welcomed. Yes, I’m pretty sure I can handle it.
Faced with a president that I didn’t vote for and daily feeling emotions that are not healthy for my painting style, I decided to try something soft and pastel to soothe my mind and feelings. My friend, Christine Lovejoy, had posted a photo last summer of her peace rose and gave me permission to paint it. Perfect! A peace rose would help me focus on kinder thoughts and an open heart.
Nope, didn’t work out as I thought it would. Yes, my heart opened and out blasted the colors of a passionate mind, not a peaceful mind. When I had finished the painting I did feel better. The brush does not always do what the mind has planned.
The dilemma: edit the painting to be soft and peaceful as planned, or allow it to be what it is? On FIRE! My sister, Lucretia Donahue-Reed, an artist herself, simply said to let it be what it is. And so it is named “Kundalini Fire Rose” and is one of my favorite pieces. I suppose the real dilemma as an artist is allowing the full expression of my spirit, rather than smothering that spirit to fit what others expect. Growth came with a rose.
Chez Christine 
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