Spirit in Nature

spirit (n.) directly from Latin spiritus "a breathing (respiration, and of the wind), breath; breath of a god," hence "inspiration; breath of life," hence "life;" also "disposition, character; high spirit, vigor, courage; pride, arrogance," related to spirare "to breathe."

The word "spirit" has come into my life lately. This happens with words sometimes; they just turn up and keep repeating themselves everywhere. So when I noticed a small sign along the road that said "Spirit in Nature" I made a U-Turn and decided to follow the signs to wherever they might lead me. 

The Triumvirate of Queens

This is the story of how the Three Queens came to be. The thing about painting is that it takes me on fantastical journeys both within and without. I have learned over time that the process seems to understand me better than I understand myself. I learn what I need to know by painting.  I have also learned to trust this process completely, it's a bit like getting in a boat and letting yourself drift with the river flow, being mindful that you don't get caught up in the rapids but also not controlling the boat more then is necessary to not tip over or crash along the way.

Back to the Queens. It all begins when I suddenly see an image amongst the thousands of photos in my studio. This time it was an ancient old oak tree and it suddenly jumped out of the pile of photos, luminous and wanting to be painted. I begin by deciding what size, this tree was insisting on being at least as tall as me so I chose a 60" high canvas. The larger the canvas the more gesture and movement that goes into the painting.

People are always asking me how long it takes to do a painting.

Progress of a Deep Forest Painting

Earth Garden

A new painting that I have been returning to day after day as a sanctuary of peace. A hectic, active outward life is balanced by this eternal inner forest.

Painting on the Floor

 The other day I needed to find a spot to work out the composition of a painting I want to do. I noticed the cardboard on the floor was beckoning me so I sat down and started working out the shapes and colors.

Preview of Tremblant Exhibition

This is the launching of my new store as well as the online preview for the upcoming exhibition at Galerie 806 in Mont-Tremblant, QC which opens December 19th and runs until January 15th, 2014.
This exhibition is a celebration of an amazing year; meeting new people, traveling to new places and discovering the endless potential of this planet to reveal her beauty in new and invigorating ways. I am humbled and awed by the process of painting and the magical, mystery tour it continually takes me on. I feel it to be a great privilege to live this world as a painter. The paints not only guide my heart & hands but opens my eyes to marvels I would never have even noticed were I not stopping and taking the time to look as is necessary when making a painting.

From the Deep Forest

 

 These two paintings are finally complete. I feel as though I have been on a journey deep within the mossy, wooded gardens of my own interiorority which is reflected outward as these silent, thrumming paintings.

Erratic Moment / Deep Forest I, 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas

Resting Ground / Deep Forest II, 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas

Alder Ego

David Paul Bayles is a photographer who explores the tree + the human connection.

He also writes a tree/art blog called Alder Ego which is dedicated to the visual exploration of being human and living with trees. Created from and for the tree within.

"This blog’s mission is to share artworks by a variety of artists, working in a variety of media."

I am honored to have some of my paintings featured there this month:

From the Forest

Stillness

There is a point where in the mystery of existence contradictions meet; where movement is not all movement and stillness is not all stillness; where the idea and the form, the within and the without, are united; where infinite becomes finite, yet not ~ Rabindranath Tagore

  

In the midst of a very full, activity laden day, I encountered stillness at the

side of this small lake. My whole being expanded and became still with the lake.

It was remarkable to feel this enormous stillness as

part of all the movement within me.

 

Time spent steeped in forest spirit
soothes the flesh though soul is bared,
in the stillness is remembrance
of how vast and loved we are.

~J Brehmner

 Gratitude to my friend, Dominique Normand for sharing her stillness of place with me today.

 

Forest Incantation 2

Forest Incantation 2 / 28" x 22" / acrylic on canvas

Every moment of light and dark is a miracle. ~ Walt Whitman

Violent Beauty

Violent Beauty / 24" x 40" / acrylic & mixed media on canvas / 2011

Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels' hierarchies?

and even if one of them pressed me suddenly against his heart:
I would be consumed in that overwhelming existence.
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we are still just able to endure,

and we are so awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.

~Rainer Maria-Rilke

Forest Paintings

Several of the forest paintings done recently and presently hanging in Montreal Exhibition "Painting from Inside the Landscape"

Natura Imaginalis  24" x 30"

 

Breathing 48" x 60"

 

Invest in Gold 24" x 30"

 

Primal Source 24" x 30"

 

Telluric Rhythms 36" x 48" 

 

Posted via email from hollyfriesen's posterous

Painting in Progress

48" x 60" acrylic on panel board

Learning to live comfortably with the unknown. As soon as I slip into a tried and true method or a way of painting that I am comfortable with I also feel boredom. Boredom becomes a barometer of my level of commitment to pushing the boundaries of what I know. It is so easy to just ride on what I have already learned in painting/life (the two are interchangeable) and not push forward to new places, so much more comfortable but alas the painting won't allow this for long. There are times in the studio when I sincerely wish painting wasn't such a damn struggle. I know how hard my whole being is working to silence my ever chattering mind and allow what already exists to emerge unhindered onto the canvas. I need to be present for this, I cannot be lost in thoughts about how am I ever going to survive doing this? How is my daughter doing in school? What am I going to cook for dinner? Will anyone actually like this painting? I must just show up and paint. As soon as I enter the studio, the scent of paint stills these thoughts but I still pace around in circles and fiddle with brushes and tools for a time before I am focused and present enough to approach the canvas with the first tentative strokes of the day, at first there is confusion, struggle, wanting it to look a certain way...and THEN, the magic happens and we start to sing together! I stop resisting, trying to lead, being in control and I follow the paint. Sometimes I am led down scary paths, often imagery from my dreams crops up, I try and just hold onto these images and not think about them. I don't always like what emerges but soon liking or not liking falls away as well and there is just the paint, the colors, the textures, the forms and we dance with each other. As in life, surrender and trust are an implicit part of this process.

Natura Imaginalis

This painting has taken me on an inward journey of the imagination. I have played with the colors, texture, paint, forms endlessly changing and flowing into different solutions. I finally started to carve into the wood to create the lines on the tree trunks which added the final element that I was searching for. Allowing imagination to flow through the forest leaves and blow against the ancient rocks is a magnificent journey of heart and soul. Painting can be like a series of gateways that one explores and feels from within, always pushing up against the unknown, digging from the unconscious and allowing that which surfaces to become color, light, texture and form. Often what emerges is confusing, unclear, sometimes frightening. A huge amount of trust and energy is needed to continue and not quit or give up on the piece. I feel shifts happen within that are beyond verbal expression but a deep satisfied sigh is released when the painting looks back at me and declares that it is finished. My imagination has carried me to where I need to be in this moment and I will let it wander afresh through the hills and forests seeking new adventures.

Rocks, Rivers & Forest Pools

I am back with my beloved rocks again. I take these wild detours away from them and then all of sudden, there they are again! I am so in love with painting rocks! My paint brushes are smoldering from all their use today! Had the music cranked and literally danced my whole body into these paintings. They are side by side and both relatively large canvases so they are a joy to bounce back and forth from. Painting rocks is like building something with my hands. I once built rock walls for my gardens and it is a similar feeling, a feeling of constructing something, almost like sculpture. I collaged Washi paper (handmade japanese paper) here and there to add to the overall texture. I love to watch how the painting takes on a life of it's own and starts telling me what to do! At first I am unsure, full of doubt and just splash some paint on loosely to block in the composition but then all of a sudden the piece starts to speak and I start to dance! I just LOVE to paint when this happens!

Redwood Reverie

Redwood Reverie

Centuries soar up vertical trunks,
rivers of wisdom run through veins.
Even fallen ones emanate a life force
from root balls spun into rosettes
revealing hidden galaxies.
Roots that tapped the ground for rhythms
are torn from earth's breast
and encounter atmosphere.
Air rushes upward
towards cathedral's canopy
where needles spray into open sky,
shattering the sun's rays into a
cascade of splintered light.
Fractured sparkles are
caught by shadow nets
casting intricate patterns
across forest floor.
Columns form a temple
reverberating with silence.
Fusing forms become,
while death decays
into a darkness
of terrifying beauty.
Energy vortex
quietly cleaves
open awareness
with penetrating
presence.