Rocks in Moonlight

Kinda exciting to have one's painting show up in the Montreal paper, Le Devoir

The article is in French and talks about the project TimeRaiser who purchased the painting from myself and 19 other Montreal artists.

The paintings are then auctioned off for volunteer hours, not money. I think this is such a fantastic project in that it promotes art and artists while using time instead of money in exchange for the artwork.

So often artists are asked to donate their works to projects like these and so often we do, willingly but how refreshing that TimeRaiser has recognized that artists actually need to be paid money so that

they can continue on with their work. 

Bravo to TimeRaiser for an excellent concept all round!

Posted via email from hollyfriesen's posterous

The Studio in Preparation for The Artist Project

 There is so much going on in my life at the moment, that it threatens to overwhelm me at times but as I enter the studio doors the smell of paint dissolves the fears, worries, concerns and as I begin to paint, images fill my body and replace the chattering squirrel thoughts in my brain. Lately, with much love and concern in my heart for Walt and his current health challenge (as he calls it) , I have been painting from an open heart and letting this love flow into the painting. It is what I call BIG Love, a love inspired by Walt, and by beauty and our collective humanity, a love so large that it envelopes all the petty little worries and fears that gnaw away at my everyday soul. Painting really is like deep prayer for me. It restores, revitalizes and informs me. It is my connection to something much greater than my small self.

 I always seem to paint like a madwoman just before a show, something about that looming deadline that urges me ever forward. I work on multiple canvases at a time, paint pouring out of my brushes like they are on fire! One painting leads to another, sometimes I am painting several from the same palette. The studio is charged with energy as the paintings emerge from the chaos, I discard some and rework others. Now there are only days left and 

slowly a group of paintings presents itself.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from hollyfriesen's posterous

Morning Muse 2

Morning Muse 2 / 48" x 36" / acrylic on panel board 

 

 

 

 

 Having lived in an urban environment for close to four years now I am always surprised by the beauty and silence that envelops me when I return to the woods. As humans we adapt to our surroundings, and the rhythms and textures of Montreal have been integrated into my paintings in spite of my subject matter. The landscape lives on inside me and when I return to the forests it is as though I am entering into the paintings. Like a dream, I am less and less sure of the boundaries between my imagination and the landscape. The inner wilderness and the outer wilderness become one and the same.

 Some details of the textures created using tar gel and modeling paste on the wood panel during the painting process. This new found fascination with texture is partly a reflection of the multi-textured surfaces of the city that I find so endlessly beautiful.

 I find our new urban habitat to be full of life, in the parks, the trees, the waterways. Our natural habitat, the earth has many ways of expressing itself through humanity, animals, plants, sky, air. We need but be still and listen, wherever we are on the planet.

Towards the Within

Towards the Within / 12' x 12" / acrylic on panel board

Today I filled in applications, took a walk, took the subway downtown to proof some postcards, picked up a prescription, went to the post office, made phone calls, answered emails, bought food, did computer stuff... and all the while restless thoughts chattered in my head like a flock of twittering birds. I finally made it to my studio and picked up my brushes; the twittering birds slowly dispersed, my thoughts quieted and I found myself immersed in a palette of grays. Remarkable how paint can settle the mind and open the heart. I don't know how that happens but I couldn't live without it.

The Artist Project in Toronto

I will be participating in The Artist Project 2012 from March 1st to March 4th for those of you in the Toronto area I would love to see you there! Booth #203 If you are interested in complimentary tickets let me know as I receive a few free ones every year and would be happy to let them go on a first come, first serve basis.
From the Forest is a recently published book of some of the paintings that will be on exhibit:

From the Forest by Holly Friesen | Make Your Own Book

Painting up a Storm

Storm / 48" x 48" / acrylic on canvas

These are my favorite months to be in the studio. The holiday festivities are over and there are few interruptions to the flow of my work at this time. One painting seems to lead to another and I love to work on different series at the same time. I am so often surprised by where the paint leads me. For example, I was completely absorbed in some highly textured, hot colored paintings when all of a sudden this piece appeared. I always chuckle to myself when this happens, its as if I am being reminded that it is not really me in charge but the paintings will decide when and what is to appear on the canvas.  At least I have learned to trust that process and follow where I am led. I truly am painting up a storm these days! This was so fun to play with the muted palette and let the tree forms emerge and recede as I applied the layers of paint that veiled them more or less.

Spirals

In many of my paintings I collage in a handmade Japanese paper called "Washi" One of these papers is made with the repeated motif of a spiral. I am often asked about these spirals that appear throughout my paintings. The spiral holds a dynamic, swirling energy for me that expresses the ever-moving, ever-flowing nature of our lives entwined with that of the natural world and all sentient beings.

The spiral is the universal symbol of the life force, both cosmic and microcosmic. Spiral forms are seen in nature from the great galaxies of outer space, to the whirlwind and whirlpools, to coiled serpents or conical seashells, to the tips of the fingers—our finger prints. Modern science has discovered the double helix structure of our DNA, the very basis of every cell of our body. 

The spiral is also an archetype for the spiritual journey, representing spiritual growth.

Unexpected Joy / 30" x 24" / acrylic / 2010