Two Minds see Differently

It is true, two minds see differently – This series is from a painting course I taught. It was a series of paintings that not only challenged the student but even more the teacher.

How do you describe a subconscious event to a student? I taught her less how to paint and more how to see and describe a scene subconsciously.

First we must understand the left side of the brain. If we were to see every image with the right side, we would be overwhelmed with details and intricacies of color, tone and dimension.

The left brain takes a convenient snapshot of our surroundings, it fills in gaps and gives us an impression. When we create with the left side of our brain, it tends to guess on certain aspects of the image.

An example of this is a drop of water, the left leaning eye will assume principles of what it sees as a droplet of water and miss the subtle details of what truly makes a drop of water look like a drop of water.

The left brain is logical but because it simplifies the view of the world, it can often exaggerate what we are trying to describe.

The right side is more refining of reality, it sees and explains in an often unexpected way with details that are both subtle and intangible.

All I have learned about creating an image of water or the night sky is from studying the initial view and flattening the concept into an image that creates an illusion of space through cues on a flat plane and convergent lines that explain a space on a two dimensional format.

Sounds very complicated, but it is seeing the world, once with the eye and than second with the mind of why the image appears as it does. The initial logical view is delayed and the subconscious describes all the nuances that create depth and explain space. 

Half of experiencing a beautiful scene is the mind realizing it is in a great space. To convert a great space to a two dimensional field takes cues that can describe to the logical mind that there is space when the brain realizes it is seeing a flat image.

It is the illusion of capturing reality and describing it in a visual language with multiple techniques that prove there is space, when there is none. Next in the series, techniques of showing distance.

A love of passionvine – I am in the process of creating a new series of notecards and possibly other products depending on the response.

I am officially a collector of passion vines-in the process of growing them from seed, maintaining a collection of 15 different varieties and learning what species can propagate from clippings.

What’s New with Artbygordon – Size Does Matter: I have painted small recently with the idea that I could get more accomplished but I usually envision paintings that are larger and the drama for me is better on a larger canvas.

Self-Hanging: I’m moving away from the standard thin canvas that needs to be framed. I prefer the larger 1.5 width canvases that mount themselves with the edges painted dark blue or brighter depending on the painting.

Not saying I’ll never use the thinner canvases just for now I prefer the higher profile canvases.

Immediate Satisfaction: In the past, a series was always a very long process. I would think about it for a year or so, sketch it out and let that set for a few years than one day I would start and that canvas would sit on the wall for the next year.

I have a short list of paintings and plan on clearing them out as quickly as I can. Not to get them done, instead to capture the immediacy of the initial feeling that inspired me to paint in the first place.

Paintings on the List: The rain barrel continues to be on the list and has been for probably 30+ years. The mystery of water and the depths of shadows I found in a next door neighbors rain barrel back before we were afraid of mosquitoes. It will actually be connecting to a current painting of night scenes immersed in nature.

Dragonflies and Rain barrel: This is what this has become-now the series is in the works the dragonflies will be dancing on the surface while green leaves settle on the surface of the rain barrel-ghostly autumn leaves will be rising and falling beneath and the moon will reflect on the surface.

This correction on the rain barrel will add to a series in the works-Lacewings and Plums, Moth and Gecko, Wildflowers and Lightning Bugs and honey bees. I am buying large canvases now as they will be large and magical images of the night.

I want to capture that feeling of evening as a child, where the lightning bugs would rise in the early dusky evening. I have been inspired taking my dog out in the evening of the lacewings dancing and the rich green plums.

Another Series in the Works: This series started a few days ago and I plan on having 4 paintings in the series. The paintings are of sailboats with the richness of light in the distance, other elements are terns-a revamp of a previous the terns painting and a revamp of a very old catamaran pastel.

Gone is the excuse of time, I plan on painting everyday or night and at that painting quickly. The last two paintings I’ve painted have sold in the first week so I’m hoping not to break a streak.

I hope you will enjoy the new series and would love any feedback.

I had the rare privilege to paint haunted houses. I have never been rewarded so much for a volunteer job than working on a small haunted house on highway 544 in Wylie.

I was helping with a non-profit and walked into a haunted house in the process of being created. I was given large brushes and paints and allowed the freedom to paint within some guidelines but with much freedom to be creative.

It first started with Alligators and snakes on a giant black wall. What followed was a life-sized skeleton in a broken down boat, masks on a wall and finally disembodied hands and skulls climbing the wall outside. I even put a scary painting of mine inside on the walls.

My son was just 10 or so and I remember how much fun we would have hanging out for a few hours while I painted. He would explore the rooms and finally we were able to visit when the attraction opened.

I got several call-backs and paying gigs painting for haunts afterwards. One humbling experience was a haunt in Terrel-Thrillvania.

When I was first offered the job, I thought I was the creative with a whole lot of creative ideas to share. I knew they would use all my skills and creativity but what they really needed was a set painter.

I ended up painting doors and hallways, spray-painting a large brain and painting fences with new-aged paints that allowed three dimensional effects.

After I recovered from a bit of humility I learned so much from watching set people paint and create a haunt that was truly spectacular. I learned the trade of painting and doing a lot of the grunt work and actually enjoyed a very hot summer and my son and I got to enjoy the haunt during the next season.

In recent years I have been able to paint on the walls of friends and family and look forward to doing more in the near future.

The first mural was a planter with Passionvine and the most recent is a flock of doves that was actually part of a logo I created for a close friend and colleague.

Nature: Seeking Peace and Calm – Yesterday, I walked along the edge of the garden; still a calming force after many years of observing. There is a quiet sense of calm nature offers so completely. In this often chaotic life it is easy to lose sight of nature and miss the intricacies of its’ healing force.

I was walking the dog. A task I too often treat like a chore instead of a ritual depending on the day. Today it was cool and breezy. The air was fresh from days of rain and everything was very green.

There are three elements in truly enjoying nature for me: Sound, Smell and Sight. 

First, you must completely surrender to silence and eliminate the constant buzz of sound and racing thought.

Silence is not just about sound but that voice in your mind that reminds you of things to do, responsibilities and time constraints.  Today, I used prayer to disrupt the thought and I felt a presence I often overlook.

I listened to mockingbirds and robins with melodic songs balanced with the mournful cries of mourning doves. I watched the light accent the green grass and the fiery blooms of Amaryllis in a neighbor’s front garden.

The next aspect of enjoying nature is the subtle fragrance of flowers that can be very soothing. I noticed Magnolia blooms mingling with jasmine. It is easy to just ignore the senses we take for granted every day.

Fully realizing fragrance can be a soothing and mind altering experience. I am planning on bringing some hanging baskets of lavender and rosemary in an attempt at enjoying their calming properties.

For just the time of walking around a block, I completely immersed in nature, something that is very difficult both with a busy life but even more profound in a state of depression.

Depression keeps you in a state of absence, the only feeling and moods that even distract the feeling are chaos and frustration. Instead of experiencing nature and calm-we feel only the disruption of a state of numb that manifest as agitation.

Suffering from situational depression, the garden was my only escape, my only calm. The frightening aspect of chemical depression is the inability to feel anything, to be present, to react to that which would normally soothe.

This recent state has been very difficult for me to overcome. The problem is feeling in between lives and states of being. There is a mix of situational as my son grows up and I have to find a new purpose and direction, unfortunately there is an aspect of the chemically induced state as well.

Later in the afternoon, I watch the last rays of sun highlight the colors and richness of blooms in my garden. Again, I feel that state of calm and peace, often it is something we need to work at, to strive for getting out of our daily treadmill and find something that has always been available.

My strength and healing comes from nature-others might find it in other places. How do you find peace? What is your source of renewal? I would love to see your comments.

New Approach to Pastel – In the last few months I’ve been developing a style which I’ve never actually adopted before. It is very loose and quite quick-sketches of animal portraits and inevitably people.

In the past I would always avoid the portrait but the discipline and eye for proportion has only recently gelled. Instead of sketching on a board with an outline, I work up the whole composition from nothing to the final.

I have enjoyed a totally different feeling of creating than painting or previous pastels, it is a sort of discipline where you watch as proportion and scale work together to fill a plane.

In the past many of the images would go south as the logical mind would fill in the gaps of what is really there. A new disciplined approach to these images is not only an enjoyable departure from recent images based on mood but it is also quite relaxing.

I am excited to see how each image develops faster than the previous as my skill in seeing and rendering have improved. I hope to bring much of the discipline to the new paintings I”m working on.

Belgians Of Ennis Texas: – Not far from the Sugar Ridge Winery, surrounded by fields of fragrant bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes is a Belgian Horse Farm. A ride to see the bluebonnet trails of Ennis is not complete without stopping by to visit them.

I don’t like the word awesome but these horses are the epitome of awesome. Their size and stature, with grace and poise makes one feel a bit awkward being just human.

Two of them came to the fence while a mother and daughter feed them. The larger one I remembered from my previous visit. On this visit there were four of them and a donkey.

I hope you like the images, feel free to leave a comment. Every time I see them, I’m more impressed.

Seeing as A Child – Yesterday I went to the Discovery Gardens at Fair Park in Dallas for a plant sale. A regular trip I take where I find more plants than I need and buy more than I should…it’s a passion and a business.

Plants are part of my creative outlet and this year I am planning something great, that may change as the summer heats up but for now I am planning the best wildlife garden I’ve ever created.

I will be using many of the plants from the previous year as well as filling in the gaps with more host plants. I will have no shortage of milkweed this year and I hope the Monarchs and Queens will appreciate my labor.

I spoke with a fellow gardener yesterday and we discussed the extraordinary life and how uncomfortable but beautiful it is to break away from standards of the norm. She mentioned a book called finding your why by Simon Sinek. I am very interested in reading this book as it will add to expanding my own sense of purpose.

The latitude of an individual’s why is so diverse but we all have that need to see life outside our normal expectations and that is a common theme I”m finding.

So how do we see through the eyes of a child after logic and age has dictated our path. I believe getting back to what made us smile, got us excited-we lose a lot of this thought process when raise our own kids as it’s not about you, it’s about them.

Now as my life finds its new and exciting path, I find myself starting another wildlife garden, choosing the colors to add, the weeds to control and what wild vine to just let grow. I told the women I spoke with about the fact that if you are patient and aware, your purpose and joy will show itself and I truly believe this.

My purpose and joy is in nature and that’s what moves me more than anything. I am excited to see where all of my labor takes me. Listen to strangers, they will give you great wisdoms and show just a bit of light on your own journey and together you might discover the extraordinary life.

Spring 2019: A Garden – Spring is time for a new chapter that I’ve been avoiding. You watch the joy of your life grow like a seed you’ve planted, it grows away from you and it’s good. As my son goes off to the army this gardener is out of a job.

My purpose has always been deeply grounded in art and nature. I raised two sons to respect nature and enjoy all its treasured moments. With my oldest son we would go fly-fishing and go on travels, with my youngest it was kayaking and fishing of which I learned more than I taught.

In recent years I have learned more about plants as I build wildlife gardens, all the blooms and plants are native and used for local wildlife. I choose host plants and nectar plants that grow with little water or care. 

I have counted more than 50 bird species and almost as many butterfly and moth species: the gardens are working. It is a great feeling to build something and watch wildlife come.

This year, the garden will be much of what grew last year. I am allowing the winners from the previous year to grow even stronger roots and adding complementary plants such as more milkweeds, dutchman’s pipe and herbs. 

I’m going to show the different stages as the garden starts from scrubby overgrown mess to a bit more controlled. It is important for me to show how to maintain a wildlife garden that doesn’t drive the neighbors mad that’s the new idea this year.

I always find a metaphor in nature and especially gardening. I am finding a new path, choosing order over chaos, discipline over disorder and I’m excited about writing, photographing and describing the process. 

If my son can go and learn discipline and structure, I am inspired that I can do the same. Wish me luck.

Gardening and Raising Children – There’s a little bit of selfishness in all of us but it’s something that gets a bit complicated when raising kids. Who wants to feel like they are not needed anymore? No one of course, but letting a child go and live his or her life is the epitome of becoming a bit more irrelevant.

There is a great pride a parent takes in watching our words, motions and even our facial expressions reflected in this wonderful person who we’ve watched grow from a helpless infant to a confident adult.

I am having great difficulty finding my own purpose as I watch my son find his. I feel like an actor whose whole life has been a television series: a comedy, a drama, and a love story. So what’s left of this actor?

All my talents and ideas seem raw and ready for me to see the next path that I’m supposed to take but I’m feeling a lot of melancholy looking back. I am happy to say I savored every moment like it was the most incredible buffet but it went so fast, to ever be able to fully enjoy it, I find myself looking back through pages, reading the beginning, not questioning or fretting just reflecting.

I started this post while tending to an overgrown winter garden, a canvas of sorts, much like the children we raise. I watch the same story unfold as nature gives us all the inspiration we need to live extraordinary lives.

Selfishness is a common trait in the garden as well as our lives. You watch the weeds that bind other plants, clutter and block the light; the sunflower even disperses a chemical with its seeds that stops other seeds from germinating.

I am the mediator, I go in and remove obstacles, plant the garden the way I see fit but in the end, it grows to be its own despite the gardener. 

The child grows out of the garden, out of all our ideas, ideals and expectations. They become adults despite us, they find their path and their place in this world. We can remove some of the obstacles but the main goal for any parent is to raise their child to find their own garden. 

We are all selfish gardeners, planting seeds, fertilizing soil and loving every bit of the flowers we are lucky to enjoy.