Clay Pots

Clay Pots   watercolor   19.5 x 11

are truly a sign of the season.  There are glazed pots, hand-painted pots, and  plastic pots (yuck). Clay pots and their patinas of absorbed minerals, water lines, irregularities, chips and fractures hold the most interest for me.  From the earth.  Sublime beauty that allows the plants within to take center stage.  This time of year, true gardeners (not myself) line up to purchase the most beautiful, rarest and healthiest varieties of plants.  Recently, I have even heard of minor scuffles over the highly-desired varieties, from gardeners who must must must have that particular plant....mine, mine, mine....all mine. 

Clay Pots was painted in transparent watercolor.  The background was painted with a gouache and watercolor mix.  I love the juxtaposition of transparency:  opacity.  I also love stacks of things.

Clay Pots celebrates the glory of early summer and the inherent promise of beauty within.

Fill.  Nurture.  Watch expectantly.  Enjoy.

Stacks of Things

Clay Pots   watercolor/paper   19.5 x 11

intrigue me...they are vertical, yet precarious, perhaps a symbol, for me, of the human condition.  One artist in my painting class, in a search for self-definition, has declared her love of the effects of light.  That is, for most artists, the common, yet difficult, quest.  Light creates beautiful patterns on our subjects, as well as transient warm to cool transitions.  I, too, love those patterns as they help to define the planes of my subject matter.  But there I must draw the line, as my love of the more simple shapes and the abstract-ness of my picture plane takes precedence.  For this work, I photographed my subject matter in strong light on my patio from several angles, then selected the one that thrilled me the most.  Clay pots hold great interest for me...we use them.  They crack and break.  We use bits and pieces of them in the bottoms of new plants.  They are weathered and imperfect.

Ah, yes, a metaphor for the human condition.

Clay Pots.