first plein air painting of the year with my totally cool new guerrilla pocket box paint kit. A day of firsts!My first plein air painting of the year AND my first oil painting of the year AND my first use of my sweet, sweet little Geurrilla Painter "Pocket Box" paint...
musings from the studio and beyond ~
dawn chandler’s reflections on art and life. . . .
Dawn Chandler
4.3.14 ~ at long last: my new studio! (and no — it’s not the back of my car….)
First load to my new place: The Essentials.Glory be! Today is the HAPPIEST day I've had this year!After three months of no painting and two months of living in a warren of boxes and chaos, I returned -- FINALLY!! -- to making Art. And in my NEW...
3.2.14 ~ my father’s hand
Cleaning out my studio, I'm taking my time, going through accumulated supplies, stacks of past creations, boxes of old photos and letters and scribbles of poetry and journals and sketchbooks, in an effort to weed out the things that no longer serve me. It's epic — I...
2.27.14 ~ living off the grid….or not.
Along the RIo Grande, somewhere between Taos and Espanola.I did something I knew I shouldn't. But my curiosity got the better of me. I clicked on the Craig's List housing listing describing an "off-the-grid" house with "spectacular views" about an hour north of Santa...
2.25.14 ~ here’s why i’m moving…
Helen Frankenthaler in her studio. Photo by Ernst Haas.I need a real studio. The house I've been in for these four+ years is utterly beautiful: thick adobe walls; radiant floor heat, glorious views and a lovely balcony from which to let your vision and imagination...
1.21.14 ~ is it any wonder i haven’t been painting?!
Even in the midst of chaos, I can always [usually] find my calming mug of tea. This morning's hot beverage: ArtfulTea's Earl Grey Francais My studio is a tornadic explosion of stuff. STUFF EVERYWHERE! Not just my studio but every room of the...
2.14.2014 ~ two great loves
My parents during their engagement c. 1953Today is Valentine's Day. The day, sixty-one years ago, my parents "came to an understanding" after just two weeks of "going steady," that they would spend the rest of their lives together. And they did. For fifty-three years...
1.27.14 ~ the hot eye of vision boards
I'm heading to Ojo today. Ojo Caliente.Ojo = Eye. Caliente = Hot.A friend gave me a free pass that I have to use within a few weeks, so, even though my head is spinning with deadlines and a growing list of projects I need to tend to, I'm unplugging and...
1.14.14 ~ burning paintings & the journey, iv ~ playa slideshow
A fireplace in the studio brings out the latent pyromaniac in many a de-cluttering artist....Two weeks into the New Year and a huge chunk of me has lain dormant in the memory of my art residency at Playa. I've been distracted since returning home, hardly able to...
12.30.13 ~ the journey, iii: the gift of time ~ playa
The creative community of Playa sits at the base of Winter Ridge and the edge of Summer Lake in Lake County, Oregon.Where I was headed was Playa, a residency program for creative individuals.And what is a residency program?A residency program is the priceless gift of...