Another great show… We the people

 Man, the place was packed on Friday night. This was a great show with lots of important pieces in it. I’m glad I have an outlet for my unsettled feelings about politics these days. My peace, flying monkeys was sold tonight. I’m happy to say.

A few photos from opening night

 The show, In Contemplation of the Sacred Water, Earth, and Sky.  Most of the paintings were completed this year and featured the land in and around the Osage Prairie and our land in Cherokee County.

Since childhood, I have been drawn to the quiet places. Whether climbing the mountain before my home or wandering along the bank of the creek behind it. It is in those secluded spaces where I first experienced wonder, creativity, and gratitude. Today, they remain the places where I find my spark.

I am a lifelong student of the land. Under the guidance of the late Cherokee wildcrafter Jackie Dill, I began to see the "bounty beneath my feet." She validated what I already sensed, that we are part of an intricate connection to water, earth, and air, reinforcing my belief that we are not merely residents of this garden, but its tenders. Now, as a forager myself, I can no longer walk through the woods without actively observing. I see the abundance of trout lily, poke salet, and lamb‘s quarters; I recognize the medicinal herbs and the hidden clusters of wood ear and oyster mushrooms.

But this intimacy brings an ache. Joni Mitchell’s warning— you don’t know what you got till it’s gone —-they paved paradise and put up a parking lot—is a constant hum in my mind. In Oklahoma, I see the encroachment: massive poultry farms, the mechanical drone of data centers, and the chemical footprint of corporate agriculture. These forces threaten the very purity of the water and soil that sustain us.

When the weight of this feels overwhelming, I act. I write, I advocate, and educate. But perhaps my most vital act of resistance is to simply sit in nature with a brush and canvas. To be quiet, to be observant, and to be grateful. These paintings are the physical manifestations of those sacred moments.

Some of the painting sold during my recent show in Tulsa

 Midnight Rendezvous, A Bright Spot, A Walk in the Woods,

Once upon a time I stopped at a roadside rodeo.  It drew me in.  I took multiple photos, this one of 2 horses and their riders taking a rest.  I took out the riders and turned daytime into night. the others came from sketches in Cherokee County

Copies of my books available at my show

 Copies of my books, Claire Goes Foraging and In Contemplation of Water, Earth and Sky are always available through this website but will make a special appearance in person at my show in May at Liggett Studios  in Tulsa

the Sa

My Painting... The Calm After the Storm won 3rd place as the People's Choice At the Oklahoma Juried Show at Terra Rosa Gallery in Guthrie

 

In Contemplation of Earth, Sky, Water

 If you are in or near Tulsa, save the date and come to the opening!  Also open Thursdays from 5-8

and Saturdays from 1-5

Several shows coming up:

 I have a joint show with Courtney Lockhart, a ceramic artist opening on the second Friday of May. The show is entitled In Contemplation of the Sacred: Land, Air, Water. My pieces are landscapes in and around Cherokee County and Osage County in Oklahoma. I created a little booklet to go with the show featuring the written word by both my husband, Scott, ( an award winning poet ) and myself.

Another show is in Terra Rosa Gallery called Wait 5 Minutes. it will feature a couple of paintings... billowing clouds on the Osage Prairie and one of Travertine Creek in Chickasaw National Park, OK. 

And last but not least I had a piece accepted in the new magazine, Okie Modern for their April issue.

Step-by-step Rainy night Tulsa

 This didn't load the way I expected.  Start at the bottom for step by step visuals on painting a rainy night scene in Tulsa.

Since it is a night scene, begin to add darks.  You may have to build these up as you go.

Keep it loose.  block in the basics.

Vertical lines are always straight up and down. Horizontals will have a vanishing point on the top line and the bottom.

Step-by-step for this year is 12 x 12 Prairie Sky with Pretty Clouds

 This is a scene from a favorite spot on the edge of the Osage Prairie that we love to go.

Step by step cherry blossoms