Blackberry Magic ©Susan Morrison Sims
14″ x 11″ acrylic on canvas
(click on image to enlarge, twice to touch the briars. sorry it is a little fuzzy..I’ll re-shoot it when I get the painting back).
~~
When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts,
a circle of creation is completed inside us.
The doors of our soul open
and love steps forth
to heal
everything in sight.
~Anne Jones
~~
Happy March to everyone..I hope all is good in your world. My, my it has been a long time since we chatted. It has been cold here (well, cold for Florida), but we have 80 degree weather coming this weekend. I have been working on commissioned pieces a lot. :O Now first let me say, I am very appreciative to have the commissions. I say that to tell you this…
I was feeling like a bird in a very little cage.
I thought I would be finished with the pieces (there are four of them) by now, but I felt stifled…as if trapped in the canvas.
As I told you in our last chat..the earth is already warming here and signs of new life are everywhere. I confess, that could be some of my problem..I long to be outside. I was outside rinsing out some of my paint buckets, and my eyes landed on something just beyond the fence. The wild blackberry bushes have awakened! The brown and tangled, and what some call wicked briars, are once again filled with green leaves and divine little white flowers!
Of course, I wandered over to see the flowers…already discovered by the bees. Hmmm...I thought..you have the prefect little canvas just waiting for brushes. I reasoned that it would be okay to slip one little blackberry painting in amongst the four large Tuscany pieces…so I did. :)
and
working from my heart
I felt free again.
Guess what…now I am almost finished with the four large pieces! The little painting came to be quickly and is in a show called “Up Close” in St Augustine now. In the meantime, I am bewitched..under the spell of blackberry magic! I plan to do a large blackberry painting zooming into that world of briars and berries. Soon the hot sun will summon the berries from within the blossoms. Of course, I will share them with the birds..but I may have to take just a few extra to go into blackberry tarts. More blackberry magic! :)
What a sweet, sweet circle life is…
My heart is full tonight…sending you love and light,
~gypsy-he♥rt
Ps March is Women’s History Month, and these pieces, that most of you have seen, are a show that is about expressing the beauty and uniqueness of our environment. I changed the name of the first one..it was Earth’s Mysteries.
(click on images to enlarge)
The show opened yesterday. If you haven’t read the posts about the pieces and wish to do so..just click on the titles.
I am not going to chatter about the pieces again, but I do want to tell you a little about the show. It is sponsored by the The Women’s Center of Jacksonville. I have mentioned this program before, and it is among my links on my sidebar. They help improve the lives of women and children..nearly 10,000 a year. This show is in celebration of Women’s History Month. It is in the beautiful Bank of America Tower downtown Jacksonville. I think it is one of the most beautiful sky scrappers there…outside and in. The work selected is wonderful..so I am honored to “be there.” It is a cause I believe in, and 40% of sales go to the center (originals and giclee’s).
I will be around to see all of you soon!
~♥~
That was a wonderfu quote at the begining, Gypsy-Heart !
And I am glad that you are feeling free again. It is good to be out-of-doors.
I am possibly smelling blackberry pie in the oven :)
Happy March to you as well! Spring is almost here. I love the quote: “our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts”. Very true for those who are pure at heart.
Hi gypsy-heart – I empathize with you about wanting to be outside. It was a beautiful day here too, the first really springlike day we’ve had. We went down to the lake to look at the water birds. It was idyllic.
The artistic muse is strange isn’t it? I’m sure that it, too, is pleased that you have commissions, but… It’s a bit like many cats can be perhaps: liking attention but not too much of it, thank you, an independent creature at heart.
I hope the show goes well!
Dearest Gypsy-Heart~
How wonderful it is to catch up with you and hear about all the “goodies” going on in your life!
I love this piece you share with us today! Not only the piece, but the story behind it’s creation. When I’m creating something (especially when writing), I too sometimes get that “stifled feeling” And it’s perfect what you said….”Like being trapped inside the creation.”
And like you, if I take a walk in the park and sit amongst nature, I get to feeling reconnected to creative energy.
I’m so excited to here about your pieces being in St. Augustine!!! Do you know…for as long as I lived in Florida, I never ONCE visited St. Augustine.
I should be SLAPPED!
Oh…and you must be SOOOOO anticipating Spring and the warmer weather. Even though I’m not a Summer person, I do love Spring. It’s such a beautiful time of the year for COLOR!
OMG…you would have died! It snowed a blizzard this past week and was in the single digits!!
Brrrrrrrrr!
Thanks for sharing today, dear friend!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Love ya!
X
Dearest Gypsy~
It’s been a bit cold every where, I think. Snow has fallen here, time and again..
and i am so looking forward to the spring.
Hopefully you are sending it on it’s way!
:)
I love the blackberries!
How do you manage to make brambles look inviting?
~smile~
So good to see you love, be good to you, and good luck at the show!
Ooh! What a pretty piece… I love blackberries. When you take the time to look closely at the life on the ground, it’s amazing how it just opens up, revealing a vibrant jungle of miniscule flowers and succulent berries…. *yumm…berries*
I also really liked the quote at the beginning. =)
Great to hear from you!!
I love that quote as well….It’s exactly the way I feel when I garden or work with plants.
And I can see it in your paintings as well *smiles*
Oh my, this makes me really juicy for warm blackberry cobbler.
oh, this reminds me of summer and pie making~something I haven’t done is awhile! gypsy heart, it’s always so good to see you and your latest piece! good luck with this wonderful show you are involved in!
I love the quote!
Peace Gypsy. May it only add to your creative energy.
Very nice painting. Did you paint from life?
A nice warm blackberry, blueberry or even raspberry cobbler would taste so good. Its remarkable how some of the best tasting things in life come from – prickly sources – like crabmeat, lobster, and many berries. Fortunately we don’t have to share the prickly shellfish with the birds.
I even enjoy the mess the birds make after they dine on berries – staining the sidewalks with juice and seeds.
I hope the exhibit at the Bank of America Tower in Jacksonville is going well. I enjoyed seeing your paintings in New York City. They were the reason for my trip there and worth every minute of the journey.
Four pieces seems like a lot to me, especially large ones, so I can understand how that would put a damper on your freedom to do other things. But yes, the flip side is the demand for your work. That must be satisfying.
Hello you! I was so glad to see you over at my place, and again, what a deep appreciation I have for your creations. They appear real, but not. That is how intense it is to me; they always capture the real life circumstance, yet with a twist…….. I absolutely LOVE Wine on the Vine; that one is extremely powerful to me!
And, the quote that you give above, about a circle of creation; so much of life is about or “comes back” to circles….. as is this Circle of Life…..
I really enjoy you!!!! Hugs and peace to you!
Wonderful to hear from you again! It is a wonderful and magical life. You were wise to listen to your heart and paint the wild blackberry bush for it is what you needed to feel true to yourself and to release the creative to finish you “have to” paintings.
The “Swamp moon” is one of my favourites among Your paintings, dear Gypsy-Heart. The nuances and shades You’ve used makes me almost SMELL the atmosphere. Doesn’t happen to me that often, but this one is extraordinary!
I wish You lots of joy, love and laughter for this season and soon enough I think Finland will have spring too! :-)
*cyberhugs*
Gypsy-heart – dropped by to say hi. Hope to see a new painting from you soon.
It’s wonderful to see you posting again and I love the paintings. I’m glad you have the commissions but also glad you could take a bit of time to paint just for you.
blackberries are very special to me, so this one is extra lovely!
Blackberry Magic! I love this painting! I like it kind of out of focus and soft — its just how they seem ’til you touch the stems! In and around Portland they are a nuisance plant and grow beside the road and right into your backyard, whether you want them or not! I don’t seem to notice them much in central Oregon — just another reason to return to the Portland area. I love them as much as I love Queen Anne’s Lace and clover – like in the poem by Edna St Vincent Millay ..”her yard was like a meadow, and if she mowed the place, she mowed around the clover and the Queen Anne’s Lace…”
Olivia
Thank you everyone for all of your sweet and inspiring words!!
Forgive me for not answering each of you as I normally do…I hope to be back to normal soon. I thought it more important that I catch up on your worlds…so I’ll be around soon.
Good energies and peace of heart to you,
~gypsy-he♥rt