Treasure Box in green....

Fiber art Treasure Box in gorgeous green, now available in my store for sale HERE! This one is a real beauty,please follow the link for more details .....

The Nature of Pine Bark: Beauty in Every Line and Pore

The Beauty of Pine Bark - Lynda Lehmann c 2009

Looking for and finding natural beauty, is my life. It carries me through my days, cushioning me from life's disappointments and the tragedies of the human condition. I remember the day I walked around the shore of Echo Lake State Park in New Hampshire, snapping photos of tree bark. I approached this tall pine, among others, on a crowded beach, and stood just a couple of inches from the scabrous and meandering bark. The people sunning on the lake shore literally stared--no doubt they thought I had escaped from the "loony bin." What IS that woman doing, standing with her nose stuck against the trunk of that scraggly, old pine? (Smirk...)

I've always had to explain to people how and why I LOOK at things with great interest. I've been asked in recent years,"Why are you always looking up?" The answer, of course, is that I find great inspiration in the trees, sky, and clouds. And why shouldn't I? Chances are, those particular acquaintances might be more concerned with contemplating their navels.

I remember WAY back in my college days, when I carried an apple home from the dining hall at Penn State and a roommate made a quip about "pseudo-intellectualism." But I was in earnest when I commented on the form and exquisite color of the apple. Of course in those days of upheaval and rebellion, we questioned everything. Especially the "Establishment," the "military-industrial complex" and the other stale institutions of the status-quo. Now, in my ripe old age, I realize that more than anything, we have to question ourselves, as the basis for any positive change. Transformation begins with our own perception and intellect. We have to take responsibility for who we are, for our own attitudes, actions and reactions, before we can change the world.

I'm lucky that simple beauties change the world for me! If this means I'm a "simple" person, I'll take it. I think I'm blessed to find the beauty and mystery in small details some other folks might be "too busy" to discover.

NOTE: I did tweak the above photo a bit, to bring out the hues that were already there, in the pine bark.

All photos and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Pear and Cherries - Oil Painting

Pear and Cherries is another of the small color studies I've been working on. It measures 8 inches tall by 10 inches wide, and it's on gallery wrap canvas.

Pear and Cherries, oil on canvas, Jean Levert Hood ©2009

Don't miss my website for my oil paintings! You can find me on Twitter and Facebook, too!

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Sole Mates

She's a high class gal, he's just a working guy, but when you are *Sole Mates* stuff like that doesn't matter. (ok so it's a little corny but I couldn't resist..lol) Wouldn't this make a great card though? If you agree, click >>HERE<< which will bring you to my Redbubble site where you can purchase a card with this photo on it, or even a 16x12 framed print.

Fabric Art Album Handmade Book

Entitled 'Happiness', this gorgeous new fabric album is crammed with tags and embellishments and measures around 6" square.
Perfect for mementoes and keepsakes this would make a lovely gift or an inspirational journal for a creative mind!Currently available for sale HERE if you would like to view more details and further photos of this tactile piece of art.

TRANQUILITY mixed media original canvas painting

This mixed media canvas painting is entitled 'TRANQUILITY' and measures 10" x 10" x 1+ 1/2" .Currently for sale in my etsy store PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT,
the work is lightly glazed with a soft gloss artist's varnish to seal and protect.
Sides are fully painted in rich matt black as part of the work so a frame is not necessary.
A lovely calm piece which would look adorable with any decor,vintage or contemporary.
A very attractive addition to your own or a loved one's art collection.
Please do check out my other listings for further works!
~ Commissions are also welcome! ~

New Art Book-For Children and Adults!

Time Pieces - It's About Time!

The book features 12 of the 14 pieces in the ongoing series!

You can view a few of the pages below!

This would make a great Christmas gift!

I am offering signed copies on eBay!

Unsigned
copies are available for sale on
Lulu.com!

You can also

Check out my
Squidoo lense for more info and details!

Visit my official website for more about me, more of my work, originals gifts and more! artbymichellecollins.com!

Harmony ACEO

This is one of my latest ACEO designs currently available for sale in my store HERE. This is a miniature Art Doll and is entitled 'Harmony'. Please visit my store for further details!

The Sacred Energy of Wild Places

There is an energy at the core of Life, a sacred energy felt most apparently and keenly in those places we may refer to as "wild." For some of us, that place may truly be in a remote wilderness area. More likely it will be a place that is just a bit out of the way. But it seems to me that the place, whether near or far from the beaten track, will be a place that is as yet unexploited and unspoiled by the touch of man.

My husband and I discovered such a place about two weeks ago. One of our mini-excursions into the Maine countryside brought us unexpectedly to a wooded marshland. It was just a tad off of a main road that was not quite a highway, but a two-lane road well-traveled by local traffic.

We made a right turn on a street whose name I can't remember. What I do remember is that it was indeed, a "proper" town street-sign in white and green with a name bestowed on this road. But it was not in any sense your typical suburban or even country road.


I was stricken with my first view of the marsh. Forest encroached on all sides, rising above the area on gentle hills. The trees still retained some of their autumn splendor but were at least partly given over to the stark winter nakedness that makes their skeletons so much more gestural and poignant than their leafy summer counterparts.



I got out of the car and scanned the near distance. Woods, woods, and more woods, with a wetland in the middle that coalesced into a quiet stream that wound its way through the thicket.


At the side of the road, cattails abounded, rich in their brown fur and contrasting the more sparse occurrence of milkweed pod. Some of the pods were open to the skyward flurry of their gossamer white fuzz, while others remained closed and pregnant with the seed loads of future plants.



A huge beaver lodge graced the middle of the watery pool on the right side of the road, commanding the eye's attention, as would a mansion on the vast grounds of a manicured estate.


But this was no manicured estate. Although fairly close to the town of Norway in southwest Maine, it had all the trappings of a true wilderness. Bird calls of all ilks met my ears, like beacons of a distant time in the annals of Creation. The milkweed seeds, picked up by an intermittent breeze, sailed into the blue dome that reflected on the water below. Everywhere there was life. Thorns, red winter berries, the milkweed, swaths of emerald moss and the texture of the slightly churned water. Sweet pungent air, sparkling with sunlight. The auburn of spent foliage rimming the swamp.


I could almost hear our dear Mother Earth inviting me in her mysterious tongues to partake. She wanted me to embrace her, smell her, feel her caress, hear her song. She wanted to delight me. She wanted to pay homage to herself for her dignity, sustained in the face of ages of exploitation and consumption, by her own stubborn Being.

Years ago, I wrote a young adult novel (one of four, actually) about a teenage girl who has to leave the lowland plain between Brazil and Peru, to climb deep into the Andes. She had to undertake this journey because her tribe was dying out, and their only chance was for her to try to retrieve the ancient medical secrets of the Incas, from whom she had descended. The Boutiquin, the ancient medicine chest of the forest floor was dying out and only she, Liana, with the tenacity of the vine for which she was named, could make her way into the highland to fetch the ancient wisdom.

Along the way, repeatedly, she bent her head to the Earth and heard the Hum of Being.

In my writing, the "Hum of Being" was a contrivance to enhance the plot, an embellishment in my manuscript to bring home the feminist and earth stewardship themes of my book.

But last week, in that patch of wild made of forest and river and swamp, filled with sunshine and seeds and berries and birdsong, I heard the Hum of Being for myself. Have you ever heard it? What is your experience with finding yourself surrounded by the magic of a sacred place? For me, it is the among the very best and most inspiring of life experiences.

All photos and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Inklings of the Sublime

Magical World - c Lynda Lehmann 2009

Shimmer - c Lynda Lehmann 2009

Waterscape IV - c Lynda Lehmann 2009

Web of Light - c Lynda Lehmann 2009

I had such a wonderful nature experience this past summer, that I feel it has not only enriched me, but actually transformed me. I'm not a calm person. But the more I opened myself to the patterns and textures all around me, the calmer I felt. It was as if the serenity of the ENDURING THINGS just oozed into my pores, all the way to my soul. I felt warmed and comforted. The more I looked, the more I saw. And the calmer I felt.

I filled up on the great "Cup of Beauty" that is our world, and have made using my senses into a sort of mantra. On college campuses, back in the sixties, the motto was "Tune out and turn on." I never felt that was the way to go, and I'm more sure of it than ever. My mantra is "Pause to receive, rejoice, and BE." I believe that the ubiquitous beauties of the world can lead us to transcendence, if we open our hearts. All we have to do is pause and focus. Very simple.

The sunlight or clouds playing on the lake surface and the infinite forms, colors, and patterns of lichen, are just a couple of examples of the natural beauty that astounded me. I feel spiritually rich.

I'd love to hear about some of the details of nature that fascinate you!

All images and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Consciousness

Consciousness - c Lynda Lehmann 2009

I'm in the process of preparing a longer post, but thought I'd share one of my new digital paintings with you in the meantime. I will be able to post more in the coming weeks, I hope, and I can't wait to visit with you!

Just wondering: does this image evoke any particular thought, mood, or concept for you? I DO see what the title implies, but then, that's just me and you will have your own reaction.

Personally, I LOVE the freedom of digital art, and the "clean" process that doesn't involve paints and finishes, because I don't always have time for traditional brush and pigment painting. Both digital and real-time painting have their benefits, and one of the perks of digital is that you don't have to involve your whole studio or house in the process (the "aroma" of fresh paint DOES make it all the way to my kitchen, at times....)

Art and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

New Fall work

Reflections 2

Fall Walk

Both are available for sale in a variety of sizes through my Redbubble Gallery

Spiraling into the Blues

A digital piece that began life as a blurry photo of a full moon and rapidly turned into this, my representation of how it sometimes feels like life is spiraling out of control and trying to suck you down into depression, despite your struggles to fight off the blues.
This is available for sale on redbubble

Picking a Pumpkin

Here's a fun little 5x7 oil painting I did for the fall. I just had to put a cute little critter in there, I love wildlife! This painting will be posted for sale on both my etsy shop and website soon.

This is a pic of me and my dog Dusty. He wasn't too cooperative on posing with me, but this one came out ok. He's a sweetie, and when he wants to eat he starts to talk. It sounds like he's saying 'I love you' with alot of grunts in there.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Tonight is my 25 class reunion, I can hardly believe it. Do you think people will have aged a bit since then? It's funny how we always imagine people the way they were when we last saw them.

hugs,

Brenda

Country Dreams

Grazing - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2009

Country Dreams - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2009

I was enchanted by these idyllic scenes of a pasture in autumn, with grazing cows and horses. It was such a peaceful and dreamlike scene, with the muted colors of a somewhat hazy fall day. Here are a couple of my favorite shots, among many taken during a couple of short outings in the past month.

The animals look so contented that it's easy to forget they are being raised for commerce. I know the demands of the food chain are an indisputable reality, but I feel an empathy with animals who overall, perhaps, have less control over their fates than we humans do. Or do you think that's a subject for debate?

Regardless, the natural beauty of rural areas does not disguise the fact that life is a struggle. That's why I think it's important to have empathy for every living being. We can't deny the realities of the food chain, but we can strive for harmony and intelligent living. We can also count our blessings....

Speaking of contented animals, here is a chipmunk who made multiple appearances on a tree stump in our yard. He seemed to be as happy to watch me as I was to watch him. Every time I snapped a shot and the flash fired, he disappeared under a weed-covered rock, only to appear again for another pose, a few seconds later!

Chippie Takes a Pose - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2009

You can click on the photos to see a larger version, or visit my sites, listed in the right sidebar, to see more images.

All images and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.

If you would like to view my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.