painting Archives ⋆ Page 5 of 9 ⋆ Karen Phillips Curran Visual Artist in Nova Scotia

Turn on a Dime

Creativity demands flexibility. Today that flexibility is tested. Let’s pass this test, I say. A large commission was cancelled today. One I had spent a considerable amount of time on. Where to go from here…I find myself drawn inexorably towards a 4×4 foot painting that has been in stasis on my painting … Read More

November

It’s November and the darkening sky speaks to me of weight. No more basking in the sun, it is the dark time. Moods are affected by this time of transition, for it is only a period between the dark and the coming light. We who live in the northern latitudes are … Read More

Spring Breakup

winter dusk 12×24″ Spring is late this year. But today it is raining. The trees are dark, wet; stark against the remaining snow. They are burgeoning, their sap is running, silently. Signs of spring will soon become apparent, but not quite yet. Silence reigns. The rain reveals patches of grass at the … Read More

Still Waiting

We Canadians are a weather hardy lot, for the most part…but we are all, each of us, wailing, where is spring, when will it get here…despondent voices of otherwise hardy friends wail at the end of the phone line. I am in my bright warm studio for the day, I scamper about in … Read More

New Studio Space

Wherever I am I paint, draw and see…I am setting a new studio space … Read More

Xmas Crack

Fall has come and gone. Amusing myself is no problem, especially if there is paint anywhere nearby. This is a four foot by four foot floorcloth I finished a few days ago, I call it the Xmas Crack… I am in the studio these days, watching the world move past my … Read More

Birch

A few years ago now, I painted the set for King Lear at our National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The director, Peter Hinton, had set the play in Canada at the appropriate time period. It was a wonderful rendition of the classic. It was a simple set and included a large faux … Read More

snowshoes

snowshoes I like snowshoes because, given enough snow, you can go anywhere in the woods. My woods are quiet this time of year, no birds, no bugs, no beasts. All are at rest or have left the vicinity, only to return shortly. Yes, spring is on its way. I cannot smell it … Read More

the Alone Days

Yet again, morning comes. These are the alone days, not many come to visit, and I spend my time pecking away at the things needing doing, for the sake of progress. I move back and forth between the buildings carrying things from one place to another. My water pitcher can be seen … Read More

water

Until recently I was busy in the studio…the days marched onward and forward in a unit of measure that felt good. Some days are endless, some flash by quickly. Being in the studio is just like that. Now I am at the theatre working on a technically challenging set for the upcoming … Read More