Art That Inspires

"Purple Hydrangea"

oil painting by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Purple Hydrangea"

by poetess Paula Timpson

"Art is an experience, not an object."

- Robert Motherwell

It is fascinating to see how one type of art can inspire another type of artistic expression. The painting above, "Purple Hydrangea" was recently in an art exhibit at Venice Art Center in Venice, Florida.

The poetess, Paula Timpson, saw this painting and was so inspired by seeing it that she wrote a beautiful poem to describe her experience when she viewed the painting.

I was thrilled and very touched that my work inspired her to write. Collaboration in the future is an exciting possibility. Now more motivated to paint a new series of flowers!

Love, peace and Joy!

Memorable Moments

"Urfer Family Park Path, Sarasota, Florida"

6"x6" oil painting 

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Art is the creation of forms symbolic of human feeling."

- Susanne Langer

This pathway seemed to literally GLOW! As I walked along this soft, sandy passage amongst it's shady taller shrubbery, the sunlight ahead was just beaming with bright yellow, peach and pink radiance. I still have a very clear memory of it in my mind. It was an explosion of color.

This surreal moment created a moving meditation. Listening to the birds and taking in all of the natural beauty of robust color before me was very uplifting, yet calming. The thought of painting this scene gave me the idea for meditative art. 

Now the use of color takes on a whole new meaning. Color can affect the human state of mind, so what combination of colors create different mental/spiritual meditative states? This question created a new way to approach painting. A new purpose for growth with the use of color.

On with more experimentation!

Live, Love and Learn!

Cindy

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Expanding Our Thoughts

"Yellow Sky"

79"x92" oil on canvas by Elmer Bischoff, 1967

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

-Albert Einstein

While traveling to San Francisco, California this past September, I was fortunate enough to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). This painting, "Yellow Sky," captured my attention for quite a while. It was very large, so it was easy to feel like you were IN the painting. The bold color, the high contrast and the luminescent light were striking. The viewer is drawn into the bright, loosely painted art. Fortunately, visitors were allowed to take photographs.

Viewing original artwork like this can be very inspiring! Minds can be opened to the imagination of a particular artist at a particular point in time. Getting lost in the technique and brush strokes of a piece can teach and encourage viewers to question and learn new ways of using a medium, of expressing how they see shape, color and light ...

Expanding our thoughts by taking in other artists' work can help us see creativity in a whole new way. If you are a painter, then one painting you experience may change the way you approach your next painting. Learning from other works and unique uses of materials are wonderful ways to be inspired and move forward with newly found enthusiasm!

Happy Fall!

Cindy

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Gazebo in Venice Florida

"Centennial Park Gazebo, Venice, FL"

9"x12" oil by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Creativity takes courage." 

- Henri Matisse

There is a plein air painting group called "Lightchasers" www.lightchasersinc.com based in the west-central Florida coastal area. They search out and frequent a variety of places for artists to paint. It is a great way to meet and learn from other artists and challenge your artistic abilities by painting from life. 

Working on location has many challenges. Wind, insects, fire ants, animals, heat and cold, rain ... can sometimes make an artist pack everything up and leave the site. However, plein air painting is more about laying down the composition, larger shapes and values with the advantage of seeing the subject in its true natural form. Then, when the painting is taken back to the studio, the painter can use the help of photos, memory and imagination to finish the piece.

Painting man-made objects is not something I really enjoy, but I took the challenge alongside other Lightchaser artists and painted this "Centennial Park Gazebo" in downtown Venice, Florida. The sun was very bright and the white paint on the structure really created some great contrast and made the gazebo stand out. I got the structure down and fully blocked in the other areas before taking the piece home to finish - adding more details and had some fun with loose color work.

This gazebo painting is currently on display at the Venice Art Center www.veniceartcenter.com in the "Reflections" Art Exhibit until August 17, 2018.

Happy Summer!

Cindy

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Flower Time

"Hydrangea Zoom"

 18"x24" oil on canvas

- Cindy Mott McGarry

"I decided that if I could paint that flower on a huge scale,

 you could not ignore its beauty."

- Georgia O'Keefe

While going through a fascination phase with hydrangea flowers I could not resist examining their beauty on a closer scale. There are so many colors in one single petal. Focusing on shape, color and value helps with decisions that need to be made throughout my paintings. Impressionism and the all wonderful "artistic license" opens up such freedom to use imagination and concentrate on what I really want to see and reveal. 

In this painting using small shapes of color became addictive and highly expressive. Pointillism is a method of neo-impressionist painting in which using tiny dots of different pure colors appear mixed in the observer's eye. This method was started by Georges Seurat in order to create a higher degree of luminescense and intensity of color. I believe certain colors laid next to one another cause a glow, or rather, a vibration of colors.

Until next time!

Cindy

www.cindymottmcgarry.com

Colorful Matter

"Siesta Key Grassy Dune"

9"x12" oil on canvas board
-by Cindy Mott McGarry

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."
- Audrey Hepburn

The abundant butterflies, the lush greenery and flowering plants of Spring are so uplifting. Mother Nature brings artists so many new subjects to paint this time every year. 

Baby birds abound, too. Here in Venice, Florida the tall, lean and elegant Sandhill Crane birds have babies which resemble small, brown, fluffy puff balls that hop around while always being protected by their parents. 

The painting above was created originally en plein air on Siesta Key Beach (voted the #1 Beach in the U.S.!) while standing at my easel under a large tree in the shade. Color, shape and value were my main focuses. I worked on it a few more hours on the days following in my home studio and was pleased with the amount of color that ended up throughout the painting. 

Lightchasers of the Suncoast had their 2018 Shows in March at the Edson Keith Mansion at Phillippi Estate Park in Sarasota, Florida. It was a good opportunity to share this painting for the first time in public. There are over 600 artist members in Lightchasers and only 90 paintings were accepted for the members' show, so I felt fortunate to get into this show. 

Spring is here and it's exciting to imagine more colorful paintings to create - grasses, florals, birds and landscapes come to mind!

Happy Spring!

Change, Adventure and Growth

"Sunrise Over Bird Key"

24"x30" oil on canvas
- by Cindy Mott McGarry

"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking.

 It cannot be changed without changing our thinking." 

- Albert Einstein

With 2017 almost behind us, hopefully we can all look back and see positive growth in many parts of our lives. I believe some exciting, frightening or even sad changes can gradually bring about very positive experiences, adventure and enlightening growth. In the present moment of huge change it is sometimes difficult to see what it will bring us in the future.

Our move from Raleigh, North Carolina to Sarasota, Florida in February of 2017 was a huge change for our family. We had lived in North Carolina for 30 years! What a beautiful state it is and it holds so many fond memories with family and friends. It also was a place of huge growth. Leaving our family, our friends and our last home of 20 years were emotionally the most difficult.

Since our move to Sarasota we have all grown exponentially in so many tiny and large ways. After rearing my children in Raleigh (my most cherished learning and loving experience thus far on this planet!), making new friends and exploring Florida, I have grown to see the reasons people keep moving down here in droves. The beauty, spectacular weather most of the year, outdoor life with all  of the water, white sandy beaches, wildlife (especially the wide variety of birds, large and small), the many different kinds of palm trees ... and the relaxed and creative energy here are so enticing.

We are now planning another move next month from our rental house into our new home. Next month we will have lived in three different homes and moved all of our belongings twice in less than one year! As I look back and recognize the tremendous growth we have been through, I can see why the changes occurred and that our new adventure will bring us to an even brighter future. Our thinking was changed for us out of desire and necessity ... and we have created our new world.

There will be much more art to share and on it's way in 2018! We will settle in our new home and my art space will be full of light and inspiration! The endless natural attractions here, inspiration, creative energy and opportunities in Florida are awaiting sharing platforms and this blog will be one of those platforms. 

Stay tuned! Happy Happy New Year!

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