Healing Trauma

"Trauma is usually about a victim trying to make amends for the perpetrator. The most important thing is forgiveness of yourself for having been as vulnerable, as scared, as angry, as frozen as you were. And forgive yourself for all the ways you have tried to survive ...  so just take care of that. Take care of yourself. Learn to forgive yourself for all the things you have done in order to survive. That's  a big job."

-"Cracked Up: The Darrell Hammond Story" movie

#trauma #healing #therapy #selfcare #selfworth

Building An Oil Painting

"Service Club Park"

Venice, Florida

9"x12" oil on archival canvas panel

painted by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known."

- Oscar Wilde

First, let me say that I hope each and every person who reads this blog knows that I wish you and your families the best of health and wellness throughout this COVID-19 pandemic. This is such a sad, frightening and trying time for our country and our world. Art making can be very healing and create a sense of calm. It can relieve stress and aid in grounding/centering us so we can move forward with more clear, creative thinking and new problem solving skills. Many blessings to you all.

"How do you build an oil painting?" This is a question every artist must ask every time they paint because each painting is unique with unique challenges and problems to solve. "Where do I begin?"

Taking the time to produce a well thought out design as the first step will save so much time and frustration later. Even a small black, white and gray value design will give you a good reference/reminder of what you saw initially that inspired you. Some artists do this in a notebook using graphite pencils, some create their design in an earthy thin oil color such as burnt sienna right on the canvas and some artists paint large blocks of darker cooler colors as their underpainting. 

When I painted this high key painting of a beach pathway in the above painting, "Service Club Park," I wanted to express the intensity of the sun on the sand and grasses. I also wanted to use different types of colors using darker or lighter values - darker values in the foreground and gradually lightening the values as I painted the middle and distant areas. My design and underpainting were very simplified. The shapes started out deeper and darker in order to build up layers with medium to light values of color on top to really give the painting great texture and allow layered colors play off of one another.

My design and underpainting for "Service Club Park"

My easel setup and first steps of building "Service Club Park"

After this initial design I put in thick strokes of medium and light colors on top. The final steps of laying on thick reds, oranges and yellows is my favorite part of painting! This is how I built this painting. My palette was titanium white, cadmium yellow light, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, alizarin crimson, manganese, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna.

I hope this was an enjoyable and helpful post for you.

Please like and comment or ask questions below.

Have fun painting!

Cindy

Cindy Mott McGarry

Artist and Blogger

My Website

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Plein Air Intensity

"Manasota Beach Seagrape Trees"

12"x16" oil on canvas board

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Trees are like poems that the earth writes upon the sky."

-Khalil Gibran

My love of trees began at a very young age, let's say four or five years of age. Each tree so unique and longing to grow and reach up to the sky. It is quite enjoyable to get creative and paint them using different colors to express textures and curves.

Seagrape trees here in Florida are some of the most visually absorbing trees I have encountered. Their trunks twist and squiggle drawing lines upon their backdrop. The textures are lumpy, rough and condensed which gives the viewer a sense of a very substantial and strong foundation. The leaves are thick, smooth and have beautifully rounded heart-like shapes with red veins running through them ... displaying a map of their life-blood.

As I searched for inspiration one morning at Manasota Beach in Venice, Florida, the trees in the painting above, "Manasota Beach Seagrape Trees," were being flooded with sunlight. The trunks were being bathed so intensely and the shadows were very dark and long. The grasses behind them were also lit and blowing with the wind. The leaves had an orange glow on them in certain spots. I worked with a limited palette and repeated colors throughout the painting.

A 12"x16" canvas is a large size for a plein air painting, so I needed to return to the site a second time and then finished it in my studio. The true intensity of light and abundance of color could not have been seen in a photograph. Only the plein air experience can reveal the many, many dimensions of nature.

Enjoy painting!

All the very best,

Cindy

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Energy Flow

"Flow" 

by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

"Energy flows where intention goes."

- Rhonda Byrne

Getting into a state of deep relaxation with heightened creativity and imagination is definitely a challenge. It is such a wonderful place to visit, and can be a highly productive and happy place. Many day-to-day necessary activities and distractions can keep us from reaching this state. Creative people have talked about how they lose track of time when they are producing their craft - hours that pass can seem like only minutes! 

The book, "Flow," by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, explains how to get into the flow state. It can be hard to do, but the reward is a happiness which is difficult to match. Experiencing flow can give us a wonderful sense of accomplishment and a way of tapping into our true deeper selves. Getting into our own personal and unique flow can be exhilarating and the desire to return to this happy state of mind can become a powerful motivating force.

What happens to us is often out of our control. If we patiently look inward and learn to reach the flow state and control the thoughts in our consciousness, then full involvement in the present moment is possible. We can experience a new level of enjoyment by using our acquired skills and imagination. Production of more unique creative works becomes very possible.

"After each episode of flow a person becomes more of a unique individual, less predictable, possessed of rarer skills." - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

I highly recommend this book.

Enjoy your flow!

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A Simple Still Life

"Apple with Leaves"

8x10" oil on canvas board

painted by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Art is a harmony parallel with nature."

- Paul Cezanne

A recent class with Jenny Berry at Arts Alliance of Lemon Bay in Englewood, Florida, on the art of painting a still life was truly fascinating. A great teacher really enjoys teaching, listening, answering questions and sharing ideas about art and painting. Going over painting basics can always improve the simplicity of your unique process. These are a few reminders and important tips to remember while making a painting.

Go for a strong, bold design! Painting large shapes is difficult because we tend to become mesmerized by details. Only looking for large shapes and the overall value of each shape really helps with the beginning design. It also can help keep you true to and not stray from the original inspiring image. Choosing a basic composition from the very start is very important to the success of the whole work of art. If you stick with a basic design the imaginative, loose work added during the later stages can help bring the work together.

A big key to generating an attractive painting is making objects look round. Painting dark, medium and light values of color give any object weight and depth. This produces dimension which is very appealing to the viewer.

Keeping your paint thick and creamy helps create an engaging work. It builds alluring textures and allows for an easier painterly edge-blending experience. It's much more fun to work with loose, thick paint. 

Shadows and the angle of light are necessary to ground objects. They also help with rounding each significant shape in the piece. If this is not accomplished, then objects can look like they are floating in mid air.

Pressure put on the brush is of the utmost importance. When paint is thick and wet there are so many different techniques you can use to create many different effects. Pressure can make all the difference in what you are trying to create as an end result. It also helps keep the colors clean.

Paint away ....

Thank you for reading my blog!
Love to paint and share!

#art #oilpainting #brushwork #colormixing #design #composition #loosebrushwork

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Freestyle Alcohol Inking

"Ocean Sunset"

Alcohol ink painted on a 10" dinner plate

- by Cindy Mott McGarry

Alcohol ink painted on a 4"x4" tile/coaster

-by Cindy Mott McGarry

"You can't depend on your eyes

when your imagination is out of focus."

- Mark Twain

Attending an alcohol ink class a week ago was a wonderful experience in free flowing thinking and  painting. It was a blast! The demonstration given by the teacher was so quick and easy to understand. This was the opposite experience I had imagined having because I thought it would be much more involved and complicated.

All you really need is a small cup holding isopropyl alcohol, a small paint brush, some alcohol inks in basic colors, paper towels, a small tile for a palette and a finished tile or canvas as a painting surface. A few drops of ink go a long way. Dipping the brush into the isopropyl alcohol and just dabbing a few drops onto a small painted shape of ink color thins and expands in ways all its own. As if you are partnering with another artist. 😃😃

It didn't take long at all to get comfortable with putting down basic shapes of color and allowing the mediums to create their own free flowing, unique little world of expansion and connection. I think of this style as being very similar to pointillism - only much more loose with a variety of shapes. The teacher kept the student pieces and put a resin on them that needed to cure for a week.

It was a mind stretching class that was a totally new experience in how to use my imagination. Truly loved it! A big take away was understanding that learning any new medium transfers to your other mediums. Now when I paint in oils again I will have this alcohol ink technique I created in the back of my mind and will want to use it with oil paint and big brushes!

More about this type of painting to come. Enjoy painting! Thank you for reading my blog.

All the best until next time,

Cindy

https://www.instagram.com/cindymottmcgarry/?hl=en

  

My Setup for Plein Air Painting

Top photo: My setup for plein air painting

My photo

Middle photo: My EasyL tripod and easel box ready to travel

Wet canvas/panel sizes 8x10, 9x12, 11x14, 12x16 slide into pochade box 

My photo

Bottom photo: EasyL Plein Air Easel and Tripod Setup

EasyL photo

"Creativity takes courage."

-Henri Matisse

My EasyL Versa Plein Air Easel and tripod have made painting on location so much easier! It feels like an outdoor studio once you are all setup. The pochade box holds a variety of sizes of canvases or panels that are transported by sliding them into the back of the box - 8x10, 9x12, 11x14, 12x16. If you wish to transport smaller or larger sizes in another wet panel or canvas carrier then many more sizes can be secured onto this easel with certain necessary adapters (i.e. bungee cords, etc.). 

One other important item I was counseled to always bring is a thick piece of light colored fabric to lay down on the ground. This helps keep ants and other crawly creatures from crawling on your shoes and up your legs. YIKES!!! The light color allows you to see any moving creatures better. I use a reversible outdoor picnic blanket with an adjustable strap that is machine washable - Picnic Time Vista Outdoor Picnic Blanket! Living in Florida makes this an absolute necessity!

More about plein air supplies to come!

Enjoy painting! ... Peace

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Color Speak

"The Secret Language of Color"

by Inna Segal

"Color is a power which directly influences the soul."

~Wassily Kandinsky

One of the most powerful reasons many artists love to paint is Color! Color is a way of communicating what you want to say without using words. Using mindfulness along with knowledge acquired about how humans perceive color, the use of different shades can create calm within the nervous system, influence mood and create peaceful feelings.

Hospitals are now using color to help patients feel better. Some hospitals and nursing homes also use music, writing and animal therapies to create a happier and calming environment. Certain colors are considered healing. The top seven are:

Yellow = playful, optimistic

Orange = happy, positive

Pink = loving, compassionate

Red = stimulating, energizing

Purple = meditative, creative

Blue = calming, tranquil

Green = soothing, refreshing

"The Secret Language of Color Cards" book by Inna Segal contains 45 different color cards. The guidebook talks about what the colors mean and how they can help you. There are also meditations for each color. More new shades can be brought into a person's surroundings by displaying pleasing art, wearing certain colors of clothing, spending time in nature, decorating, serving up a colorful plate of food ... and, of course, by painting and drawing. 

Speaking with color is a wonderful way to communicate, improve your emotional state and create the ambiance you desire!

Coming soon - more meditative art!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Check out my Meditative Art on my website!

Until next time ... Peace

Painting Knife Play

"Painted Florida Palms"

oil on canvas board

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"The human urge to create comes from the play impulse."

- Carla Hannaford

One way to paint more quickly while plein air painting (painting outdoors) is to use a painting knife. 

It can be quite enjoyable once an artist has practiced loading paint onto the knife and experimenting with different ways to lay down and spread paint. Covering the canvas can go much faster while trying to capture the current light out in the field. A plein air piece is mostly a study of light, value and color from which a larger work can be created in the studio.

There are quite a variety of palette and painting knives. The painting above was small so I only used  Creative Mark knives sizes T2 and an S61to load and spread paint. Knife painting creates thick strokes known as impasto style painting. The paint layers are thick and look as though they are coming out of the canvas. This type of art appears highly textured and can create a wonderful sense of depth.

After a certain amount of paint is laid down and spread with knives a brush can be used to carefully blend the colors to connect the overall design and cover the canvas, but too much blending can ruin the effect of the impasto technique. Sometimes I use an acrylic colored underpainting such as raw sienna, indian yellow or transparent earth red. When the underpainting shows through it can give a glowing appearance and helps unify all parts of the design.

Have fun painting!
Cindy

https://www.instagram.com/cindymottmcgarry/

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Painting en Plein Air

"Caspersen Beach, Venice Florida"

8"x10" oil painting

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Live out of your imagination (not your history)."

- Stephen Covey

   This was my first plein air (painting outside) painting which gave me a sense of comfort with creating on location outdoors. It was a perfect day for plein air.  The temperature was in the upper 70s, a slight breeze, beautiful light and many other artists out painting, socializing and sharing.

   The planning, packing, loading, setting up on a beach has been a learning process over the past year. Once the tripod, easel and oil paints were set up it was a really fun experience to look for the large shapes, lay them in and begin to build the painting. Trying to stay loose and be open to new ideas while using slightly larger brushes was invigorating. I was very pleased with the colors, values, overall looseness and limited brush strokes. Finished most of this painting on location and put the final touches on it later.

   The colors of oil paints on my palette were titanium white, cadmium yellow medium, yellow ochre, cadmium red deep, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and burnt umber. My new favorite brushes are ASPEN Series 6500 from Princeton Artist Brush Company I love their Bright brushes for my style of painting. They are easy to clean and hold their shape very well. Most of my canvas panels are Pintura and are double primed and formaldehyde-free. I order mine from Dick Blick. 

Until next time! 

Enjoy painting!

Love and Peace,

Cindy

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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!

My Website!

Glowing Light

"Lido Key Sunset" 24"x30" oil on canvas

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"There are two ways of spreading light:

 to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

- Edith Wharton

This painting, "Lido Key Sunset," was juried into a summer art show at Art Uptown Gallery in downtown Sarasota, Florida. The glowing light of sunsets are mesmerizing to me and capturing the "Glow" of the sun as it lowers beyond the water has been a mystifying challenge.

The lavender, orange and pink colors in this painting helped me to best express the glowing light that I saw in the sky and on the water one beautiful evening on Lido Key Beach. This painting was created with many colors to spread and share with viewers the glowing light of this particular sunset.

After surviving hurricane Irma recently it is wonderful to look forward to enjoying the unique beauty surrounding us again here in Sarasota, Florida.

Wishing you all the best!

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Color as Therapy

"Purple Hydrangea" 16"x20" oil on canvas

Cindy Mott McGarry

"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts."

- Marcus Aurelius

Have you ever noticed how you feel when you walk into a dark gray or brown colored room? Happy? Scared? Excited? Most of the time we are unaware of how much color effects our mood. For instance, color is one of the most important marketing choices branding professionals have to make about a product. Marketing research shows that 90% of quick decisions to purchase a product are based on color.

Color psychology is an area of research committed to analyzing the behavioral and emotional outcomes created by colors. Each color has its own unique vibration and provides an important function. Decorating styles are heavily based on color. Blue colored walls would be more calming for a bedroom and yellow more uplifting for a living room or playroom. Here is a list of some colors and how they make most people feel:

Blue - calming, tranquil

Red - stimulating, energizing

Orange - happy, positive

Yellow - playful, optimistic

Pink - loving, compassionate

Green - soothing, refreshing

Purple - meditative, creative

White - clarity, purity

Paintings displayed in homes, offices, and hospital rooms can uplift or bring people down. Combinations of color and blending can create a sense of peace and tranquility or a sense of dread. Research also shows that artwork depicting nature scenes and subjects brings about a feeling of calm and or happiness, whereas, abstract art can create a feeling of anxiety.

Color is powerful. It can effect our mood, behavior. and even our thoughts. Color can heal. Therefore, art can be very powerful. The "Purple Hydrangea" painting above is meant to provide an image of nature and beauty which produces a meditative state for viewers.

Enjoy playing with beautiful colors! 

For more information on color psychology Click Here!

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Why Do You Paint?

"Sunset" 18"x24" oil on stretched canvas

by Cindy Mott McGarry

"Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power still unknown but real, 

which acts on every part of the human body." - Wassily Kandinsky

I paint because I believe there is a distinctive energy transference that takes place through my art.

I believe the love and intentions that I pour into my work is absorbed by those who experience it.

There is a powerful healing, a peaceful kind of meditation, that occurs for me as I paint.  My goal is for people to experience the same sensation when they view my finished work.

Research has shown that patients in hospitals surrounded by art are helped substantially throughout their stay and statistically recover faster.

     

When someone interacts with my art I also want to unleash their imagination.

Creativity heals and moves us beyond where we are presently.

I continually search this wonderful world for beauty that inspires me.  I then harness my energy and imagination to express it uniquely.

My unrelenting drive to paint is best expressed by my artist motto:  “Create, share and heal.” 

Being creative is important and brings challenges and happiness to all art makers and viewers.

Paint away! 

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