T. Birch Studios

Artists’ Threads!

T. Birch Studios — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 22:58:32 +0000

I met a fellow “painter” today while puppy playing in the park. Paula and I met through our furry companions making me think the threads of art weave new friendships easily. Our meeting made my soul happy and my face smile…ah the little things in life are often the biggest.

Last weekend I created a painting that is different even for me when every “piece” is different by its very creation. I had not painted since my beloved Elli the Elkhound passed on. My new companion Lilee, the German Sheppard puppy licked my feet as I knelt painting away and of course that gave a burst of joy to my brush. The painting will be under new works on the website soon so come back to view!

Collecting Passion

T. Birch Studios — Sun, 30 May 2010 23:48:04 +0000

A Paint Lick!

I think about passion quite a bit as it shows up in the choices we make; what foods we love, our favorite books, our pets, our politics, our faith, our cars, our homes, our movies, our collectibles, our clothes, and of course, when we are in love; it is all passion! And, I think how art makes all our choices come alive in so many ways. A chef is quite an artist in his or her presentation and we hire an interior designer to bring our choices together. Someone asked me recently what artists I liked and I told him de Kooning for his thickness of paint, Helen Frankenthaler for her way of engaging the canvas, Jackson Pollock because in my early career I couldn’t paint anything but Jackson Pollock for 6 months, and a friend mentioned his fondness for Kandinsky, saying to check him out. Art really is in the eye of the beholder and when this same person asked me why my art would be a good investment for him, I told him “My art is an excellent investment for your soul. Can you place a price tag on that?” I recently was reminded by a couple (see the Seafoam One painting) that the painting I created was so them! My emotional currency is very gratifying! The Passion Collection (red tones paintings) poured from me onto the canvas with yes you guessed it passion!

I paint because that is what I do.

Seafoam One ac/canvas 36"x36"

Passion Collection; ac/canvas 36"x36"

Passion Collection; ac/canvas 48"x48"

Seafoam Two; ac/canvas 48"x48"

“The Field of Art”

T. Birch Studios — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:52:32 +0000

As usual when I paint I am in the mystery and feel like Sherlock Homes when the painting reveals itself. I was inspired by the energy of the staff, their vision for their gourmet speciality wine & cheese market/bistro; GC Cafe in Menlo Park. Having grown up in France as a child I was mesmerized by the golden hues of mustard blowing in the wind. Mustard Movement propelled itself onto my canvas with gusto and the little red dot just wanted to be there you could say. I was invited to show my paintings at this wonderful speciality “environment.” and when we installed Mustard Movement it was right a home.

“Eternity”

T. Birch Studios — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:08:32 +0000

When I came to the canvas in the flurry of having to paint now, I poured paint onto the canvas and watching the movement started to dance with it; my brush had a life of it’s own.

I then created what I call a wash as I poured water onto the canvas and controlled the flow with heat; what appeared someone put into words and I share this with you as I find describing what I feel and have created to be inferior to the actual work.

Here are the comments “Eternity.” Your soul’s hope for a legacy. Using washes of okra and orange with hints of yellow, the colors shimmer and create the illusion of a vibrant breathing entity that pulsates to the rhythm of your life. Brush strokes penetrate and increase this vibration as your eyes see an image, perhaps your human (your own?) peering back at you. Your senses feel a pull as the depth of the colors beckons you into a special world. Time never stands still in this work of art as colors harmoniously create a juxtaposition that lets you flow in the imagination of your soul.” This is why I am to paint.

The Music of Painting

T. Birch Studios — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:51:27 +0000

When I painted The Tibetan Sunset I was compelled to play a Buddhist chant. Previously in the theater
watching The Last Samurai the rhythm of painting began to stir; the last hour was difficult to sit still in my seat. I came home, the music turned on,and paint began to move on the canvas in unrehersed lines; however, an inner knowing was coming alive and being brought forth; . Some say that color has a vibrational frequency, and I believe through my experience in painting that is so. Expression through painting is how my soul communicates.

Breathing Green

T. Birch Studios — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:11:46 +0000

Breathing Green
I painted Breathing Green after a three day “Goddess Bootcamp” in the Santa Cruz mountains. Women from all over the United States participated in creating rituals and learning dances that provoked and evoked our creativity. We learned how to go into any fears we may have had; meeting our fears in rituals and also celebrating the Goddess within us in dance and rituals to reinforce our beauty. We met our fears in the woods by flashlight, open grave buried up to our necks in our birthday suits under a full moon, and on a mountain top bathed in moonlite. We celebrated our beauty and courage with much joy. As a painter I live in the unknown. I never now what the canvas is springing forth until I am in the doing.

Breathing Green was the second painting I painted late that Sunday nite by candle lite. I grabbed the green paint and could not get enough of it on my hands moving onto my canvas. The music of the Goddess CD playing in the background appeared in the flow of the paint and I began to move quickly within the paint. The brilliant green of life color of the canvas named itself.

If you cannot understand what I am saying it is because words seem difficult to explain the emotion of color. The other day in a gallery conversation the topic of style was brought up. I don’t know what style I have as I paint period.

I remember when my mother died in 1999 and I wore shades of green that seemed like forever; someone told me that green is rebirth; death and life; this makes sense to me as sometimes I can never eat enough green foods, wear enough green jewelry and clothing and paint paint paint in green. And, I leave you with this though today, Breathe in Green, Breathe in Beauty.

What is Inspiration?

T. Birch Studios — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:30:12 +0000

Do inspiration and passion go hand in hand as an artist?

Do we have passion and then feel inspired to create art or are we inspired and then passionately create art? Can art be created without passion? Can we be passionate about art and yet not feel inspired? Where does our passion come from? Where do we find inspiration?

I believe unless there is passion there is only existence; as a painter I am fueled by passion and find my inspiration in the way the wind blows the tree leaves or walking barefoot on a multicolored textured carpet feeling the wool court my toes; the sensation of texture and the magnificence of colored shells being revealed at low tide can be a platform for color forms to springboard on to my canvas. Passion is color in shapes and sounds and all around!