The birds have begun to sing, even daffodils have begun to peek through frosty ground as I sit here in late February. In November of 2021, I had a plan. It had to do with digital paintings, yes, paintings, yes, digital. They are done with “oil paint” on an app on the iPad. Digital art. In November, I was mentally flogging myself (anyone else do that?) for not spending more time at the easel and being creative or creatively productive or productively creative every single day. Balancing my interior design work, yoga business and my art business left me with little time or frankly inspiration to start something new. However, starting a few years ago, when I went to bed, if I was listening to a great book on audio rather than pick up a book to read, I picked up my iPad. I would start painting on a free app called Art Set. Absolutely free, no frills and yet SO therapeutic. Each night I would do two or three or four or five paintings on the iPad. I might discard a few or rework them later but generally it was for my own pleasure, playfulness and it was relaxing and cathartic. Without lots of supplies or making a mess and carving out hours at a time I was able to consistently create some fun landscapes and experiment with abstract painting. This has been going on for years, it was so free and so personal, it didn’t occur to me it WAS my creative practice. As that moment arrived late in 2021, I was mentally flogging myself (as previously mentioned) and I realized “hey I’ve been productive! I have been creating!” It doesn’t look the way I’ve come to know intimately in my career, but it’s real. We have to let go of what we know so a new idea has a chance in our lives. So I had a plan… Back to that. I thought I’ll take these images, digital paintings that I like, get them printed out and make groupings of them. Maybe they become notecards or postcards and I’ll write notes & give them to friends. Then my December went sideways, I lost my mom as the holidays commenced. With family commitments and life, the cards were set aside. I had the cards printed but they were just sitting with me through December. When January’s curtain lifted, I found myself thinking about goals for the year and how to come back to my artistic practice in a way that felt authentic and gentle and using the energy already expressed. Aha, the cards? I took the 120 printed images of my favorite iPad paintings (yes, there were 120 favorites:) and began to play with them and arrange them creating groupings that made me smile. After spending hours arranging & rearranging with playfulness I had about 12 groupings. Could they come to reflect each month of the year? I began to assign each grouping to a month to see if it felt right. It did. I’ve been asked to make prints for years. Does this feel like the right moment? It does. I plan to release a group each month starting with my collection titled Leafless Winter after Mary Oliver’s beautiful poem. Clearly those daffodils are coming & January is now February‘s collection and just barely. March is days away, and soon the warmth will be back. It felt urgent to have these in the world in February, hence the surprise launch. These paintings* are born of strong angles reminiscent of branches crossing the sky on a cloudy day, a pillow of snow under a street lamp or the deepest shadows of winter bruising the landscape. The pale pinks are frosted noses and cheeks, the deep lines like veins of marble or the veins of my tender skin. If you know me, you know I paint landscapes usually including wildly bright colors, rosy hues and sun-drenched water. This is not that collection. This release is an acknowledgment of cold and hard and sharp things and the soft underbelly they find. These moments aren’t permanent, they visit us and we become resilient and compassionate. These visitations stretch and challenge and leave us changed. What is art for but the celebration of all humanity. The human condition is the glory, the beauty, and also the bleak. These paintings are not as comfortable for me as something brightly expressed, but they are true and honest and beautiful. If my expression finds you and resonates with you, I’m honored to share your journey.
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AuthorAnne Borders is a landscape painter living in Louisville, Kentucky. Archives
February 2022
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