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I have found an artist business consultant, Alexis Fedor, who is offering mentoring services, and she gives some free pointers before asking for money for the classes. (She administrates the Artists in Business group on facebook). Anyway, she suggests you clarify why you create art (to hone in on what is unique to you and find your ideal customers). So she has people ask 2 questions, and find how the answers are related and then state why you create art. She asks for your first memory of creating art and your most profound artistic experience.
here is mine:
According to my mother, my passion for art began at the age of 4 when I would stay up long past bedtime, coloring in my room; however, my first vivid memory of art is sitting in church every Sunday, drawing the same picture each week: Jesus standing by a drawn back curtain and holding a gigantic ruby in His outstretched hand. I can still envision that image clearly today, though I never kept a single copy.
Similarly, my most profound artistic experience, thus far, came when I was speaking from the pulpit in Church. I was citing Helaman 5:12 from the Book of Mormon : “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build our foundation; that when the devil shall send forth His mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” As I spoke, an image flooded my mind in the form of a painting: a woman kneeling on a rock surrounded by a stormy sea. She was at the feet of the Savior. Tears streamed down her face as fiery darts assailed her from every direction, yet hope shone in her eyes. I remember thinking, “I have to paint that,” but I did not feel up to the task.
Although I still don’t feel ready, I am beginning to feel compelled to move forward regardless of whether if feel adequate or not. In a movie called Charlie, the main character shares a piece of her art with her grandma, who asks why she is painting fruit –which is just an exercise– and advises her to find something she feels so strongly about that she is afraid she won’t be able to do it and then paint that. I realize I have spent the last few years metaphorically “painting fruit”, honing my skills. –But what I feel so strongly about that I fear not being able to express –THAT is my real purpose! To bring people closer to Christ and the love and peace He offers them. It is time for my canvas to bring these beautiful truths to life!
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not copy.
Dawna’s 
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble 
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble 
Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
Visit Dawna’s fan page and become a fan on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
Dawna’s art on society6
You can also find Dawna on flickr
I wrote the first draft of this poem when I was about 17 during my Junior year of High School. Although I wrote quite a bit of poetry during my high school years, I fell out of the habit during the busy years of college, getting married, and having lots of little kids running around. Over the past few years, I have been going through my old poetry notebook and revamping some of the better ones to share because I have really missed the poetry in my life. The original idea for this poem was great especially for an about 17-year-old, but it needed fleshing out and reworking. It has taken me over a year so far to rewrite it–mostly because by the time I have enough quiet time, it is late, I am tired, and am feeling like my brain is a bit fried.
In the way of acknowledgements and dedication, I would like to thank my High School sweetheart and love of my life, now and forever after, for being the reason I wanted to write poetry in the first place and for believing in me; my Freshman and Junior year English teacher, Mrs. Rogers, who taught me all the basics, gave me the assignment in the first place, and was always available before and after class as well as before and after school to help me work out rhythm and rhyme, and give me words of encouragement which meant more to me than she probably knew; my author friend Lia London for proofreading, some helpful constructive critique, and being a much-needed fresh set of eyes; and last but not least to God who got me through all my rough patches and gave me little bits of inspiration in the restless hours of the night as I was trying to get the final draft complete.
paintbrush poem at Redbubble
paintbrush poem at Imagekind
Since the preview here doesn’t go high-resolution enough to read it as I had hoped, I will go ahead and post the poem itself here with the understanding that readers will please respect my copyright and not copy or print, although you are more than welcome to hit the share button 😉
Paintbrush, by Dawna Morton
The brush in my hand—
paint slowly creating the picture…
Will it be what I want in the end?
My life, will it make,
a beautiful picture—
through the road that I take?
Colors mix together:
shades and hues of hopes and dreams…
Do they add or detract from the theme?
Feet pacing floor —having given my all—
Temptation to crumple, to scream,
throw my failures at the wall.
Reflective, introspective: perspective.
Stumble, learn, grow, submit.
Needing guidance Divine, my faults I admit.
Purport, import, and a refining effort,
—lights and effects: fine tuning ever—
Transform, renew. Start over…
as the brush guides the colors:
each choice that I make,
each decision, each path that I take…
Of infinite worth, this repeating process–
both guided–yet guiding–
this seemingly perpetual work in progress
Importuning, with brush in my hand,
pleading, to put my hand in His.
Inviting –creating anew, a new symbiosis
A joining, a becoming, as both Creator and creation—
—a true work of art— a new, more celestial me…
His continuous re-creation–
as this “brush” tries so hard to express,
with feeling, love, and desire: the will serene
…of the Master Painter.
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not copy.
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
Visit Dawna’s fan page and become a fan on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
You can also find Dawna on flickr
A few Christmases ago my family and I tried giving only homemade Christmas presents (with the exception of my husband who bought me a badly needed new camera). This went really well, and everyone had fun finding creative things to do for each other. It has become a bit of a tradition since then… In process of making a busy book for my two youngest girls (which I sadly have not finished yet) I drew this sketch of Jesus:
Awakening Divine Self Worth, sketch of Jesus Posters by dlmtleArt
Check out Poetry Posters online at zazzle
This Portrait sketch of Jesus shows him as if in mid smile. You can almost see him moving with sparkle and life. A look of happy kindness in one and sorrow and compassion in the other.. One arm is forward as if either in a teaching moment or to reach out to someone and lift them up…
Archival inks & papers, canvas prints,custom framing, Fine Art Prints on imagekind Awakening Divine Self Worth, sketch of Jesus, on RedBubble; cards , matted prints and more
Awakening Divine Self Worth, sketch of Jesus Posters on zazzle.com Awakening Divine Self Worth, sketch of Jesus at FineArtAmerica
I started out looking around at several other renditions of Jesus in my home and on the internet, that other artists have created, just to help me fix in my mind’s eye “this is what Jesus looks like.” Then I took a sheet of graph paper, since this was just going to be for my kids and only to transfer it to cloth later, and did a quick little sketch; however, I quickly regretted my choice of papers since the sketch turned out so well. Thankfully using my scanner and Paint.net made it pretty easy to remove the blue grid from the sketch. Making a really clean “coloring book” version of this sketch for the book, while still keeping the kind, but lively expression, was a bit problematic. It took some trial and error to figure out which lines could be removed or altered and which had to stay. I spent days making printouts, changing things, re-scanning, touching up on the computer and printing it out again before I had this final draft. Transferring the drawing to the fabric was accomplished with a permanent ink marker and a cut up printout of the picture that I traced like a puzzle onto the book page. (Yes I know it would have been less hassle to buy a transfer, but I was trying not to spend money).
The sketch turned out so well I printed out extra copies to send as Christmas cards and as presents for a select few people.
I got the idea about a year later to couple this with my poem, Awakening Divine Self Worth, which is about changing from seeing yourself the way the world sees you to seeing yourself as of infinite worth as you develop the divine within you:
One shaft of light
Illuminates my mind,
Streaming through one tiny crack
Of this fortress mine.
Amid the dank and darkened shadows,
Through cobwebs aged with time,
This light begins awakening
An inner me, Divine.
Basking in this warmth of light,
A struggle now takes play
Breaking free from cobwebs
And reaching for the day.
I hunger for this filling light
I strive to let it in
To fill my aching eyes with sight
I know I must begin.
A stretch, a step, a forward leap,
Each stone moved from its place
This light, His love, a soul’s embrace
Shining from His face
Cast away the darkness
Dispelling all my fears
drive away the shadows
Through dust as thick as years
Planting me a garden
In my heart to shine
Showing forth myself, my love
My inner me, Divine.
poetry by Dawna Morton, all right reserved –please do not copy, but feel free to share the link 😉
This is actually a rewrite of a poem I wrote back in high school. I haven’t written a new poem in many years, but I used to really enjoy it. I am hoping that if I spend enough time editing the best out of my old ones that writing poetry will come back to me. I also have this poem in conjunction with some of my forest photography, but I like it best with my sketch of Jesus.
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not copy.
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
Visit Dawna’s fan page and become a fan on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
Dawna’s art on society6
Vernonia Lake is full of light and beauty. An Oregon rain splashes down–dancing on lily pads, yellow lily flowers and blue lake water in a synergy of energy, tranquility, and reflection.
lily pads in the rain at Vernonia Lake Poster by dlmtleArt
Search for another posters online at Zazzle
Search for another posters online at Zazzle
Lily Pads In The Rain At Vernonia Lake at Fineartamerica
Lily Pads In The Rain At Vernonia Lake at Redbubble
Lily Pads In The Rain At Vernonia Lake at Imagekind
Last spring my son and I made a short stop at Vernonia lake. I had just gotten a zoom lens extender from my father-in-law, so while my son fished I tried it out on a great blue heron that was way out in the middle of the lake. It was a little tricky though since the extender does not have an auto focus or stabilizer and I did not have a tripod at that point–so the majority of the photos did not turn out well. One of the photos from that day that did turn out is the photo, taken without the extender, that I used in “Lily Pads In The Rain At Vernonia Lake” which was taken after it started to rain just before we left. I made it into a digital work of art by making the colors more vibrant, adding blue to the water and a textured layer of larger than life water splashes in the background. n addition, there is another layer of texture to add the effect of more rain droplets on the water and a neon layer to heighten the effect of water on the edges of the lily pads and the flowers.
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not copy.
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
Visit Dawna’s fan page and become a fan on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
You can also find Dawna on flickr
This is a bit off topic for me, but some people have expressed interest in this so I thought I would share…
We are at the point where I make 5 or six loaves at a time 2x a week or more. I have developed a no-knead recipe that I like and which is very hands off. I tend to make a double batch of this in two separate mixing bowls at once.
Here is my method for making bread:
For stage 1:
In a LARGE mixing bowl, I take:
2 quarts of warm water
2 handfuls of yeast (yes I just said handfuls! I just pour some in my hand and dump it in — this is approximately 2 rounded or heaping tablespoons.)
2 handfuls (about 2 rounded or heaping tablespoonfuls) of flax seeds
4 larger handfuls (about 6 rounded or heaping tablespoonfuls) of a 50/50 mix of red and white quinoa
2 cups of quick oats
1 cup cracked wheat (optional) if you use cracked wheat reduce the flour by about a cup. cracked wheat can also be substituted for the seeds if you don’t have them.
I let the batter sit for at least an hour or when it is good and bubbly and the oats have really expanded–basically whenever I get back around to it.
Stage 2:
I set the bowl in my old secondhand sunbeam stand mixer, turn it on, and add:
2/3 cup honey or sugar
a half cup of oil.
3 smaller handfuls of salt (about as much in each as you would toss into a boiling of water for spaghetti or about 3 or 4 teaspoonfuls –if the bread tastes bland you did not add enough salt)
add a cup or two at a time:
(for a double batch) about 5 heaping cups (about 9 cups level) of white flour
(for a double batch) about 4 heaping cups (or about 7 cups level) of whole wheat flour
when the dough is too thick to stiff in more by hand, or thick enough that the dough is climbing the beaters you’ve got enough flour
I work on doing dishes or something nearby until it is all mixed in–sometimes this requires lifting the beaters up and down as it stirs towards the end so the dough doesn’t climb them.
Stage 3 :
Let it sit for an hour or so till it has risen over the top a little–but not all over the counters (make sure you stay close and keep an eye on it while cleaning the kitchen or check on it frequently if cleaning elsewhere).
stage 4:
When it is done with the first rise, scoop it into 5 greased bread pans and let it rise again.
Bake 350 for about 35 minutes til the crust is golden brown. It is light and airy and soft like store-bought bread.
It has taken me 20 years to come up with a recipe that was this good. I hope you enjoy it. If you try it out come back and let me know how you like it.
Update:
Yesterday I discovered I can take about a loaf worth of dough before starting the second rise and quickly roll it out, cut it up with a cup (and something smaller like a water-bottle lid for the doughnut holes), and fry them in oil to make donuts. We rolled them in cinnamon sugar afterwords, and the kids are begging me to do that more often.
This recipe also works really well as cinnamon rolls or maple-nut sticky rolls. I make a double batch of bread ( one batch each in separate bowls) which will make 6 loaves and 2 batches of rolls. While your bread is baking: separate the remaining dough in half, knead each of them two or three times on a floured surface (about a cup of flour I think) –just enough so it does not stick to the board or rolling pin. The dough should be very soft and moist. Then roll out each half, spread with melted butter and either lots of cinnamon and sugar and raisins, or roll it out and sprinkle with nuts (cashews work well). Next roll it up and slice it and place it on a greased cookie sheet. If you want the sticky rolls, sprinkle some more nuts on the top and douse it really well with maple or maple flavored syrup ( I didn’t measure, but space the rolls apart from each other enough not to touch and then just make sure the syrup does not over fill the pan). Then bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes after the bread is done baking. –Just make sure It is no longer doughy and is not burnt on the bottom 😉 For sticky rolls, drizzle with a little more syrup after they come out of the oven. I don’t always have time to make frosting or icing for the cinnamon rolls because I am so busy, and it is nice that the sticky rolls really, really don’t need it. These are so easy and yummy.
To make maple bars: knead 2 loaves worth or so lightly a few times for easier handling and roll out as above. then simply cut into rectangles and let them rise on a greased cookie sheet while your bread is baking (I needed at least 4 cookie sheets for this lol). when the bars have doubled in size then pop them in the oven at 325 for 10 or 11 minutes. They will not and should not be brown. While they are baking make maple frosting. I did this by whipping up 2/3 cup butter with 2/3 cup maple syrup and the adding 2 cups of sugar (that I had blended like powdered sugar a cup at a time because we didn’t have any powdered sugar on hand and I didn’t want to make a trip to the store). Let the bars cool a bit before frosting. These turned out so soft and yummy 🙂 the only thing I would change is to wait a little longer to frost them so it doesn’t melt and slide off, and maybe a little extra maple flavoring if I have it next time…
As a side note, when I made the maple bars I was out of whole wheat flour and flax seeds so I substituted poppy seeds for the flax and added a cup of cracked wheat during the soaking step… then when mixing it substituted 2 cups of quick oats to each batch for part of the whole wheat and replacing the rest with white flour as needed.
If you want less sugar in the frosting try substituting some instant powdered milk for some of the powdered sugar. Add a little at a time and mix well so it is not lumpy. I have found about 1/3 cup works well and makes a nice creamy frosting.
nutrition information on the bread, using the cracked wheat option, courtesy of sparkrecipes.com this is assuming 4 loaves to a batch of 14 slices each. It could be sliced thinner with an electric knife for those who want lower calories.
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Nutrition Facts
Dawna’s no-knead bread recipe
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| 56 Servings
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Amount Per Serving
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| Calories | 168.9 | |
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| Total Fat | 3.0 g | |
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| Saturated Fat | 1.6 g | |
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| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.3 g | |
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| Monounsaturated Fat | 0.2 g | |
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| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg | |
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| Sodium | 167.4 mg | |
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| Potassium | 35.4 mg | |
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| Total Carbohydrate | 31.8 g | |
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| Dietary Fiber | 3.2 g | |
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| Sugars | 2.5 g | |
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| Protein | 4.9 g | |
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| Vitamin A | 0.0 % |
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| Vitamin B-12 | 0.0 % |
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| Vitamin B-6 | 0.8 % |
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| Vitamin C | 0.0 % |
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| Vitamin D | 0.0 % |
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| Vitamin E | 1.7 % |
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| Calcium | 0.6 % |
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| Copper | 2.1 % |
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| Folate | 1.5 % |
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| Iron | 2.8 % |
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| Magnesium | 2.0 % |
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| Manganese | 12.7 % |
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| Niacin | 1.8 % |
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| Pantothenic Acid | 1.0 % |
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| Phosphorus | 3.5 % |
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| Riboflavin | 0.6 % |
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| Selenium | 8.6 % |
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| Thiamin | 2.2 % |
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| Zinc | 1.4 % |
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| *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not copy.
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
Visit Dawna’s fan page and become a fan on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
You can also find Dawna on flickr
since I got an email today from somebody on fineartamerica asking how I make my own textures, I thought maybe somebody else might be interested. Here is what I said back to them:
Thanks for you interest! I do not have a how to do textures tutorial, but I have several blog posts about images that have been made with my own textures. It is super easy and so fun. Anybody who has a macro lens and keeps their eyes open for interesting textures on things can do it. A tripod is helpful sometimes as well.
https://dlmtleart.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/snowflakes-and-a-bit-about-textures/
https://dlmtleart.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/garden-of-the-hesperides-digital-art/
https://dlmtleart.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/old-fashioned-roses-trojan-pond/
https://dlmtleart.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/red-lilies-hares-foot-trefoil-with-red-leaves/
https://dlmtleart.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/marriage-of-titania-salmon-berry-floral-duet/
There is also a tutorial on redbubble I found very helpful in getting started with doing your own textures:
http://blog.redbubble.com/2013/02/how-to-photograph-your-own-textures/
–although unlike what they recommend I do NOT prefer things with an even or uniform texture. I like finding interesting abstract shapes that inspire my imagination much like Leonardo Davinci taught his students to do by looking for stains on the walls etc and then using those to spark creative and imaginative drawings.
Sometimes after I take the initial texture shots I meld several of them together using layers to get what I am after and edit the color and lighting. These make great backgrounds for stationery also.
This is one I did using the crackled and glittery surface of my bathroom sink after I accidentally spilled gentian violet ALL OVER THE PLACE and then tried to clean it up. This incorporates overlaying several layers of sink texture plus edits to the lighting http://www.redbubble.com/people/dlmtleart/works/11574196-crackle-and-sparkle
…and here it is in a photo manipulation http://fineartamerica.com/featured/dragonfly-leap-of-faith-dawna-morton.html
here is another one where I used a texture from the bottom of my flaking Teflon wok. I use that wok texture a lot because it adds a splash of energy and motion. http://www.redbubble.com/people/dlmtleart/works/10469714-homework-rebellion-girl-reading-horse
Here is one where I used a close up of a bread pan somebody left outside in the bbq all winter. It was gross, but cleaned up and tinted blue etc it is lovely http://www.zazzle.com/cloudy_blue_sky_star_haiku_oval_print-228789702444197489?rf=238567130389714466
This one has as one of many layers an edited version of the infamous gentian violet spill aftermath. When I rinsed out the rags and set them on the edge of the bathtub and squeezed them out we had purple drops, drips, and splashes all over the place. It did eventually come off after a month or so and after using bleach. lol 😉 http://fineartamerica.com/featured/lily-pads-in-the-rain-at-vernonia-lake-dawna-morton.html
This should give you some ideas of the types of things you can keep an eye out for at your home and around town.
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not COPY, but do feel free to hit the share button 😉
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Art at fineartamerica.com
Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
See Dawna’s art on Amazon!
Be a fan of Dawna’s art and photography on facebook!
You can also find Dawna on flickr
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
Candies and Cookies Funny Santa Christmas Card by PoemsProseArtistry
Create a card designs on Zazzle
A lady I know from church writes some really awesome haiku poetry, and she has shared some with me to illustrate and post for sale. Glennis may be old enough to be my mother, but she is a great friend. She is young at heart and quick to laugh –with a great sense of humor and a keen wit. When she shared this Christmas Haiku with me I just knew it would make an awesome card with an embarrassed Santa cramming his mouth full of yet another plate of cookies and getting caught in the act.
I have two versions of the card for sale one has the entire haiku and Santa on the cover, the front of other says:
Candies and cookies
Make Christmas so delightful!
Then inside the card, above Santa’s head, it reads:
Sure does show on me!
Glennis loved the card design when I showed it to her. What do YOU think?
You can also find this design for sale:
as a print at imagekind; as a print and card at FineArtAmerica; as a print, card, stickers, phone covers, and shirts at Redbubble; and on everything from aprons to water bottles and more at zazzle. ps. I did accidentally post some of the items to the wrong store at zazzle, and it has been a pain to fix so you can also find some of them I here instead. I’ll make sure Glennis still gets her portion of the royalties…
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton (unless otherwise stated).
In this case, the Haiku is property of Glennis Roper.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not COPY, but feel free to hit the share button 😉
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Art at fineartamerica.com
Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
See Dawna’s art on Amazon!
Be a fan of Dawna’s art and photography on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
Dawna’s art on society6
Butterfly at the Veil, watercolor painting on gessoed canvas-board, by Dawna Morton, 2013.
I originally started this painting so I would have an entry for the local art associations art contest this summer, however life with 6 kids isn’t always conducive to having enough time to paint–and the kids come first 😉 I think I managed to get it done within about a month of the deadline. I had a photo of some ‘snow in summer’ flowers that I had taken through my front window as a photographic experiment after I got my new camera, and I loved the feel of the one this painting is based on –although the photo itself turned out a little blurry. I had a couple of small canvas boards a friend gave me for Christmas, and decided to use those to experiment with different media and effects for the background. Click here to see it as a work in progress, and to see some of the other background ideas I played with…
In order to quickly see how which background type looked best with the flowers, I printed out a copy of my reference photo and just cut them out of it so I could lay them over each of the canvases in turn. This worked extraordinarily well since the canvases weren’t much bigger than my printout. I ended up going with this purple watercolor because it more closely mimicked the feel I was looking for. with the deadline looming I decided to trace the paper cut out onto the canvas to save time. Hopefully nobody feels like that was cheating. I ten drew in the details and made some alterations–such as changing which direction the main blossom was facing. I also moved the flowers on this side of the window and suggested a curtain with light coming through it instead of a screen and the edge of the windowsill with the flowers outside. Then I added a butterfly to balance everything out and add some additions interest.
Everything was coming along nicely until the three-year-old got a hold of it. One of those moments where the house was suspiciously quiet for entirely too long prompted me to figure out what she was up to. She had managed to get herself into the art room and nabbed the paints and was happily painting away in a bold red. Thankfully She had laid a few pieces of paper across the top first–which caught the worst of it; however, there was still the problem of bright red splotches on a very simple all purple palette.
Luckily the red lifted off of the gessoed surface beautifully, and I did not have to go with plan b — adding a bunch of red flowers to the right hand corner.
As I was working on the composition and painting a symbolic meaning to everything came into play. The three sections of curtain across the window is a sort of representation of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost–united yet separate and distinct at the same time as they are one. Then there is the light coming through the curtain –which represents inspiration, revelation and those moments when we feel that heaven is near. Truly the veil is thin sometimes. This is also a reference to the temple and going there for additional revelation, inspiration, peace and to be spiritual uplifted. The butterfly is a representation of being visited by the Holy Ghost, which was inspired by an article I read to my children many years ago in the Friend magazine about how being reverent is like sitting quiet and still so you can catch a butterfly, or feel the Holy Ghost. The flowers are a representation of each of us, as we grow and blossom in readiness to hear, inspiration is more frequent and clear, and easier to understand– and in turn spiritual light nourishes us so we can grow and blossom. And of course: God is the source of all light (revelation inspiration, and so on) and we are completely dependent on them. The overall feel and tranquility in this painting is symbolic of how we feel when we commune with God and the peace and comfort He sends us through the Holy Ghost.
You can find “Butterfly at the Veil” for sale as a print at FineArtAmerica, imagekind, Redbubble, zazzle , and Amazon. So far the original is not for sale. The family loves it too much 😉
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton (unless otherwise stated).
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not COPY, but feel free to hit the share button 😉
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Art at fineartamerica.com
Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
See Dawna’s art on Amazon!
Be a fan of Dawna’s art and photography on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
Dawna’s art on society6
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Battery Mishler Gun Emplacement exit, ladders by Dawna Morton
Last spring I got to go on one of the coolest field trips ever with my son. He was enrolled in an online school, Oregon Connections Academy, at the time. We went on an underground tour of battery Mishler at old Fort Stevens. It was like taking a step backward in time right into history. Even though Battery Mishler was burned in a fire started by some vagrants several decades ago, there were still lots of cool things to see. My son had a blast shining his flashlight in every nook and cranny, and I had fun trying out the low light setting on my camera while we listened to our guide explain all the Civil War, World War I, and World War II history involved in what we were seeing. It was really neat, and I would highly advise going if you ever get the chance. Although it is not generally open to the public (for safety reasons they don’t leave it unlocked), You can call in advance and set up a special appointment with a tour guide if you are interested. I would recommend wearing a hat since it is drippy in there. It is also probably good to know that there are stairs, so it isn’t exactly stroller friendly. (There was a student in a wheelchair, and they were able to carry him up and then carry up the chair, so it isn’t impossible–just not easy. There were two sets of stairs if I recall correctly.)
The photographs really turned out cool and unique looking. The light was really tricky with everyone waving flashlights around, and I didn’t have much time to stop for photos at any one location –since I didn’t want to get lost alone in the dark. A tripod would have been nice to have since the slower shutter speed accentuated any movement at all, but I would not have had time to set it up and use it each time we stopped –our guide kept a pretty good pace. A lot of time even though the camera was still, people and their flashlights and glow sticks were moving, causing a kind of time-lapse photography effect with the longer exposure time on the low light/night photography setting. It also caused the light to have a kind of golden glow to it which I like. In a lot of the pictures my son was shining the light at things so we could actually see what I was photographing. It was really dark in there. Even though there are some overhead lights, they are few and far between, and not very bright. Using the flashlight In conjunction with the low light setting really caused some dramatic lighting effects (which I enhanced later with some editing of course).
Because of time constraints I’m not going to be able post all of the photos here, but you can peruse them in my galleries at Redbubble and Imagekind (and coming soon on Zazzle and Fineartamerica). There were also some photos I took of the other batteries and scenery around Fort Stevens before it started pouring down rain.
view from the Astoria Column: Astoria–Megler Bridge by Dawna and J. Morton
Next we made a stop at the Astoria column after a break for lunch. I actually let my son borrow my camera for once (with strict instructions not to break it, drop it, etc etc) and let him do the climb by himself with the other students and teachers since I had a wee one asleep in the car by then. He took some great photos–and I’m not saying that just cause I’m his mom. I had some fun editing them, with his permission. He was pretty proud that I liked them enough to post them for sale. They can also be viewed at Redbubble and Imagekind, and will be on Zazzle and Fineartamerica sometime soon.
Images and content on this blog are the intellectual property of Dawna Morton.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Do not copy.
Dawna’s Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble
Gallery of Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, and T-shirts at RedBubble Dawna’s Zazzle Gallery of items featuring her Art and Photography
Visit Dawna’s fan page and become a fan on facebook!
see Dawna’s art & photography with the poetry of Glennis Roper
http://PoemsProseAndArtistry.imagekind.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/poemsproseartistry*
http://www.redbubble.com/people/poemsproseart
You can also find Dawna on flickr
