ANNOUNCING A NEW SERIES!!!

Why do artists work in series?  One of the biggest advantages to working in a series is to create a unified and cohesive body of work.  Over the many years of making art, I have explored a variety of different mixed media methods and techniques.  Last fall there was a showing of my work that included various works that I had created over the years and I noticed that many people were somewhat surprised that one artist had created so many different works.  Fortunately the show included a number of pieces from my mixed media series, "Open Hearts".   The "Open Hearts" helped bring continuity to the exhibit.

The whole experience got me to thinking about starting a new series.  I still continue to make "Open Hearts", the numbered series of mixed media works I started in 2001 as a deeply felt reaction to the tragedy of 9/11.  I am up to #237 in the series.

But I wanted something new... something fresh and invigorating.  How do I follow a series that has endured for over a decade?  A series, for me, is a journey that I become fully immersed.  I am a seeker looking for something meaningful and perhaps I will become enlightened and transformed along the way...

Bella's Eyes

Recently I was trying to come up with ideas for a brochure to advertise my new service, pet portraits.  I wanted something eye catching on the cover...   

Then I remembered, it's all about the eyes!  I decided I needed some images of dog's eyes for reference.  I found Bella visiting at a friends' home...  Funny thing, the painting looks so much better than the photos I took!

"Bella"
watercolor and mixed media
image size: 12 x 5-1/2 inches

framing is available
click on image to enlarge

I am excited about this new series!  Just a few weeks ago, I was asking the muses to lead me to an inspiration for a new series of artwork.  I am struck by how focusing on the eyes seems to accent the individuality of the animal.  Looking into the "windows of the soul", one sees something more...  I am hooked!

In Their Eyes We Can See...

something so true...

"Boo"

©2014 Stephanie E. Robinson
watercolor
image size: 12 x 6 inches approx.
click on image to enlarge

Recently, I delivered the watercolor portrait of Lucy and her owner said I had captured her eyes wonderfully.  Something clicked when she said that.  It confirmed what I already knew... It's all about the eyes!!!

Well, one thing led to another and I had an inspiration for a new series!  This is the first of a series of pet's eyes and fittingly I have started the series with my own sweet boy, Boo.

I will be posting more details in the coming week about a special offer for pet owners!

Lucy the labradoodle

This a watercolor painting of Lucy.  The Persian rug made the painting more challenging but I think it made an interesting composition.  The client was very pleased.

Lucy
watercolor
image size: 14 x 17 inches (approx.)
click on image to enlarge

Pet Portraits

"Winston"
image size:  14 x 17 inches approx.
click on image to enlarge

Pet portraits are now available as pencil drawings or watercolor.  This is a Timeline Montage of a boxer named Winston.  The client provided me with photographs to work from.

If you are interested in a pet portrait, please email me for more information.  I will be happy to discuss the possibilities.  

STREAMS OF LIFE ~ Inspiration from the Source

In 2007-2008 there was a severe drought in our beautiful state of North Carolina.  For anyone who loves nature, it was heartbreaking to witness...

Fish gasping for breath in puddles where streams once flowed... Plants withering and dying, lakes drained leaving eerie cracked dried mud mosaics...

For a while, at least, people were becoming aware of how vital clean water is to the survival of all living things.  Mandatory water restrictions were imposed on individuals and families, while many companies and corporate industries blithely continued their unbridled use of the dwindling water supply.

My soul ached for the suffering of the plants and wildlife and I felt a deep seeded need to do something.  "Go to the water for answers" is the wisdom offered by Native American traditions. I followed that guidance to an ancient valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains near where I grew up.  Centuries ago this picturesque valley was regarded as sacred hunting grounds by the Cherokee people.  A beautiful stream flows through the valley passing by pastures and farms on its way to join the magnificent Tuckasegee River.

The valley is also home to an ancient boulder carved with mysterious lines and symbols.  It is known as Judaculla Rock.  The name is derived from a Cherokee myth about a terrifying giant that once roamed the area.  Although many have studied the markings on the rock, including archeologists and Native American historians, no one can interpret the meaning.  Many believe that the origin dates back thousands of years to ancestors of the Cherokee and the site is still considered sacred ground by the Cherokee people.  My Dad first took me to see it as a child.  It captured my imagination forever.  Perhaps it sowed the seeds for future inspiration that led to creating the symbol language to form Seasons of the Soul.

It was a beautiful spring day.  After I stopped by the sacred rock to pay my respects, I continued on the winding road that paralleled the stream. I followed the road as it wound up the mountain.  Higher and higher I went, past the end of the paved surface and onto the gravel road into the Nantahala National Forest.  Nantahala is derived from a Cherokee word meaning "Land of the Noonday Sun" because many of the valleys and gorges are so deep that the sun only reaches the bottom in midday.  To my right, the mountainside rose steeply upward, thick with forest and  boulders covered in moss and lichens.  To my left, the sheer drop off was unnerving as I peered over the edge of the road to see the stream tumbling down the mountain.  I was hoping if I continued on, I could find the source of the spring. 

Just below the top of the mountain, the road leveled out and I crossed a bridge over the stream.  Past the bridge there was a large standing stone, 8 or 9 feet tall!  It reminded me of the standing stones I had seen in Ireland.  Standing stones were erected by the ancient Celts to mark the sites of sacred wells and other powerful places with sacred meaning.  This resonated with me as I am aware of both Celtic and Cherokee ancestry.  Immediately I thought, this is an ancient sacred place, no doubt.

 In front of me was a natural rock alcove in the mountainside. A rock ledge formed a roof with trees growing on top.  The walls were blackened...  How many thousands of years had this ancient grotto sheltered the sacred ritual fires of medicine men and women of the past?

I explored the area sketching and photographing, I could feel the magic and enchantment of the place...  I began to imagine an ancient ancestor, a great great great great ... grandmother.  Perhaps she was a powerful shaman and seer.  She could look down the stream of DNA and see future generations and even send messages to them.  She knew I would be coming here with on a quest for guidance.  She could see me and beyond.  
What powerful visions did she see?  What is the message for me?

Click on images to enlarge

Before long I was scampering around like a kid looking for a hidden treasure.  As I searched nooks and crannies, I felt a little foolish but exhilarated all the same.  And then it occurred to me, if this ancient ancestor did have a message for me, it would most likely come in the form of a vision or a dream.  Stranger things have happened so I decided to just flow with it.


As I walked around the large standing stone I happened to notice a little trail that disappeared into a laurel thicket.  I found that it led to a small opening in the forest canopy where two streams meet.  One stream wrapped around the left shoulder of the mountain and and the other wrapped around the right shoulder like a necklace.  Where the two streams met was a pointy rock like the bow of the ship overlooking the combined stream as it tumbled down the mountain. 

I stepped up on the rock where the two streams met and immediately I could feel the energy.  I steadied myself by grasping a tree that grew out of the base of the rock. I thought of all those who had stood here before me back through the ages.  The water is the life blood of the land and all living things.  How could we have forgotten?  How could we have become so distanced from our Mother Earth?  I closed my eyes and I was flying high above the mountains below.  And for an instant I could see all the streams that ran together to form the larger streams that fed the rivers...  I was struck by the resemblance to the veins and arteries that carry the blood through my own body.  I could see the finished painting in a flash, and it was phenomenal...  THIS is what I am supposed to create! THIS is the answer to the question in my heart.

At the time, I had no idea what I was getting into.  I did not realize that this artwork would be so involved to create that it would take over the next year and half of my life...  

The next day, I bought a typographical atlas of the state.  I looked at all the streams... and I realized that in order to create what I had seen in the vision, I would need to use tracing paper and trace all the rivers and then reduce and refresh the lines several times to get it to a size that would fit on the sheet of watercolor paper.

I became obsessed with the project... or I would have never gotten it done.  I lost track of how many hours I put into it but I know it was over a thousand hours...  tracing the streams from every square inch of the atlas, night after night.  It was like a meditation in a way...  While I worked on it I prayed for the rains to return.  By the time the painting was finished, the drought had ended...  

click on image to enlarge

image size: 15 x 30 inches


STREAMS OF LIFE
NORTH CAROLINA'S
40,000 miles of
creeks and rivers

Fine art prints are now available.  The prints are made using archival fade resistant inks on acid free paper and each is hand signed by the artist.  Price: $75 each (unframed).  Framing is available.  For purchasing information, please email me:  sots11@hotmail.com    

 

click on image to enlarge
Detail

 My intention with this artwork was not to create a map but something more... to spread awareness by helping people to see that water is the life blood of a living system.  We urgently need to band together to protect this most vital natural, public resource from toxic chemicals from fracking.

We can all start by learning about fracking and its effects in other states with poisoned ground water, cancer causing toxins, and harm to wildlife...and then there is the earthquakes.   We must stand up for the future generations.  We must share this responsibility... all of us.


   
    
  

OPEN HEART ~ #237

click on image to enlarge

  There is something very Zen about fishing... I think.  Especially fly fishing.  There is definitely an art to it.  Just as there is to the hand tied flies that they use.  When I was growing up, my dad was a fly fisherman.  I always thought there was something mystical about it.  He would get up and leave before dawn.  He was very quiet and careful not to wake anyone up.  He would get his gear together the night before so he could just get up and go... and be there in the river as the sun was coming up... what a beautiful place to be, regardless of whether or not you catch a fish?  

Open Heart

I just finished another special request Open Heart... It turned out nice I thought.  And the patron seemed very pleased...  I think I will make some more Open Hearts!  

Click on image to enlarge

SEASONS OF THE SOUL - the story

click on image to enlarge

When I was a small child, my mother would give me pencil and paper to keep me occupied. I began teaching myself to draw about same time I was learning to walk and talk.

One day, years ago, I was in my early twenties at the time, and I picked up a sketch book of mine and flipped through the pages.  I noticed several little stick figure doodles scattered throughout the pages.  They seemed to be connected somehow.  So I drew them again together in a line and I was amazed by what I saw.  They seemed to be telling a story.  At the time there were ten figures.  Each one appeared to represent a different emotional stage in a process.  Somehow I knew there needed to be at least one more figure.  I did not know what that figures or figures would be.  But I knew I could not force it.  I had to let it come to me just like the rest of the figure symbols in the progression.  I happened to be watching a television program one day and there was a dancer in motion.  When she struck a particular pose for an instant, that image crystallized in my mind's eye.  That led me to creating the final figure in the artwork I later titled, SEASONS OF THE SOUL.

SEASONS OF THE SOUL came to me during a time of personal crisis and transformation.  Through my pain and confusion, I was somehow allowed to connect to the wellspring of the human soul... to create something with universal meaning yet as intimately personal as one's own heartbeat.

Over the years since it was published as a hand signed lithograph, Seasons of the Soul has touched the lives of thousands of people who have experienced their own personal struggles and challenges.

The print is available for $40 with free shipping.  Please contact me by email and I will send you a paypal funds request.  Also, I can personalize it, "For _____" when I sign it.



Click HERE to view SEASONS OF THE SOUL video slideshow

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

Wild horses occupy a special place in the human psyche... They represent freedom, wildness, strength, and grace.  And they have always been one of my favorite subjects.

click on image to enlarge
watercolor
image size: 13 x 8-1/2 in. approx.
$120 (unframed)

 (framed w/mat & glass)
$195


Misty Morning Run

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

click on image to enlarge
watercolor
image size:  12 x 12 in. approx.
$190
framed w/mat & glass:  17 x 17 in. approx
$265




Treasure Beneath My Feet

One day I was out by Jordan Lake taking photos.  When I got home I downloaded some of the pics I had taken and I zoomed in on some of the ground shots and I was so amazed by all the color and detail that I was inspired to paint this watercolor.

It seems that often it is the smaller things in life that make it worth living.  It is easy for me to get so caught up in worrying about making ends meet that I get completely cut off from my reasons for being.  Art is one of my reasons for being.  There is no doubt in my mind about that.  The thing is... I am just not sure exactly what is my purpose.  Sure, one could say my purpose is making art and I would agree.  But there is something beyond that.  Something more defined and meaningful.  That is what I keep seeking.

This past winter was long and cold and harsh.  But it was a good winter in a creative/spiritual sense. It forced me to seek within... And that is perhaps the most crucial part of the creative process involved in making the art that fulfills my potential.  What comes next? I don't know but I want to find out.  So I decided to have an online art sale to raise money to buy art supplies.  And also, so I could share about this part of a deeper process that I am trying to understand.  

I am at a point in my life as an artist where I have spent years and years developing my skills as a self-taught artist.  I have explored a variety of different mixed media genres of my own invention.  And now I am ready to do my best work.  I just have to create the opportunity of time and space to do it. So I am exploring different income streams that I can create using my art and abilities. 

click on image to enlarge
pencil on paper
14 x 17 in. approx.

Recently I did a commissioned drawing for a guy who wanted a drawing of his favorite NBA player... not my normal subject matter but I was up for the challenge.  And I thought it turned out pretty good.  It looked really good matted and framed. The response I got when I showed it around to people was very positive.

It got me to thinking about what other kinds of drawings I could offer to do for people that would be more personalized... So many people know someone who had a high school and college sports career and those memories can be forgotten over time... But a special piece of art... a drawing montage commemorating their achievements would make such a nice memory piece to hang on the wall.  

I mentioned to a friend that I was considering this pursuit and she said she had an idea for a drawing she would like me to do.  She said her nephew is a quite good young bowler.  His father and grandfather both have bowled a perfect 300 game.  She said she is going to tell him that when he bowls a 300 (which she believes he will.) She will have a drawing done of the three generations of them together.  And then we will have professional prints made so the family members can have a copy.

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

Here are a couple of watercolors from my Duke Gardens visits during previous springs...

click on images to enlarge

watercolor
9 x 13 in. approx
unframed: $100 each
framed w/mat & glass:
14 x 18 in. approx.
$175 each

If you look closely, you will see the honey bee...

more art coming soon...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

In celebration of the the coming SPRING, I am posting the    SPRING EQUINOX ART        SHOW & SALE.

pencil on paper
8-1/2 x 11 in.
unframed:  $20
framing available

I love it when the tulips start to bloom at Duke Gardens.  There are hundreds of them, of all varieties and colors... and each one different and unique when you really study them like I do when I sketch... trying to capture the elegance of each line and sensual curve.  They remind me of graceful ballet dancers striking a pose.

pencil on paper
8-1/2 x 11 in.
unframed: $20
framing available

This is a sketch from one of my favorite places to go sit by the Eno River.  

pencil on paper
8-1/2 x ll in.
unframed: $20
framing available
click on images to enlarge

more art coming soon...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

In celebration of the the coming SPRING, I am posting the    SPRING EQUINOX ART        SHOW & SALE.

(click on image to enlarge)
original watercolor and mixed media on paper
unframed:  $160
framed (w/mat & glass)
11-1/2 x 19-1/2 in.
$240



Dream Within A Dream

original watercolor

image size:  12x16 in. approx.

unframed: $175

framed (w/ mat & glass)

$245

FREE SPIRIT

SOLD

The butterfly wings open revealing the free spirit within...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

Years ago an artist friend told me that I should sell my drawings and I have been slow to take her advice.  She told me that drawing is my strongest suit.  I suppose that should come as no surprise since when I was a small child my mother would give me pencil or crayons and paper to keep me occupied.  I have been drawing ever since, more than 50 years.

I have started going back through some of my sketch books to see what might be appealing.  

Here is a drawing that I came across.  I have always felt that the Seasons of the Soul figures filtered up from a deeper and ancient awareness, call it the collective unconsciousness, if you will.  So I imagined that an ancient ancestor had once drawn them on the wall of a sacred cave thousands of years ago.

pencil on paper
(click on image to enlarge)
size:  14x17 in.
unframed drawing: $85
matted and framed: $165




Inner Chamber

(click on image to enlarge)

This is a drawing I did from a photograph of my very special kitty friend, Greeter, who died several years ago. 



I have done a few pet drawings over the years.  A nicely framed pencil drawing is an affordable way to celebrate the life of a special friend.  Here is a recent request for a drawing of a very sweet dog named, Rick.

click on image to enlarge

more art coming soon...

EQUINOX ART SHOW & SALE

In celebration of the the coming SPRING, I am posting the    SPRING EQUINOX ART        SHOW & SALE.

After a long winter, everyone is so ready for Spring!  I love the Spring!  Where I live in Durham, NC, I am less than a mile from Duke Gardens.  One of my favorite things to do in the spring is to take my sketch book and camera and go to the gardens.

(click on images to enlarge)
matted size:  11x14 in.
medium: pencil and conte' pastel
unframed
price: $35 each or all 4 for $120

I just love it when the tulips bloom at the gardens!  There are all the flowering trees blooming at the same time.  Magnolias, tulip trees, flowering pear and cherry!  There is white flowering tree (I think it's a cherry) that blooms every year while the tulips are in full bloom.  It only peaks for a few days each spring and I have been lucky enough to catch it a couple of times.  It is absolutely stunning against the deep blue sky.


This year the SPRING EQUINOX falls on Thursday, March 20th.  Over the next several days I will be posting new art as well as sketches and drawings from my sketchbooks.  

"The deep roots never doubt spring will come."
                                                         ~Marty Rubin


more art coming soon...

New OPEN HEARTS

Here are some new Open Hearts that I recently completed.  The one with dogs running and the paw print is a special request by a friend who wanted a special gift for dear friends of hers.

(click on image to enlarge)

 She sent me photos of a fun time they shared at Whidbey Island and this is what I came up with for her.

Numbered series
size: 8x8"
framed: 9 -1/4 x 9-1/4"
framed price $125
unframed: $95