To Write or Not to Write? (Which Hat or Mask to Wear)

Masks - c Lynda Lehmann

Quantum Muse features some interesting short articles on writing. When I read them, I get excited and want to return to my fiction works.

Woe is me. Too many choices, both wonderful and agonizing. Acrylics or digital art? Geometric or organic? Maybe large florals in watercolor.... Hmmmm. Unfinished novels or short stories?  Should I start new work altogether, or try to hone those old poems that are still too wordy? Having a lot of passions is a blessing and a curse.

When I'm in conflict over which choice(s) to make, I tell myself that it doesn't really matter, as long as I know I'm producing and growing in my creative endeavors. 

What's your favorite hat -- or mask?  How do you handle conflicts of which passions to pursue?  Do you lose or find yourself in your primary passion? Or maybe both...?

Note: You can click on each photo to see a larger version. All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites listed in my sidebar if you would like to see my paintings and more of my photography and digital art, or make a purchase. You can also find cool, artsy gifts at www.lyndalehmann.com or at my Zazzle shops!

A Balanced Form of Self-Love

The Eloquence of Dreaming - Mixed Media - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Producing art gives us power. I see it as a power over ourselves, over our energy, perception, motivational systems. And perhaps most important, I view it as a supplanting of our need to achieve a social equilibrium (which in my mind is never really possible anyway), by a need to achieve harmony with ourselves in relation to the universe. 
The truth wear six billion faces, and each has different life circumstances, a different life script, if you will, and a different mode of being. For me, doing art takes me to a place from which I can accept all scripts and embrace the subjective and relative nature of truth. Because my own script is to me so engaging, at times enthralling, and always varied and full of mystery, it teaches me both tolerance and hope. It gives me confidence in the infinite potential of the universe, for hope, harmony, and healing. In short, it gives me joy. 
 I've heard it said that artists, in doing art, are participating in a God-like Creation process, and indeed it is true. While we are by no means transmuted into gods by the creative process, we at least become His humble hand-maidens. We see glimpses of beauty and wonder in places where other people may fail to look, unearthing it at every turn. We see new relationships, both visual and metaphoric, sociological and scientific. And this is our reward for moving away from the more petty power struggles that so often escalate into real and dangerous conflicts around the globe. 
I've heard it said, also, that we artists make art in order to find love and to be loved. I think the apex of this is that in the tender connections we make to the universe, we find some degree of self-love. I think this is a balanced form of self-love that perceives the relative and tenuous nature of things, including the subjective nature of our own lives. Therefore, in my opinion, it is a mature self-love, not to be confused with narcissism.

Note: You can click on each photo to see a larger version. All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites listed in my sidebar if you would like to see my paintings and more of my photography and digital art, or make a purchase.

The Fabric of Earth

The Fabric of Earth - c Lynda Lehmann


This is an old photo I took years ago when flying home from Arizona, where I'd had an extended visit with my family.  It's not a great photo. I shot it with a digital point-and-shoot that probably captured less than 5 mega pixels.  So it's grainy, as well as having been shot through the airplane window.  The funny thing is that when I found this image while cleaning out some Photoshop files tonight, I remembered that very moment when I glanced out the plane window and saw this spectacular view of mountain ridges (which I presume were the Rockies).  I had that wonderful impulse of Joy, expressed by a quiet "Wow!" that we all get from time to time when we see something awesome and beautiful.  We have a sense of its largess and significance, although we might not be able to define why.

It seems that somehow, taking photos not only reminds me of a given moment in time, but that I can also, often remember my state of mind, even that very moment of Consciousness, that fleeting minute during which I was treated to a glimpse of something Profound.  I knew I was seeing something important, because it gave me pause, not only to feel a sense of joy, but to contemplate the Wonder of the Universe, the Wonder of Being.  And so I must conclude that taking photos of the natural world cements my Consciousness in Moments of Beauty, anchoring me more closely to the Heart of Life, if you will.

When I'm lying on my death-bed, I don't want to define myself by my riches, possessions or popularity.  I don't even want to define myself by the highs and lows of my art journey, or by how I assess whatever successes or failures I may have had.

I want to define myself by my relationships.  That means relationships with other individuals,  those outside myself with whom I have chosen to spend segments of my life, and by my Relationship with the Universe.  This will depend on how many Moments of Beauty I have beheld (to use an old-fashioned word) and how many I've taken into my Soul that will forever Enrich, Inspire, and Nourish me, even as I pass from this Earth.

NOTE:  I've capitalized various words to give them emphasis.  Not proper usage, I know...

NOTE: You can click on each photo to see a larger version. All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites at http://LyndaLehmann.imagekind.com/ or http://www.absolutearts.com/lyndalehmann/ if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. You can find a list of my other sites and links in my blog's sidebar. Or google my name for more links. I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Celebrating the Ubiquitous Beauties of the World: Artistic Impressions by Lynda Lehmann

Photo c Lynda Lehmann.

Here is the link to some of my articles on creative process, written awhile back and published at Creativity Portal.  I hope you enjoy them.  My favorite is "Art and Power".

Celebrating the Ubiquitous Beauties of the World: Artistic Impressions by Lynda Lehmann

NOTE: You can click on each photo to see a larger version.All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites at http://LyndaLehmann.imagekind.com/ or http://www.absolutearts.com/lyndalehmann/ if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. You can find a list of my other sites and links in my blog's sidebar. Or google my name for more links. I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Art Creates Hope

Art Creates Hope - Image and Text c Lynda Lehmann

I dedicate these words and this image to all the creative people 

I know, who keep hope and love alive in their hearts!

NOTE: You can click on each photo to see a larger version. All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites at http://LyndaLehmann.imagekind.com/ or http://www.absolutearts.com/lyndalehmann/ if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. You can find a list of my other sites and links in my blog's sidebar. Or google my name for more links. I hope you enjoyed your visit!

The Spark

Lake at Dawn - Image c Lynda Lehmann

THE SPARK
 Creativity is the tiny voice that sings "I am"  in the gloom of darkest night.   It's the song of the soul, revealing itself,  reveling in tiny moments of truth.
Creativity is the pulse that quivers with hope in the rubble of man's discontent,  and the flame of commitment in the rearing of a child.
It lays a gentle sheen on the tired world  on a moonless eve, filling  hollows and thickets and stark rooms  with murmurs of inspiration.
Creativity quells the thirst for empty pleasures  and rides the waves of painful days.  
It fills old wounds and heals them.
It lights and smooths the steepest path.
It is the balm of my soul, my intention, my purpose and passion.  
The Spark is the Light of my life.
- Poem c Lynda Lehmann 2011

Solitude - Image c Lynda Lehmann

NOTE: You can click on each photo to see a larger version. All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my sites at http://LyndaLehmann.imagekind.com/ or http://www.absolutearts.com/lyndalehmann/ if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. You can find a list of my other sites and links in my blog's sidebar. Or google my name for more links. I hope you enjoyed your visit!

A Pale Beauty, Mindfulness, and Being

Pale Beauty - Image c Lynda Lehmann

 I love looking at this gorgeous, pale and delicate rose.  It's dainty and gossamer presence reminds us of the preciousness and transience of life.  It also reminds us that it is during tumultuous times such as we're living in now, times of great upheaval and change, that we need to turn inward to the peaceful core we each carry deep inside; it's only by permitting ourselves to situate at our most centered point on our psychic "fulcrum," if you will, that we will manage to weather the storms of destructive emotions and events.  
While I believe that organized religions often divide us, I believe that we each can find God at the deepest part of us; indeed, I believe God lives in the deepest part of us.  So rejoice in your Spirit, your Being-ness, your infinite Creativity.  Be whole and mindful, and create in the image of what YOU want the world to be.  And BE yourself. 

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary site at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/gallery if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog!

"Colliding Orbs," My New Abstract Expressionist Painting

This is my latest acrylic painting. It's 24 x 36 inches, and titled "Colliding Orbs." I was going to call it "A Stitch in Time" because it reminded me of agitated clocks and a vision of time run amuck, which might have been a more fitting title when considering the chaos in our world. What do you think?

When I paint, I'm after the physical, kinesthetic experience of moving around a surface and applying pigment to it, and watching what evolves. It's like a mad dance or ritual color-celebration, in which I pursue a new visual experience. I'm not trying to replicate anything from our everyday world, but rather, to immerse myself in a novel sensory experience that will yield an equally unpredictable product with its own life and totality. It's this evolving and dynamic process of finding color, composition, and form in new arrangements, that gives me excitement and makes my days interesting.

Wikipedia defines Abstract Expressionism as:

Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and also the one that put New York City at the center of the art world, a role formerly filled by Paris. Although the term "abstract expressionism" was first applied to American art in 1946 by the art critic Robert Coates, it had been first used in Germany in 1919 in the magazine Der Sturm, regarding German Expressionism. In the USA, Alfred Barr was the first to use this term in 1929 in relation to works by Wassily Kandinsky.[1]

Technically, an important predecessor is surrealism, with its emphasis on spontaneous, automatic or subconscious creation. Jackson Pollock's dripping paint onto a canvas laid on the floor is a technique that has its roots in the work of Max Ernst. Another important early manifestation of what came to be abstract expressionism is the work of American Northwest artist Mark Tobey, especially his "white writing" canvases, which, though generally not large in scale, anticipate the "all over" look of Pollock's drip paintings.

The movement's name is derived from the combination of the emotional intensity and self-denial of the German Expressionists with the anti-figurative aesthetic of the European abstract schools such as Futurism, the Bauhaus and Synthetic Cubism. Additionally, it has an image of being rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and, some feel, rather nihilistic.[2] In practice, the term is applied to any number of artists working (mostly) in New York who had quite different styles, and even applied to work which is not especially abstract nor expressionist. Pollock's energetic "action paintings", with their "busy" feel are different, both technically and aesthetically, to the violent and grotesque Women series of Willem de Kooning (which are figurative paintings) and to the rectangles of color in Mark Rothko's Color Field paintings (which is not what would usually be called expressionist and which Rothko denied was abstract), yet all three are classified as abstract expressionists.

Abstract expressionism has many stylistic similarities to the Russian artists of the early twentieth century such as Wassily Kandinsky. Although it is true that spontaneity or the impression of spontaneity characterized many of the abstract expressionists works, most of these paintings involved careful planning, especially since their large size demanded it. With artists like Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Emma Kunz, and later on Rothko, Barnett Newman and Agnes Martin, abstract art clearly implied expression of ideas concerning the spiritual, the unconscious and the mind.[3]

I'm one of those people who finds fascination in the spiritual and subconscious aspects of art-making. I paint for the love of it, and I try to leave the critical adult behind me in favor of joy. For me, the joy of painting evokes the childhood happiness of free expression, exploration, and spontaneity. It provides the stimulation and excitement of a unique experience. In this case, THE VISUAL EXPERIENCE. I have capitalized this phrase because it so succinctly defines my goal and describes the gratification I feel in the process of putting pigment on canvas.

How do you feel about Abstract Expressionism or about abstract art in general? Does it excite your eye and resonate for you? Who are your favorite artists, abstract or otherwise?

Detail of "Colliding Orbs - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Image and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed. >

Three New Digital Painting Fantasies

Sunlight Through the Clerestory

Night Lanterns

Rage of the Minotaur


Even with the sparkle of the holidays, it's good to step back from the partying, over-eating, interactions and distractions, to get a sense of who we are. For me, making any kind of art fills the bill. It's sure beats stuffing on holiday goodies, for satisfaction. For me, it's a kind of euphoria that's always attainable. And will be, for as long as I have my faculties.


So let me take this opportunity to wish you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS and every imaginable blessing in the coming year. May all your dreams come true, and may you feel joy in your pursuits, as I do in making images.


All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

My Interview at Creativity Portal

"Creativity Portal" online is featuring me in an interview by Molly Childers, as part of her series on creative people in the arts. It's about my creative journey and how I feel the process has effected me.

Regarding the result of Molly's and my collaboration, Chris Dunmire, publisher of Creativity Portal, has said:

"In my opinion, this interview is one of the most inspiring testimonies to the rewarding, spiritual depths one can experience on the path of being an artist....I don't want anyone to miss reading this--I've made it Creativity Portal's home page feature this week."

The interview will also be featured in Creativity Portal's July 1 newsletter. My thanks to Chris Dunmire and Molly Childers for inviting me to be part of this series. Here is the link, if you would like to read it.
http://www.creativity-portal.com/bc/molly.childers/careers-lehmann.html

You can also read the write-up Chris has given me on her personal site, at http://www.chrisdunmire.com/, if you like.

The above painting is "Cosmos," acrylic on canvas and for sale at www.absolutearts.com/lyndalehmann. Image c Lynda Lehmann.

Art and Power: How Making Art Empowers Us

Like most people, I'm fascinated by questions about the nature of life and our place in the cosmos. As a human being, I feel all the ageless and timeless doubts of the human condition. But there's one thing I know for certain: doing art lifts me above doubt and despair and gives me joy. Being involved in creative process has helped me to say "yes" to life. In my own creativity and in other's, as well, I see glimpses of something wonderful. It's what I like to think of as "the infinite potential of the universe." It manifests in all of us, especially when we create.

For me, the activity of creating art is an affirmation of life. Experiencing "the grand mystery" gives us a feeling of joy, based on the miracle of form and the complex web of life on our planet.

Here's a short article I wrote for my blog on Absolute Arts, that was later published at Creativity Portal and in a catalog for a large artist's exhibition in India. It addresses the idea of how art gives us power over ourselves.

ART and POWER

I think most of us would agree that producing art gives us power. I see it as a power over ourselves, as opposed to power over what is outside of ourselves. It is a personal power over our own energy, perception, and motivational systems. And perhaps more important, the making of art helps us transcend the need to achieve a social equilibrium (which in my opinion, is rarely possible anyway). Instead, we are involved in a process by which we may achieve a degree of harmony within ourselves, in relation to the universe. In the dynamic state of being committed to a creative process, we do not need to steal anyone's energy, or let them steal energy from us.

The truth wears six billion faces, each with different life circumstances, a different life script, and a different mode of emotional being. For me, doing art takes me to a place from which I can accept all scripts and embrace the subjective and relative nature of truth. (This is not to imply that morality is relative, however, because murder and extortion are always wrong, no matter whose script dictates it.)

Because my own script, when involved in creative process, is so engaging to me, always varied and full of mystery, it teaches me both tolerance and hope. The bounty of creative options available to me, gives me confidence in the infinite potential of the universe, for hope, harmony, and healing. In short, it gives me joy.

I have heard it said that artists, in doing art, are participating in a God-like creation process, and indeed it is true. While we are by no means transmuted into gods by making art, we at least become his humble hand-maidens. We see glimpses of beauty and wonder in places where other people may fail to look, unearthing it at every turn. We see new relationships, both visual and metaphoric, sociological and scientific. It becomes easier for us to step back or undercut the tendency to power struggles, that so often consumes people. (The last thing we need in this weary world is more conflict, personal or generalized, to spew hatred around the globe!)

I have heard it said, also, that we artists make art in order to find love and to be loved. I think the apex of this is that in the tender connections we make to the universe, we find some degree of self-love. I think this is a balanced form of self-love that perceives the relative and tenuous nature of things, including the subjective nature of our own lives. Therefore, in my opinion, it is a mature self-love, not to be confused with narcissism. •

All text © 2006 Lynda Lehmann