Wash... and go!

Following on from the previous post...

This morning I was so happy to have found several pieces of fabric, which I bought way (way!) back when and which have been M.I.A. for a few years. Someone had stashed them in a black plastic garbage bag, right at the back of the attic.















I'm very happy to see these fabrics again, and they couldn't have showed up at a more perfect moment, as most of them are either white or cream (like the piece of raw silk fabric in the image above), and this is a new - and terribley uncharacteristic - direction that I'm moving in at the moment. Pale!

Anyway, having been stashed up there for years, they all needed to be washed, and so I set to work, with my super-dooper, state-of-the-arts twin tub! While I was waiting for the wash to finish, I started to notice some amazing patterns happening in the machine! Quick... grab the camera! Here are a few of my favourite snaps:

























































It's like roses... and clouds... and whipped cream with blueberries! It's like this old thing...















... a cloud study I did a couple of years back in oil on paper, and that I got mad with and threw away.

After a while, the water was looking pretty grungy, and when it was draining I snapped these:

























































And what I wanted to show you was how the last image...



















... makes a traditional five-patch square like this...



















... into something new and exciting!

How do you like that spin?

You see, inspiration really can come from just about anywhere!!!

Added 10th February: Check out this!

Where the heart is!

For those of you who didn't already know, we own and manage a very rustic field research station - although "station" is really too grand a word for it. We called the place Los Charcos de Osa, (meaning swamps of Osa, which right now it is anything but!) Here we protect four hectares of tropical lowland wet forest. Both the Los Charcos Blog and our webpages are in dire need of updating. Although, this year, I'm thinking of using Facebook to promote the place, and will probably be loading some image albums shortly.

So... it's not much, but it's what we call home, and I love it! So much so, infact, that apart from my all-to-frequent trips to the city, I rarely leave the property.

When we bought the land, about 5 years ago, there was nothing here. And I have to say that I'm extremely proud of the fact that everything that's here now, we created, with our own hands... blood and sweat and tears! And, isn't it those things in life that end up have more meaning?

Anyway, I guess you could call it slow home-making!

We first started coming up here at weekends, to clear a strip of land, about 20 x 50 meters in total, in order to build on it. A patch of what is known as "tacotal", which is basically scrubby, low quality, secondary growth, and in our case, many thorny vines wrapped around everything! It was super hard work. While we were doing it, this is where we lived...
















Seriously! With a two year old, no water, no electricity, cooking under plastic on a wood fire, and doing the necessary out in the forest, where it doesn't linger for long, thanks to a phenomenal diversity of fauna that exists in this part of the world ;}


















This is my husband Reinaldo Aguilar, known to most as "Rey". He's world authority on the plants of the Osa Peninsula (although he's never gonna say that!) He's my best friend, and a great father. We've been together for 9 years now, and for some reason I'm reminded of the Michael Ondaatji title, "Coming Through Slaughter" ;} I love this picture of him, it was taken as he was about to leap into the forest canopy on a zip line, whilst working as botanical field support to a French film crew.















This is my house just after we built it. Note that I use the word "house" loosly! These days, it has a (nearly!) wraparound balcony, the view from which I will never tire of.















And here we have it! Can you spot the house, nestled in the forest there?



















Here's a closer shot of it















This is the balcony of the guest cabin.

And this is an image of a painting, that I haven't seen in years ('coz, like all of my paintings, it's being stored in the UK). I'm sure there are more images somewhere!



















Casablanca - Catherine V. Bainbridge(c).
Oil and oil pastels on paper.
Aprox. 60 x 40 cm.

Maybe I wasn't so wrong afterall?

Sometimes getting it wrong is actually getting it right! That's the value of hoarding one's creative work and coming back to it at a later stage.

A year ago, almost to the day, I painted this little landscape. A view from the diningroom table, looking out towards the Golfo Dulce (a tropical fjord of the Pacific ocean), and the mountains beyond. I was quietly pleased with it, let's say, as a humble offering to the God of small things.














Golfo Dulce: Oil on paper, aprox. 18 x 25.5 cm. February 2009.

When it was finished, two things happened.

Firstly, I thought to myself, well, it's nice, but it's not right... it's not an accurate presentation of what's out there. Which is basically remanants of lowland tropical rainforest leading down to the beach. People will think I'm crazy if I say that this is a painting of this place - ignoring for a moment the fact that, ok, I am! ;)

Secondly, it reminded me of something else... something I had tried to do two years previously, but which I felt had been totally unsuccessful and so didn't work to finish it.

When I was reminded of the first attempt, I dragged it out from where it lay, dusty and forgotten, stuffed behind the bed (I have several things like that, hidden about the place, that way I don't have to confront my failings headon... but at the same time I cannot completely ignore them!)

When I saw this first painting again, I realized that, although it hadn't worked, persay, there was actually alot of truth in it, because, quite unintentionally, there's a strong similarity in these paintings! And not only that, but I think you can see an ongoing thread in my "style".















Golfo Dulce: Oil on canvas, aprox. 36 x 45 cm. February 2007.

So, forgive me, ye who flock to the Osa Peninsula and just can't see it, but... at this time of year, the landscape looks hazy, and the colors start to appear blanched, and, to me, it starts to look more like something out of Africa (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite movies!)

Sometimes, I think we need to put distance between ourselves and our work, in order to appreciate it for what it really is. Because, if you compare these two paintings with some photos that I've dug up, of pretty much the same vista, and taken at the same time of the year, you'll see that.... maybe I wasn't so wrong afterall???

































Also at this time of year... earthquakes... like the one we just had as I'm writting this post!

Moon of the New Year

Luna de año nuevo

El año empieza
con luna plena,
mascota de buen peso
en el bolsillo del porvenir —
que se multiplique sin cuenta.

Blue moon sits in an old Cecropia tree.

I was facinated by the moonlight hitting the edges of different types of clouds ( I have a thing about clouds... as you can see HERE!)

Hard to believe, but these images were taken at night, with no flash on my little Coolpix S220 (in plum, if you please ;>) This will make a great painting! YEP... I am going to get back to painting this year, after a very long time away from it.

This type of cloud formation always reminds me of a ribcage. Infact, often, clouds seen by moonlight remind me of those funny dentists lamps... you know, the ones that look kind of like they're lined with white gold, and have something of an X-Ray pattern about them?

I really like this! The combination of the silhouette of the leaves and light in the clouds.

My guess is that this might also form the basis of abstract painting at somepoint.

I Can't decide whether it's better with or without the moon in the picture?

Later, it started to get pretty cloudy, but the light held out for hours. enough to be able to walk around the house with no flashlight (but definately with shoes on!)

Moon of the New Year

The year begins
with a full moon,
good-luck coin of good weight
in the pocket of what is to come —
may it multiply without measure.

Rafael Jesús González

(someone I just met in a dream and am liking his words)