Tonight my husband and I did something we haven't done since we were kids. Driving home in a desultory kind of way from the grocery store, we passed a school playground baking in the late afternoon sun. Within 5 minutes we were both climbing onto the swings and heavenbound. And with the lurching back and forth of the swing, the feeling of breaking the boundaries of the earth and soaring into the oak tree limbs, the stomach dropping moment of weightlessness at the apex of the arc, with each pass of the wind in our hair we felt better, younger, lighter.
This is my first blog post of 2012. I realize that, and, if any of you were anxiously waiting out there for an update on the studio antics of one Joanna Zeller Quentin and Co, I humbly apologize. It's not that I/ we haven't been busy - we have! Four months into 2012, I've traveled to California and Louisiana to see my work hanging in big art exhibitions, seen my art published on the cover of a major six-week long international horse show program, had lunch and rubbed elbows with Olympians, seen some world class horses do incredible things, gave a giant hug to to my favorite author, taken over 2500 reference photos of various animals doing interesting things, had work accepted to a major wildlife art show, actually completed more work in time for the deadline for another major art show and become a member of the International Equine Artist's Association. Whew!
Anyway, the point of all this is that being on the swings tonight reminded me of the simple, meditative joys of doing what you love, and how important that is to your emotional, physical and mental well being. Watching twilight bleed through the oak trees in a sky Maxfield Parrish would have envied (and then painted, of course), listening to the soft squeak of the metal chains, feeling the air rush past my face, and just being oddly present and yet a million miles away... it was NIICE. Better than nice, it was inspiring.
So I came home and spent some time working on a new watercolor. I've got some vague plan of gouache and oil and gold leaf, so we'll see how that works out. In the meantime, here are a few "new" images for 2012. There's much more to come, so please stay tuned! And, as always, thanks for reading.
PS - the new Jack White CD ROCKS.
(and just a reminder, please respect my copyright. All work ©Joanna Zeller Quentin 2012. All Rights Reserved. www.MoosePantsStudio.com)
"Naples" oil on canvas
"Flying Purple Plantain Eater" mixed media on board
"A Plea for Wilderness" india ink and scratchboard
"To the Jumper Ring" pen and ink on bristol
"Chestnut Sketch #1, Alla Prima" Oil on board
"Power Steering" Oil and ink on board
"Picture Perfect" Watercolor and gouache on board
"Rhapsody in White" watercolor on paper
ALL WORK ©Joanna Zeller Quentin 2012. All Rights Reserved.
www.MoosePantsStudio.com
