Tag: Georgia O’Keeffe

Reading. Painting with O’Keeffe plus 1.

I set out on our Southwestern road trip determined to finish 2 books I’ve been stopping and starting for a while now. I was making good progress until we got to Ghost Ranch and I saw their library! One of the best selections I’ve seen of books on Georgia O’Keeffe and art in general, I found myself wishing we were staying longer. I only had 6 days at the ranch, so I chose 2 small books I knew I could finish in that time frame.

I began the tiny Some Memories of Drawings within a few minutes of checking it out and quickly devoured it. A beautiful little collection of drawings by O’Keeffe accompanied by her reflections upon each drawing. Some of her observations are very open and insightful, while others retain some mystery, and I personally like it better that way. We don’t need to know every little thing she was thinking about every little thing she created. It is a lovely little treasure of a book that I’ve added to my Wish List– would be a wonderful thing to just pick it up and reflect on her words about these drawings from time to time.

page from Some Memories; I remember doing a master sketch of this drawing in college

found here

The other book, Painting with O’Keeffe by John Poling, intrigued me with its title– I hadn’t been aware that O’Keeffe had ever had the need for studio assistants to help her with painting later in life and I began it eager to learn any insight I could into her studio process.

O’Keeffe lost much of her eyesight in the early seventies and had stopped painting almost altogether. According to the book, she’d tried painting with her secretary/studio assistant, Juan Hamilton, but neither had found the process enjoyable or successful. Hamilton hired a young John Poling in 1975 to paint trim at the Ghost Ranch house and he soon found himself doing other errands and chores, eventually striking up what seemed like a genuine friendship with O’Keeffe. From his account, she seemed comfortable with him and he, not being an artist himself, was eager to please and very teachable.

I greatly enjoyed his descriptions of the days spent painting under O’Keeffe’s direction, gaining insight into just how very meticulous and thought out her work was– something we don’t often associate with abstract painters.

His painting work with her was completed while Juan Hamilton was away in New York on business, and according to Poling, the relationship fell apart upon Hamilton’s return. He attempted to assist O’Keeffe again, but claimed it was not the same “collaborative” type of exchange it had been the first time. When the completed painting was shown, Poling was upset that there was no acknowledgement of his involvement. This is where I’m afraid the book gets a bit whiny and self-involved, showing Poling’s lack of understanding of how artists and their studio assistants have functioned for centuries. He thought he was due credit as a collaborator, where O’Keeffe saw him as “merely a tool”– she only used his hands and eyes because of her unreliable eyesight. His continued insistence on “the truth” being made known comes across as petty and petulant, I’m afraid, although he claims it is with completely altruistic intentions that he wanted his involvement made known. It did seem, though, that he genuinely cared for O’Keeffe and was deeply hurt by what he saw as a betrayal by her and Hamilton. I know there has been much made of her relationship with Hamilton, and admit I haven’t read much about their relationship until now. I usually prefer to stick to accounts of artist’s professional lives, especially studio processes, and that part of the book I enjoyed immensely.

If you happen to see this little book for sale or at your local library, do pick it up, if only for the look into O’Keeffe’s process and her way of life in her later years. If you’ve done the Abiquiu house tour (my account of that to come soon!), it will especially help bring to life the descriptions of her home and studio.

abiquiu house studio, found here

Images by me unless otherwise indicated.

October 3, 2018
Traveling. O’Keeffe Country. Part 2.

Now, let’s see.. where were we in our journey? Oh, that’s right, Ghost Ranch. (check out this post if you need to catch up). As I mentioned, we greatly enjoyed our time at Ghost Ranch. It was such a beautiful, peaceful environment– I could totally see why O’Keeffe loved it there so much.

just one of a million stunning views at ghost ranch

If you plan on camping, like we did, be aware that the campground at GR is a bit more primitive than, say, a KOA. It reminded me so much of the church camp I went to every summer as a kid– concrete floors in the communal bathhouse, screen doors with that pleasant, familiar “slam”. But there is wifi (though the farther you get from the main buildings, the weaker the signal), coin operated laundry facilities, and indoor dishwashing stations. A few of the best perks we found were that some of the tent sites included an awning– which kept our tent & chairs nice and dry during the few rainstorms that came through– and the free ice in the bathhouse, which made keeping our perishables cold in the desert heat so much easier.

Within an easy drive of Ghost Ranch is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been– Plaza Blanca, O’Keeffe’s “White Place”. On private property owned by Dar al Islam, a nonprofit Islamic Education Center, promoting the understanding of Islamic religion and culture in America, but is graciously open to the public for hiking and exploration.

my photograph of plaza blanca and O’Keeffe’s the white place in sun

Our dear friend, traveler, and fellow Floridian, Erik joined us unexpectedly for our last few days at Ghost Ranch, making him a welcome third on our Plaza Blanca outing. Best of all, he kept the Mr. occupied while I photographed to my heart’s content!

top: the curly haired boys, hubby and erik; bottom: me doing my thing, photo by erik

More images and thoughts on Plaza Blanca to come in another post all about the inspiration found on this trip. During our time at Ghost Ranch, we also ventured into Taos and Santa Fe. We didn’t do much exploring in Taos (honestly, there wasn’t much time for prep/research before this trip, so we didn’t really know where to go), but felt like we saw a good deal of the city of Santa Fe. The highlight for me of course, being the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. A wonderful little museum, that, if anything, I wished was bigger. But then, I can never get enough.

some of o’keeffe’s tools on display at the museum

At the last minute, we decided to go a bit out of the way and spend a few days in Zion National Park before heading home. I’d never been, so couldn’t wait to finally see it and check another national park off my list. We came into the park in the afternoon from the East, and learned that the road going in from the East would be closed part of the time we were there, which meant our lodging options would be limited to the other end of the park. All the “in park” campgrounds were full, but we ended up at a campground in Springdale, which was within walking distance to the Zion shuttle and everything we needed right in town.

on the zion shuttle

Unfortunately for us, several of the limited number of Zion hiking trails were closed during our stay, but we still managed to see a good bit of the park in the few days we were there.

top: early afternoon on the rim hike; bottom: about an hour later!

Besides just seeing Zion, I had also always wanted to do The Narrows hike, an in-water hike through the narrowest gorge in Zion. Hubby did the entire overnighter about 10 years ago, but we only had the time/gear on this trip for the day trip. I’m always nervous doing river crossings, so actually hiking IN the river for miles definitely had me tensed up almost the entire time. But what an amazing experience! A must do, if simply for the experience of it.

slightly blurry photos due to rented waterproof phone case

The Narrows was a wonderful way to wrap up our Southwest adventure, so we awoke the next morning to pack up and head back to the Pacific Northwest. Strong winds during the night snapped one of our tent poles (!), thankfully not enough to pull the tent down, but that definitely meant no camping on the return trip. We set off, happily chatting our way through the small towns just south of Zion when our car lost power. Womp, womp. We were just outside the small town of LaVerkin, Utah and we thanked our lucky stars that we hadn’t gotten further into the Utah desert. The folks at the local garage were absolutely fantastic, coming in on a Saturday to get us back on the road and keep us from having to spend two days waiting for them to reopen on Monday. If you ever need to break down, LaVerkin is a super friendly place to do it! 🙂

Two very long days in the car later, and we were crossing back over the Cascades into Western Washington. Once the trees began growing taller, the fog and mist settled among them, the air cooled, and we could see beginnings of Fall color, our hearts once again swelled with joy and anticipation.

We were home.

All images by me, unless noted otherwise.

September 26, 2018
Traveling. O’Keeffe Country. Part 1.

With our traveling the last seven years, it may seem like life is one perpetual vacation. But the ugly truth is that though we try to take full advantage of where we are every weekend, we work very hard and its been virtually non-stop for the past 4 years. “Vacations” weren’t real breaks– I took time off to go be in Florida with my mom, we took a week or two involuntarily while waiting for a new contract, meaning we traveled with all our earthly belongings and were negotiating contracts and looking for rentals while on “vacation”.

So when we were presented with hubby having some time off during his transition back to working as an RN, we decided to make the most of it. Originally, we’d planned to spend most of our time in one of our favorite places, but a giant wildfire broke out the week before we were supposed to leave. And almost the entire Northwest was covered in smoke from various fires. So traveling in the NW had lost its appeal. Then hubby suggested we finally take my long talked about pilgrimage to the places one of my favorite artists lived and worked and our Southwest Tour began.

near moab, utah

We wanted to take our time, not spend too many hours in the car each day, so originally planned to spend a few days in each spot as we made our way South. But the smoke was so thick that it made spending time in the Northwest unenjoyable. So after one night each in the Mount Hood & Bend areas of Oregon, we decided not to make a prolonged stop again until we got out of the smoke. And somewhere in the middle of Utah, blue skies finally emerged!

Being the delicate PNW flowers we are, we decided not to try to camp in the crazy heat of August in Moab. Airbnb lead us to the most wonderful little oasis in the hills outside of town!

spring fed pond, red moon lodge, moab, utah

Two days in Moab extended to four and we had lovely visits to Arches, Canyonlands, and even escaped the heat for a bit up in the nearby La Sal Mountains. Coming from the land of blues and greens, I was completely mesmerized by the intense colors of the Southwest. Amazing forms and textures seemed to await around every corner.

It seemed like a palette tailor made for me– washed out pinks and turquoises mixed with warm earthy oranges and umber tinted lavenders. I swear if it weren’t so hot and if there was more water, I could live there.

After Moab, we headed to Ouray, Colorado, a place that’s held my hubby’s fascination for a long time. Years ago he read a book in which the main character spends time in Ouray and he’s been longing to see it ever since. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint! He was looking up real estate with the first few hours we were there (though we quickly came back to WA as our choice for a permanent home, it was fun to dream of a different place!).

looking down on ouray from the perimeter trail

We would loved to have spent more time hiking around Ouray, but had camping reservations at Ghost Ranch so on to New Mexico we went..

Our stay at Ghost Ranch was probably the most relaxing, vacation-like time of the entire trip. Located in tiny Abiquiu, NM, the ranch is remote and quiet– far from the busyness of Santa Fe and Taos, we immediately relaxed upon arrival. It was where we read the most, looked at our phones the least, listened to the sounds of the faraway coyotes, and star gazed before bed each night.

In writing this post, I realized there is so much to share that to avoid boring you to tears, I’m breaking it up into several installments! You’re welcome. 😉

I’ll write another general post about the rest of our trip and then separate posts about the O’Keeffe Abiquiu House Tour & Ghost Ranch Landscape Tour— I highly recommend both and will get into more detail in that post. I’m also planning to share what about the Southwest inspired me artistically and how, probably more for my own benefit than yours, but hope you’ll enjoy anyway!

More to come!

All images by me.

September 19, 2018
Artsy Happening: I Am.. #acontributor #selfie #miniproject on Instagram

My friend Veronica and I had an interesting discussion recently about women and photography. Specifically, how so often the wife and mom ends up missing from so many photographs because she is usually the force behind the camera, eager to document big events and special small moments. I think sometimes we’re uncomfortable with being the focus of a photograph because of what it may reveal about who we are at that moment– maybe frustrated with our family or having a bad hair day or feeling bloated. We’d rather be the ones to decide the image we present to the world.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of image and influence. So when We Are The Contributors co-creators Sandra Harris & Melanie Biehle announced a mini-week-long Instagram #selfie project, I was intrigued and wondered how I could express something different and worthwhile with my selfie contributions?

i am.. o’keeffe

Project participants take one photograph of themselves and post it on Instagram each day for a week. I started with a simple selfie Mr. Forager and I took while celebrating our anniversary in Coeur d’Alene this weekend. But as I was lying in bed that night, waiting for sleep to come, I thought, I can do better. I can say something more with this project. Something about who I am.

I thought about the roles I’ve played in the past and the ones I’m playing now, about the people who have influenced me. Then it struck me, what I wanted to explore– the artists who’ve had a profound effect on me. The ones whose lives, work, and words inspired me to begin my journey along this art strewn road and those I keep discovering anew.

So for the rest of the week, I’ll be posting on Instagram a selfie paying homage to my greatest artistic influences, along with a short story about their impact on who I’ve become. I hope you’ll follow along and, if you’d like join in the project! To join, just post a self-portrait on Instagram with the hashtags #selfie #miniproject #acontributor.

Image by Artsy Forager, featured artwork Grey Lines with Black, Blue, and Yellow by Georgia O’Keeffe.

January 8, 2014
Live the Artsy: Inspired to Be Bold by M.A. Tateishi

I’m a firm believer that art is not just about what the artist makes, but what you take from it. Living the Artsy isn’t just about living with art, but living out art each day in our lives. One of the things I love most about the work of this month’s Featured Artist M.A. Tateishi is how bright and downright audacious it is. This artist is not afraid to use color, to deconstruct and then resurrect her surfaces, all resulting in work that inspires me to be move forward as bravely as she does.

I thought perhaps you could use a bit of artsy inspiration, too, so in the words of Simon de Pury..

found here here here and here

found here here here and here

found here here and here

I’ve been finding things in life to be a bit daunting lately, but just looking at M.A.’s work and putting together this post, thinking about these women that I look up to, who are so much braver than me, I feel empowered and encouraged. I hope you do, too.

Images linked above. See more work from M.A. Tateishi on her website.

November 7, 2013
Pink Powerhouse: Lily Stockman

As a color, pink has often been looked down on as “too girly”. Tomboys scoff at wearing anything close to that shade. “Serious” businesswomen wear suits of black, navy or grey, not pink. Real men don’t wear pink. As a painter, Lily Stockman embraces the power of pink. Pink is the color symbolizing the fight against breast cancer. Pink is power, baby.

Pink Mughal

Pink also figures prominently in Jaipur aka The Pink City ( the capital of Rajasthan, India ), where Stockman found herself living and painting for the past year. Rather than painting iconic Indian architecture, she instead focused her brush on industrial and agricultural structures such as silos and grain elevators.

Bubble Steel

Stockman grew up on her family’s farm in rural New Jersey, so perhaps it is no surprise that she chose to focus on the agriculture of India. But the subject matter isn’t the only thing that makes these paintings so interesting. The simplification of the forms, coupled with the unexpected use of such a happy color work in contradiction to our notions of what modern India is like– busy, bustling, dirty, impoverished.

Full Humidity

Inspired by the bougainvillea blooming all over Rajahastan, vibrant pinks and fuschias of saris and turbans and the walls of The Pink City itself, Stockman takes these mundane, ordinary structures and empowers them with blasts of color.

Punjabi Remix

Her bubble-like lines, swirly forms and fresh, unaffected forms remind me of the early work of Georgia O’Keeffe, another artist who tapped into the power of pink and made it her own. Quite a legacy of feminine power she left us, but it looks like Lily Stockman is well on her way to leaving one of her own.

Check out Lily’s website for more of her “Agro Pop” series from India, as well as other work. She also writes a wonderful, witty blog full of artistic, culinary and literary goodness at BigBANG Studio.

July 13, 2011
Masterworks Monday: Georgia On My Mind

OK, I know it’s something of a cliche to be a woman who loves the work of Georgia O’Keeffe. But I don’t care. I have unabashedly loved her work for what seems like forever. And I’m proud to say that my ten year-old niece, Samantha is a fan, as well and with no initial prodding from her aunt. ( Though I do admit to unabashedly encouraging her whenever I can! )

I was drawn to her work on first sight, but it wasn’t until I began taking studio courses in drawing and painting that my love truly blossomed. Maybe it was that her palette seemed to be similar to the colors I was repeating in my own work.

Or maybe it was how shocking some of her abstract work, thought to recall certain parts of a woman’s body, were in her day. Perhaps that sense of rebellion against the “boys club” appealed to the feminist in me.

It could have been how she was celebrating quiet and peace of the natural world, while technology was being ushered in at a rapid pace.

Maybe it is the softness of her brushwork– seriously, can you even see any brushstrokes? Or how delicate her lines were drawn.

Perhaps it is a combination of all these things. Whatever it is, I find her work magical.

All images via the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum online.

April 18, 2011