Creating A New Painting: Songs of the Earth (a beginning)

"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” ~ Rumi

Yesterday a friend asked me how I can do the 'same thing' every day. Puzzled, I explained that (to me) it's never the same, always different...and I get so excited over working on ART. I really love wearing old painting clothes, hanging with River dog, throwing paint, weaving words, or hammering sculpture: creating something: I'm happy to be here in my old house/studio working away on the back deck or front porch, painting away: not trapped in a tiny cubicle or punching a time clock. There truly is a river of joy in my soul: no matter the odds, no matter how hard it is to make ends meet.

For example, here's a brand-new painting in progress: (this is the first layer, the birth, the beginning stages) which will be in the "Songs of the Earth" series...it's my largest "Songs" yet...at 48" x 72". Yes, my behavior is escalating. This is only the beginning: shown outside on the front porch studio. River dog's nearby supervising, listening to the fish pond trickle. In the painting, summer starts to bloom: Queen Anne's lace, seed pods, ferns, corals, yellow-golds, pink honeysuckle twining, cat tails rise, a lotus...of course, there's always my love of Jungian symbolism floating in those details.

It came to my mind as I was out there flinging paint, that maybe, just maybe I should work up a Kickstarter fund for this series, so I can work freely on them without worrying so much about marketing or materials, starvation or deprivation, which although I'm used to, can hamper an artist. Hmmmm...after all, these began with a song. An idea. A magic moment out in nature, listening. Tuning in to that hum of life, that metaphysical force. Feeling the river flowing in my soul. Thanks for listening to my on-going love of art, the making of art. We're all part of the circles...which are in the painting, I might add. More to come....

Songs To The Earth painting (48" x 72") in progress, Bonnie Joy Bardos

Night & Moon, Rose & Thorn

...The way the night knows itself with the moon, be that with me. Be the rose nearest to the thorn that I am. --Rumi

Of The Soul & Joy

...Seat yourself next to your joy and have your awakened soul pour wine. ~ Rumi

Art & Life

Moving Water

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river
moving in you, a joy. --Rumi

Esto Perpetua: Blue Field

About my ongoing Esto Perpetua series: I began this series several years ago, based around the Latin phrase of 'esto perpetua' (it is forever) which is written within the painting, worked into many transparent layers for the viewer to find and ponder.These canvases, both large and small, are always one of a kind, and depict nature and the sacredness of our earth. No trace of mankind is ever found in these landscapes, only mystery and peacefulness, quiet beauty, a sense of timelessness and spirituality. My belief is that nature is omnipresent, precious, powerful, and sacred. This series has become my language, my message to a world that needs to hear it. While a quiet, contemplative message, I hope it comes across loud and clear.


Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about. -Rumi