The Month of May

May brings more lush green, wild roses streaming in bunches in pinks, whites, and delicious shades and the iris bloom. This photo is one of my pet rhododendrons that I planted over 23 years ago here. Naturally, when things bloom, I 'borrow' a stem or two for the front porch studio. Call it inspiration! Everything serves as inspiration to an artist: even the bad stuff. Recently, I had to deal with a few things that brought me to a low period. And I decided I was over and done with working in gray-scale landscapes: I would only do them if I felt like it, not because a gallery demanded it endlessly. I picked the brush up, hauled out a blank canvas to the porch and let the day take me wherever it would. One painting became two. Two became three. And, who knows where it'll end. Another new series has been born out of angst. By doing something a bit different and freeing the mind (or what's left of it these days!) I found hope and delight in paint and canvas. The series hasn't yet been named, but I've had a ball coming up with snarky titles. Stay tuned....

"Drown the Choos", Bonnie Joy Bardos

New Work: Pink Girl & Yellow Bird

"...I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.” ~ Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

Fall days bring high blue sky, turning leaves in crimson and gold drifting to earth. This means painting outside, watching River dog stretch in the warmth, birds, fall flowers in soft rich jewel tones, pink roses putting on a final show. I could ask for nothing better. This painting's in progress--it made me happy to paint simple, fresh, in clear soft colors and a katydid watching nearby.

~ Painting (Pink Girl & Yellow Bird): Bonnie Joy Bardos, 2014

Art: From A Different Point of View

'A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked.' ~ Anais Nin

September brings cooler nights here, blue-skied days growing shorter, and a sense of change in the crisp air. Sunny mornings find spider webs sparkling over the boxwoods out front. While sitting in the front porch swing, surrounded by late summer petunias, trailing geraniums, and lush ferns, I watch all of nature with my cup of hot fresh coffee in hand. No hurry, only the soft whisper of the swing, a sense of peace, of realizing that all things change: that this moment is beautiful, to be enjoyed in the present.

These days find me creating art from a different point of view, you could say. The eyes have been having issues, causing blurry vision (this will be fixed at the end of the month!) So, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I've found a chance to see things a bit differently. Hey, Matisse and Monet did the same when their vision worsened. Here is one of two new portraits of my neighbor, Joni. To make a long story short, she'd had a portrait done by someone who used a projector and painted her 'literally'. It was her, yet lifeless. Could I do something, she begged. So, I took her out on my front porch and snapped pictures...the wheels in my head turning (of course!). So here is one of the resulting paintings from that moment.

**If you're interested in having a "AS I SEE YOU" portrait: I'll fix you one up. I can work from your favorite photo OR take one of you if you're local. Just inquire...

New Work: The Landscape

'When you possess light within, you see it externally.' ~ Anaïs Nin

This is a small painting I worked on recently, with gold gesso subtly shining through layers of rich color. It evokes Monet and spring, and something about this piece touches my spirit, the spring that still blooms in my heart, despite the odds. The touch of indigo blue? A trace of green? The hint of water, of willow? Perhaps defining things are not as important as just knowing.