Regina Calton Burchett - Drawings & Pastels » Writings

Perfect Sunday Morning

Regina — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:43:22 +0000

Yesterday, I had a perfect morning. Sometimes we get just a few hours of what seems like perfection, and more often, just a moment. I’m grateful for any, because they seem rare. And to realize them, even more rare.

I was lucky enough to make one cup of very good coffee, and took it and a leftover scone and Charlie (our terrier) out to my studio. I opened the shades, and we sat on the window seat and I drank coffee and read the latest Pastel Journal. Then I painted for several hours and was happy with my progress. I listened to the Moody Blues and John Fogerty and Linda Ronstadt, and during breaks from painting, Charlie and I danced. (well, actually, he bit my feet while I danced).

About 12:30, I came back inside and worked on paperwork for business. And I didn’t feel guilty at all. What a great day.

Fixin’ to be a good day – finished

Regina — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:20:17 +0000

This was an experiment for me and a step away from my art comfort zone. But I like it.

Fixin' to be a Good Day

storm front – sky painting with no ground – WIP

Regina — Tue, 26 May 2009 19:09:07 +0000

I’m fairly close to done on this, I think. I’m trying to decide if a sky painting needs land to ‘anchor’ it.

Sky - storm front

Doing what you love.

Regina — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:36:37 +0000

One artist who regularly posts some excellent and helpful pieces is Rose Welty. She had a great article on doing art every day, even if for just ten minutes. (Read post here) One of the things I like about that idea is that it reminds us, every day, that whatever else we may be doing to make a living, we are artists.

We are artists. Period. Say it. It took years for me to be able to say “I am an artist” and not feel like I was being pretentious. Okay…. I still feel that way at times. But one of the main things that brings joy to my life is art. Creating art, thinking about art, viewing art. And being grateful to have that passion.

And I need to be able to dedicate at least a small portion of every day to what I love. Thanks, Rose.

WIP – Fixin to be a good day

Regina — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:13:42 +0000

I started this one today on a 5×7 Ampersand pastel board, working on getting a second piece ready for the Austin Pastel Society’s show at the Scarbrough Building.

WIP – path, tree, fog

Regina — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:16:49 +0000

I started this tonight about 10:30 after a very frustrating day / week… it’s from a photo my friend Diana shared with me. She is doing a painting from it also. Because of a frame I already had, I decided to stretch the image somewhat, and work from that. This is the initial charcoal sketch, and a link to a slideshow of my progress tonight.

WIP - fog, tree, path

Slideshow Link progress to date

Update: 5/6/09 – Here is the completed pastel. I kind of lost the fog, but liked it the way it was…

Cattle Guard

The warm colors of Fall

Regina — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:33:57 +0000

		Sitting here looking out the window at the last of the beautiful fall trees, it seems like we have more color this year than we generally do in central Texas. The yellows and oranges all around the neighborhood have been such a nice change, but now the trees are losing their leaves more rapidly.
It seems odd that the brightest and most colorful part of the year is right before the most barren and gray season. Maybe the warm burst of yellow, gold, red, rust, and orange are there to warm us before the cold of the winter to come.

Gratitude

Regina — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:18:51 +0000

When I think about why we should continue to put forth the effort to recycle cans and glass and paper, to cut our vehicle emissions, to carry our own reusable grocery bags, to endeavor to turn back the clock on the damage we have done our planet. . . . . I want my driving factor not to be guilt, but instead a basic, simple and pure joy in maintaining the beauty that is around us every day.

Just in our area, we have the great Live Oak trees that are such a true personification of Texas – strong and unique and tough enough to survive floods and drought. And the color and sinewy variety of the Crape Myrtles, with their barkless wood exposed to the elements. Our colorful wildflowers and weeds and native grasses give their beauty to the landscape all year long.

Sitting outside on an early summer Sunday, we can see the beauty through the cool blues and greens all around us, hear the swoop and call of birds, smell the clear and sweet scent of the air ~ then we realize that we need to do the right thing, not from guilt but from gratitude.

(Because a good friend liked this, I copied it from my now defunct American Statesman blog of June 2, 2007)

Art in the Back of the Closet

Regina — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:37:27 +0000

Sometimes I look at various framed pieces of art that I did several years ago – and still have on my walls – and see so many things I want to change. Colors that I wish I had chosen differently, a pastel stroke (or many) here or there that I should have omitted or applied, or even the composition. But it doesn’t seem right to change them somehow.

In thinking about it today, it occurs to me that even though I will most likely never be a well-known artist, I should nonetheless have integrity with my own self and my progression of work. Each particular piece represents the artist and the person I was during that time – my abilities, my experience, my choices. And to remove it from the frame and alter it is like trying to change my own past.

Should we work to correct our art errors of the past?

On the pieces that have completely lost our original favor, should we destroy them? Sell them in a garage sale? Or just hide them in the back of the closet?

The Concert

Regina — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:19:12 +0000

As I walk into the woods,

the concert has already begun -

the wind lifts its baton

to conduct the dance of leaves

I sense the movement,

the sway and sigh,

as the fingertips of the trees

stretch to sing of life

The sun separates from air

to become small circles of light

flashing down between the leaves -

sparkling chimes of green and white

Mottled shapes from sun and shade

continue a dance along the floor

of this living space

that has welcomed me

The soothing sounds around me

dampen thoughts of human matters,

lending me peace, renewing my soul.

7.15.07