Jewish Community

Abandoning a good habit is not easy to undo, especially one that is as tentative and newly formed as my art journal blog. I stopping blogging when I was away on a couple of trips and once I returned, I could not get myself to start writing on the computer again. Hopefully I'm back now, at least for a couple of days until my family vacation begins in Lake Placid, New York.

Tonight I want to present some of my artwork based on the theme of Jewish Community. My original motivation for these two pieces was the need for Bar and Bat Mitzvah cards. I felt I was always running to the store for cards and rarely finding one I liked, so I decided to design my own and have a supply on hand. I've always appreciated the art deco designed posters and tiles from the 20's and 30's and so decided to use a variation of this style as inspiration. My goal was to simplify the forms and use flat planes of color in harmonious hues. I couldn't resist adding a little texture as well. I'm pretty happy with the results and hope to do more. Right now I working on a Tu B'Shevat (New Year for Trees) design from a drawing I've had in my sketchbook for ten years.

Included with these designs are two of my favorite passages from Jewish prayer books. The front of the cards have abbreviated versions in Hebrew and the backs have an extended version in English. The passages are "Holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is filled with God's glory" and "It is a Tree of Life, it's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all it's paths are peace."

"Tree of Life" copyright Barbara Levine 2008
"Sacred Blossoms" copyright Barbara Levine 2008

Earthly Madonna

One of my favorite themes in art (and life!) is that of mother and child. I loved being a mother of young children, but after my children grew up and left home, I regretfully stopped using this theme as often. I felt my paintings should reflect what is going on in my life at the moment and that sincerity and authenticity were essential in order to create meaningful art.

But, at last, I have been liberated to again paint my first love. Last year my daughter gave birth to her first child and I became a grandmother. It is both a joy to be in this new role and to witness the loving bond between my daughter and her baby. Forest Madonna is the first in a series I plan to paint celebrating maternity and how it unites us with all of nature.

Forest Madonna copyright Barbara Levine 2008

Garden Mandallas

April Showers Copyright 2006 Hyacinth Copyright 2006

I started painting garden mandallas a couple of years ago to focus on the plants in my garden I thought so beautiful or interesting they deserved to be celebrated in a painting. A mandalla is a radial design that has been used in cultures around the world to express wholeness and connectedness. Based on the shape of a circle and symmetrical in every direction, it is a nearly foolproof way to organize visual elements into a satisfying composition. I often use this as an art lesson for children because it allows everyone to make a successful drawing or painting. I also make collaborative mandallas with friends and family. It's very fun working (playing!) together and a great way to get artistically shy people involved in creating art.

But I digress. Here are a couple of my first garden mandallas, representing spring with water lilies and hyacinth bulbs. Attached in the center of each is a 3-dimensional frog. I couldn't keep them off....they were so at home with these lovely garden specimens.

Introducing New and Continuing Themes

This week I will post the current themes I'm working on in my studio so that I can start organizing this blog into a format that has some structure. Some subjects have long been a part of my portfolio of artwork, and others are new interests. Here are the titles I have chosen:

• Nature Tapestries
• Garden Mandallahs
• Jewish Community
• Petite Narratives
• Earthly Madonnas
• Floral Arrangements

I introduced myself with three of my Nature Tapestries, "Rosy May", "Winter Harvest", and "Brambles" (May 7, 2008). These paintings are inspired by my daily walks around my home in the beautiful Willamette Valley, Oregon. Since we have four distinct seasons, I am always watching for new wildflowers to appear and observing the slow transformation of the land and trees from one season to the next. My usual path takes me past marshy areas, grassy fields, and a lavender farm, over seasonal and year-around creeks and a couple of hills, and finally through a forest of firs, ferns and maples. I'm so lucky to have such a diverse landscape to enjoy!

"Forest Floor" copyright Barbara Levine 2008

Artwork on Display

"Still Waters", "Ocean Tides", "Rushing Waters" copyright Barbara Levine 2007

For the month of May, I have eight paintings at the Giustina Gallery in Corvallis as part of the "Diversity in Our Backyard" exhibit. The theme refers to the wide variety of styles and media of artists in this area as well as the diversity in nature found locally. Here are three of my paintings that are included in the show.