learning | Stephanie Schlatter Art

I have written before about my love of roads in paintings. Simply put, I love roads. The road less traveled. Where the road may lead. The metaphorical representation of a journey. Memories of childhood road trips.

But the road has become even more important to me as time marches on. On the lighter side, I love adventure. I love going places and experiencing new things. Learning and growing from these experiences. I like how the changing of your backdrop (location) lets you examine yourself in a new light. The continual lessons of the road. But it is the inner journey that has become even more important to me and the metaphor of the road within. The outward journeys are as much about the inward journey as anything.

Life is one long journey and yet altogether too short. Who we are on that road? Who do we choose to surround ourselves with? Who will we love? What will we choose to stand for? We all have our own choices of how we will view the world.

I believe in the words of Joseph Campbell: “You bring your own meaning to life; that is the meaning of life.” For me, that means time in nature and with my dog, with my beloved husband and cherished parents, friends and family.

It also involves a love of work. Work, I feel, is what we do in life to give back, and giving back is intrinsically woven into my meaning of life. My meaning comes from sharing my love of art, art as a language that gives voice to the voiceless, as an escape and as sheer, pure joy. Art saved me, not because I was in trouble but because I needed this language to fully communicate, and I know art can save others — if only in the appreciation of it, the joy of it. And so this is my road. And it’s the road I paint again and again.

This road becomes more precious, more dear as I get older, as life happens to me, and what is important is elevated.

Where will the road take you? What does it mean for you? I’d love your thoughts in the comments below! As for me, I shall keep traveling along, enjoying each moment as best as I can, ever, ever aware of the journey!

They bring me joy. They are all done in a notebook, simply for my pleasure. So why?

In part because I so strongly believe we need to do things just for us, things that bring us joy.

The birds that visit my bird feeders outside my studio window bring me great, great joy.

My Papa gave me a “Birds of North America” book because I kept calling him to ask what this bird and that bird was. My Papa always knows, just by my description. I love this about him. He’s such a committed nature lover.

One day, I just started to draw a chickadee from the book, then another, and so on. Here’s the thing: I don’t particularly like “realistic” art. I’m of that school that thinks I’d simply take a picture if I wanted to view or paint realism. For me, the joy of painting come from the creativity involved in being “painterly.” Painterly is a term I learned in college that means what it sounds like: that the brushwork and paint take importance over the subject. That a painting show you it is, indeed, a painting. It’s the color pushing into color, the movement of the paint. The way something made me feel versus a rendering of the visual information before you.

These birds have become simple meditations. And they let me keep up on my skill to represent reality. It is true, you do need to know the rules to break them. Art is such a delicious exercise in breaking the rules, when done properly. But mostly, it’s a meditation. I don’t have to be creative, I don’t have to think; the information is already there. I can have a seat and simply draw.

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When I paint, my soul goes into the work. I paint standing up because I like the energy it brings to my work. I like the physicality of my work. But sometimes it’s nice to just relax, have a seat and just make little birdies. Let my body, mind and soul relax without thoughts of selling; just something for me. I think we all need a notebook that is just for us, just a guilty little pleasure to stoke the bigger works, just a place all your own.

The by-product of drawing or painting anything is it makes me appreciate the subject more. So my birdies are even more special to me.

The feeders outside my studio sometimes get more visitors than just birds…

Stephanie Schlatter Art

Welcome to my world of color, passion and travel!

Tag Archives: learning

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