New Work

Our Lady Guadalupe of the Moon

by

Laura Paine Carr

This painting, and 9 more, are on exhibit at Rochioli J Vineyards and Winery through May 15, 2012.   Open daily, 11 - 4, and by appt. on Tues. & Wed.

Would love to have you see them in person!  Sip a little of the excellent wine and enjoy the spring vista of vineyards,  cottonwoods and willows along the Russian River, and the wild sky.  And enjoy the paintings, too, of course!

Love,

LPC

They Just Think They Got Away

The morning coffee klatch.  Warming up for a day of soaring.  And, of course, finding nasty things upon which to dine.

Did you know that Turkey Vultures are quite talkative?  They are.

Oh this is my current favorite shot.  Love those feet in the morning light.  I could never plan for such a shot, that is for sure.

Here is my Raven friend, busily avoiding me.  I am sure that they know who I am, as they seem to hover about, and fly off as soon as I roll to a stop.  It is entirely too orchestrated to be accidental.  One day I think that I will invest in a tasty sandwich and place it upon the hood of my car and wait for them.  Then, CLICK! I will have my Raven.  Heee hee.  We shall see.

This is a pretty good shot.  Interesting composition.

Next time I will catch him flying the other direction.

On this trip home from The Lake I also saw a Bobcat!  A beautiful, healthy and rather large one loped across the road in front of my car.  I watched it leap out of the grass, and was so stunned I was unable to pick up the camera.  It crossed the road, and as it leaped into the brush, it looked back over its shoulder at me.  I cannot help but feel that these critters know me.  Perhaps one day each will hold still long enough for me to get my shot.  Neither Luna nor Emerson even noticed the cat, being satiated from their swim.

I am fascinated with the big black birds.  Wildlife and animals in general are my favorite subjects, whether to read/research or to follow with my camera.  My paintings are progressing, Our Lady Guadalupe guides me right now into realms I never knew existed.

It is peaceful in these realms.  Colorful, quiet, and soothing.

Love & hugs.
LPC

A Goooooooood Day!

I am wanting to be a famous Raven Photographer.  Ha ha.  No, really.  I do.  Only problem is that they do not co-operate.  I am tenacious, though.  So we shall see.  They are intelligent, humorous, wary, and very forward when one does not hold a camera in hand.

My brother feeds Ravens in his back yard.  He even knows some of their favorite snacks, like Aunt Cleo's pancakes.  He puts the "compost" out in their garden and bangs the pot on the fence.  Goes inside and watches them come sailing out of the forest from his kitchen window.  The Ravens chuckle and gobble up their treats.  They hear the pot bang, call in the whole clan, and drop in for snacks.

Some day a Raven will follow me home.  Even when I am up in the mountains on the way to the Lake,  from their vantage point my house is only about three miles away.  Every trip I invite them, show them the way.

This was a fun interlude in my day:  Grand Kidlets.  Ice cream and good company = Smiles.

Took a circuitous route home.  Found piglets in the vineyard.  They are an integral part of a system where bye the soil is tilled and fertilized by pigs and chickens.  There were four of this size; very extremely cute.

Flamboyant Flowering Quince, made the more bright by the sun setting behind the hill.  Wow.

And ever so coincidentally meeting Mary, who's smile is the BEST!  Now seriously, isn't this the coolest way to end a day?

Hugs.
xoxo
LPC

Laughing with the Horses

He is the Littlest Guy.

 He is the Biggest Guy.

Perspective:  Skyler (the human) is 6'3"ish.

Pretty cute, I say.

This Guy hangs his tongue.

 Hanoverian advantage.

Got him by the chin hair.

Needless to say, they're good buds.

xoxoLPC

Prelude

Yes, here in N. Calif., we are experiencing one of our weird winters.  And, yes.  I am loving it, for I chafe under the discomforts of cold, wet winters, much preferring "strangely warm" days in January!  I notice that Manzanita blooms mid winter, to remind us that Spring is gathering herself together, and will burst forth in poppy orange, lupine purple, and a multitude of colors within the spectrum.  Recently I saw a whole flock of Western Bluebirds, flashing a blue more pure than sky.

I love these lantern shaped little pinks.  They make me maudlin.  Did you ever read The Little People books?  I love that they live behind the reality of the big people, their homes accessible through the cracks in the baseboards.  When I see these flowers in the spring, I am sure that the little people illuminate their cozy little homes with them.

In a sacred manner they have sent voices.

Half the universe has sent voices.

In a sacred manner they have sent voices to you.

heyoka from Black Elk Speaks

What I have not understood has to do with the Nature of Things.  How life is.  How my tears and sorrow are part of the fabric of things.  How even discomfort is sacred.

Sometimes I think that I spend an inordinate amount of time staring at Things.  Yes, this is the way of an artist, this one anyways.  Like I am memorizing a moment, a sense, even a silhouette or shadow breath movement.  Recognising plants, birds and animals from my past, most likely from my past's past.  Like Raven, looking down at me looking up at her.  She knows, like Manzanita knows.

And there is nothing to do about it.

Love,

LPC

Odds & Ends. Essence.

Ran out to the car to grab up the camera.  The light was streaming into the studio in a most bright and cheerful way; hurry.  Took the photo.  Things in the studio are changing.  There is no hanging back, no hesitating.  Time is of the essence.  There isn't even anything to let go of, if you can imagine that.  Cliche run amuck.  Everything ever said has been said already.  In a thousand languages.

Download the photos, to find a charming group of images.  I stare at things.  Hungry, I guess, for the essence of whatever.  Like the pigeons:  I was putting gas in my car and was staring at the insulators and wires and the height of the pole and the blue sky.  White.  White round pigeon breasts.  Life on the wires.  Notice how pigeons always land just the right distance from one another?  No one is crowded or knocked off.  That I know of, at any rate.  Reminds me of Starlings zooming en masse and not crashing.  Around here humans run over one another, well the ones in cars run over the ones in shoes, or on bicycles.  Sorry.  There I went.

There are many ways to God.  At this time, my way is staring at things.  At color.  Negative space.  Line.  Whisper.  Clouds way so high I can't really see them, so the blue serves the purpose.  Stare.  Quiet.  Notice that God has not gone anywhere.

Winter cold day, with rain approaching.  What holds me back?  Away from taking on the difficult?  Writing this morning and yesterday, too, the question haunts me.  I do not like not-knowing the answer or the outcome.  My early training was to keep it to myself, which turned into a weird timidness in adulthood.  The writing has exposed the fable of early-childhood, how those beliefs which took hold and morphed into fact aren't, really.  Today's writing opened the door to more "true circumstance."  I hold back out of some fear, some consideration of others, some more fear.  I hold back so that those damn fears don't come true, or turn into frustrating tears.

Life is a prayer.  Underlying the "true circumstance" is the True Circumstance.  Purpose comes with the gift of life.  Listening to birdsong,wind or the coyote howl thrills me.  Packing in the wood, hauling out the compost and ashes keep me focused.  Feeling sorrow, love, gratitude remind me that I am human, and alive.

And this is some of what's happening from the light shining into the studio.

Thank you for your love and steady presence.

xoxo
LPC

Portrait

In a way

every

portrait

is 

a

self

portrait.

***

xoxo

LPC