Night Crow

Night Crow – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

I’ve painted many crows over the years; in recent times, I had done three paintings of a crow together with a dove for the yearly International Peace Day. To me these two together symbolize balance that is much needed for our polarized world.

One of my first blog posts on this site back in 2012 was on Into the Sun, a crow painting in which I wrote about how crows remind me of my Dad. I thought of him recently as his birthday was October 1st and I then decided to do a new crow painting titled Night Crow. This painting is fanciful showing the crow’s large wingspan flying over head with colorful light streaking across the sky and the vivid sunset behind the trees.

Down the street from where I live there are large tulip poplars and pine trees along a creek. The crows’ nests there and this time of year you can hear them cawing. I also love seeing them flying above, you can tell they are intelligent. Fall is here, the days are getting shorter, we’ve had some chilly weather, and the leaves are starting to turn. Halloween yard decorations are going up, getting more elaborate and creative each year which is all part of the fun.

Harvest Maiden

Harvest Maiden is a new painting of mine celebrating the beauty and bounty of fall.  Here in Atlanta, the days have been unseasonably warm and sunny unlike last year when the wind and rain quickly took the leaves away; this year we are witnessing  the beauty of fall as the colors slowly  unfold.   In the late afternoon when I look out my studio window to the backyard wooded hillside, the vivid leaf colors against the blue sky with the sunlight streaming through are breathtaking.  The view inspired me to do this painting.

It feels good to be back to painting.  I had been spending  time matting and framing prints for the  Flying Biscuit Cafe at their new location in John’s Creek.  I  also took a marketing class for artists which was helpful.  I’ve never been business oriented but at this point it is an important skill I need to develop .  The class was interesting, informative and fun;  I realized that marketing takes creative thinking which is helping me to see it in a more positive light.

I also have a new friend that I met at an art fair I was in who has tons of experience in corporate creative marketing.  She is helping me get more directed and focused.  Focus is something that has not come easy for me, I tend to get scattered in a lot of directions.  My husband and daughter are both  focused and directed.  I can see it serves them well and they both inspire me so.  I plan to both paint and keep up with marketing, it will take time but I’m trusting the process and feel it will pay off.

I hope all are enjoying these fall days.

Gray Squirrel Among the Autumn Leaves

Gray Squirrel Among the autumn Leaves – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

 Gray Squirrel Among the Autumn Leaves is my newest painting.  Here in Atlanta the fall has been pretty pathetic with the endless rain taking many beautiful leaves down too soon. We’ve had a few sunny days but this fall has not been as vivid as usual. During the rainy days I felt like painting an autumn scene with brightly colored foliage to brighten my spirits.

When I worked as a park ranger in Brooklyn and led tours with the inner city school children, if we spotted a squirrel they would squeal in delight.  In the South with all our trees we tend to take our squirrels for granted, in fact my dad used a bb  gun to shoot at them if one got near his  bird feeder.

Squirrels are pretty amazing when you think about it. They are beautiful creatures with their bushy tails, sleek build and so agile as they scamper through the trees.    They are also helpful to nature with all their gathering of nuts, some of which turn into trees.  I’m pleased with my squirrel and hope you like it too.

Purchase print here:  Gray Squirrel Among the Autumn Leaves

Autumn Buddha

Autumn Buddha – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Autumn Buddha is my most recent painting.  A friend lent me her Buddha statue that she inherited from her mother-in-law, along with the her prayer beads which drape his shoulders.  I like the soft and peaceful look of this Buddha statue.  This is the second painting I’ve made of the statue.

Here in Georgia the  fall colors are just getting started but I have been seeing many gorgeous images of fall scenes from Aquamosh’s Blog, a photography blogger that I follow. The rich warm colors of the fall images are just breathtaking. In this new painting I decided to play with those rich colors for the Buddha’s background.

I’ve done several Buddha paintings most of which I used a carved wooden Buddha statue from Thailand as the model. We bought the statue because it reminded us of our  Southeast Asia travels.  We visited many ancient temple ruins in park like settings. I loved walking among the massive stone Buddhas sitting peacefully in the landscape. I’ve tried to portray the serenity I felt there in my Buddha paintings.  Prints of all my Buddhas are available in my Circles Round the Sun Etsy Shop.

Girl with Young Doe

Girl with Young Doe – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Fall is in the air here in Atlanta.  It’s cooling down and the trees are just beginning to turn, the colors warming up.  Soon the landscape will be lit with brilliant warm hues.  I used these warm colors in my new painting,  Girl with Young Doe, the second in my series of children.   I’m pleased with her, portraits are getting easier for me, practice makes perfect as they say.   I wanted to project a young women who is innocent as the doe yet clear about who she is and in touch with the natural environment that surrounds her.

Crow at Dusk

Crow at Dusk – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

I wrote my first blog post a year ago today.  I was nervous about starting a blog because I’m a pretty private person.  I consoled myself thinking not many would read my writing anyway, we are all so busy, so I went ahead and decided to try it.   I posted a crow painting and wrote a very personal piece in memory of my dad who was born on this date.  What I’ve discovered surprisingly is that it has been fun to write and express the thoughts and stories behind my paintings.  It’s been like jumping in to cold water, it starts warming up after a while.  I’ve enjoyed connecting with other bloggers and following blogs that catch my interest.  I feel a sense of community with people all over the world.  I’m glad I took the plunge.

Speaking of my dad, I think he has been a big influence on why I enjoy writing.   He grew up during the depression in Virginia before television.  Time was slower then and his family would hang out playing music and listening to stories.  He got the story telling gift;  he was perfectly at ease being the center of attention and could tell a story that would keep anyone interested.  My sisters and I heard fun stories about my dad’s childhood:  like hunting for squirrels, or how he pretended to hate whipped cream because he got special attention for that,  the way he swept mom off her feet when they first met, their fun first years together and on and on.  My oldest sister was an english major in college and is a natural writer, she writes an excellent monthly astrology column, Heavenly Messages, which she posts on her website here.  My twin sister is a gifted poet and is planning on publishing a daily Christian devotional soon.   I think dad would be happy about his influence on us and I wonder what he would have thought about blogging.  Happy birthday Dad, thanks!

Magic Crow

Magic Crow

 

To create anything… is to believe, if only momentarily, you are capable of magic.’

It is a beautiful fall Wednesday here in Atlanta. The leaves are changing to lovely warm colors and it is in the mild mid 70’s.  Delightful! 

Here is another crow painting of mine.  I like this painting, even though it is acrylic on watercolor paper it reminds me of crayon drawings that children  create in elementary school.

I saw the quote above on my twitter feed this morning.  It is from Tom Bessill who has written a book The Magic Hours, about creativity.  Here is a link to a review by Maria Popova on Brain Pickings, she is one of my favorite tweeters:  Brain Pickings

Print available here.