Looking Forward to 2012 & Discovering “Falls at Toltec Gorge”

My last post reviewed 2011. I introduced you to my early experience of Oklahoma – a place that I seem to be making a connection with at a very visceral level and much more quickly than I might have thought. As a landscape painter, I need to connect with the places I paint. It is not enough just to say they are beautiful – for me. When they weave their magic onto my Soul, then I can paint them. In my dreams, I still visit the forests and lakes of Ontario and I am conflicted still as to where home is. Is home a place or is it a memory?

The river of my life has been a series of rapids and waterfalls rushing me through whitewater narrows. Having a set of goals for 2012 feels impossible with the wilderness rushing by. I am a little overwhelmed by the landscape opening up to me as the rapids subside.

I spent a couple of hours over Friday and Saturday wandering the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. I walked through stunning life size photographs of Havana by Michael Eastman and followed dimmed hallways to experience the Dale Chihuly exhibition “Illuninations”.

It was while moving through the middle galleries dedicated to the late 19th and early 20th century permanent collection that I was struck by this one painting. It leaped off the wall and opened a door deep into the woods. The pink mountains in the background touched by sunlight beckoned me to step into this landscape “Falls at Toltec Gorge” by Thomas Moran. I was haunted by it and each visit to the Museum I would stand before it, scaling the slick, moist alpine rocks in my imagination.

I wonder if perhaps exploration is my ultimate goal for 2012? Oklahoma is not tainted with history and preconceived notions and I feel my creative juices flowing – and yet that old fear that travels with me at the back of the river boat is making noise and rocking it back and forth, threatening to capsize.

So what do I want to accomplish in 2012 and how can I best make use of this adventure? Let’s try this list:

• Don’t let the fear take over the boat
• Explore the world around me, travel around the Southwest and let my imagination soar
• Take the time to let these new places soak in and let them speak to me
• Keep painting and creating as much as possible, but experiment with new media
• Write, write, write it all down
• Keep a sketch/notebook
• Enjoy the moment and dance MY dance (thank you Sarah Lacy! Read her inspiring post here)
• Keep things balanced

So there it is…. And I am off to the Botanical Gardens! (see bullet #2)