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Satin & Sand

Category Archives: Art

Sometimes Small Things are Just as Good as Bigger Ones…

24 Tuesday Jan 2023

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Art studio, Home, Reflections, watercolor

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Art, Art studio, beautiful, Janet Hill, watercolor

© Joan Currie – My art studio

It’s not about the size of the boat, it’s about the motion of the ocean.

For years I have been convinced that a larger art studio would lead to a significant increase in my art work productivity. I wanted a room for a big easel or two, to be able to work on several mediums and projects at once, and have storage for all my art supplies. I couldn’t help comparing my space to all the amazing studios featured on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and in art magazines.

But then I saw wonderful greeting cards by the talented and prolific Canadian artist, Janet Hill, who works in a space “between her washer and her dryer.” Her works, be it art prints, stationery, cards, paper decorations, books, oil paintings, etc., are absolutely delightful and highly sought-after.

I have since come across many other artists who work in small spaces and are also very productive. It seems that a passion for, and commitment to, the creative effort trumps the size of the studio. I know I can always go outdoors or work at my dining room table, but I am truly grateful for having a dedicated space where I feel creative.

Beautiful Mammalian Speed…

07 Saturday Jan 2023

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Mammals, New Year's Resolutions, Reflections, watercolor, Wild animals

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Art, New Year, pronghorn, Reflections, watercolor

By the first dawn of the new year, all the stars shine in the squeegeed sky over the range and the morning is pale blue and golden, and pronghorn run in wet wilted grass. – Anna Badkhen

The pronghorn is the fastest land animal in North America – second fastest in the world next to the African cheetah. The pronghorn’s speed, grace, and agility are my inspiration for moving through the challenges of this coming year.

Beautiful Spot of Tea…

04 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Reflections, Teacup, watercolor

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Lin Yutang, Reflections, Royal Delft Blue, Teacup, watercolor

© Joan Currie – My Royal Delft Blue teacup watercolor

There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.
Lin Yutang

Taking a few minutes to have a cup of tea in my favorite teacup. I need to reevaluate my list of resolutions for 2023 since I breached several of them from the get-go on the first day of the new year. Oops! I think my plans were too ambitious and I need to break them down into more manageable, attainable goals – items I can check off my list with relative ease, and engender a sense of accomplishment. So, here goes…

Beautiful Happy New Year…

01 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Reflections, Sculpture

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Art, New Year's, Sculpture, Thoreau

© Joan Currie – My sculpture in party mode!

Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. – Henry David Thoreau

Wishing you a happy 2023! May your hopes and dreams come true.

Love, Joan xox

Five Beautiful Things for Which I am Grateful…

29 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Five Beautiful Things, Iceland, Reflections, Sheep, watercolor

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Art, Iceland, Sheep, watercolor

© Joan Currie – My sheep watercolor. Loved the Icelandic wool!

I’m glad to be here. I’m glad to be anywhere. – Keith Richards

In the last few days I have been thinking about the many things in 2022 for which I am grateful. The year started off quietly but the latter half was filled with a certain sweetness and gentleness of family connection, some exciting adventures, followed by succumbing to Covid infections.

  1. From the first of the year I made an effort to connect with my loved ones on a daily basis. The compilation of photos on my phone always brought tears to my eyes! New ones popped up every day and my family loved to receive them. I made sure to download the photos they shared with me, and added them to my photo library.
  2. One of my 2022 resolutions was to make time for a daily art practice – even just 20 minutes some days. I discovered new techniques and painting supplies, particularly watercolor. I framed a number of my landscape and animal works for my living room gallery-wall and changed out the pieces frequently.
    I was able to carve out some space in my back studio-shed to begin oil painting this last year. It was very satisfying to embrace the medium of my favorite Masters.
  3. I was very grateful to have made two trips (Reykjavik and Amsterdam) with my youngest daughter. Both places were our ancestral homes and we connected with the people and the landscape in a special way. I loved the coarse texture of the Icelandic wool and brought some skeins and fleece home with me for my knitting and rug hooking projects.
  4. Despite getting vaccinated, several family members and I got Covid this year, but I am glad we got through the course of it, including rebounds, without any longterm effects (so far, so good!).
  5. I remembered the introduction to a soap opera my mother watched years ago called “Days of our Lives.” I revisited the show’s promo, “like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives,” and noticed the sand seemed to be flowing through the glass bulb at an alarming rate! It reinforced how precious time is and looking back this year, I am thankful and fortunate to have spent so much time with people who were loving, kind, curious, and supportive.
Schaap en twee lammeren in een stal by Frans Lebret (Rijksmuseum)

Beautiful Reindeer on Christmas Day!

25 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Christmas, Reindeer, watercolor, Winter

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Art, Christmas, Reindeer, watercolor

© Joan Currie – My reindeer watercolor.

We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year!
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas
And a Happy New Year!

My best Christmas wishes to you and your loved ones!

Love, Joan xox

Beautiful Christmas Gift Tags…

18 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Birds, Christmas, Crafts, Reflections

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Andy Rooney, Birds, Christmas, Gift giving, gift tags, Reflections, watercolor

© Joan Currie. My watercolor birds as gift tags.

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day.
Don’t clean it up too quickly.
Andy Rooney

When you are finally cleaning up the mess of ribbons and wrapping paper, be sure to save some of the gift tags. I treasure the ones I have collected since I was a child. My mother loved to use the front of beautiful note cards with images of winter such as those by Cornelius Kriegoff, A. J. Casson, and Roy McMurtry. She had beautiful penmanship and always wrote a sweet note to go along with the present. I especially love the gift tags given to me from my daughters – their early attempts at printing “Mommy” and their names are delightful!

Last year my gift tag theme was Christmas trees, but this year I decided to go with birds. I hope one of my children continues my tradition of not only saving the tags but of creating them as well.

Beautiful Rest…

11 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Reflections, Relationships

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May Sarton, Rejuvenation, Rest, Solitude, watercolor

© Joan Currie – Bedroom shutters watercolor

The most valuable thing one can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of a room. – May Sarton

I needed a rest this afternoon – and thought about you at my side.

Beautiful Valentine’s Day Red…

14 Monday Feb 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Domenico del Ghirlandaio, Red, Renaissance, Valentine's Day

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Diana Vreeland, Domenico del Ghirlandaio, Heart, Red, Renaissance, Valentine's Day

Detail of Old Man with a Young Boy by Domenico del Ghirlandaio

All of my life I’ve pursued the perfect red. I can never get painters to mix it for me. It’s exactly as if I’d said, “I want Rococo with a spot of Gothic in it and a bit of Buddhist temple” – they have no idea what I’m talking about. About the best red is to copy the color of a child’s cap in any Renaissance portrait.
-Diana Vreeland

Pursuing my perfect Valentine’s red.

Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥️

Beautiful Morning…

27 Thursday Jan 2022

Posted by Satin & Sand in Art, Daily Life, Reflections

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Landscape, Morning, Morning sun, Waking

© Joan Currie – Morning Sun, collage

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I have a wonderful feeling,
Everything’s going my way.

from Oklahoma by Rodgers and Hammerstein

I am a morning person. I like to get up with the sun and make a definite start to the day.
But some mornings, especially when it is cold outside, I am completely seduced by the
warmth of my own bed and the feeling of the covers around me. So I decide not to get up
but to stay in bed and enjoy the moment.

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