Take Me Away Reloaded

Are you looking for a “Take Me Away” moment, gentle reader? Geeze! Me too. Before I elaborate I want to welcome new readers and share the purpose of this post and blog. OK?

Spaces and Places in Between

Welcome new readers! Each year, I select a theme for my weekly paintings. This year’s theme is “Spaces and Places in Between.” whoops…I have simplified this year’s theme, gentle reader. How? Well, it’s only one word and here it is: “Transitions.” I still plan to expand on last year’s theme. 2021’s theme was “Small Spaces Special Places“. Since we were all spending a lot of time in or close to home last year, it made sense to me to keep paintings small and simple.

Why did I decide to change the theme name? Well, because I could barely remember the name of my own theme. And, I thought it needed a shorter description. Transitions makes sense to me. And, I am focusing on transitions within my painting process, too. So what the heck. Why not. Right?

Also, I want to use larger sized panels. Why? I want more room to paint! And, when there’s more room, specifically bigger panels, there’s more room to think about transitions, too.

But I will continue to do drawings and smaller value and gouache studies everyday. Why? I really enjoy doing them. And, I find they contribute to my paint handling skills.

As for actual topics in paintings? All I can say is “So many ideas!” So little time. But this week, anyway, I painted a found object from our road trip last fall.

Anyway, if you are not subscribing to this blog yet and think you might enjoy a weekly dose of unique artwork with a dash of color and musings on life, sign up here. Let’s get to this week’s topic!

Take Me Away OK

So why did I decide to call this post and painting “Take Me Away?” There are so many reasons. First I need to ask you a question. Is there any chance that you might remember the TV commercial that came out in the late ’80s with the same headline as this blog post?

In case this commercial is not a part of your cultural collective, I will share it here.

So here we are in 2022 still dealing with the pandemic and then list off all the other adventures and challenges, you might be facing.

Cue up: Take Me Away with a twist.

Take Me Away and Add Sun

What’s the twist? If you, like me, want to say “Take Me Away,” I encourage you to think of any place or envision an object that helps you feel better. In my case, when I was looking for something to paint this week, I rediscovered this delightful crab leg.

It’s a souvenir from our 7-week road trip last fall. As soon as I picked it up, I forgot about the nasty freezing rain outside. I started to think about the air on the beach in Maine where we found this colorful claw.

Here’s the set up of the crab claw in my studio.

You probably notice that (unfortunately) I have no beach or sand or surf. Just the crab claw and boxes. Boxes? Yes those little boxes helped me draw and paint the claw. How? They provide reference points to consider as I drew the crab claw.

Take Me Away Confession

As I worked on this painting, I did several iterations of it. OK I’ll fess up and admit I initially painted the boxes that surround the claw. But even though I had several compositional sketches of the boxes with the claw, the boxes didn’t make sense. At least the boxes didn’t make sense in the painting with the crab claw.

So I added a shoreline and clouds and even a little island. But guess what? That made the perspective of the claw look huge. And weird. So then I decided to create a painting where the waves were crashing towards the claw. This view offered a horizon line, too.

But, the perspective just did not make sense either.

Step Away

This is when I step away from the painting and paint something else. I bet you have moments like this in your world, right? Stepping away can be the best solution in so many situations.

And, when I returned to it with fresh eyes, I decided to simplify this painting. Here it is.

My intention for this painting shifted as I decided to simplify it too. How? I hope you, the viewer, can experience that moment. What moment? The moment when you’re walking along the beach. The sand is warm. The air is salty and the sun is out. You come across a shell …or this crab claw. It captures your attention completely. So you start to reach down to pick it up. Isn’t that moment sweet? Ahhhh! That’s the moment that takes you away!

Take Me Away Is For Sale

This painting is for sale for $97 + shipping + taxes. To purchase, simply click on the link here and thank you.

Whoops!

As I write this post, one of my website tools reminds me that I used this expression, take me away, in a previous post. Here’s that post, of the same name, from March of last year. Ha! It makes me realize that the state of our current world and the pandemic in particular, support this expression. Don’t you think?

What’s Your Favorite Take Away Place

So there you have it, gentle reader. What about you? Do you have a “take me away” ritual or place to help you navigate through a stressful or anxious moment? Or do you simply like to imagine a “take me away” place as a part of your daily routine? Either way, I would love to hear about it. Please share in the comments below and thank you.