Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Working on a couple of things so....



Here is a painting I started a year ago and then changed every few months or so when I felt like it.  The last change was done a few days ago.   These are 24x36 oil on canvas....

Interpret them as you will!


22 comments:

Lyrically speaking said...

Wow, impressive work!

Manon said...

Love them Sheila! It's fantastic when you can take an older piece and rework it! Great job!

Pat Burns said...

I have a thing about wings.... so I'm liking these, Sheila. It's a good idea to have something like this off to the side where you can come purely to express emotion. It's an idea I may steal!

Paintings by Irit Bourla said...

Is the new one on the top?
I love it plz dont touch it. Thats so nice.Graet piece.

Gail H. Ragsdale said...

How beautiful! Great for meditation.

Art By Erika said...

I'm thinking the latest rendition is the bottom one. The walls have come down and your are now feeling safe to explore and at the same time bare all. You've gotten used to your wings, your strength. You feel you have grown delicately beautifully as well as elegantly. You are in an upswing trend and enjoying the marks you are making in your new world. Light is shining bright around you, all is good.

Michelle said...

Ok, I was just going to say how "cool", but that doesn't seem like enough after Erika's interpretation. Which was very interesting...and "cool" as well! :)

Mona Diane Conner said...

I really like the second one Sheila. It looks like some kind of spiritual event is taking place in the room, but I'd love to hear your own interpretation

Peter Lee said...

Hi Sheila,
Very interesting indeed!
The two paintings convey totally different feelings.
The one on the top is mysterious and symbolic to me where the bottom piece is more loose and spontaneous - looks like you had lots of fun with it.
Somehow I'm more drawn to the top one. The wings are really nice and look very powerful - feel like they can lift your soul to the eternity. And the toad is looking at the wings as if they once belonged to him or her. And are they baby toads behind? - implying the society? The writings on the wall look some kind of alien language bearing profound secrets. And I see there is someone outside by the window. Is that person a delegate from the outer space?
It's fun to see a painting that put me into daydreaming. Love it!

Dean Grey said...

Once again, I'm shocked by the change in style, Sheila, even if these are a year old!

These paintings are much more focused and smoother in appearance than the smaller pet portraits.

Also, the mood is noticeably eerie, almost dark! Definitely not the happy pet paintings I'm used to seeing from you.

It would be so interesting to me if you combined both of these styles and moods together. Loose and tight, happy and dark! Now that would be something to see!

-Dean

Stephen Dell'Aria said...

Wow!!! These are very fascinating. The inner world. I am particularly intrigued by these paintings. What are the symbols written on the wall in the room? Are they personal or perhaps religious or simply from the subconscious? Nice paintings!!!

suzanneberry said...

These are amazing! I'm finding that stopping work on a piece when it's time and going back when it's time can be its salvation as well. Great work. Thanks so much for your comments on bug 11, so kind and inspiring, much appreciated. chat soon. hugs.

Mary Paquet said...

Sheila, both amazing pieces, but I love the second one -- the flow, the life, the happiness....My first interpretation was not nearly as eloquent as Erika's, but agreed with her description.

Tracey Clarke said...

I really think these are interesting and the first one in particular is right up my alley....I love ambiguity in art. It is very powerful.

L.Holm said...

Wow, Sheila! mysterious inner worlds indeed. Dreamscapes. quite haunting and lovely.

Edward Burton said...

Very beautiful, Sheila!

Kathleen Krucoff said...

Wow, powerful, dramatic. Love it Sheila!

Trevor Lingard said...

Hello Sheila
I am not very good at expressing myself. I see the paintings almost like a diary of the past if that makes sence. Perhaps there are emotions from the past which you are exposing.
Kind Regards

maddsketch said...

wiiiiiiiiings!! my most favorite thing in the world! they're beautiful!! by the way yeah i might need to wait for another vision lol
and yah my bad, i'm just trying to make sure that i'm not a pervert lol XD

Sheila Estep said...

Wow the wings keep capturing my attention and imagination in both pictures. Love it!

David Larson Evans said...

In front of me is a whole page of your newest paintings and I like them all.

Gwen Bell said...

Great work, Shelia! Don't you love the feeling of your subconscious taking the reins?
Of course, only you know what they really mean to you, but here's how they hit me:
Both of these are very powerful. The first has a lonely, almost ominous feeling as if the future is uncertain. Will they remain in the room or fly out the window? I like the way the toad and tadpoles are to the side watching the transformation. The cryptic writing seems to tell a secret about the wings.
The second feels like forward movement. The light pouring out of the wings seems like an enlightened sense of self that is pouring onto all other aspects of your life. I love the primitive hand prints that lead up and to the right, an invitation to move ahead but remain balanced. I love the "river" that runs through the center of both, connecting the centered and more ethereal parts and carrying them on a journey.