Swirls, Circles and Spirals

Here I am. Seven days a week, I am here. Studio, Studio, Studio. Creating 22 new paintings. Oh my. These days my eyes water in blues, greens, soft pinks and golds. Listening to a homegrown recording of a Pennsylvania singer, Natalie Joy (thank you sister of mine for the real mail love). She reminds me of an early day Ani DiFranco -- all soul and fire and a certain wanting in her voice to be seen and heard. I can hear it because I too feel that same wanting. On her handmade CD, in her own handwriting, she tells her listener to burn freely. Yes, spread the word. Be the verb, share art, share art, share art. I think that is how it's gonna happen. Little by little, word by word, person to person - one sweet connection to another. Already there is evidence of it. A visitor from Berlin and one from Morocco on my website. The sweet word is being passed around. I find peace in that - all this global connection. I wonder who it was in Paris that looked at my paintings last week? What was their day like? Was the sky slated and gray in Munich? Did the person from Malta dip their feet in the sea after perusing through pages? Who felt sadness and left a little lighter? I wonder about these things. Yesterday I had to think of a sentence that summarizes my work. Yowsa. No small task. What it all boiled down to -- is my simple and direct wish and it went like this: EACH PAINTING IS BORN OUT OF A DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE OUR CONNECTIONS, AND A HOPE TO INSPIRE STILLNESS AND PEACE IN EACH PERSON THAT LOOKS UPON THEM *

Hoping you, dear reader, are feeling light and full of peace. Happy Tuesday.

Dillon's Moon is available in print !

Dillon's Moon, Limited Edition Giclee Print, $120

For the first time in over a decade of painting, I have produced a limited edition printing of the popular painting, Dillon's Moon.

Before, I never entertained making prints of my work because I didn't feel that the print would convey all of the subtleties of the original. In my originals, there is an abundance of detail -- tiny dots and repeating patterns of lines, subtle transitions and passageways in my washes, brushstrokes of iridescent paint that create a light catching glow. . . well, feeling a consistent nudge from the greater powers that be, last week I had my first print made!

Technology has come a long way - the print of Dillon's Moon took my breath away! It looks just like the original.

Here are the lovely details of the print -

Each Giclee print is on archival, acid free elegance water color paper (a medium weight rag paper) , 100% pigmented archival ink is used, which means no fading! The image size is 8 1/2 " x 8 1/2 " printed on 11 1/2" x 11" sized paper. I will personally work in the iridescent washes that are on the original, since iridescent inks do not exist at this time in the printing world. Each piece is titled, numbered and signed.

There will only be 222 prints in this limited edition and they are going fast!

If you decide to order your own print of Dillon's Moon, please allow 2 - 4 weeks for it's delivery.

You can purchase a print by visiting my website and clicking on the image of Dillon's Moon. You will then be prompted and lead to pay pal. If you prefer to pay with a personal check or money order, I am happy to accommodate you -- contact me directly at amykomar@yahoo.com

Thank you!!

Year of the Dragon

Year of the Dragon, 10" x 10", Acrylic on Claybord

I was 15 when I got a tattoo, a freshman in high school. I remember driving into downtown Houston from my northwest suburb, riding in a mint blue classic car with a friend from history class. I don't remember the details of the make and model, only that it had an 8 track and we listened to Led Zeppelin with the windows down.

Funny the details you do remember. I had long blond hair and was wearing my favorite thrift store find - a short vest that had the coolest print of a dragon on the back. The tattoo artist was a big guy -- looked like he knew his way around a motorcycle and the open road. He had piercings, a beer belly, a beard and kind eyes. He too was wearing a vest -- only his was leather.

I had it in my mind that I wanted the Led Zeppelin swan song angel and when I told the tattoo artist this, he gently suggested another design - - a dragon. It was perfect. Simple. Black. An aesthetic combination of lines and dots. I went home later that day with neosporin and a band aid, my dragon freshly inked into my skin.

Fourteen years later, I was living in a little town outside of Tucson, Arizona named Vail. I was having a conversation with my friend Yukon Left, who mentioned that I was born in the
Year of the Dragon . That night I began researching what it meant to be born under this sign. I can remember sitting in my living room and connecting the dots between my tattoo, that favorite vest, a small white bowl I impulsively bought with a black dragon on the front, the pang of disappointment I felt growing up, when I read on mis-printed red place mats of Chinese food buffets that I had missed the Year of the Dragon by a month; and whatever had nudged my friend to tell me I was born under the dragon? Small details, of course. Easily overlooked. I just couldn't help wonder about the seeming coincidence of it all. As I live into a new year, I have come to know that there is more to life than meets the eye. That everything is connected. That serendipity exists. And life is unfolding perfectly and in great rhythm with what is behind the curtain...

Please enjoy my painting, The Year of the Dragon, as a celebration of this.

* Preview of November Collection

Original works on Claybord, 10" x 10" (title released in November)

I am currently working on a collection of paintings, released this November at The Alaska House Art Gallery and on my website, amykomar.com