http://sculptorsjournal.com
http://dawntreestudio.com
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http://earth-sign.com
Copyright © 2005-2010 henry mitchell. Copyright for all artwork shown on this site resides with the artists.
http://dawntreestudio.com
http://henrymitchellsculptor.com
http://earth-sign.com
Copyright © 2005-2010 henry mitchell. Copyright for all artwork shown on this site resides with the artists.
Tuesday 16 March 2010- My constant friend and critic, Ted McIrvine suggested recently that my writing might get a little better if I began writing immediately upon waking. I have noticed that I usually wake between two and three in the morning with some clear notion of something to write or make. After awhile I go back to sleep, and at sunup have only the vaguest idea of what was in my head at my first waking. So I am going to take Ted's advice and make my time between sleeps my writing space. We will see what happens. I'm sure Ted will alert me if it is not working.
Friday 19 March 2010- Two letters from friends this morning, one full of new beginnings, and one longing for new beginnings, prompted me to an immediate act of faith, to mark my prayer for their beginnings, and my own. So, after breakfast, before I went out to the yurts to work, I planted peas. Every seed trusted to earth's care is a prayer, a sacrament, symbol of our lives submitted to the care and keeping of Maker and our Brother. Every planting is hope incarnate, a manifestation in place and moment of our everlasting life in Spirit, and our present embodiment in Creation.
LEFT: Matthews Creek, above Raven Cliff Falls, Mountain Bridge Wilderness, Greenville County, South Carolina.
Sunday 21 March 2010- When I was a young man, I loved the life I was living, then bit by bit, set it aside to tend to pressing obligations and expectations. Now, no longer young, I have done all I thought I had to do, with no regrets, but look about and discover I still have some time to live the life God gave me, before I made up my own. So, for whatever time is left, that is what I am going to do. If any want to come along and share the walk, you are welcome.
Tuesday 30 March 2010- She's loved me longest. My story is about hers (below). My Aunt Mary still lives up in Jones Gap, all by herself. Now that evenings are warmer, there is a night shift in the yurts (right).
Tuesday 30 March 2010- She's loved me longest. My story is about hers (below). My Aunt Mary still lives up in Jones Gap, all by herself. Now that evenings are warmer, there is a night shift in the yurts (right).
Saturday 3 April 2010- After a couple of weeks of spring, it appears summer is here already, and every soul that shows in leaf or flower is rushing to catch up. Bees are everywhere, flowers congregate, and the trees dance for joy. Today, I'm planting herbs: thyme, basil, oregano, dill, chives and tarragon. Basil will make pesto; we've never planted enough basil. Dill will go into scrambled eggs, and into rye bread. Rye with dill and dried tomatoes is a wonderful loaf. Two books to recommend: Daniel Leader's, "Bread Alone" and "Herbs and the Earth" by Henry Beston. Both are classics. Beston's book is not only a good guide to herbs for the garden, but like everything he wrote, is pure poetry, uplifting to the soul as well as instructive to the gardener.
Sunday 4 April 2010- Each day, as soon as there is enough light, I go out to the yurt and make a little drawing. I like to use a big brush, so I can stand far enough back not to need my glasses. Usually, I have no notion at all about what I am going to draw, until the brush is loaded and touches the paper. The inspiration is in the act. So far, at least, something always comes forth.
What has been coming forth lately is portraits. I have no models. Don't know who these people are or where they come from, but they seem very real to me. Each one has been a very distinct character. I am drawing on Lenox 100, a 100% cotton fiber paper with a slight tooth and a creamy off-white color. It works well for drawing with a brush.
What has been coming forth lately is portraits. I have no models. Don't know who these people are or where they come from, but they seem very real to me. Each one has been a very distinct character. I am drawing on Lenox 100, a 100% cotton fiber paper with a slight tooth and a creamy off-white color. It works well for drawing with a brush.
ABOVE:
Honey bee visiting Shogoin (Japanese turnip) in my garden. The Shogoin were planted last fall and have provided delicious greens and sweet, spicy roots all winter. With the warm days, they are bolting to flower.
BELOW LEFT:
"Gregan"
gesso on paper
22 x 28 in.
BELOW:
"April"
gesso on paper
28 x 22 in.
Honey bee visiting Shogoin (Japanese turnip) in my garden. The Shogoin were planted last fall and have provided delicious greens and sweet, spicy roots all winter. With the warm days, they are bolting to flower.
BELOW LEFT:
"Gregan"
gesso on paper
22 x 28 in.
BELOW:
"April"
gesso on paper
28 x 22 in.
LEFT:
"Violet"
gesso on paper
28 x 22 IN.
BELOW:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
"Violet"
gesso on paper
28 x 22 IN.
BELOW:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
LEFT:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW LEFT:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW RIGHT:
"Mary"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW LEFT:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW RIGHT:
"Mary"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
LEFT:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW LEFT:
"Out of the Mountain"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW LEFT:
"Out of the Mountain"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
RIGHT:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
24 x 20 in.
BELOW:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW RIGHT:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
24 x 20 in.
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
24 x 20 in.
BELOW:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
28 x 20 in.
BELOW RIGHT:
"Untitled"
gesso on paper
24 x 20 in.
Wednesday 7 April 2010- I love to draw. It is a very minimalist activity. White paper. Black pigment. Brush. This is enough to make a world of form and texture, enough to convey character and emotion, to summon up places. Drawings don't so much describe as suggest. Images emerge from the white depths of the paper as they become alive in the mind of the viewer.
Generally, I don't do washes in drawings. Grays are suggested by the texture of the paper and the brush.
Generally, I don't do washes in drawings. Grays are suggested by the texture of the paper and the brush.
Thursday 8 April 2010- Fifty years seems a long time to be doing anything, but when you've done it, it seems like no time at all. All along the way there have been friends to guide, help and encourage. There have been mentors, who by example and by counsel, have helped me find my way. There have been patrons, who have bought my work and thus sustained the endeavor. Some who were among the first to lay out hard-earned cash for my stuff, have come back repeatedly over the years to see what I have been up to, and if they liked what they saw, they took it home with them. In buying art for their homes, they bought time and materials for the artist. Thus their love and labor is a part of everything I make. The people, not the art, are the real treasure of these years.