2 busy weekends (25 or so hours) later, a bathroom mural was completed in a cute little Petaluma home. The inspiration was taken from a New York Times Magazine cover: an illustrated old ship out to sea. I’m grateful for my friends who commissioned me for this dream of theirs and I’m glad I could help it fully come to fruition.
Before / After Videos
Process Photo Gallery
Life has been full – ups and downs – but feeling strong and focused as of late.
While wrapping up my first phase of student teaching high school art, and working towards a masters in art education, I’ve been pursuing my own creative interests. I’m participating in Silicon Valley Open Studios during the first 2 weekends of May and will be selling some of my paintings, pottery, and prints at the art studio I substitute teach at – Drawn2Art in Los Altos.
Facebook Event SVOS Artist Page – Renae McCollum
Also, during the month of May, one of my latest paintings will be part of Social Policy‘s art show “Chosen Family” in downtown San JosĂ©. That spot has some great coffee/tea and food if you’re in the area. Opening reception is May 4th, 7PM-10PM.
Title: LandEscapes 12 – My San Joasis
I recreated my Weeping Land piece and donated it to local nonprofit gallery Works/San JosĂ©‘s for their annual auction fundraiser. The last day to bid is this Saturday, Dec. 2 by 6PM. If you’re in the area, please check it out – there are so many great artists who have something showing in the gallery.
My artist statement from the show:
Being a curious individual, I often ask myself questions about the intricate designs of the world, observing and appreciating the detailed environment around me. In the past four years, I have been turning these explorations into my own creative interpretations.
The acrylic painting series I’ve been developing lately is called “LandEscapes”; in it I focus on natural landforms, utilizing bright colors, contrasting values, and line. Through these paintings, I hope to bring to light environmental elements that are around us, allowing space for viewers to feel a familiar connection to the earth.
The flagship of the LandEscape series was the inspiration for this artwork you see today – a new reincarnation of the original piece “Weeping Land”. I wanted to express how nature is greatly affected by human development and exploitation. As I was creating this, people everywhere were feeling the results of some awful natural disasters: hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires. I weep for them, I weep with them.
But I also challenge us all to face the realities of climate change and to get involved to make a needed difference in our communities.
80% of proceeds from this piece will go to support the great things Works/San José is doing; 20% will be sent to help with California wildfire relief to the Community Foundation of Sonoma County.
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Here’s the original I did back in 2012:
I appreciate the Tao te Ching and reading through the wisdom it holds. I think this passage below is especially poignant right now and is what I wish would take shape in the minds & actions of our political leaders. If only…
When a country obtains great power,
it becomes like the sea;
all streams run downward into it.
The more powerful it grows,
the greater the need for humility.
Humility means trusting the Tao,
thus never needing to be defensive.
A great nation is like a great man:
When he makes a mistake, he realizes it.
Having realized it, he admits it.
Having admitted it, he corrects it.
He considers those who point out his faults
as his most benevolent teachers.
He thinks of his enemy
as the shadow that he himself casts.
If a nation is centered in the Tao,
if it nourishes its own people
and doesn’t meddle in the affairs of others,
it will be a light to all nations in the world.
Reflecting on a Saturday afternoon, I thought I’d share these thoughts of mine with you:
I’ve been working through some personal things in the past month of this new year and as January comes to an end, I’m feeling better and trying my best to get rid of things and thoughts that don’t serve me. Daily I’ve been setting aside time to: pay attention and be fully aware of my body (through yoga & meditation); shut off the mind from tangential wandering; breathe intentionally and focus on mindfulness. There is no need to worry about the future and the uncertainty it brings, instead enjoy the now and hold on to the gratitude and wholesome thoughts. Patience, remember, for this too shall pass.
Trying to remain above the cynicism.
Yin and Birds – Digital Artwork by Renae McCollum 2016
This artwork represents how I’m trying to see the world. My world, and all of yours. A place full of balance, freedom, peace and justice. It’s hard to imagine it though, and even harder to believe in it. I realize it’s just a dream, but perhaps a dream we all have in common? I can only hope.
Deep down I have to trust that all of humanity is rooted in the same desire to live in harmony with one another. We are all just a bunch of living, breathing organisms sharing the same resources and creating systems to “deal” with our surroundings. My hope one day is that we collectively can find a way to live respectfully and peacefully with each other AND with our own planet – to stop exploiting and abusing each other and our natural resources. It’s more than tolerance, more than acceptance, but real support, understanding, and unity. We have so much more in common than we realize…but I know it’s hard at the moment.
As for now, I can only keep the hope alive through art and music and kindness.
Perhaps Curtis Mayfield’s song “Move On Up” is the best thing for everyone to listen to right now. Such a gem 🙂 We’ll Move On Up…Enjoy!
Hush now child, and don’t you cry
Your folks might understand you, by and by
Move on up, toward your destination
You may find from time to time
Complication
Bight your lip, and take a trip
Though there may be wet road ahead
And you cannot slip
So move on up for peace will find
Into the steeple of beautiful people
Where there’s only one kind
So hush now child, and don’t you cry
Your folks might understand you, by and by
Move on up, and keep on wishing
Remember your dream is your only scheme
So keep on pushing
Take nothing less, than the second best
Do not obey, you must keep your say
You can past the test
Just move on up, to a greater day
With just a little faith
If you put your mind to it you can surely do it
The Master has mastered Nature, not in the sense of conquering it, but of becoming it. In surrendering to the Tao, in giving up all concepts, judgements, and desires, her mind has grown naturally compassionate” -Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
I have found a new balance and blend, or maybe more like a bridge between my most beloved worlds of nature + art. I’ve learned new methods of thinking and ways of how I can contribute positively to society. I’m embracing not knowing it all, but instead staying curious about everything. I’m developing shapes, forms – bigger ideas- before bogging the conceptualizations with details. It’s all happening…
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. – John Muir
In late June, I went through a week long immersion course at Sagehen Creek Research Station (just north of Lake Tahoe) to become a California Naturalist. To answer your questions of why, what, and wait what?, please read below. 🙂
Why?
Well, the reasons varied, but I initially went due to my sense of adventure and wonder. I wanted to learn more and gain skills to become an educator; I wanted to get away, to rejuvenate and reflect on how beautiful life is. I also wanted to connect deeper to this place I call home. I ended up meeting some of the most genuine, interesting, experienced, curious, kind, and amazing group of people – including my cohort of 15 + the teachers and leaders of the course. They all collectively made this experience a worth while professional (and personal) development week off.
What is a naturalist?
During that week, we were trained on how to share knowledge and interpret science on an empathetic level in order to inspire the blooming of more environmental stewards. We were given tools to essentially pull apart and deconstruct ecosystems, in order to build them back up again with our words and stories for better understanding. I like to think of it as a training on connecting people to place.
Naturalists also observe nature by drawing or photographing and journaling about their observations. I doubt my nature journals will lead to breakthrough discoveries and they might not be published like the great John Muir, but it’s a useful tool to really pay attention to a place.
Yes, there really are classes for this. Check out the UC website if you’re interested and want to learn more: calnat.ucanr.edu/
What did you do?
I stayed at a the research station for 7 days, 6 nights. This lively, serene, secluded place is about a 20 minute drive north of Truckee, CA and is owned by UC Berkeley. I had class most days from 9AM-9PM with breaks and deliciously catered meals in between. It was like adult summer camp. 🙂
We had a terrific professor of hydrology lead us through the entire course with brilliant guest speakers occasionally dropping by in our outdoor classroom. Some classes occurred while on nature walks, including geology, botany, and the search for beaver dams along the creek. We visited other places two of the days, including UC Davis’ research center (TERC) at Sierra Nevada College and learned about the natural history of Lake Tahoe. We also learned a great deal about the research that’s going on around the lake and around Sagehen’s experimental forest.
I recommend picking up the California Naturalist Handbook. It provides great overviews on geography and biology of CA, and highlights some challenges we are facing now with global warming.
We were also introduced to a cool app called iNaturalist. It’s a community for nature observations and has some great information on it. I also recommend checking this out if you take a lot of pictures of nature and are sometimes curious about what something’s name. I still have some observations to post for Sagehen Creek station, but my username is “renae” if you want to find me on it.
What now?
It was sad seeing the week end. It’s truly incredible how quickly I connected with a group of strangers from different walks of life. I’m very grateful I met everyone I did and learned all of the information that I could grasp in such a short amount of time. I was very inspired by my classmates’ passion for the environment. On the last day, we all presented what we will be doing for capstone projects upon the completion of the course. All 14 projects I heard about were quite impressive and I know these individuals will make positive differences in their communities. I hope to carry my own project out within the next few months and to begin volunteering with some local parks.
Although I slightly dreaded driving back to San Jose and returning to work, this week gave me the creative and inspiring boost I needed. Thanks to all of my fellow naturalists and our fearless leader for making these memories!
Stay curious 🙂
There has been a delay in this series, but it will continue soon, hopefully next week if time allows. I’ve been busy working on a few portrait drawings for a good friend, some sweet graphics for work and a few designs for a friend’s wedding this weekend (I’ll be updating my portfolio in the next few days, so stay tuned).
I finished this 4th painting over a month ago, by adding more lines and texture to the ground… about time I show it off 🙂
I have a few sketches worked out for the next two paintings; they’ll be smaller then these last two featuring the red rocks of Utah, but hopefully just as intriguing.
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In March I designed a t-shirt for the non-profit organization I work for; here’s the sketch I based it off of. The leaf at the top is part of the logo and is shown asymmetrically in the final design to give those astute viewers something to find.
Breathe easy 🙂
Just about done with the 3rd in my series ‘LandEscapes’… Getting ready for the next.
Such a beautiful
memory. Red rocks building
contrast to the sky.
Haiku and art – what other way to remember such a lovely time traveling the southern part of the US. 🙂
The sound of crashing
waves engulfs my entire
being; beams of light.
Just finished developing the second painting to my new series: LandEscapes.
This was inspired after a magical evening spent just south of Big Sur, CA. We were just sitting there, totally engulfed by the waves crashing before our very eyes. There was no need to worry about anything, all of it was before us, washing out with the ebb of the ocean’s breaths. The sunlight was a spectacular site, creating a dramatic skyline from a storm that was creeping into the evening. It was hard to look away from the glowing halos the crashing waves carried as they threw themselves against the sea rocks.
You rock rocks. Thanks for the Escape.
Happy Fall Everyone!
There will be a total eclipse that’s also a Super Moon & a Blood Moon on Sunday. I’m excited to see this! NASA made a great animated video explaining what that means exactly.
Morning reading with NPR and coffee, not a bad way to start my day.
Enjoy your weekends!
Renae Patrice McCollum 