Arrowheads and Mountain views
June, 10,2024
Hello from beautiful Santa Fe! It's always a delight returning to this place of tranquility and beauty. The view from our home here is truly something to behold. The Sangre de Cristo mountains on one end, the Jemez mountains on the other - it's a sight I never take for granted and always appreciate.
I brought two commissions that I had started back home with us in the car when we drove here 10 days ago and I’m just starting to move forward with them both. Each of these paintings are what I would call “stretches” for me. I can’t tell you what they are yet, but one of them incorporates all of the above arrowheads. How cool is that!! I could have said no to both of these collectors who asked if I would do a certain painting for them, but I didn’t! That is what I want you to think about. Do you ever encounter opportunities or new doors opening that, at first seem like “they’ve got the wrong number?” You’re tempted to do what comes easily and feels safe? Me, too. So why did I agree to take on two completely different challenges this time? I think it’s because I’m learning that if I try and I fail I can learn by what I discovered in the process. But if I try and I don’t fail, then “Wow!” I have grown in leaps and bounds and also made a couple of people very happy. And then there’s that third option of not doing anything and never knowing what might possibly happen. I want to continue to stretch myself and, hopefully always choose to explore and say yes to new opportunities. Not only in painting but in my life, too. How are you stretching? Is there someone or something that you’ve been avoiding because it was easier to do? I hope we can move bravely forward together and see what happens. The worst is we realize we don’t want to go there again! Good luck and keep me posted.
Have a great week and get out there and do something boldly!
Bye for now
Lynn
The Messy Middle
Do you ever feel like life is happening so quickly there’s no time to stop and catch your breath? I believe we all do at one time or another. And what is unfortunate about all of our busyness is that we often miss the messy middle. Say what????
Let me explain what I mean in art talk. A painting can be going along amazingly well, everything falling into place just how I had hoped. Colors, edges, values all working together. And then I get a bit sidetracked or distracted and when I look again the painting has become a disaster. I’m deep in the “messy middle”. There have been times I wandered there for months and other times I can paint my way out quickly. But I always learn something there.
Just like my paintings, life can be bouncing from one event to the next smoothly when, all of a sudden, something throws if off and makes it messy. My messy middle last week was dealing with vertigo. It almost threw me on the ground while having lunch with a friend and it took a week to shake the dizziness and “off” feelings it caused. I know you have had your own surprise “vertigo” in some form or another. These times slow us down, maybe nudge us to reach out for help, and often pay more attention to the people and the things that are really important to us.
Protect The Family
This painting embodies the chaotic middles of my artistic process. Started last summer, it witnessed countless revisions and moments of self-doubt before its completion a year later. The journey taught me resilience - to not abandon myself or my work. I feel like the “mess” in this painting is what makes it so special, just like the “messes” in each of our lives makes each of us special. And approachable!
My next email will be coming to you from Santa Fe! It’s that time of the year when we leave the heat in Texas and head to the beauty of Santa Fe. I can’t wait! I’ll show you a little bit of my life out there over the next four months and hopefully have new creations to present to you. Until then, have a great week and keep yourself moving forward in the midst of the messes!
Bye for now!
Lynn
I almost Didn’t Go
It all begins with an idea.
May 2, 2024
This past weekend I went to a women’s retreat at our church. I know that probably surprises you because I am not the retreat type! I can’t tell you how many ways I tried to talk myself out of going and how close I was to just driving by the church and heading back home. But I didn’t. That was a a big step for me and just one more way of stretching myself beyond my comfort zone. I am not a big crowd girl, a front row girl, or the one who volunteers for all of the opportunities that come along. Nope. I can hide in my studio, by myself, all day everyday if given the opportunity. The perfect evening is a quiet dinner with my husband and our dogs, having a glass of wine and reading a book. And please don’t ask me to stay up late! So why am I telling you this?
All of us have our strengths, weaknesses, loves, hates, things we’re comfortable doing and things we really don’t like doing. One of the many things my art journey is teaching me, especially as I’m learning to reach out to you in a new way, is that if we always hide and say no we will miss out on some of the treasures life has to give us. It’s when we step out of our comfort zone at times we may actually make a new friend. Or learn a new skill. Or find a new path to head down. The door may open wide or it may slam in our face but we won’t know unless we open it and take that first step.
I’m trying new ways of making art and having a blast!! I learned the “rules” and the “right way” to do the drawing, painting, etc. and now I’m trying to break them and see what happens. This could be a disaster but I’ll never know if I don’t walk down this path and try. The painting above is an example of playing with new ideas. Instead of putting a map on the entire panel and painting a Chief on it I took the map and cut it in the shape of his headdress and painted over that. If you look closely you can find towns like El Paso or Denver. Part of the fun is just trying something new.
Before I sign off I want to tell you that I actually enjoyed the retreat!😁. I was asked to sit on the front row for the first session 😳 but when given the chance I moved back a few tables. I met new women and had conversations that wouldn’t have happened if I’d not walked through that door. Let’s keep exploring new paths together and if a door shuts, let’s try another one. One step at a time. One door at a time. Have a great week and I’ll chat with you in a week or two. Bye for now!
Lynn
Shan
It all begins with an idea.
April 25, 2024
This is a painting of my mom, Joan, and my mother-in-law, Shan. I painted it in 2017 from a black and white photo taken of the two of them at a college sorority party. It’s big, 60x60, and it hangs in our kitchen. There probably aren’t many people who would want to look at their mom and mom-in-law that often. And that big!😂
This last weekend we drove up to Oklahoma City to see my 96 year old mother-in-law, Shan. She has been such an encouraging role model in my life and is one of my biggest cheerleaders. Although her body is frail, her mind is still strong and sharp and she loves to get caught up on her 15 grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren. (Wow!) There are so many reasons I love this woman, but I think the main one is how she loved my mother. They were friends as children and all through college but drifted apart for a few years, each raising a family of their own. My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2007 and with that news, a number of people didn’t know how to handle it or react to her. Later, as the disease progressed, more and more of her friends stopped calling and checking in, probably because it’s hard to know what to say. I get it. But Shan never gave up. Mom couldn’t remember a lot of her friends but she asked about Shan until close to the end. Shan was there for her, and for me, during those 12 years. Why am I telling you this? Because she continues to show me how we each play a unique role in one another’s lives. Shan, through her love and support, has reminded me that I, too, am called to encourage others through my art as well as my life. No matter what others say or think, I need to be my authentic self.
As I begin to crawl out from under my rock and expose myself a bit at a time, I thank you for coming along with me on my journey. This week I am finishing a few more of my commissions and am excited to open up space for new opportunities! I’m also continuing to get the studio space set up. Moving from a small extra bedroom to a big warehouse space is wonderful but also has its challenges! Hopefully, when we get back from our summer in Santa Fe, I can have an open house to show you where I hang out!
Remember to check out my website by pushing the above button under the painting or go to LynnSamisArt.com. I’d love to help you find something for your walls!
Have a wonderful day! And thank you again for being on this journey with me. I hope you, too, have a Shan in your life.
Bye for now!
Lynn
New Fort Worth Studio
It all begins with an idea.
May 7, 2024
Hello again. I hope this email finds you well and enjoying your week, wherever you are. I’m finally getting around to sitting down to check in with you. The big studio move has been a whirlwind of activity this past week. It's been all hands on deck as we've been shuffling artworks, rearranging shelves, and orchestrating the move with my wonderful team of helpers. You wouldn't believe the amount of art I've discovered I had tucked away over the years!
This new studio is absolutely exhilarating! It's providing a chance to spread my creative wings, with room to craft even larger pieces. Even with the shift to this new space, my small bedroom studio isn't going anywhere, and it'll still be the hub for pastel drawings and smaller pieces.
Here's the best part, I can't wait to hear from you and I'm so excited at the thought of arranging a visit for you to see this space! Updates on the progress are coming your way soon!
This painting, Buddy System, was one of the hidden paintings stacked away in the old studio. I know it’s not my usual subject but it just kind of painted itself last summer. I’m showing it to you because it makes me smile and I’m hoping it will make you smile, too! We all need a little less seriousness in our lives sometimes, don’t we?! If you’re interested in seeing Buddy System in person let me know or you can check it out on my website. Just click the button below! (And thank you for your patience as I continue to update and improve the new website.).
I look forward to hearing from you all and continuing on this journey with you. If you know someone who you think would be interested in receiving these emails, please pass it along so they can sign up! As always, I hope you have a lovely rest of your week and that you give a hug to someone who might need it!
Bye for now……
Lynn 🤓