This post celebrating my 50th year as an artist, brings me to almost half way through my career and up to my 40th birthday. These were big years because of my studies in shamanic and transformational healing, and as the one being healed. How it manifested artistically was varied and prolific.
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Self Portrait”, drawing, 1987
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Self Portrait”, drawing, 1987
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Self Portrait”, drawing, 1987
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Wish”, oil painting, and Arapaho figure, clay with rawhide mask, bead work and other details, oil painting, 1987
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Grandma’s Tea Cup”, drawing, 1987
No composer can transport me to the fullest range of emotions like Mozart does, which accounts for the number of artworks of him. It is a pleasant surprise for me to notice the same piano motif in this drawing as in 1975’s For Mose, You Don’t Know What You’re Missing.
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Mozart”, drawing, 1987
Then with this painting of the west portico at the National Center for Atmospheric Research I stepped into the ancient past. The whole year of 1988 was spent creating ninety oil paintings of petroglyphs in my basement studio. It was like being in an underground cave, unaware of time passing on the surface.
My mom took the photo that was the model for this painting an image I have repeated many times, even recently. The architect, I M Pei’s inspiration for the building was the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, my soul’s home. His vision was to create a building that merged visually with the Boulder foothills. This image is the only representation I have, taken from a slide that was cropped at the top and full of dust.
The series of archways beckons the viewer to see where the light is coming from, it feels mysterious. I added the petroglyph on the far wall.
© Kathleen O’Brien, “NCAR Portico”, oil painting, 1988
I wish I had more from this series to show. Buffalo Transmitting Power to Man image was sent to me by a collector. I used earth pigments to create an ambient container for the accurately rendered petroglyphs.
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Buffalo Transmitting Power to Man”, oil painting, 1988
The Arches Cover paper was double inked by artist and print-maker Jean Pless. The petroglyphs were pecked onto it with white pastel. It is ultra subtle. You can see this one at my studio! I couldn’t part with it because of the delicacy of the color, so deftly applied by her delicate hand.
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Grand Gulch Petroglyphs”, pastel, 1988
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Self Portrait”, drawing, 1988
Today, as I celebrate my 70th birthday, I appreciate the optimism I was feeling on my 40th birthday when I painted Highway. The 1987-1988 phase of art making began with the NCAR imagery helping me to look within. It culminated with visions of going outward, onward, excelsior.
© Kathleen O’Brien, “Highway”, oil painting, 1987
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