Last winter, I became interested in The Shakespeare Authorship Question thanks to Alexander Waugh’s You Tube presentations. Having been turned off Shakespeare at school, I was amazed to find myself enthralled. Alexander Waugh (and others) have produced compelling evidence that indicate Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford to be the most likely author, or…
Category: blog
Fur Babies
Lettie and Me I read a post a while ago in which someone was ranting about people calling the animals they share their lives with ‘fur babies,’ saying it was incredibly offensive to anyone with actual human babies. I read with incredulity! Losing a beloved ‘fur baby’ is truly heartbreaking. It’s not ‘just an animal!’…
Seeding the Energy
Horses feel our thoughts. With hands as light as a dandelion seed we can direct our minds energy from our free necks and poised backs through our seat and hands to the horses mind, soul and spirit carrying us both through an ever expanding potential space. It’s called lightness and it takes practice as we…
Halloween Lessons
Last night, I was invited as a guest tutor to teach a lovely art group who have been meeting for twenty years. I decided to use the two hours to attempt to teach something about Alexander Technique in relationship to art making. An experiment for me and a bit of a risk as it was…
Angels are Everywhere!
The Angel of the Dandelion Clock I received this beautiful message about the Angel in the Dandelion Clock – ‘Some (of your paintings) have an incredible ability to remind me to stay present, and continue to observe what is happening inside myself. Observing the rhythm, feeling the flow, feeling the life. Allowing everything to be….
Habitat – Birds at The Crystal Ball
I shared this painting on my FB page yesterday thinking it finally finished. This morning I’m not so sure. I need to hang it and see whether it hangs peacefully or nags me further. Someone asked me on FB if it was hard to do, due to the words written on it! I’ve been thinking…
Dr Autumn
Angus eating the Michaelmas daisies and a no eyed wally dug! September has been a rollercoaster! It started well. The 1st with my Birthday and a lovely trip to Kippford on the Costa del Solway! Glorious weather. Hot hot hot only marred by the fact my sister got Covid and couldn’t come. It was the first…
The Golden Hedgerow
I spent this summer in the garden, painting and hanging out with my ponies. This large canvas is painted using feathers found during my winter dog walks. I am using feathers in an attempt to really draw upon the feel, spirit and energy of birds and in this painting, the buzzing life force of the…
You can’t keep doing more paintings!
‘Kirsten, you can’t keep doing more paintings, you must sell! You are running out of space! You have too many paintings and too much stuff too!’ ‘Really!?’ Am I doing harm to anyone painting whilst holding a vision of planting a forest before I die, or that I find objects d’art, small treasures found along…
Do you believe horses and paintings speak?
A couple of mornings ago I wanted to write. The only word that came was ‘gratitude’. I closed my computer, it was all I had to say. That evening I received an email that I am sharing, with permission. I understood why simply ‘gratitude’ was all I had to write earlier. I am grateful for…
Keeping on Keeping On!
I am not sure how this happened. But take a look at the stages of the painting before it became this painting, which I am calling The Intelligence of Trees. I just kept on keeping on instead of stopping! I must have liked this at some point as I stuck a copyright thing on the…
Listen to the Wind
‘Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows.’ Native American Wisdom Riding a horse is an act of listening with every fibre of your body and being as balanced in all ways as you can be. In return the horse will listen to your thinking…
Feather Paintings – Painting with Spirit
The lovely thing about painting with feathers is I feel a connection with the bird and its energy, its spirit. I haven’t painted many birds, just a few African ones, so am enjoying this new subject matter immensely as I spend the summer observing them in the garden. I am trying not to overwork these…
Feather Paintings – Freedom
Recently I did some research towards a project that got me thinking about what freedom means for children in this day and age, wanting to inspire hope! However my ideas fell on stony ground. ‘I don’t get it’ I was told, and that was the last I ever heard of the project. However, the ideas…
Feather Paintings – Sparrows
I pick up feathers when I see them. It’s a childhood habit to delight upon treasures lying in the grass, delicate remnants of an air battle. Mainly pigeon or crow feathers this winter, signs that the buzzards had dined, but sometimes an owl feather, and the other day on the Clyde Valley Walkway two emu…
It’s All White Now!
I wanted to make a white painting inspired by the fact that I was enjoying the lightness and brightness of my freshly painted walls in progress, so whilst redecorating I went back to this painting with big brushes in hand and experimented with how white is white and still has a composition and subject. My…
A Million Layers of Doubt!
I decided today that two rather annoying virtual studio assistants need to be given their marching orders! They’re called Smudge and Mudge! They are not the helpful type of art assistant who prepare canvases, wash brushes, update your website and makes you cups of tea! (If only!) Mine are an increasingly curmudgeonly pair of inner…
White
White light meditation White is all colour and no colour White is the colour of honesty and truth, the colour of purity, virgnity, healing, the colour of possibility. A white canvas. A white piece of paper. Clean, pristine, perfect as it is. I’m painting the walls white. It’s soothing. Standing before a blank canvas is…
Art to Trees
How can I turn the huge amount of art I have made into trees and do my bit for the planet? A childhood memory surfaces in this moment of writing. We are in a field somewhere down South. There’s a small opening in the hedge that opens to a space about the size of a…
If I never painted again
What would I do iff I never painted again? Would I be OK? I am addicted to painting! I’ve spent the last 25 years standing at my easel and my right hip is getting sore. If I never painted again I wouldn’t feel that I hadn’t done art, that I’d somehow let myself down. Yet,…
If You Knew the Path?
(The Crystal Ball by Kirsten Harris, detail from a larger painting) Do you want guidance on your path? Do you want to know where you are going? Well, here’s the thing – if you know the path ahead of you, you are probably on someone else’s path! If you are living fully embodied in your…
Contemplating Detachment
This painting has changed so many times! It changed again yesterday. I created a problem from the beginning by putting the horse right in the middle of the canvas, so needed to create enough energy to bring your eye out of the centre so as not to get stuck in the middle. Yesterday, I added…
Shapeshifter
I can’t seem to decide to paint a thing then paint the thing! I decide to paint a thing and then it becomes a different thing. Unplanned things happen! I wasn’t intending crows but crows became the thing. And here’s the thing – both the day and the art shape shift no matter how good…
Crow Medicine
Yesterday was an up and down kind of day, feeling frustrated that my studio is cold, getting bone cold, yet wanting to paint longer. Late afternoon, sun shining, finding spring-like energy, I decided to paint outside, throw some paint on a big canvas and move my body to stay warm rather than stand in one…
I See Your Horse Trees
A visiting friend yesterday said – ‘I see your horse trees in the fields here!’ What lovely words to hear, as though horse trees have become a thing! At art school in the 80’s, I made a large, 3d, interactive canvas (you could put your head inside it through several holes and see more paintings)…
Road Blocks, Art Blocks, Snowdrops
What do you do when you hit a road block in life? Push through? Go a different way? Stop? Ask for help? Do something different? Bang your head on the wall in frustration? Have a cup of tea or glass of wine? Know that ‘this too shall pass’? Get Angry and bang things or depressed…
A Navy Blue Story
Yesterday, I was drawing with blue pen, feeling a bit blue, for no particular reason, just because sometimes we all do. Just a wet and windy chill February day. A friend asked me what colour blue were my blues (good question) and I replied navy blue knickers! School pants, those ones that we all had…
Creating Your Own Problems
That’s what artists do, we create problems to solve! As soon as you make a mark of a piece of paper, you’ve created a problem. What are you going to do with it? I guess this is what all creativity is – problem solving. In the grand scheme of things these are not big problems,…
Merry Christmas – Let Ideas Find You!
I was walking in the field behind my studio three weeks ago and an idea kind of downloaded into my mind. I got so excited that I turned around and actioned it. I sent an email and the answer was ‘Yes!’ Yesterday, I had absolutely the best hour of the year putting the idea into…
On Things Being Things
I’ve painted a lot of African animals. I wasn’t planning to return to an African animal theme but their forms are in my mind’s eye and elephants keep appearing in the paint. I’m not sure where these new more abstract pieces are taking me but am going with the flow. Whilst painting I ponder how…
How to F Up as an Artist in Six Easy Steps!
How to f up as an artist in a six easy steps – Compare your art to others! This is a simple, cheap method to feel bad about yourself and can be achieved in a minute or so scrolling through social media platforms! Look at Raphael or Michaelangelo, or any of the greats and be…
Ninety Six!
I’ve decided to stop counting to 96 with blogs! I lost count with drawing ages ago and I don’t much like numbers! Was crap at maths at school! My best friend and I would sit and giggle, pass notes or whisper through maths classes which were given by a succession of awful teachers. One would…
Being the Weedy Kid
Were you one of the kids who was good at sports at school? I wasn’t! I was always the last or second last to get picked for any team, if picked at all. Anyone who as good at sports, or games as it was called then, has no idea what that feels like. What a…
Love Me!
A cat sits at a window staring at the new moon. The cat is sad, he longs to belong, to love and be loved. The cat is so full of love. Life has been cruel to the cat and the cat does’t understand why. ‘Black cats are meant to be lucky!’ thinks the cat, not…
It’s My Party
I was talking to an art friend last night as to why we both have very different styles in our work. It was helpful, fun and inspiring blethering about art and life. It makes me wonder though – have we forgotten how to socialise, beyond the phone? So many traditional meeting places have closed. I…
One Million Screws to Say Hello
Horses are Good for the Heart, Ink on Paper, 21 x 29 cm Horses are good for the heart, and so is art! I’ve painted myself into a corner, like one of the hoarders on the programmes. One day, If I am not careful, I gonna be buried alive under a mountain of art. I…
Mother
The planet is a living entity. It is part of us and we are part of it. We are attached to it. Held on by gravity. It is us. I am it and you are me. I think we have largely forgotten the planet is called Mother Earth for a reason. It is our Mother,…
Why Painting to Sell is Never a Good Idea!
I’ve sold thousands of paintings. I’ve lost count. I paint for many different reasons but I aim to never paint to sell and if I stray into the notion of painting to sell, which I occasionally do because I’m human, it NEVER works! Painting to sell is a Truly TERRIBLE idea! And yes, I love…
Looking for Light
Over the last couple of days I’ve been doing more work on these two paintings, both work in progress. In both paintings I’m attempting to create interesting light to find depth and space. Moon Shadows – I want to paint one wing much bigger on the horse on the right with it coming forward in…
I’m Every Animal, The Last Queen
“If you wish to get a hold of the invisible, you must explore as deeply as possible into the visible” — Max Beckmann In this latest painting, ‘I’m Every Animal, The Last Queen’, I am asking the question – what can I do to help elephants? The question is active… Elephants, to me, represent all…
Blogless
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” – Andy Warhol “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, and a lifetime to paint like a child.” Pablo Picasso…
The Magic of Nature
Dandelion seeds transform into horses and then become crows. Crows feed on dead animals. The animals and birds spread seeds. It’s not as crazy an idea for a drawing as it might seem. Everything is magically interconnected. Is it the design of the dandelion seed or the energy of the wind that makes the seeds…
Screwing with Time
Father Time, Acrylic on Canvas, 150 x 100 cm Little things make a big difference but those little things can be time consuming. I’ve been slowly drilling screws into the brick work in my work-in-progress gallery space to make a flexible easy hanging system. It’s a hard dusty job but worth it! I’m still needing…
Down Another Rabbit Hole
I’ve been down a cat rabbit hole this week, if such things exist? Or you could say I have been experimenting on cats – experimenting with using different substrates for acrylic paints. The monochrome paintings are either acrylic on hardboard, or acrylic on a new paper. The hardboard requires layers of paint to give depth….
The Outland’s Gallery
If Wishes Were Horses Welcome to the launch of The Outland’s Gallery Launching a new physical venture idea via my blog may be a bit odd, but I want to start in an informal way or the timing will never be right! What with the last couple of years of Covid and my perfectionist vying…
Intentions
How to Make a Horse, Ink on Paper Although in style ‘How to Make a Horse’ and the four cat paintings below are different, the intention behind them is the same – a search for fluency and the essence of the image to take into big paintings. Have you ever watched Roald Dahl or Picasso…
Downhill All the Way
Downhill all the way! Is that a positive or a negative expression? If you’ve just climbed a mountain it’s positive, right? It’s exhilarating and easier to go downhill after the slog up. Yet, we think of ageing and the passing of time as ‘downhill all the way’, in a negative way. Ageing, honouring the passage…
Creativity and Destruction
‘Every act of creation is first an act of destruction’ Pablo Picasso Dirty a pristine piece of paper Mess up a canvas Shatter illusions about your skills, talents or abilities Waste a day, a week, a year, a lifetime, painting with nothing to show for it, just because Ruin more clothes by getting oil or…
Screwing Up
This does not become this This exists, then this One state This moment A flickering fire Forming, reforming The flame dies Embers Earthed by the rain Three stages of a painting getting worse, coinciding with my lungs not being happy with painting in oils again. Oil painting a guilty pleasure. Time to stop. Unfinished. A…
Angry Trees
‘And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.’ John Muir A friend said she thought that this series of paintings looked like angry trees. I absolutely love the description! These are the beech trees I wrote about a few days ago, the ones that are now sitting with their…
Epiphany
I had a bit of an epiphany yesterday – oil on wood panel rather than canvas. I’ve never used this substrate before with oil paint and loved, loved, loved it! These studies of the beech trees and Scot’s pines that I see every day are going to take weeks to dry as the paint is…
If You Do the Same Thing
“If you keep doing the same thing in the same way you get the same result.’ FM Alexander It’s a truth not universally acknowledged that people want to change but stay the same! It doesn’t work, does it? Change is tricky – it can mean disrupting the status quo, saying ‘no’, stepping back, pulling out,…
Half Baked
Art is a slow process in a fast world. It’s old fashioned, soulful, present, confrontational… It’s a way to communcate with spirit, the divine, the primal… At its best, art is a transmission of something that you cannot put into words. Empty yourself to let art flow through you – not as easy as it…
Remember Remember
Remember Remember the 5th of November, lest a hedgehog get roast to a crisp and an ember! My sister suggested a hedgehog drawing as we draw close to bonfire night in the hope of saving a hedgehog or two from being burned alive. I thought it was a great suggestion. I have a bonfire that…
Call of the Wild
‘Stay firmly in your path and dare. Be wild for two hours a day!’ Paul Gaugin Challenge accepted! I’m using quotes from the greats as my tutorials. This morning Gaugin ignites the inspiration rocket. Staying firmly on your path, keeping your direction, following your star, even being wild can be a challenge. ‘Why are you…
An Empty Canvas
‘An empty canvas is full’ Robert Rauschenberg Desire IS an empty canvas or a blank piece of paper. I’m enjoying blogging this project. However, I feel as though I haven’t begun to scratch the surface of drawing. What I see in my mind’s eye is not what I’ve produced. ‘Success is a worn down pencil.’…
Duck Off!
Duck Off! Acrylic on Canvas, 80 x 80cm Over the past few years a pond’s appeared in the field behind my house. It’s expanding rapidly this autumn which is great for the wildlife but not good for the ancient beech trees on the far side of the field whose roots now stand in water. The…
Creativity is Mistakes
‘Self Consciousness is crippling for an artist’ Grayson Perry I find social media somewhat excruciating! There! I’ve said it! For all that it is lovely too, connecting with wonderful people all over the world, sharing my art is a challenge to me. I find it embarrassing! However, I won’t give in to being ‘crippled by…
Mother Ship Paintings
‘The creative adult is the child that survived.’ Ursula LeGuin A mother ship painting is an expression I’ve recently coined. It’s a painting that contains lots of jumping off points for different paintings ie it could spawn it’s own babies aka a body of work inspired by this one painting, thus the mother ship. Here…
Living Through Magic
Bee Fairies , Acrylic on Canvas, 50 x 50 cm Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times. It brings together man and the world. It lives through magic – Keith Haring Isn’t it miraculous? Life on Earth Our planet, a dot in this unimaginably vast Universe Me, you, the…
Recalibration – How to Keep Your Bucket Filled
Crowscape – The Drama of Being a Bird! Ink on Paper, 21 x 29cm This 96 day drawing project is more challenging than anticipated and I’m wondering why? The concept is simple – 96 days of drawing inspired by the Queen and my grandmother, who both lived to be 96. The inspiration from the Queen…
Fragments
Crow Fragments, Ink on Paper, 21 x 29 cm In my last post I wrote that I was feeling a bit wobbly, I didn’t realise I was coming down with tonsillitis. The body follows the stresses we feel. Too much stress is too much. Fevered, I’ve been seeing the most fantastical images appear in my…
The Importance of Being Wobbly
I don’t agree with arguing for your limitations! People do it all the time and it seems daft. Why not explore what your perceived limitations are telling you and let yourself wobble for a bit instead? You will recalibrate. Wobbling is important! Wobbling is part of being balanced. Balance is movement at its highest potential….
Pointless
I drew happily for several hours. Life felt great. Now I’m tired. I posted the drawings to FB, then deleted soon after. Again! An icky feeling crept in. Sharing to social media or having an exhibition, I’m doing one on Friday, can feel as though the only point of art is to to sell or…
Destroy, Delete
The Magic Mushroom We love creativity but what about its opposite, destruction? Creativity and destruction, life’s balance – the life of a painting. Yesterday I painted all day and thought I had finished three paintings that I’ve been working on since the summer. Layers of paint – a mainly fearless process of creating and destroying….
Three is a Magic Number
Pythagoras believed that three was the number of good fortune, a magic number. I’m no mathematician but it’s always been my favourite number. It is a holy number, the trinity Past, present, future child, woman, crone birth, life, death beginning, middle, end… Why do children have favourite numbers? Today is 33 of a 96 day…
The Angels Visit and Fairy Lights
If you’ve not been sleeping well or are feeling a tad stressed then, according to those who know, it’s planetary! All sorts of things are going on up there amongst the twinkling stars and planets that are effecting us. So don’t take things personally, stay positive, the planets will sort themselves out soon. So I’m…
Get Yer Big Girl’s Knickers On!
Wobbling a bit almost a third of the way into my 96 day project inspired by the Queen and my grandmother, who also lived to be 96. Two inspiring women! I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to be so public and duty bound like the Queen. What about days when she felt hormonally…
On Waitressing, Cartooning and Haggis
I’ve done a lot of waitressing in my time – starting as a 15 year old with a Saturday job with my best friend in a greasy cafe in Epsom, The Shoppers Rest, making ice cream floats served with plates of chips. What every shopper needs! Then home to either her house or mine to…
Oil Paint versus Acrylic
Mother Africa, The Low Hanging Fruit are Easiest to Pick – Oil on Canvas, 150 x 100 cm Oil paint is honest! It’s substantial holding it’s rich, beautiful, natural colours but needs space and time available to dry, whilst releasing its toxic fumes. Acrylic is a dishonest bugger! It dries thinner than you’ve applied it,…
No! – Work in Progress
It can be hard to say ‘No!’ All sorts of emotions and thoughts can emerge to negotiate – guilt, fear, the people pleaser… but a ‘No’ to someone else can be a ‘Yes’ to yourself. In my experience a lot of us women find saying ‘No’ difficult, having been brought up to be good girls….
Bucket List
‘The Hoof Sayer’ Ink on Paper, 21 x 29 cm ‘I cannot rest. I must draw, however poor the result, and when I have a bad time come over me it’s a stronger desire than ever.’ Beatrix Potter Beatrix Potter is associated with the cute, the whimsical, bunnies in dresses… but this quote reveals her…
The Smiling Dug!
“Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times. It brings together man and the world. It lives through magic” – Keith Haring Two recently watched excellent drama series on BBC iPlayer – Sherwood and Blood Lands – both look at how events of the past shape the present and future….
Think Back
“As practise makes perfect I cannot help to make progress; each drawing I make, each study one paints, is a step in the right direction.” Vincent Van Gogh Back into a stack of drawings, rummaging through. One cat, buried in the pile, somewhere more drawings in this style that have never seen the light of…
Work in Progress
Colour, spontaneity, control… Horse angels, wings, feathers, lightness, movement, riding, spirit… Water, rain, tears, springs, spirals, vortexes, flow, source… Moon shapes – intuition, psyche, time, the unseen… Spiders webs – connections, detail, delicacy… Dandelion clocks – seeds, wishes, magic… Circles – life on earth… A visual language in development…. These two drawings, Well Water and…
Pigeons and Prostitutes
Author Caroline Myss says that everyone on the planet has three archetypes in common – The Prostitute, The Victim and The Child, plus a whole stack more, at least 12, that are individual to that person, such as The Artist. I’ve been pondered the prostitute archetype having taken on a commission that didn’t feel like…
The 24 Character Strengths and Virtues
After writing yesterday’s blog I decided to write The 24 Character Strengths and Virtues onto my Equine Lunar Calendar to have them as a reminder. This 96 day idea was inspired by my Danish grandmother and the Queen who both lived to be 96 and I think embodied these qualities. Another amazing 96 year old…
Medicine Wheel – Persevere
Out on my travels I found a vintage/antique cross with the word Persevere written on it, plus a small brass horse. I put them on a string to hang by my drawing table. Persevere with life, persevere with horses, persevere with art… I wonder who owned it over the years? I decided to look up…
If Wishes Were Bumble Bees
Autumn, time to plant trees. I have trees in pots to get into the ground and a plan with a horsy friend to rescue trees from her land. Saplings growing in the wrong place that will thrive in a new location. Next job – find a fencer to protect them. It seems as though there…
Willow Feathers
These four gouaches are all painted and drawn using both ends of feathers and inspired by fabulous Willow Pattern which I adore. There is something beguiling about painting birds with a feather. Now I would love to make tiles for my bathroom like these drawings but at present have no idea about producing ceramics, a…
Art is not Therapy!
All artists are willing to suffer for their work. But why are so few prepared to learn to draw. – Banksy The great thing about blogging is it’s a chance to be opinionated. So here is an opinionated blog from an artist who is interested in the healing arts. Art is not therapy! Far from…
Crow Feather
A painting of crows painted with a single crow feather, connecting the bird, the process and the image. Painting with a feather brings a lightness of touch and a freedom yet less control. Engaging to do. This drawing has a presence. I know it does! It’s what we hope for in art – to create…
Treasure Hunter
The other day I realised that one of my archetypes is ‘The Treasure Hunter’. It was quite illuminating. As a toddler treasure was stashed in my pocket – bits of broken pottery and dried worms found on the pavement. I lived in a village that seemed to have lots of broken pots and worms! But…
Hallowed Bee Thy Name
I found a wooden cross shaped thing at the car boot on Sunday for 20p and thought it would be interesting to try to incorporate this symbol into a drawing. Bees, saviours of the planet, hallow’d bee thy name! This drawing explores this idea … The horses in the wings of the bee hopefully portray…
Muscle Memory 14 of 96
Three Little Wishes, Ink and Watercolour on Paper Drawing is a way to develop muscle memory which creates an internal library of ‘things’ to draw upon to design images. This muscle memory is a kind of ‘feel’ that brings with it a freedom to both construct and abstract. Warming up into this project and looking…
Thank you! Carpet of Flowers
Listening to reportage on the Queen’s death I kept hearing a quote used to describe her style of wearing bright, colourful clothes on public occasions – ‘You have to be seen to be believed’ I have been mulling over this idea and the opposite – you have to believe to see! I am using these…
Allow
During the summer I decided to stop volunteering to organise big group exhibitions at The Tolbooth Lanark after 5 years, an idea initially inspired by JMW Turner who painted our local beauty spot the Falls of Clyde. It had been a wonderful experience and I’d met lots of brilliant people but sometimes it’s time to…
Pensive – On Clarity and Focus
It’s taken years to start to build a symbolic language to explore through art. I feel so slow in progress at times, so lacking in true focus despite working hard. In some ways knowing what you want to say is the hardest thing. It’s like slowly chipping away at a rock of your own density…
Wishes Are Forever
Every now and then you happen on a theme that becomes your own, a signature of sorts. Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Monet’s lily ponds… Horses flying out of dandelion clocks are mine. An image that went viral and has been plagiarised too many times. An image that has resonance for many, so much so that people…
Farewell
A corgi turns on the television, watching the coffin lying in state. Another corgi lies under the table, he can’t bear to watch. Britain, a nation of animal lovers. The Queen an animal lover and champion of animals. A rider to the end. Bless her! I bet she would have always preferred to hang out…
Daily Doodles – The Birth of a Haggis
A friend messaged me yesterday to say she was enjoying my daily doodles! It made me wonder about the word doodle. It is rooted in Germanic dudeldopp – simpleton. In the 17th century doodle meant ‘to make a fool of’ and the current sense of ‘scrawling aimlessly’ comes from the 1930’s. Hmm, interesting… a simpleton…
Vigil
Vigil – The Loyalty of Dogs or a Girl’s Best Friend, Ink and Watercolour on Paper The drawing was inspired by my dog Maisie watching me, and made me wonder how the Queen’s dogs were feeling. It’s heartbreaking when a beloved animal dies, are animals heartbroken too? Which in turn made me think of the…
Time
There’s plenty of time to Smile – Plant a tree – Say hello – Appreciate life – Love … There’s not enough time To argue for your limitations – Be ungrateful – Abuse the planet – Not do the right thing… 96 years is a long time and no time at all! It only takes…
Don’t Go Back to Sleep!
The prolific author Dr Wayne Dyer (1940 – 2015) said – when you wake in the early hours, don’t go back to sleep! The early hours are potent. Spirit/intuition/higher self, whatever you want to call it, has woken you for a reason. Don’t go back to sleep! Ideas are like seeds. They grow, but first…
All the Queens Horses
Four days ago the Queen died. My Danish granny lived to be 96 too! The Queen and my Bedste, two inspiring long-lived women. This morning I woke at 5am with an idea… I listen to ‘first-thing thoughts’ as it often feel like guidance! This morning – ’96 days drawing… follow this drawing muse of the…
Dah! Why did I do that? Yes, artists can be completely bonkers!
Flight by Kirsten Harris, 2015, Oil on Canvas, 150 x 100 cm I love the excitement of art history documentaries where a painting is discovered under another painting through the miracles of modern technology. However it is not so exciting when you have painted over a painting that someone then wants to buy, having forgotten…
What is Brave Art? Art Workshops at Shieldhill Castle as Part of the Biggar Little Festival 2022
‘Another Word for Creativity is Courage’ – Henri Matisse All creativity is essentially brave. It takes courage to express yourself. Whether you are a musician, actor, artist or writer, you are digging deep inside to pull that joyous creative ‘rabbit’ out of your magical hat! Your best art will surprise you. Art is alchemy –…
Intentions – A bit of a stretch!
Artwork – Floating Above, Acrylic and Gold on Panel, 30 x 30cm I wrote a blog a few days ago called ‘The Joy of Not Setting Intentions.’ It definitely helped me have more fun with everything, so returning to the word intention this morning curious about its etymology. Intention comes from the Latin intendere meaning…
Splish, Splash, Splosh! Is it art?
Artwork – Unconditional Love, Kirsten Harris, Acrylic on Canvas, 150 x 100 cm **** Splish, Splash, splosh Gosh The world is awash with artists splish splash sploshing paint retirees newbies anxieties dribbling dropping smearing flicking paint lockdown meltdown get it down on canvas splish, splash, splosh ta dah… it’s art! Look! I am an artist…
The Joy of Not Setting Intentions
Hey – it’s a new moon, set your intentions for the month – a five year plan, perhaps? It’ll be new year before you know it, time for more resolutions. How do you intend to make the most of today? Are you intending to get fit or get rich? Me, I am rebelling against setting…
Heavenly Beings – I am Listening
Heavenly Beings, Oil on Panel, 40 x 40 cm I have tinnitus. It started during lockdown. Apparently it’s common and there seems to be no cure, so I’ve decided to listen into the high frequency, to allow rather than react to it: to be curious and see what I can hear. Now there is an…
My Cheetah Heart
Cheetahs and other big cats have been a recurring theme in my artwork – speeding cheetahs, camouflaged leopards, poised lions – alert and listening. The elegance of felines I find utterly beautiful. I love using warm colours to suggest the heat of the African bush. Here is a collection of small paintings currently available on…
The Art of Getting it Wrong!
Spreading Light, Oil on Canvas, 150 x 100 cm One thing painting teaches is the art of getting things wrong…. over and over and over again and having the tenacity to not give up. Art is the practise of not knowing, experimenting and failing repeatedly. In a world that seems largely defensive, where people seem…
The Walls Have Ears!
The walls might not have ears but they do have eyes, that is windows… I think of my small seascapes as windows to the sea. Painting, I hear the sea in my mind’s ear and see it in my imagination. I love the way a small canvas size can suggest a vast oceanic space. These…
On Yer Byke!
This series of 11 paintings is about man’s relationship with bees – extinction and survival. I hope the imagery speaks for itself. I rescued two wasp bykes from my shed and these paintings are inspired by the stunning delicacy and beauty of the wasp nests although the paintings became more about bees than wasps. I…
Art for Children – Dinomania!
I feel very fortunate to have grown up with real paintings as I am convinced this is how my interest was sparked to learn to paint. I remember spending hours looking at them. When I was asked to produce a dinosaur exhibition for Jurassic Lanark, my motivation was this – what if some of these…
Freedom
The dictionary defines freedom as ‘Freedom is the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants. Freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.’ Freedom to…. Freedom from… Freedom to be… There are not so many jobs that allow you freedom, being an artist is one. An Alexander Technique teacher,…
Would you go to a car mechanic if you had toothache?
Fountain, Marcel Duchamp 1917 (signed R Mutt). Arguably one of the most important and influential artworks of the twentieth century. Would you go to the a lawyer to buy lipstick or the builders merchant to have a swim? Would you make an appointment with your doctor to get your lawn mowed or phone a plumber…
Talking Pictures
(The Devil by Pamela Coleman Smith) Can you read paintings and what is the point of imagery? I’m a fan of the the Rider-Waite Tarot, first published in 1909, painted by Pamela Coleman Smith. The more you study the iconography of the 78 paintings the more the images reveal, stimulating imagination and informing awareness. I call…
Some Archetypes – A Painting Life…
Art Angel by Kirsten Harris, Acrylic on Panel The Child – plays with paint, having fun exploring a messy, creative world. The Creative – essential for the world right now. However the creative is often threatened by less appealing archetypes trying to take control… The Prostitute – we all have a prostitute archetype but don’t…
24th December – Warning! Christmas Tree Cracker Jokes!
It was the Firs Noel – ‘Trees be with you, And also with you!’ said Firther Xmas to his wee elf, trying to think of a tree joke to enliven his Xmas cracker. He’d been playing with his crackers all day and his hands had pins and needles. Firther Xmas was stumped. His crackers were…
The Christmas Story (With Bees) – Adapted and Illustrated by Kirsten Harris
My first video – I’ve been amusing myself over the past few days cartooning. I’ve never tried illustrating a story before, but a bee character showed up a few days ago and inspired an idea. I hope you enjoy the Xmas Story (With Bees). Sorry there is no audio. I am not a musician and…
Advent Calendar – 22nd December – Death of a Horse Tree
Mid Winter, solstice, long dark nights, solitude, a time for reflection of the year gone by. Trees bare of leaves, their skeletons showing, shaped by the wind and time. Branches crashing to the ground in the arctic winds. Some trees will fall by the wayside. To me the interest in a crucifixion image is not…
The Snow Queen – Bee Your Own Magic
Winter solstice, the shortest day of the year – a time when the sun appears stationary for three days, inviting us too to stop, slow down, chill out, let go…. In the darkest times it can be hard to believe that light will return. Yet life freezes to get on with its own magical transformation….
Advent Calendar – 20th December – I Only Have Ice Fir Yule
Today’s offering is a daft drawing which made me smile. Got to keep your sense of humour, no matter what! Humour is wisdom and makes everything look better, methinks. I enjoyed making sure every snowflake was different. Worth remembering we people are all snowflakes too and there are always going to be differences – all…
Advent Calendar – 19th December – Rockin’ Around the Christmas Bee!
Somewhere near you, overwintering in a dry, cold spot under a tree, sleeps a queen bee living on her fat supplies! This summer I watched bees going in and out of this hole under a beech tree. The cartoon is inspired by the thought of the queen still there, safe for the winter. I love…
Advent Calendar – 18th December – Wee Bee Kings
Here come the pollinators bringing gifts for all…. wee bee kings. I know it’s not the right time of year for worker bees but I couldn’t resit the idea of bees as the three wise men, bringing the most important gift of all – life for all! www.kirstenharrisart.co.uk copyright
Advent Calendar – 17th December – The Language of Wolves
Wolves howl to display togetherness. Howls are among many vocal sounds canines make as any dog owner will know. My dog howls when the 1pm Thursday siren sounds at Carstairs State Hospital or if she hears bagpipes! Crazy Maisie! The Romans and Saxons reported Britain to be abundant with wolves. Wolves are now extinct here…
Advent Calendar – 16th December – Ding Dong!
‘The clearest way to the Universe is through a forest wilderness” John Muir This cartoon of Ding Dong Merrily on High is inspired by the sparrows in my garden. The more trees we have, the more birds. Though I am definitely not a musician I had to get the notes in the right place! Funny…
Advent Calendar – 15th December – Baby Forests
Some paintings, like trees, take a long time to grow. ‘Cows at the Horse Trees’ is a learning curve painting and probably not done but has given me an idea… Baby forests! Baby forests are like the woodlands planted to commemorate a persons life but even more positive! Let’s plant trees to celebrate new beginnings….
Advent Calendar – 14th December – Tree Lovers
For years I blamed a persistent cough on fumes from painting in oils. This summer a friend alerted me to the dangers of mouth breathing. He was resorting to taping his mouth at night to stop his habit. My cough is all but gone as I remind myself to shut my mouth as I walk…
Advent Calendar – 13th December – We Tree Kings
Although a tad ‘bah-humbug’ re the extent of commercial Xmas trees chopped, as opposed to a sea-change in thinking towards planting hardwoods for Christmas, I do love the smell of pine and will cut a branch to bring in. Pine is an amazing natural healer full of Vitamin C as well as antibacterial. If you…
Advent Calendar – 12th December – The Happiness of Drinking Tea with a Friend
A few years ago a friend gave me some cut willow branches. Easy peasy trees to grow, literally cut branches and stick into the ground in spring. Now I have trees growing drinking up some of the wet areas of ground here. But more than that… Willow bark tea is known as nature’s aspirin. Peel…
Advent Calendar – 9th December – The Clearing
Tree planting, letting go, The Xmas story
Advent Calendar – 8th December – ‘When You Change the Way You Look at Things…’
‘When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change!’ Dr Wayne Dyer A horse contemplates a dandelion clock. A weed or treasure from mother earth? Underground horse spirits guard treasure, rich nutrients stored in the soil. A true story – Two fields, side by side. Different owners. One with…
Advent Calendar – 7th December – The Merlin Tree
Merlin, the sovereign’s magician, not so much one person but a wisdom tradition, a lineage from the heart of the ancient forests of Britain. Merlin is an important mythical figure, a myth being an idea in which man tries to make sense of the world. He embraces many archetypes – shaman, healer, mystic, animal communicator,…
Advent Calendar – December 6th – It’s in the DNA!
‘A tree excels at being a tree and no-one really knows how it does it. There is no way of imitating a tree, the only thing is to be one.’ Alan Watts Spiralling DNA, the Tree of Life, branches as horse trees… A rider sits quietly contemplating spirals. Listening to space. Breath flows from the…
Advent Calendar- 4th December – The Woodpecker
Prior to this Advent project I wrote a list of pros and cons re doing it. My lists were equal which led to this insight…In maths (not my favourite subject at school but I do remember this) a positive and a negative make a negative. Dah! Light bulb moment: do the Advent idea otherwise negativity…
Advent Calendar – 5th December – Clyde Dryad
The Dryads of Greek mythology are tree guardians. Hamadryads, nymph spirits of oak and poplar trees, are connected with river-side trees and sacred groves. When a tree dies a Dryad dies. By planting native trees we plant spirit back into the land. Cash crop mono-forestry plantations have little or no spirit and do not guardian…
Advent Calendar – 3rd December – This Too Shall Pass!
This too shall pass, such a useful thought in hard and stressful times! A thought that asks us to change our attitude in the moment and be hopeful, knowing that life is short and everything changes. Change is the only certainty. Crows flock around the Horse Trees. Crows, intelligent, creative and adaptable, a crow feather…
Advent Calendar – 2nd December – The Return
I started this drawing months ago but it wasn’t speaking. Today the crows arrived at the Unicorn Tree. Crows are intelligent, adaptable and symbolic of transformation. They also have a somewhat sinister presence. The crows brought the drawing to life and with them came an idea… My dad told me that the beech trees we…
Advent Calendar – 11th December – The Embrace
Children hug trees. One girl stands beside a horse. ‘It is time to take action! We are ready!’ she says ‘ Show us the way!’ A prayer of sorts. Fencing off areas within our horses fields to plant stands of trees is a gift to the future – trees to embrace and nurture the children…
Advent Calendar – 1st December – Creating The Christmas Forest
Traditionally advent was marked with a chalk line on the wall ticking off the days until Christmas. I am marking advent with art, probably drawings, for 24 days as, I hope, a way to bring in ‘the light’ of ideas and inspiration. There is something about setting an intention and showing up that lets ideas…
Romance of the Falls – A Weekend with Turner – part 2
I ended the last blog wondering where Mr Turner was leading with forty painted postcards inspired by him. But I guess if anything it makes me more determined to think about what legacy I can leave. I am no Turner! The answer always seems to be to plant more trees. To let that be my…
Romance of the Falls – A Weekend with Turner
Joseph Maillard William Turner is described as the father of modern art. Every four years the Royal Scottish Academy of Art display a selection of Turner watercolours for about a month in a dimly lit room. Amongst the collection is a watercolour of The Falls of Clyde. I decided to approach the Academy to have…
The Horse in Motion – After Muybridge
When I drew ‘If Wishes Were Horses’ (see below) I looked at this early still animation by pioneering photographer Edweard Muybridge (1830 – 1940) for the differences in the horses movement. This week I decided to pay homage to Muybridge with a large mixed media painting. Again I was interested in the differences. This time,…
Dusting my Whimsies!
I love things – old things, odd things, quirky things, kitsch things, inspiring things, hand made things! It’s deeply unfashionable to like things in this world where minimilism is seen as spiritual and billions of tons of stuff are dumped into landfill every year! Dah! I am an unashamed lover of things! A few weeks…
Confessions of a Terrible Alexander Technique Teacher!
Travelling Forward, Acylic on Panel, 30 x 30 cm I have a sore arm from too much painting! Thank goodness for some Alexander Technique skills to fall back on to begin to undo the holding caused by holding a paintbrush aka magic wand, obsessively for months! A paintbrush for me is a transporter. While painting…
Painting for a Space – Sheildhill Castle
Map – I printed a medieval map and then extended the contours with paint for the entrance hall. Shieldhill is written as Scheelhil. It’s wonderful to have the chance to make art for a particular space in this case Sheildhill Castle, Quothquorn near Biggar, here in Scotland. Too often old buildings are over modernised internally,…
Crucifixion – After Dali
This painting is very loosely based on ‘Christ of Saint John of the Cross’ by Salvador Dali housed at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow. It obviously looks nothing like Dali’s luminescent masterpiece, but I looked at the work as a starting point for the feel I somehow wanted to attempt to convey. *** My…
Jurassic Art Blip
Time is a weird concept isn’t it? Now, this present, can’t just be a tiny sliver, a knife edge, between the past and the future. Time is vast. Unfathomable. We are not separate from the past and future, but somehow linked on a multi dimensional continuum. Time travels like the light from a distant star….
Breath
First Garden by Kirsten Harris, Acrylic on Board We all know that trees are the lungs of the planet, but did you know that it’s unhealthy to mouth breathe? Notice if you do it! Mouth breathing can cause of a lot of problems. There is a fascinating new book on the subject called Breath by…
To Earth We Return
To Earth We Return by Kirsten Harris Why do humans find it so hard to accept that none of us are getting out of here alive? Me included! Life is short! My dad told me that all the avenues of beech trees in Britain were planted after the first world war to commemorate the dead….
Tree Lovers – Will You Help me Plant Trees?
Tree Lovers by Kirsten Harris We are heading to autumn and I hope to plant a lot more trees. Will you help me? These prints of tree drawings will pay to fence off an area of land to protect the young trees and get more planted. I am on a mission and asking for help!…
Lanark’s Closes – Astronomy, Magic, Superstitions and Alchemical Brews
The illustrations for Lanark’s Closes house a veritable ark, with two dogs, two magpies, a cat, lion, unicorn, horse, several chickens and an elephant! But I wanted to add some less obvious details too. Astronomy – The drawing for Hunter’s Close shows a telescope pointing at Orion’s Belt. David Hunter was not only the first…
Beware of Bull – Close Encounters with the Community Bull!
Bull’s Close, Lanark was so named as it was where the community bull was historically kept. I love the idea of a community bull! It’s easy to forget that farm-yard animals, especially chickens, lived amongst people in towns. During lockdown many people have returned to keeping chickens and growing their own vegetables, including me, and…
Cobblers – More on Illustrating Lanark’s Closes
Lanark’s Closes led to a network of workshops and small businesses. Now they lead mainly to carparks, such is progress! I can’t help thinking, as an artist, that it is small businesses that help keep communities alive and vibrant. Lanark thrived as a market town for 600 years due, I am sure, to these small…
Buns and Pies – More Waffle on Creating a Series of Illustrations
The commissioners had wanted a different type of art for the panels that were going to adorn the town – serious, proper art! I would have to hope that Lanark, which always seems a good humoured and chilled-out kind of town, would respond to a bit of quirky humour instead. It’s odd being second choice…
Two Dogs, a Cat, Two Magpies and a Dandelion Clock – On Illustrating Lanark’s Closes
When I was asked to illustrate the history of Lanark’s Closes I was provided with some factual info about their past. I love history so found it interesting but also dry, as these things often are. I needed to find a way to give the information some life through illustrations that hopefully both children and…
Open Wide – More on Illustrating Lanark’s Medieval Closes
When I was asked to illustrate the history of Lanark’s Medieval Closes, for information panels to be displayed in the street, I was shocked, to say the least! I am definitely not known for images of buildings! Animals yes, dandelion clocks yes, horses yes, buildings, no! Perspective, Argh! ‘Steer clear’ has always been my motto! I…
Time Passages
Medieval Lanark – a walled town I love the idea of time travel – finding portals that allow you to travel into a history that’s still alive through fragments in the environment. Clues like echoes or ghosts of souls that trod before us. Lanark has twelve remaining Medieval public waythrough ‘time passages’ in the form…
Spring – The March Hare
This painting started as one thing and became something completely different. It was inspired by seeing a hare and spring springing in the garden with the first snowdrops and an incredible blood orange snow moon at the beginning of the week. The idea of life’s potential about to burst forth, almost vibrating with energy yet…
Tao Te Ching – Twenty One
The greatest Virtue is to follow Tao and Tao alone. The Tao is elusive and intangible. Oh, it is intangible and elusive, and yet within is image. Oh, it is elusive and intangible, and yet within is form. Oh it is dim and dark, and yet within is essence. The essence is very real, and…
Tao Te Ching – Twenty
I’m stepping back from the business end of art to enjoy art’s fun. In a world where it seems ‘all about the sale’ and making a living, it’s been a challenge to disentangle from trying, but I’m feeling my inner flame beginning to burn brighter the more I do. It’s exciting! What a challenge it…
Tao Te Ching – Nineteen
Give up sainthood, renounce wisdom, And it will be a hundred times better for everyone. Give up kindness, renounce morality, And men will rediscover filial piety and love. Give up ingenuity, renounce profit, And bandits and thieves will disappear. These three are outward forms alone: they are not sufficeint in themselves. It is more important…
Tao Te Ching – Seventeen
The very highest is barely known by men. Then comes that which they known and love. Then that which is feared, Then that which is despised. He who does not trust enough will not be trusted. When actions are performed without unnecessary speech, People say, “We did it!” LAO TSU *****
Tao Te Ching – Sixteen
Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind rest at peace. The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature. The way of nature is unchanging. Knowing constancy is insight….
Tao Te Ching – Fourteen
Look, it cannot be seen – it is beyond from. Listen, it cannot be heard – it is beyond sound. Grasp, it cannot be held – it is unintelligible. These three are indefinable: Therefore they are joined as one. From above it is not bright; From below it is not dark: An unbroken thread beyond…
Tao Te Ching – Thirteen
Accept disgrace willingly. Accept misfortune as the human condition. What do you mean by “Accept disgrace willingly”? Accept being unimportant. Do not be concerned with loss or gain. This is called “accepting disgrace willingly.” What do you mean by “Accept misfortune as the human condition”? Misfortune comes from having a body. Without a body, how…
Tao Te Ching – Twelve
The five colours blind the eye. The five tones deafen the ear. The five flavours dull the taste. Racing and hunting madden the mind. Precious things lead one astray. Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees. He lets go of that and chooses this. LAO TSU ****…
Tao Te Ching – Eleven
Tree Lovers by Kirsten Harris
Tao Te Ching – Ten
Carrying body and soul and embracing the one, Can you avoid separation? Attending fully and becoming supple, Can you be as a newborn babe? Washing and cleansing the primal vision, Can you be without stain? Loving all men and ruling the county, Can you be without cleverness? Opening and closing the gates of heaven, Can…
Tao Te Ching – Nine
Better stop short than fill to the brim. Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt. Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it. Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow. Retire when the work is done. This is the way to heaven. LAO TSU ******* The woodpecker…
Tao Te Ching – Eight
The highest good is like water. Water gives life to ten thousand things and does not strive. It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be true….
Tao Te Ching – Seven
Heaven and earth last forever Why do heaven and earth last forever? They are unborn So ever living. The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead. He is detached, thus at one with all. Through selfless action, he attains fulfilment. LAO TSU **** I didn’t paint yesterday, creativity ‘unborn’, instead I moved paintings around, searching…
Tao Te Ching – Six
The valley spirit never dies: It is the woman, primal mother. Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth. It is like a veil barely seen. Use it; it will never fail. Lao Tsu ***** Another cold day. Wind stealing energy. Walking with Maisie, feeling low, thinking about the word ‘valley’ in the verse….
Tao Te Ching – Five
Heaven and earth are ruthless; They see ten thousand things as dummies. The wise are ruthless; They see people as dummies. The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows. The shape changes but not the form; The more it moves, the more it yields. More words count less. Hold fast to the centre….
Tao Te Ching – Four
The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used but it is never filled. Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things! Blunt the sharpness, Untangle the knot, Soften the glare, Merge with dust. Oh, hidden deep but ever present! I do not know from whence it comes. It is the forefather of the emperors.
Tao Te Ching – Two
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil. Therefore having and not having arise together. Difficult and easy compliment each other. Long and short contrast each other; High and low rest upon each other; Voice and sound harmonise each…
TAO TE CHING – A Journey
Maybe, like me, you feel you need some wisdom and guidance in your life right now but don’t know where to turn or who to turn to. I suspect I am not alone in feeling somewhat lost. Yesterday I picked up the Tao Te Ching from my book shelf. Reading the first few verses I…
Drawing – A Line Around Thoughts
‘Drawing is a line around my thoughts’ Gustav Klimt. I love this quote. It expresses drawing so clearly. Following a line, a train of thoughts, as the hand draws across paper, as the mind flows through the hand, allowing oneself to see where thoughts lead. Drawing is a withdrawn, introverted pursuit – simply being quiet…
Mountain Art
Glencoe Mountain Rescue by Kirsten Harris, Acrylic on Canvas, 60 x 80 cms approx A few years ago I started chatting to a random stranger parked next to me. He was fixing a cable to the front of his Land Rover and talked about fundraising for Glencoe Mountain Rescue to buy them a new Land…
How to Fail as an Artist! 12 Fool Proof Steps to Failure!
Sometimes I have a dreadful sense of humour but I guess it’s good I can still make myself smile. So here is – How to fail as an artist! 12 fool proof steps to failure! Don’t finish anything. It’s safest to not start at all. If you make the mistake of starting don’t show anything…
Ear Worm
I have an ear worm that I want to clear. In conversation a friend said she feels she is not a successful artist if she has doesn’t sell and has art ‘hanging around’. A worm lodged and started to grow. The little wormy voice started telling me I am not successful because I have not…
In Praise of Chickens
2020 is summed up by the word chicken for me. Just before lockdown I bought two from the farm up the road. Enter Bunty and Jinty. Red, next doors hitherto quiet cockerel (I didn’t know they still had one) soon appeared cock-a-doodling joyously on the fence and pretty soon there were chicks. Gorgeous, fluffy, miraculous…
The Girnin Dug
Camp, The Girnin Dug Lanark is home to a nearly 200 year old statue of a dog called Camp, known locally as The Girnin Dug. Camp, a large black and white dog, was the beloved companion of Deacon John McDonald, deacon of the dyers trade. As a sign of wealth, merchants would aspire to a…
20-20 Vision – The Haggis Party – Profile of a Hill
The Haggis Party, Pen and Watercolour on Paper My latest few blogs are collections of art on specific themes. Certain themes recur almost without thinking. So these blogs are a kind of sketch book for me or mini exhibitions. (Apologies in advance for my poor photography of some of the images.) Tinto Hill here in…
20-20 Vision – Eye Level – Dogs
20-20 Vision – Eye Level – Dogs is based on my wee scruffy designer mongrel Maisie, aka Crazy Maisie, who inspired a previous blog 101 Life Lessons from my Dog, link here. I was Maisie’s third home as a 12 week puppy. She was, to say the least, hyper active – literally bouncing off the…
20 – 20 Vision – Get Back on Your Unicorn Gallery
Welcome to my Unicorn Gallery. 20 Unicorn drawings and cartoons from £20 as part of my 20-20 Vision project, drawing a weird and challenging year to an end. I expected everyone to be talking about 2020 vision this year not viruses, so thought I would create a 20-20 vision personal art project and challenge to…
20-20 Vision – The Power of Cow
I love drawing. It underpins everything. It’s a zone, a skill and a challenge. When the hand eye co-ordination works and the line really starts flowing drawing is a wonderful place to hang out. A place to realise ideas through images. In 2019 everyone was talking about how wonderful 2020 would be, 20 – 20…
On Tintock Tap
On Tintock Tap by Kirsten Harris, Pencil on Paper ON TINTOCK TAP – Traditional Rhyme ‘On Tintock Tap there is a mist, And in that mist there is a kist, And in the kist there is a caup, And in that caup there is a drap; Tak’ up the caup, drink aff the drap And…
A Closer Look – A Photo Document of Lanark’s Closes
There’s so much history on the doorstep. Not long after lockdown eased I decided it would be fun to take my eighty something mother, who had been shielding, on a tour of Lanark. She has only recently moved to the area. We decided to make a doorstep adventure. Having once lived in York, I told mum that…
Painting ‘Too Big’ and ‘Too Small!’
During lockdown I was kindly gifted two large canvases by a friend, as they were ‘just too big’ and some mini canvases by another friend as they were ‘just too small.’ They say – don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, and I was delighted. Here’s what I did with the too big and…
Ascension – On Exhibiting
Ascension, Work in Progress, Oil on Canvas, 100 x 150cm I miss people and I miss exhibiting. The social aspect of art is a big part of the creative process and I miss it. In April I was due to have a one woman exhibition but like so many other things a Covid fall-out. I…
Allowing Hands
This drawing is an attempt explain something about the anatomy of the hand in relationship to riding. For those of us who ride English style we have been taught to hold the reins between our fingers where the digits poke out from the webbing of the hand. But there is no joint at this point…
A Local Ghost Story
The Grey Lady of Sheildhill Castle by Kirsten Harris
Bum to the Wind!
Weathering the Storm by Kirsten Harris I’ve been thinking about how important it is to to keep a steady course in the midst of a storm, and that maintaining a steady course is a balancing act that requires courage, patience and trust. I notice people sail mentally into the eye of the storm and then…
Perspectives on Drawing
How the Cat Got Nine Lives, Ink on Paper I have been doing a lot of illustrative drawing recently and to my amazement have just discovered I CAN draw buildings which has inspired me to want to blog about drawing… Ideas arrive in the process of doing. They appear when we show up. White paper…
Artist Seeks Flow!
‘How the Cat Got Nine Lives’ Flow, we all want it, but can we always find it? Flow, that wonderful feeling of ease and spontaneity, when life seems to magically take you forward. It feels great doesn’t it? And it really doesn’t matter what you’re doing because it all flows together seamlessly. And then there’s…
The Merlin Tree
This drawing is based on the wizard Merlin’s connections with Scotland. Legend tells that Merlin died at a small settlement called Merlindale at Drumelzier near Broughton, not far from where I live. This drawing is inspired by a visit last year. About my drawing… The three moons symbolise Merlin foretelling he would meet his end…
Is it True?
Is it true? I’ve let external criticism get the better of me and it’s been painful! I’ve felt like the child who, having spent hours happily building a fantasy sandcastle, covering it with shells for windows and doors, building pebble pathways, constructing channels and fetching buckets of water from the sea to make a moat,…
The Fate of Paintings
Me and the Chinese Ambassador Artists want their artwork to find homes and be loved, For the art to become backdrops to lives and talking points. To be looked at and dreamt into. For owners to see what the artist saw and find inspiration and joy. This is the ideal, but after paintings leave the…
Horizontal and Vertical Directions
‘Crucifixion’ by Kirsten Harris, Oil on Canvas, 100 x 150 cm A jockey friend asked me if I had ever painted a crucifixion? Answer no. But I had been thinking about the symbolism of the vertical and horizontal planes and so decided to attempt this classical and religious subject. Gulp! ‘Crucifixion’ is inspired by Salvador Dali’s…
Nineteen Corvids, Unicorns and The Tree of Life
Corvid is the family name the crow belongs to. The crow not only symbolises death but also intelligence and destiny. I wanted to make some art to mark Covid 19. The Crow became my image. In numerology 19 becomes the number 1 which symbolises new beginnings. The nineteen crows in the drawing aim to suggest…
A Bit Medieval
I have been making art to fit frames as the picture framer is closed and I had some antique frames in the studio. Medieval tapestries were the initial inspiration for these paintings and it struck me whilst painting that everything is a bit Medieval at the moment. We are living in the time of a…
Going Backwards to Go Forwards!
I’ve been ‘excavating’ my studio as my friend calls tidying up! Tidying up art style means going through every canvas and seeing if I can finish or polish it. Years ago I met an artist shaman in Zimbabwe who told me to finish every painting I start as a key to success. It struck me…
Walking into Ideas
My art has become increasingly about ideas! I guess I’ve spent the first large number of years of my life learning how to paint and draw and now I want to express ideas and do more with my art. So where do the ideas come from? Truthfully, I walk into them in the field. The…
Messages from Dog
Cultivate Fascination by Kirsten Harris
Copyright
Dog Blog – 2 – Sketching from Life
I am drawing my dog Maisie, a little Cockerpoo, this week as an exploration of drawing, character and line. Today more lighting sketches drawn from life with two thicknesses of pen. Maisie does not keep still even when she is resting she keeps moving, ever alert, so it is a challenge… All images copyright of…
Dog Blog 1! Lightning Sketches
How am I going to learn to illustrate dogs? My plan – 1 – don’t go for finished product 2 – do lightning sketches to work out how to draw hairy hyperactive dog Maisie 3 – see if a character starts to emerge 4 – observe and draw as fast as possible 5 – don’t…
Meeting of the Sky Gods
Last week clumsy me damaged a painting. It upset me but in the big scheme of things seemed trivial. Last night I spent half the night dreaming that I should repair it and to repair it by adding horses in the clouds. As I painted the three horses and restored the painting it seemed a…
Portraying Movement
Three by Kirsten Harris, Oil on Canvas
How to mess up your back and create pain whilst thoroughly enjoying yourself painting!
1 – Decide whilst an arctic storm is blowing that it’s a really good idea to go into your unheated studio and work on some large oil paintings that you thought were finished and had framed but have now decided to change. 2 – Repeat this behaviour pretty much daily for three weeks whilst three…
Extinction Rebellious Art!
What if all we need to do to create change and stop destruction is to learn how to stop. Sounds simple enough. Just stop, or pause and take a bit of time out to think about what we are doing. Stop to create space to allow something new to happen. Stop the stuff that doesn’t…
Only Do the Good Ones!
My dear departed dad once asked me ‘Why don’t you only paint the good ones?’ He was trying to be helpful, and it made me laugh. If only!’ I said! ‘If I could I would!’ Sometimes I know when I have done a good painting, but sometimes it seems not. When I had finished drawing…
Contemplating the Earth Walk
I am thinking about feet! I tore a plantar plate in my toe about 5 months, a toe is now floating. It doesn’t sound like a big deal but it has made walking very difficult. It is funny how injury clarifies what is important! Tree planting for me! A foot is a powerful symbol for…
Feel
I am going to start writing a few blogs about the meaning behind my drawings. Hopefully, if you like the drawings, you will be able to find your own meaning too. My drawings more and more reflect my interest in horses, symbolism, teaching the Alexander Technique, positive thinking, tree planting and the environment and more….
Four Winds Medicine Wheel
‘Four Winds Medicine Wheel’ by Kirsten Harris I thought I would write a little about my drawings. ‘Four Wind’s Medicine Wheel’ is about emergence into light from darkness. It is about the mysterious deep space energy from which we all come. The element represented is air, the mind. The intuition of the moon calls us…
The Happiness of Grass
The Happiness of Grass by Kirsten Harris I have been thinking a lot about grass! As you do! Under a powerful microscope grass looks like it is smiling. Grass is amazing stuff. Grass is happy and it sure has tenacity. No matter how trampled and muddy, parched and burnt or just plain sad and worn…
Heart in Hand – Destination Freedom
Riding horses is a destination not a position Art is a destination not a position Love is a destination not a position The open hand is a destination not a position Forward and up, the way of poise, is a destination not a position … The open hand is an attitude of the heart and…
No Room For Doubt!
No Room for Doubt! ‘There is no room for doubt in art!’ Sean Scully The opposite of the word doubt is confidence. Other words to describe the opposite of doubt include belief, conviction, trust, definiteness, faith, ease, truthfulness, solution, calm, clarity, knowledge… At art school we were encouraged to be bold, to be confident, as…
Prayer to my Horse
PRAYER TO MY HORSE by Kirsten Harris My horse, I am honoured by your presence and stand in awe before your divine beauty May I be worthy of your trust May I have sensitive wisdom to understand your language, so I may dance the dance of life with you May I have hands that do…
In Our Hands
(I shared this originally as a facebook post on my art page Kirsten Harris Art. I wanted to write something to go with the drawing and to write from my heart about horses. I thought I should post as a blog here. I hope you enjoy it. ) ‘In Our Hands’ by Kirsten Harris 5…
Messages from Trees
‘In Nature We Find Ourselves’ Drawing by Kirsten Harris Messages from Trees – Breathe deeply of me I am the lungs of the world, my health and yours are one Let your spine flow upwards and your limbs flow outwards in the sky Life will shape you and sculpt you as you grow, it’s…
A Jar Full of Possibilities!
My friend, musician Emma Smith, wrote a lovely blog recently called ‘How to Deal with Overwhelm’. Link here It inspired me to do my take on her idea and to finish off this year with a brain storm of all the thoughts, inspirations, ideas, intentions, goals and wishes I have for my artwork moving…
The Wishing Horse
Increasingly my painting and drawing is looking at ways to express ideas about mind-body-soul connection, horses and riding, drawing on my experience as a horse owner and Alexander Technique teacher, as well as hopefully connecting with some of the spiriitual magic and timeless inspirational power that is horses and the lessons we learn from…
What my horse drawings are about…
‘Connections’ – A drawing of two horses about elasticity, flow, direction, spatial awareness and connection. In February I set myself a drawing project, the weather was wild (snowed in home alone for 6 days) a drawing a day seemed like a doable project. I decided to concentrate my artwork on horses. For years…
How to Make a Dream Come True
How to Make a Dream Come True by Kirsten Harris I have been asked by someone to say what this image means to me, so here goes … The girl on the ground is daring to dream, she leans on the magic dandelion clock, the wish machine, that will give her dreams wings….
Lasting Impressions
My first art school teacher was the performance and instillation artist Kerry Trengrove, 1946 – 1991, infamous for his 1977 performance An Eight Day Passage, where he was buried in a small cell under the Acme Gallery in London and had to dig his way out. The performance is still legendary as an epic endurance…
Reflections on Plagiarism, Stress, Tattoos & the Kindness of Strangers!
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride If turnips were watches, I’d wear one by my side If ‘if’s and ‘and’s’ were pots and pans, There would be no work for tinkers hands! If wishes were horses, beggars would ride Watch! Some ‘turnips’ have no integrity or pride They’ll plagiarise your concept, pass it…
Uncluttering My Sluttery!
Apparently the Victorians had a word for a room into which unwanted, unusable, needing to be mended stuff was dumped – a sluttery! I love it. Why do the useful words drop out of usage? So here’s to admitting that I have a sluttery! I am guessing most other people have a sluttery too,…
Letting Go of Blocks to the Creative Flow
I have felt blocked in my artwork. Despite having masses of ideas bubbling to get out, the flow of energy to pick up a brush has not been there for a few weeks. That is a first for me for years and years! So I have been thinking about letting go of psycho-physcial and…
Wishing on Dandelion Clocks
Wishing with a Horse by Kirsten Harris ‘If Wishes Were Horses beggars would ride!’ I was the little girl who begged to ride. I mucked out all weekend at the local stables for a chance to sit on a horse and that might just be bringing the horses up from the field. I…
I Love Artists!
What could be better than gathering a group of artists who are scattered across this much over looked part of rural South Lanarkshire and who in the main don’t know each other and putting together an exhibition on a shared theme. This time Tinto, our much loved fire hill, is the source of inspiration…
The Path of a Painting
The idea for this painting came from walking in the mountains. I wanted to make a painting which was more about the experience of walking uphill, than a portrait of a hill or mountain. I have called it ‘A Spiritual Path’, as it is about the push to keep going in life when the path…
A Conversation at the Picture Framers …
On my recent trip to the picture framers for 36 Views of Tinto Exhibition I had a conversation that I have been thinking about all week. I want to share it – I was helping another artist choose a frame for her painting for the show. A woman in the shop became involved in…
Dandelion Oracle
If Wishes Were Horses Dandelion oracle I blow on your clock Sending wishes into the wind Tell me when Love returns A year and half ago I was in the field next to my house early in the morning photographing dandelion clocks when my mum phoned from Portugal to say that my dad…
Withdrawn and I
In my last blog (link) about drawing through February I used the word withdrawn, realising I have been a little withdrawn of late. It is an interesting word in the context of drawing as it appears negative, withdrawn as in stand offish or depressed, but is it? The act of drawing – to move…
28 Drawings Later – Drawing some conclusions, half way through
I’m doing a project called 28 Drawings Later aka getting through a shitty February in the wilderness! (Us Brits like to moan about the weather, a national form of therapy and endless fascination!) The title 28 Drawings Later appealed – the suggestion of a journey, the suggestion of arriving in a new place – bring…
Mad!? Part 2
About a year ago I wrote a blog called Mad!? It was a rant about why artists aren’t mad, in response to being called a mad artist one too many times. Mad!? Link to blog This blog is a consideration of the fact that ‘mad’ might be a very apt term after all! …
Framed for £100!
Do you want to collect art, but don’t know where to start? Do you want to give someone a really amazing present for Xmas, a wedding or special birthday? Do you already collect art and want to add to your collection but are running out of wall space? Here is a solution –…
How to Paint my Camouflage Style, for 5 Year Olds
I received a request this weekend from a primary school teacher wanting – ‘to focus on a particular artists art and produce a similar sytle with a school art gallery and parental showcase to promote education through art. I love the camouflage style look with animals and cars and was wondering if you can…
Have you ever thought about investing in a dream?
Have you ever thought about investing in a dream? My current dream goes like this – I want to make more Alexander Technique inspired cartoons next year and I want to plant trees, to do my bit for this beautiful planet we live on! I also want to engage children and teenagers with the Alexander…
Art, Bamboo Glasses and a Foul Mouthed Pub Landlady
Last night at the exhibition opening of Seascapes at the Old Chain Pier in Edinburgh, stories were told about the eccentric landlady who presided there in the 50’s and 60’s. Her family had owned the pub since the turn of the century. My friends mum and dad, revealing how they went on their second…
‘My Walls are Too Small!’
‘My walls are too small for a big painting!’ It’s a comment I hear a lot and it always makes me laugh. I look at the person and think, ‘What a load of rubbish, you don’t live in a hobbit hut!’ So here is my low down on why ‘my walls are too…
My Colouring Book
How about a giving a gift of planting a tree via a colouring book this Xmas? At the same time you will be sharing a a healthy dose of Alexander Technique and mindfulness nature wisdom … If that sounds appealing you have nothing further to do than click here and buy The Daily Ease…
If you love art you will adore an open studio …
Every year all over the country artists open their studios to the public. This is a fantastic chance to buy directly from an artist. It is a win win situation for both artist and art lover. Here is why … No commissions to pay to middle men aka galleries, art websites etc. This means that…
Check out this Free Creativity E-Course Testemonial
This blog is a letter from someone who took my free creativity e-course. (link below.) Maybe you can relate to what she says about spending 50 years thinking she wasn’t creative … ‘Kirsten, through your online art course you made me feel like I CAN be creative after 50 years of thinking I can’t!…
Free Creativity E – Course – Testemonial
This blog is a letter from someone who took my free creativity e-course. (link below.) Maybe you can relate to what she says about spending 50 years thinking she wasn’t creative … ‘Kirsten, through your online art course you made me feel like I CAN be creative after 50 years of thinking I can’t!…
Wonderful World
Imagine an art gallery in an industrial unit? The sort of place you might go to have your car MOT’d! This is Resonate Arts House in Alloa and I love the space! An artists dream in fact – big wall spaces, well lit, run by art historian Clark, whose passion and knowledge of the visual…
Press Release – Romance of the Falls Exhibition
During the Napoleonic Wars when Europe was closed for The Grand Tour, The Falls of Clyde at Lanark became a ‘must visit’ place on what became known as Le Petit Tour. Determined to continue the Romantic tradition, Romance of the Falls is an eclectic, exciting group contemporary art exhibition at the newly refurbished historic…
A Falling Romance – work in progress …
Detail from a much bigger oil painting’ A Falling Romance’ work in progress …. Looking down onto Cora Linn … Looking across to Bonnington Linn An old postcard looking up to Bonnington Linn. Details of the upcoming exhibition In the days when The Falls of Clyde was on the ‘must paint’ list for…
A Walk in the Woods – Art Muscles and The Tree of Life
‘The Tree of Life’ by Kirsten Harris You don’t get big bulgy biceps, if that’s your thing, without a lot of time spent developing them. The same can be said of art – developing a painting, an exhibition or collection of drawings takes time and dedication. Skills, like trees, take decades to grow. …
What a Nun Taught Me
Sister Marie Therese, an ancient French nun, was the art teacher at our convent school. She was very keen on us copying and seemed to have a large supply of chocolate boxy 1930’s style pretty pictures for us to chose from, which is odd considering her own art work. (See blog The Nun, Picasso…
The White Elephant and Treasure
The White Elephant, Oil on Canvas, 150 x 100 cm I remember as a 5 years old at a village fete being totally fascinated by something called The White Elephant Stall. Where was the white elephant? And why a white elephant? It was the best stall as it was full of interesting stuff and…
Punctuation and Painting
I am lucky to have a friend who is punctuation and spelling goddess. Or as she would describe herself, a pedant. My ability at both p. and s. is OK but I always seem to make silly mistakes: often the same one. Habitual grammar gaffes. Dah! Looking through a piece of writing and finding…
Make Art Not War – Weapons of Mass Creation
At art school a tutor commented that my brushes looked like they had been at war. A comment that stuck with me, but I did not really understand. Twenty years later whilst painting I was listening to a Radio 4 programme on post traumatic stress disorder, previously known as shell shock and realised that…
Artists Statement
As a painter my interest lies primarily in the process of painting – brush strokes, mark making, colour – the surface texture of paint, the flow of a line, the feel … However, what lies behind the feel, flow and joy of painting is something I have started blogging about this year. That is,…
Writing a blog is better than talking to yourself!
Cartoon of negative chatter that gets in the way of creativity I have been writing blogs! And it is interesting to me because it has now become part of the creative process. A bit of a revelation really and something I would recommend to any artist. Totally vulnerable making for sure, but it moves…
Looking Through Your Eyes
The process of painting is fundamentally abstract – colour brushed onto surface. So why are artists driven to abstraction? What is the motivation? And does a painting gather energy – become real, gain a life force, by being seen by you? Does a painting actually exist if no-one looks at it? I have a…