I am sometimes slow to learn. How many times have I gone plein air painting in the "Moses Syndrome?" That means I was wandering around forever like Moses in the desert. I just couldn't find that scene that really appealed to me. All I had to do was to turn around! That is why I call this painting "Look Behind You." I was reminded of an important lesson in Australia.

We were having wine and snacks in the Outback of Australia waiting for the sunset that turns the rock formation, Kata Tjuta, into a reddish glow. The glow was not happening and so I wandered with my glass of wine. That is when I looked behind. I put the wine down and grabbed my camera.

When looking for inspiration, remember to look behind you! The scenery looks very different. The composition and the colors are different because the light source is illuminating the scene from a different angle. The action at that moment was behind me. The sun was getting low in the sky and the glow was through the trees causing the grasses to have a cool tint in comparison to the warmth through the trees.

Many years ago I painted two landscapes called End of the Road in Oahu. We were literally at the end of a road with a beautiful ocean scene on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. I stood in about the same location to photograph this beautiful scene. The first painting was looking slightly away from the sun and in the direction of fewer clouds with a high vantage point. The second painting was from a lower vantage point looking behind me into the clouds with the sun peaking through them.

Not only did I have two different compositions, but there were many differences in the colors. So, when you are taking a photograph or plein air painting, remember to turn around. Look where you came from because the action may be behind you!

Sue and Suzy,

An artist with a split personality

From the totem poles of the Pacific northwest, petroglyphs of North America, hieroglyphs of Egypt to the Aboriginal pictographs in Australia, ancient art was more than a decoration. It was communication with deep cultural and religious significance. Art predated the written word as a form of communication. Throughout the ages, art tells a story.

I was reminded of this simple fact in a recent trip to Australia and New Zealand. The Aboriginal people or the original custodians of Australia have inhabited the land 50,000-60,000 years. These people have created rock engravings, weaving, string art and stone arrangements.

This is a picture of the sacred rock formation, Uluru.  The people read the natural rock as modern people read sacred scripture. It tells the story of creation and their ancestors. They also used caves in this rock formation for ceremonies. They engraved stories in the rock walls. We took the six mile walk along the base of Uluru. I couldn't take photos of the engravings because this location is sacred to the indigenous people.

I had the privilege of watching a demonstration by an Aboriginal artist who is preserving her cultural heritage. With her permission I took photographs. Here she is demonstrating sand writing. Sometimes we were able to guess the meaning of the symbols but other times she had to explain through an interpreter.

Their art has evolved with foreign influences and the use of modern acrylic paints. They use dots to make symbols that tell their stories. The art does not look three dimensional. It includes symbols and colors that are not meant to be literal. Instead, it is meant to be more like a dream. Here are examples. The local artist told us a story illustrated in her painting.

We were then given a canvas board and acrylic paints with crude brushes and a stick. We were also given a sheet of paper with more symbols and their meanings. Now, it was time to tell our story. Here are the paintings our group created and one of the participants telling her story that she expressed with symbols.

Here is my story starting from the upper right corner. The blue is the great lake (Michigan) near my home. The green and yellow area around it represents the forests and sand dunes. We also have smaller lakes and rivers in my area that are represented by smaller circles and a squiggle. The upper white concentric circles with the "U" shapes around it represents my home and family. I also have white dots to represent the snow that we can have at this time of year. The diagonal lines that go through the wavy blue is my journey to Australia. The lower circles represent this sacred place in a hot dry land of red and yellow dots.

Every piece of art communicates something. It can be subtle or explicit but there is a story, an emotion, an expression of the artist. Whether it is a still life, portrait, landscape, abstraction or a photo-realistic piece, the artist is communicating something. So, what is your story? Before we put that pastel stick to a surface or a brush to the canvas, we should stop and consider our message. What are we trying to communicate to today's audience and future generations?

With renewed enthusiasm,

Sue and Suzy, the artist with a split personality