Lily S. May–Life with Art
This afternoon I learned that a friend's son in law had been murdered in a random act of violence. I never knew her son in law, but had heard about his death on the news in the morning without knowing their relationship. After hearing this sorrowful news, I was writing. On the wall opposite me the… Continue reading After Tragic News
Here's another photograph I took in Bay de Verde on my travels in Newfoundland in August. I liked the simplicity and starkness of this particular view which I photographed for the strong shapes and the atmosphere of the village.
While in Newfoundland in August, my creative side was occupied with photography and writing. I took this photograph of a narrow street in Bay de Verde, a town in Conception Bay that haunted me.
Over the years, I've done several self-portraits. This one is from 2009, again in water soluble oil paints on canvas. It's one I enjoy for the freedom of the brush strokes and the feeling it expresses. I painted it directly while looking in a mirror as opposed to using a photograph of myself as the… Continue reading Self-Portrait
When my father died in 2007, I took up oil painting again after not having painted with oils for many years. I made the three paintings in this post to express some of my feelings about his death and my life. Each one includes a self-portrait plus a portrait of him. In the final painting,… Continue reading Portraits on the Theme of My Father’s Death
I've kept a few of my old sketchbooks. Here's an ink drawing I did in '87 that's in one of those books. I made it close to the same time as the paintings and drawings in my last post. A sketchbook can serve as a visual journal. This drawing of my then bedroom brings… Continue reading Open Sketchbook
I came upon these two sketch/paintings I made in 1987. They're in watercolour with ink lines. I enjoyed making and, now, viewing these paintings because I made them with a certain amount of freedom. I didn't sketch the images first, but applied the watercolour and ink directly to the paper. The images turned out less… Continue reading Ink & Watercolour Paintings & My Several Names
On the theme of garden paintings, here's a fourth oil painting I did several years ago. The setting is part of the same garden I showed in my last post. This time, my husband is quietly taking in the healing of the place.
As you can see, on this blog I like to meander around among the art work I've done. This time I'll return to another oil painting I made. In 2007, after photographing a friend's garden in the countryside, I painted this. It was a challenge for me, because I'd never done anything quite like it. I ended… Continue reading More Garden Paintings
Origami Booklet from Linocut by Lily S. MayThis is another folded booklet I've made in the past month or two from an old linocut. It was an image of a mythological mother nature becoming a tree and was another subtraction print. That is, I made it from one block that I progressively cut away and… Continue reading Folded Linocut Booklet
Arts of May 