Anahata Risng was created, by invitation, for the Fifth Anniversary celebration at Lapis Room in Albuquerque, NM.
I was struck by how similar the way ancient artists extracted pure pigment resembles our own spiritual development.
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When identity is tied to opinions, arguments ensue.
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Not worrying about light-fastness of pigment, durability of surface, or acid-free pulp was liberating. I could pull a piece of paper outta the copy machine, whip out some crusty old dollar-a-bottle Crayola craft paint, and totally mess about.
Read moreEach interaction, each thought, shocks us like the pulse of an electric eel. How we respond determines how or if we can achieve our goals.
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The Artist, Watercolor and Gold Enamel on Acid-Free Cotton Paper, Image Size: 28" x 19"
The Artist sheds her meat suit and dons the yoke of divine inspiration.
Read moreThrough accepting and forgiving who we were, we become able to illuminate the darkness and stand gratefully in the fullness of our current self.
Read moreAs the parent of an adult introvert with multiple health disorders, I spent years desperately trying to manage my child’s life. I bought things for him he didn’t need or want, offered advice he’d heard and dismissed before, made inane comparisons to the lifestyle of the physically-abled. Each time I saw him I asked hundreds of detailed questions about his health, using my status as mother to pry into every corner of his life, looking for the magic button to his wellness.
Then one day I realized that I didn’t want to talk to my parents, my brother, or sisters. I couldn’t bear the concern in their voices. I wanted their help, they wanted to help, I didn’t want them to worry, I wanted help to stop them from worrying, I wanted help to stop talking about being worried. It was like an emotional moebius strip! That’s when I snapped to what I was doing to my son. I was piling my worries, camouflaged as acts of kindness, onto the load of responsibilities his health demanded.
It’s not easy to break a 40 year habit of helicopter parenting, especially when your kid’s good health is a relative condition. However, I’m working to offer respectful, effective, empowering assistance at my child’s request.
This painting speaks of the burden we caregivers are capable of placing on someone who is mid-struggle. Though it was originally conceived and drawn more than thirty years ago it has a very special relevance to 2020. You’re welcome to interpret and apply it's message to your life using the key to the iconography below.
The Iconography of The Weight of Compassion
Poinsettia: good cheer, celebration and reassurance.
Sunflower: warmth, adoration, and dedicated love.
Freesia: friendship, thoughtfulness, innocence, and the ultimate flower of trust.
Hyacinth: playfulness.
Lilies: sympathy.
Giant straight pin: focused attention on a specific problem
Barbell: allows a person to lift heavier weights and make progress faster but they carry a higher risk of injury.
Roses: a pink rose conveys gratitude, appreciation, recognition.
Grapes: an opportunistic and expansive plant with thorny vines. Ancient Druids found it an inspiration for a relaxed, yet realistic mentality.
You can also visit the story this painting tells on my website HERE. The Weight of Compassion is available as a limited edition fine art giclée HERE.
Vanitas incorporates social media iconography: waving hands; a variety of smiley faces; and the pervasive OMG.
Vanitas represents a girl's effort to comply with an idealized beauty proliferated through social media.
Read moreLily and Hyacinth first appeared around 1982, but weren’t painted until 2010. They’re making a limited appearance at Ghostwolf Gallery until January 31.
They embrace the ebb and flow of fortune and let it be the ever-changing soundtrack to which they do, or do not, dance.
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“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” - Rudyard Kipling
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” - Rudyard Kipling
Read moreIn the Orpheum Community Hub mural, a vista of the Sandia Mountains crowning the treetops of our beautiful Rio Grande Bosque reminds us that despite the changes a neighborhood experiences, the beauty of our city is constant.
Scroll through the images to share in the memories depicted in the Orpheum Community Hub mural.
Read moreIf you’re in Albuquerque, head over to the site, have lunch at the Sandia Saloon, and take a selfie! #NorthTowneBloom makes a great background. The mural is located in the shopping plaza at the northwest corner of Wyoming and Academy, between Chico’s and Whole Foods.
Check out this 13 minute process video of Nikki and I in action.
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Denise and I show off the final mural design.
500 2nd Street SW during renovation
I took a 5 hour online class and 4 hours of hands-on training. I’m so ready for this!
Because Coal is a busy street, we had limited space for projecting and the closer the wall, the smaller the image. So we can only project small segments at a time.
Denise and I review our plans for the night’s work while we wait for it to be dark enough to project the image.
Denise and project assistant Nick Ross found that tracing the image, projected through the cyclone fence, added a level of complexity to the task.
Left to right: Roe LiBretto, Nick Ross, Denise Weaver Ross.
Denise is a color maven, and I learned much by mixing under her direction.
On-site photos courtesy of Courtney at Orpheum Community Hub.
I was blown away when we landed this gig.
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Feelings are like fish swimming in our subconscious mind.
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There was a palpable motivation in me that was similar, I suppose, to what Norwegian lemmings experience.
Read moreThat Erin wrote plainly about the truth of her life opens my heart, but that she channeled metaphors for our crippled psyches breaks it.
Read moreThis painting emerged from the shadows to remind us of the complexities of human nature. It speaks to the plight of people who suffer with social anxiety disorder.
Read moreI felt an inexplicable fear of being in the company of humans … The ceiling in my home seemed lower than usual and the rooms, smaller. I could hear nagging mantras and was sure I could be seen through curtained windows.
Read moreThe Key to Aboulomania explains the iconography of the painting. It’s more detailed than the story and can give the viewer a deeper understanding of how the story was interpreted.
Read morePeople often ask how I create the texture in my paintings. They can't grasp the concept of washing a completed watercolor. This timelapse shows the three steps it takes to apply and rinse the top coat and to do the final detailing.
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