One of the best things about our time here in Utah is the proximity to the mountains! Two great canyons are just five minutes from our house. Within an hour? I can get to one of a dozen or so. There is no end of potential hiking trails!

Stewart Falls is the first hike my dad took me on after we moved here. I remember he just showed up at my house on a random Tuesday afternoon, walking stick in hand, and asked, "Are you free for a couple of hours?" It ended up being more than a couple of hours, but arriving at this dramatic waterfall was worth every step! That was the beginning of a long string of hikes we took together, even cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing in the winter.

My favorite way to approach the falls is from Sundance, the way my dad first took me years ago. But one of the more beautiful and shaded trails is above Aspen Grove, from the opposite direction. The trail takes you through quaking aspen and giant ferns, until you wind your way to a rocky descent with this dramatic view. 

This began as an experimental piece, painted on plate-finish illustration board rather than my usual textured watercolor paper. I began by creating the rhythm of the water invisibly, with a wax crayon. Then, as I added layers of paint, the paint resisted where the wax was, creating the lightest parts of the flow of the waterfall. I literally couldn't see it at all until I painted over it!

The plate-finish (slick) surface also created an interesting texture in the rocks, where the watercolors pooled and ran. I loved this natural approach to the details, letting nature take her course, rather than fussing over every crack and crevice. As I added more layers to the piece, the paint began to adhere and I had a little more control. The painting dances on the border between abstract and realistic, but if you know Stewart Falls, this captures not only the geography but also the energy. 

Between my upcoming watercolor workshop in France and the cookbook exhibit and launch, not to mention private lessons and teaching at UVU, life has been pretty crazy here in my little corner of the art world. Last week was a much-needed spring break.

Ironically, one of my favorite ways to relax is to work. There is something so soothing about being able to spread out a series paintings, sink deep into the vivid color and expression, and delve into painting mode full time. One of the most relaxing and refreshing techniques I teach (I often present it for youth groups and women's retreats) is called "Negative Painting".  The results are entirely positive, with a very high rate of success. The word negative has nothing to do with attitude, but rather with approach—painting around shapes rather than inside them. These paintings glow with a rare beauty and depth achieved only through multiple layers of transparent glazes. (This one painting involves hundreds of layers, all of which are transparent and give back light to the viewer.)

I spent a countless hours immersed in the negative painting process, finishing up this beauty, which has just been accepted into the Utah Watercolor Society Spring Exhibition. This is #4 in a series inspired by the hydrangeas growing in the courtyard of the Victoria & Albert museum in London. The hydrangeas there are the biggest and lushest of any I have ever seen! I took dozens of photos, and have painted them multiple times over the past 2.5 years. The previous hydrangea paintings in this series have all sold! In this one I added Lantana, a multiple petal flower that also grows in clusters, for complementary contrast and added texture. I love the way it turned out. 

Come see it in person when the show opens in May:

Utah Watercolor Society Spring Exhibition
Eccles Community Art Center
2580 Jefferson Ave, Ogden, UT 84401
May 3-25, 2019

I have the first copy of the cookbook, hot off the press! I loved just holding it in my hands and turning the pages and seeing the art come to life in a new form.

Amazingly, Erika Hill at the Provo Library has graciously offered to exhibit all 36 of the paintings from the cookbook—even the wild-and-crazy self-portrait I'm using as my author photo! I have been frantically framing and labeling, and am so excited that it's finally coming together! Just to round out the show, there will be an Artist's Proof copy of the cookbook on display. (The rest of the books are scheduled to arrive next week.)

The show is called Labor + Love, which is perfect, because this cookbook is nothing but a labor of love, carefully nurtured and cultivated over two years. I almost abandoned the project mid-stream, but our daughter has been begging me to complete it. She wants all the recipes! I'm completely in love with the concept.

It started a decade or so, when I was whipping up the ingredients for Celery Seed Dressing and noticed what a gorgeous combination of colors the dry ingredients were: rich, earthy paprika; pungent dry mustard, and the greenish-grey celery seeds. It gets even better when you add honey and red wine vinegar. I created a small abstract painting just to appease my artistic nature. 

Then a couple of years ago I was hosting a dinner party and found this amazing recipe on Once Upon A Chef for an Asian Kale Salad. Her description was amazing. I made it for the dinner party, to rave reviews. But the most intoxicating part of all was when I started combining the ingredients in my salad bowl: bright red peppers, exotic red (purple) cabbage, shredded carrots, dark green curly kale. I was just mesmerized by the colors and proportions, and created several paintings inspired by the colors and textures of that recipe alone. 

I searched my recipes for other exciting color combinations and found several more that excited both my palate and my palette. It was awhile later that I decided to create a cookbook. And even that grew over time. So it's part art book, satiated with indulgent color and a smattering of textures. It's part cook book, loaded with recipes chosen for their unique textures and flavors, and primarily colors. One of the happiest secondary wins is that the recipes are full of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, because they yield the most color.

For me, the experience of cooking—flavors, colors, textures, aromas—inspired me to paint. For you, I hope that what you see in the paintings inspires you to cook! The paintings will be on display through March 15 at the Provo Library.

Labor + Love
11 Utah Women Artists
Provo Library
550 E University Ave.
Provo, UT 84601

Opening Reception:
February 15, 7-9 p.m.
I hope to see you there!

Also, right now while I wait for the full shipment of books to arrive, you can purchase the book at the pre-sale rate of 30% off, right here on my website (janaparkin.com). Just click on the STORE link and it will come right up. 

Enjoy!

Haven't you always wanted to live in a castle? Announcing my painting retreat to the Dordogne region of France in June 2020! We will be staying and dining at this beautiful 16th-century castle set on 270 acres of lush woodlands and fields. The castle has its own chef who will be preparing our meals. All breakfasts and dinners will be served at the castle. Occasional day trips to surrounding villages and caves will give us the opportunity to dine at local restaurants, also covered in the workshop fee. Each participant can have a private bedroom and bathroom. There's also a swimming pool and tennis courts.

But here's the best part: We get to paint there! I can tell you from personal experience, there is no better way to immerse yourself in the area and cement the experience in your long-term memory than painting on location. I'll be conducting daily demonstrations and evening critiques to help motivate and inspire you. And I have a ton of experience working with students of all levels. Trust me, talent is not required in order to make this a richly rewarding experience.

If you're interested, please click on the contact form and ask to be added to the email list for the Workshop in France. I can't wait! Save the date: June 14-20 and 21-27, 2020.

Last September a friend invited me to participate in a plein-air painting event during the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. The festival takes place in Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point, a most picturesque location. 

I showed up with my palette, paints, paper and easel and set up shop in the shade (a must). I spent three hours there from start to finish, and this was the result. My painting has been selected to advertise the event this year. It's on their brochure/mailings, the program cover. And last week, when we were driving home from Salt Lake one night, I happened to glance at it on a billboard. "Hey, that's my painting!" I exclaimed. 

Once, years ago, I had my painting of a French dancing girl projected larger than life on a ballroom-size scrim at one of Paul Newman's charity events. That took my breath away. But this is the first time I've seen my work on a billboard. Such a fantastic surprise! 
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This was a commission from my brother, who was just made bishop (leader of his local congregation at church). He wanted something special to gift to the outgoing bishop to thank him for his service. And since that outgoing bishop had recently sold their lovely home, in anticipation of an overseas move, Cort thought that a "house portrait" would be the perfect gift. I love creating these house portraits, because of the lovely sense of place they inspire. Whether it's an old ancestral home, or a more recent dwelling, these places are important receptacles of our memories, even sacred spaces.

Just as the focal point of a face is the eyes—often referred to as the windows to our soul, the focal point of a house portrait is the entrance itself. The front door and porch, along with any walkway leading up, make us feel welcome and make the home feel more approachable. I love the way the sidewalk leads to the porch and the door, and even the "Logan Ave" stamped into the concrete give a beautiful sense of time and place.

July 24 is a day when, here in Utah, we celebrate those who walked a thousand miles or more, braving hardships of weather, disease and famine to settle this place. There leader, the great colonizer Brigham Young, upon entering the Salt Lake Valley, declared, "This is the right place." I have felt that same sense of certainty in every home where we have lived, sensing that this is the right place for us at this time.

Question: What places give you a sense of identity, connection and purpose?

We spent most of our adult life in Southern California, starting when I ventured off to Otis Art Institute, later as missionaries, and finally as young newlyweds we spent our honeymoon making the trek down I-15 to become permanent residents in Los Angeles County...or so we thought. All of our children are California natives. We owned two homes there, and two businesses. We also buried one baby there -- something no parent should ever have to do.

At the end of May we returned for a brief visit. Our kids invited us to spend a few days with them in L. A., and the clincher was when our son-in-law asked us to "show me the Los Angeles you guys love." That journey begins and ends with the people, of course. We have so many wonderful friends there, friends who feel more like family. We also love the surprisingly great hiking in SoCal, and because we ministered to la gente hispana while we served there as missionaries, we also love the strong Latino component of the culture. Each of these paintings captured a moment from that brief trip where we returned to our California roots. And there are so many more! Next Stop: Downtown Los Angeles.

QUESTION: What do you love about Southern California? What faraway place might you still think of as home?

Nearly every summer I spend 3-5 days at a cabin in Bear Lake with a group of dear friends for a Writing Retreat. It is the safest of havens and they are the most refreshing people. Early mornings and late evenings we often go for long walks on the gravel trails. This particular morning, right at dawn, completely took my breath away. Something about the sun rising behind the distant mountains, reflecting off the lake and blurring the edge of the mountains in front just begged to be captured.

Another favorite tradition (spring, summer, and fall, but especially during July) is hiking the Ridge Trail at the summit between Provo Canyon and American Fork Canyon. This trail boasts amazing vistas, reaching clear into the Heber Valley, way up to the tip of Timpanogos, and deep in the recesses of American Fork Canyon. This particular July 4 morning waist-high wildflowers flanked both sides of the trail in spots. I couldn't help but notice that the Delphinium leaves were shaped like fireworks, a little celebration of their own!

The Utah Watercolor Society's Cache Valley chapter is hosting a show called "Midsummer Moments." I love participating in these shows because the people are wonderful and the drive up there is refreshing. I chose two very specific moments with particularly vivid memories to enter in this show. (I think they make a handsome pair, so I matted and framed them identically, just in case some lucky person wants to take them both home as a matched set!)

2018 UWS-CVC Exhibition
"Midsummer Moments"
July 13-August 3
Fuhrimans Framing and Fine Art
75 South Main Street
Logan, UT 84321

QUESTION: What are some of your favorite midsummer moments?

UPDATE: "Sunrise Over Bear Lake" received an Honorable Mention award in this show.

Jewelry, puppies, macarons. I told you the best things come in small packages! Paintings do too! Both of these paintings are in the Utah Watercolor Society "Small Works" show, on display at Red Butte Gardens, June 22 through July 15th.

One unique aspect of this show is every painting has to be 12" or small in both directions, including the mat and frame! It's like seeing the sparkling gems of the Crown Jewels, only without the hefty pricetag and the long lines. These smaller paintings are priced affordably.

The other unique aspect is that this show is supporting the mission of the gardens, which is "to cultivate the human connection with the beauty of living landscapes." That's an invitation not just to view the show, but to experience how the artists connect with nature, and how you connect with the beauty portrayed in the artwork! You have to come see these in person!

LEFT: This is my third in a series of Hydrangea paintings. I am so in love with these flowers! I'm calling this one "Hydrangea Fireworks," because don't those big, bright blossoms resemble fireworks exploding in the sky? They never fail to take my breath away!

RIGHT: This is possibly the eighth in a series of small tulip paintings, and my favorite so far. I love the serenity of these particular tulips as they all lean in harmony, and I imagine a faint breeze nudging them ever-so-gently in that direction. We could all take a lesson in rhythm and harmony from tulips.

UWS "Small Works" Show
June 22–July 15, 2018
Red Butte Gardens
300 Wakara Way
Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Open daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

QUESTION: What is your favorite thing that comes in a small package?