Weathering the Storm: Best Quotes and New Painting

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

We’ve all heard of the old saying “the calm before the storm“, the anticipation of, well, the manure hitting the proverbial fan. It can be a time of great excitement or anxiety, whichever way you choose to perceive it.

The thing is (actually two things): firstly, anxiety is pretty much the same energy as excitement. Try alchemizing your nerves to excited anticipation next time the opportunity presents itself. And secondly, ‘storms’ help us to grow.

Here are three beautiful quotes to embody this concept:

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
― Vivian Greene

“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

“There is peace even in the storm”
― Vincent van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

You can Read more “storm” quotes here: Storm Quotes

Before the Storm Painting

I have just finished a new painting called, “Before the Storm“. It’s a moody, colourful piece that I hope evokes a sense of that excited anticipation and awe of a passing storm.

I’m experimenting with using different colours. Here, I stepped out of my usual comfort-zone palette to incorporate pinks and purples in the sky, they liven up the feel of the building deluge.

The original and prints are available HERE (or by clicking on the picture below) – please note that the international courier is inclusive in the price.

If you are from South Africa, you can view my SA gallery HERE, where I offer complimentary courier within SA.

Thanks for reading!

Here’s another article you may enjoy:

Coming Out of the Woods — ‘The Fall and The Return’ (My Latest Painting)

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Posted on May 19, 2019 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

‘The Fall and The Return’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen Acrylic on Boxed Canvas 762mm x 255mm x 40mm $415 (incl. international courier)

*UPDATE: The original painting has now been sold*

What’s it About?

This painting is from the perspective of the person coming out of the woods onto the path. It’s a pause for observation or perhaps even hesitation.

Who is coming out of the woods and where are they heading?

Are they coming home?
Are they entering a new phase of their journey?
Are they visiting someone?

There is an eerie feeling as one wonders what their intentions are and a sense of hope as the village in the distance looks promising and the birds are also looking out onto the village, giving it a sense of serenity.

The title was formed from a combination of suggestions from friends. I put the artwork out onto my facebook page and asked my peeps to see what title they came up with.

I eventually settled on a combination of 2 suggested titles — one was about ‘fall’ (being a very autumnal landscape) and one was about ‘the return’ (as in the prodigal son), which I liked very much. So, the title has an ambiguous meaning which I thought was fitting.

The Style

I tried a new style which merged my landscape (in the background) with an overlay of my tree silhouettes in the foreground — giving it a sense of greater depth.

The background received a yellow ‘wash’ of paint to make it appear a little blurred and the trees were executed in a sharp manner (I used permanent ink for the smaller branches) to render the forest more in focus.

The original is available through Saatchi (click HERE)— international shipping included in price — for $415.

If you liked this painting, you may also like this one called ‘Proliferation‘:

You can view the rest of my available pieces HERE.

Art In The Making — A Step-by-Step Guide on Painting Landscapes

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

I decided to photograph my latest abstract landscape project as I was about to try something new — ‘dripping’ technique…you’ll see later on in this blog.

The Making of The Layered Landscape

But enough chitter chat, let’s get to the pictures…the first one was taken ‘the night before’ the painting was actually going to commence. This is what is called the ‘first coat’ stage. It is the application of the first layer of paint in the background and pretty much looks like a dogs breakfast: