As I attempt to update my journal with projects and paintings I’ve done over the past few years, I thought it might be easier to lump a few into groupings. So this first grouping is on the subject of YOGA.
I fell in love with hot Bikram Yoga in 2008 while living in Ventura, California. Bikram is a special ‘brand’ of yoga and I’m grateful to Bikram for coming to this country in the 70s and popularizing it. When we moved to Virginia Beach in 2011, I found one of my most favorite studios at Kemps River, Virginia Beach.
One of the instructors had the most interesting tattoos. Right before we left Virginia Beach, she graciously let me photograph her and shortly thereafter I created ‘Garden Camouflage’.
I painted her in a setting with sun shining through a Bodhi Tree while she became one with beautiful garden surroundings. I don’t even know why I painted the cranes. Much later on she told me that she was unaware at the time that she was pregnant with twins. She’s an amazing woman.
In 2013 we moved to Charlottesville, Virginia and I joined another hot yoga studio in Charlottesville. When they relocated the studio to Water Street in 2014, the owner asked me to paint a wall mural on the small yoga room because it felt kind of small and boxed in and she was right about adding a mural to give it a feeling of spaciousness.
One wall was covered in mirror and the mural titled ‘Yoga of the Fern’ managed to give so much more visual space to the room. It turned into a very cozy place for smaller classes, meditation and private work. That’s me hamming it up just after finishing the painting. It was an interesting challenge painting in a 95 to 105 degree room. The paint wanted to dry quickly. (Can’t really blame it.)
In 2016 I painted ‘Tree Pose’ , one of my favorite yoga poses. I’ve always loved trees and I enjoy getting into the mind space of being a tree strong, patient and resilient – definitely good qualities to emulate. Happily ‘Tree Pose’ was purchased through Lynne Goldman Elements in 2017.
susan krieg 