Theresa Stahl - original fantasy artwork

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On My Easel

People always wonder about the name "Owl’s Flight". This name is very symbolic to me. It is about the mythical connection between hidden life and the natural world around us. The owl is myth, mystery, magic and wisdom. Owls are silent but all-seeing. They see into the secret corners of the world. Life is a flight into the unknown - the possibilities - the experiences and emotions that are stored up to weave the journey of our days.

I always have whispers in the back of my mind about the different projects I’m working on - that pull towards color and creation. I try to paint several times a week, but there are days when I HAVE to paint. I need to get those whispers and ideas out and onto canvas.

When I am painting, life around me ceases and I get lost in the world I am creating. It’s a fascinating world of things that intrigue me - vivid color, light & shadow, humans & wildlife, mystical creatures & mystery - all stirred together with my imagination. These things swirl inside my thoughts and dreams. The ideas simmer until they finally are ready to explode onto canvas. Converting emotions and thoughts into reality using the vivid colors I love. I thirst for it. It’s always a process and often a struggle, but I feel compelled to do it.

When I begin a painting I have a good idea about the subject and feeling I’m going after. I have learned not to plan the painting beyond the most basic aspects. By the time it is completed, it has always evolved into something much different than originally envisioned. Each painting takes on a life of its own. The trick for me was (and is!) learning to let those hidden & often unimagined scenes come through onto the canvas. Nature & Spirit have a way of weaving themselves into whatever I am creating. That sense of wonder and magic - the fantastic - that which is beautiful & sacred - these things appear in my paintings in ways I still don’t fully understand. Each painting I finish is a lesson. I’m learning new things each time. The joy and surprise of what appears on my canvas has me completely hooked!