Raina Colvin

Recently, a friend of a friend (thank you Dan) was introduced to me through the webwaves. I took a look at the work of Raina Colvin through her beautifully designed, totally clean and uncluttered website and found myself immediately ooohing and ahhhing. I thought I would share this talented woman’s gift with all of you, still keeping one foot in the art world, via virtual gallery.

I should let you know I did liberate her biography (heck people…it was already typed!) from her website and the questions came from Red Ravine. (ybonesy and QuoinMonkey are more “Steinbeck” and I tend to lean towards “Bombeck”). Now all I have to do is sit back, enjoy the mesmerizing quality of Raina’s work and delete any spam comments!

Anuvue Studio proudly welcomes the Fine Art of Raina Colvin.

Raina Carman was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Being three months old when her family moved to Southern California, Raina has spent the majority of her life in California. Her interest and skill as an artist was evident from the time she could hold a pencil. As a child Raina found great pleasure in drawing. It was an excellent way for her to learn about the world around her.

At twenty, Raina began her formal education in art at El Camino College. There she found a wonderful community of fellow students and artists eager to develop themselves and their art work. Through this community, Raina found work first as a children’s art instructor. Later she found work as color separator at Morrosstudio making limited edition serigraphs. The process of recreating another artist’s work and analyzing the colors to mix each one for printing was an invaluable experience. After three years, Raina left Morrosstudios to study with several private teachers and to explore her own approach to creating art. This began a time where painting outside in nature was Raina’s passion. The Santa Monica Mountains were a particularly favorite place to roam with her watercolors in her backpack.

In 1993, Raina moved from Redondo Beach to north county San Diego. Establishing her own studio Raina felt it was time to allow her art work to be her own. At this time Raina began to explore her inner landscape, working with mandalas as a template. As her art life developed Raina began a career in the healing arts as a massage therapist and soon began to teach massage at Healing Hands School of Holistic Health. Raina finds great reward and inspiration teaching massage. She feels very blessed to have the ability to paint, draw and express her art freely. Raina is now Raina Carman Colvin and lives with her husband and all their critters in Valley Center, surrounded and shaded by the many oaks that populate their home.

How long have you been painting?

I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember. I started painting in 1982 when I began studying at El Camino College.

1. Transformational Goddess
2. Fluidity
3. Full Breath
4. Radiating Heat
5. Dynamic Balance
6. Oceanids

Mandalas

How has your work evolved over time?

Drawing has always been a way from me to observe the world around me. Throughout my adolesence, drawing was the only way I was interested in expressing myself. As I began college my focus was drawing and painting, working from life. I spent a lot of time in the life drawing studio as well as outside painting plien air with watercolors. After I left college I went to work as a color seperator. This really helped move my understanding of color to a greater level. All the work I did was all by hand, separating the images to be printed and mixing each color. When I left my position as color seperator at Morrosstudios I was very prepared to explore my own vision. I began studying under Don Blaisdell’s in Topanga Canyon. With Don I focused on plein air landscape. This was when I finaly understood watercolor on a visceral level and began painting in ernest in the Santa Monica mountians. My next big leap occurred the following year when in took an “Artist Transformation” course with Linda Jacobson through UCLA extension. I had many eye-opening experiences in this class. I discovered a passion for working with mandalas. By painting mandalas I learned to tap into my subconscious, work with my inner conflicts and look at my internal processes. I began to divide my time working from life and with my inner landscapes.

Who are your influences?

My parents were and are strong individualists who taught me to think and act following my own sensibilities. My teachers at El Camino College and those who I sought out helped me with the mechanics of visual art. They guided me expand my bounderies and grow my understanding. Both my teachers and my life experiences have shaped who I am as a person and as an artist.

Oil Paintings
1. Family Nova
2. Malibu Flood 1

What living artist do you admire most?

I don’t really follow many living artists. I can only think of Alex Grey, Helen Nelson-Reed and Laurie Anderson. Most of the artist I admire are now dead.

What drives your art.

Creating art is the most successful way for me to make sense of the world. When idle I’m restless with a need to create. Art brings me peace. I feel satisfaction when I have communicated my intent. Art is what I use to understand myself and find deeper meanings of the connections that bring us together.

Landscape
1. Old Castle Ranch

What messages are in your art?

I hope to kindle a passion for life, encourage exploration of mysteries, expose how fear shapes our lives and the beauty that is everywhere.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I get inspiration from dreams and life experiences. Sometimes I explore themes like numbers, colors or ideas. Sometimes I just get a bug in my ear to do… whatever.

Innerscapes
1. Green Man
2. Dance of life
3. Three Graces
4. Mysteries of Birth

How old were you when you knew you wanted to be an artist?

As a child with dyslexia I found it painful to be anything else. It was an outlet for my passions and the only thing that earned me praise.

Where do the themes in your work come from?

I work from life because I have a passion for it. I love to commune with nature. I also love to see the underlying patterns that connect us all – numbers, symbols and events. I like to observe the similarities in my experiences of nature, human interaction and whatever else is happening in my life. I choose to be captivated by the magic that surrounds me and express it in my work.

To view more of Raina’s work, please visit her website

To purchase, please see her detailed price list for inventory still available.

Our thanks to Raina for allowing Anuvue to exhibit and share her work and inspiration!

Where Heaven meets Earth

Fistful of Swoon

Out of Washington DC: Mark Charles Heidinger and Rose Guerin know as “Vandaveer”. This is a spectacular B/W video with a beautifully haunting soundtrack.
The song title: Fistful of Swoon

Roadside

Lifting Fog

Chiura Obata’s wisdom

There is a new Ken Burns documentary coming out at the end of the month about our National Parks and the people who were instrumental in saving them for generations to come… I was very lucky to have a sneak preview.

Chira Obata was one of these rare and gifted people and this particular remark (or a portion from it) hit home with me. He was speaking about Yosemite National Park.

… the coyotes howl in the distance, in the mid sky the moon is arcing, all the trees are standing here and there, and it is very quiet. You can learn from the teachings within this quietness. …Some people teach by speeches, some by talking, but I think it is important that you are taught by silence.” I, too, think you can learn a lot from silence…

Chiura Obata

Finding Beauty

Leaving a freeway on-ramp, I noticed splashes of color to my right and snapped this shot very quickly. I know not all of you will see what I do here, but what I see, well it makes me smile. I think this “Art” may be better than some of the more modern things I’ve seen (and heard) called “Art”. I love finding beauty in the strangest places. I’m also left wondering how many others have or will take notice. 😉

She walks in Beauty

I saw this tiny girl dancing among sparkles on the shore at twilight. It reminded me of a very beautiful old poem by Lord Byron.

She walks in beauty, 1814

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair’d the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face ;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Lord Byron

The Civil War comes to town

Each year during Labor day weekend, my city hosts an annual Civil War Re-enactment in the beautiful 365+ acre Central Park. These folks look (and sound) so real… you literally look over your shoulder to make sure there are still people dressed like you. This year was no exception with magnificent costumes, smoky cannons and pointy bayonets galore. This Yankee slathered on SP 100, wished President Lincoln a happy 200th birthday and proceeded to stalk the troops…
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End of Summer Fun