The Lighthouse Library

Show Up As You Are

September 09, 2024Lisa Miller

The Artist's Life and Finding Order in Chaos

Dear Fellow Portal Travelers!

The movement between artist and world has always fascinated me. It is said that the artist must have an essential self to return to again and again, in between the other parts of life. But there is something flawed in that model - that idea of separation between life and art. That life is what you do outside the studio, and art is what you do in the studio.

When I think this way I can get caught up in trying to find some illusory place of order away from the chaos. That will enable me to forge this giant leap transporting me instantly from a busy life to that other magical realm of serene inspired productive art-making.

The world has escalated to a state where we experience so much coming at us, so much stimulation and input, there’s a real need to reverse the direction of the information, and let the faucet flow out through us.

This is easier said than done. Life is about growth, we are here for the full development of our souls, and art is the way we do this. But life is created in the present moment. And the key to this, as they say, is to “Be where your feet are!’ That is where the magic is found.

My husband tells people how lucky he is to be married to an artist because we see the world in a different way. It slows him down. And it opens up ways of looking at the world that he never thought of before.

When we first started spending time in Santa Barbara I was instantly captivated by the ocean. I’d been going to the ocean since before I could walk and I find it so relaxing and peaceful. I’ve always wanted to live at the beach. And I found very quickly that living here was all that and even more. With the ocean as this omnipresent backdrop to life - I started seeing deeper into it. The way the ocean is always slightly different every day. I was drawn to the visual layers in the water, the variations of color and depths and the movement of the currents - until that was all I could see when I gazed at the sea.

I began painting at the beach. I’d pack up my sketchbooks and watercolors every day along with our beach chairs, and towels and picnic supplies. And amazingly - I started making these calm, meditative paintings. The beach is a quiet place where we can meet our true selves, exactly as we are in the present moment. Where the noise of the world naturally dissolves into the rhythmic, comforting sound of the waves creating a natural sense of order.

The beach became my sacred space. And as Joseph Campbell writes, Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.”

This process of “getting in the studio” has always taunted me as something to figure out, something to master - yet eluded me at the same time when I try to grasp it outwardly. Because like the ocean, life is different each day, and we are different every day. And what I have found is that the present moment, that sacred space where I meet myself, becomes what I have begun to refer to as my ‘Axis Mundi’ - a still point in an ever changing world. In that place, art and life converge effortlessly and I paint wherever I am. Robert Henri reflected on this experience, writing “The object isn’t to make art, it is to be in that wonderful state that makes art inevitable.”

We all interact with the world and experience the world in our unique ways. And we all share that desire to find a place of peaceful centering where we can be ourselves. (I’ll write more about the studio practice in the next Portal, because it applies not only to the artist life but life in general.)

So for now, the thing I know to be true as instructions for living as an artist or as a human - or both - is to Show Up As You Are, and Start.

I’m sharing below some of my artistic creations that support meeting this Present Moment Self - my ocean paintings, Cloudstones, and a studio playlist that I hope you will enjoy - however and whatever magic you are creating in your life, today.

Let your light shine,

Lisa

Postcard from The Portal

August 02, 2024Lisa Miller

Hello!

My first studio email, THE PORTAL, went out a week ago. I’ve always said that the joy in creating is bringing something into being that did not exist before. There is also this other less-talked-about aspect to the creative experience, however, that verges on awe and terror, exhaustion and excitement, when you work so hard for so long (THE PORTAL has been in gestation longer than a human baby!) to bring that thing from an idea in your imagination all the way to full actualization. You send it out into the world as this brave form of self-expression and at that same moment you let go of a brand new thing that will take on a life of it’s own.

And on the other side of THE PORTAL, at this point of creation, I had a realization - and an unexpected gift - that all of a sudden, I have a blank slate, a brand new canvas and medium for my creativity and expression. It is a wholly new feeling and awareness to be part of this thing as it evolves and I evolve, and continue to grow my art and studio and share my world with you.

So, needless to say, after all that heavy-realizing I did on Friday, I was ready for some rest and quiet. Time to ‘fill the well’ again, so to speak. To immerse myself in a place of quiet outside me, to touch the quiet place inside me. So on Saturday, my husband John, Max the poodle and I hopped into the car to go to one of our special, retreat-from-the-world, sacred places - the Krishnamurti Library and Retreat House in Ojai.

A Quiet Place of Inspiration

We’ve been going there since the early days of our courtship. I forever cherish a copy of Krishnamurti’s beautiful book on meditation “This Light In Oneself” that my husband inscribed for me in August of 2014 “For you Darling, With all my Deepest Love, Your John, on the occasion of our Picnic Lunch Under the Big Pine Tree at Krishna-Ji’s Cottage.” We’ve had many picnics there since then, and after this weekend’s again under the Big Pine Tree, I took out my sketchbook and paints and began to draw my surroundings.

Ojai is this lovely little California village, located just over the hills from the sea, that hits all the notes of quintessential Old California flavor meets New California individuality. The landscape is a symphony of rolling ranchland dotted with oak trees, with orchard of Orange trees and native agave plants, against a backdrop of the mystical Topa Topa Mountains.

Art as a Meditation

I’ve been drawn to the distinctive hand-built stone walls that go on for miles - bordering each farm like a lyrical thread across the terrain that divides, yet ties everything together. There is something about the placement of the stones and the solidity of the wall - the groundedness - the feeling of eternity that these stone walls convey, dating back so far and yet feeling like they’ll be here forevermore. So I began a painting of a stone wall at Krishaji’s - first pencil drawing and then watercoloring the stones to enliven it with presence, with pattern and unity.

The drawing of the wall became like a meditation in itself, fully consuming me and guiding me on, while I was totally present to the moment. As Thomas Merton says art is where you find yourself and lose yourself at the same time. And that’s what happened.

Artists are forever trying to capture something - a felt sense - of the eternal. And when we express it in a painting, it too becomes eternal.

I’m sharing some photos from my painting session under the Big Pine Tree at Krishna-Ji’s house below, and two favorite paintings of mine of the California landscape that capture the eternal.

Let your light shine,

Lisa

My makeshift studio at Krishnaji’s Cottage Under the Big Pine Tree

Often in my sketchbook when traveling I will make a location plaque within the painting like I have here. The drawing and painting of the stones one by one to fill the page became like a meditation in itself. I’m drawn to the stone walls - the permanency - the underlying foundation, a sense of constancy in an ever changing world - but with this variation on a theme of sorts - as the eye follows the different sizes, shapes, shades of light and dark, and colors - each stone is part of the whole. And they are all there together, with a sense of the infinite in the immediate moment.

Quintessential rolling California hills, always evolving somewhere from green to gold, the eye pauses on certain moments as it tracks the landscape across the page. On the left, the sky, clouds, feeling of clear lightness and air comes down and touches the land, for a moment of quiet harmony. As above, so below.

Welcome to The Portal

July 26, 2024Lisa Miller

Hello!

I’m so happy you are here. That you’ve said ‘yes!’ and walked through that metaphorical opening where the light shines in and illuminates the journey.

THE PORTAL is the place where life is high vibe, inspired by spirit and filled with magic. Where we experience the sheer beauty and transformative power of art. Where we travel with our fellow seekers on the path of personal growth, exploring the realm of creative expression and spiritual connection.

The Place Where The Light Shines In

THE PORTAL is more than just a newsletter. It is the entrance into a sacred space where art meets life. It offers exclusive access to my studio where I make paintings and art objects, inspired by beauty and moments of transcendence in our daily experience. THE PORTAL is a dispatch from my private atelier that gives you behind the scenes access to my creative process and the deeper meaning behind my art.

THE PORTAL is the place where I write about the unique journey and practices of life as an artist. As I encounter ongoing inspiration and insights, I’ll share my discoveries here - including poems and reflections, revelations and illuminations - from my explorations and from like-minded souls who have walked the journey before us - in contemplating and creating a life of meaning and substance.

“I Can See Farther Into Paintings”

I love poetry because it speaks to the invisibles in life. Things that matter deeply and give our lives meaning - love, trust, faith, hope, imagination, yearnings, creativity, consciousness. That which we cannot see, but we can feel. Invisibles exist in the space between things, in those moments of pause and reflection in our daily life. When we take a moment to shift our focus to that which we cannot see, we open ourselves to fresh inspiration to create our lives like a brand new canvas that we are given each day, upon which to paint our masterpiece.

My art is also about the invisibles. A painting is an object of immense beauty and inherent value. But is it not also something tangible that touches the intangible? An aesthetic experience that connects with a place deep inside us - something unique to each of us, something in potential, that wants to be awakened and brought to the light of consciousness. That it is our life’s true purpose to bring it to life in its fullest development through us. I believe this is the path to true happiness.

I have been told many times by my collectors that my art has this ability to touch something deep inside, and reflect back the essence of that invisible thing, an answer or illumination, to the person. It is when these nascent energies reveal themselves to us - a gift we can receive, trust and follow like a path of stepping stones that appear with each step we take - that we see our soul’s guidance. By going deeper “to see farther into paintings” and ourselves, we find the true meaning of our lives, and in concert with inspiration, we forge the way ahead.

Let Your Soul Grow

I’m reminded of a favorite saying: “You can’t fix what is already good. And that is the Soul.” We just have to feed it and help it grow. Nurture, cultivate, create supportive conditions inside ourselves and around ourselves.

That is what THE PORTAL is about. An email like none other, filled with art and inspiration that speaks to the soul, uplifts the spirit, feeds your inner seed so you can flourish in creating the life you are meant to live, with connection to your true self and others in the world, and in harmony with the spirit of the greater universe.

So, here we are. At the beginning of a brand new journey, an auspicious “opening” to take a moment, let the proverbial light shine in, and step into a higher perspective.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Until next time…