‘WARKWORTH IN AUTUMN’ by Jane Holden, Acrylic on Birch, 12” x 12”, https://holdenartstudio.ca/2025-new-paintings/
There are things which are hard to explain with words, perhaps this why I choose to paint them. I never know what I will discover to paint, it simply reveals itself within a nature walk. It is hard to describe it precisely. Recently I unearthed my own words to explain this enchanting experience, simple quiet musings. A loose description of an attempt at explaining the unexplainable, it is this which I bring into my paintings through colour and light. The field painting ‘Warkworth in Autumn’ came out of a simple quiet musing by the field one day last Autumn.
Simple quiet musings are about attention. According to Mary Oliver “Attention is our endless and proper work, attention is the beginning of devotion.” I supposed I am lending my attention to simple quiet musings and my paintings are proof of my devotion. To genuinely pay attention is rare, finding quiet even more precious. Both of which I took much time to bring into my life. Which reminds me of another Mary Oliver quote, “Are you breathing just a little and calling it life?” It is moments of quiet within nature which I hold onto deeply, welcoming musings it into my memory and I hold them there until they reemerge in a painting. I have found the fresh air I was looking for and with it came a quiet life in the countryside, a good life.
The painting ‘Warkworth In Autumn’ was held within a memory from Fall 2024. It began like all musings with quiet and pause, I gave it my full attention. I was struck by the ever changing variations of light and colour within the vast openness of the field. Gazing upwards I became aware of the slowly moving escalator of clouds and blue sky against the openness of the field, I gave my attention to the sky for a long time to discover subtle changes, it is with this kind of attention that I discover the most intriguing and beautiful landscapes. It is from within the solitude of these simple quiet musings that a field painting like ‘Warkworth In Autumn’ is brought into the world.
Jane Holden Art 