Liz...

I lost a good friend last week...
Liz was a gifted photographer & lover of life. These are her eyes. Her version of a self-portrait.
...the world is a sadder place for me these days...

the sapling king...

I found this little tree near a brook by my parents' home. It almost looked brave there in the snow, welcoming spring in its own way. I loved the shadow cast on the snow & the fact that it stood there  - quietly waiting for warmer days. Nature is a wonderful teacher. If only we were all so patient. Most of us don't take the time to observe our surroundings long enough to appreciate such beauty. We rarely even notice the little things, because we're too busy with our to-do lists. We're too busy "DO-ing". Toni Morrison (the author) once asked, "if you thought about your to-do list, about what you needed to do today, and considered only the things you must absolutely do, those things that are crucial in your life, what items on your list would you be left with?"

For me, there are really only a few things I MUST do today, or I will die... :o)

1. be a good mother to my son

2. writing, reading, art

Of course, I also realize that bills need to be paid, so i don't always play. But I make it a point to play as often as I can... and to be a good mother to my son. 

What would you have on your list? :o)

fun with collage!

There's something to be said about the process of collage... kind of a process of discovery, really. Beginning something without much of a clue about where or how it'll end. I'm not as organized as many of the true collage artists... I don't have a box full of little bits & pieces, waiting to be used in some future masterpiece. I basically pick an old magazine, leaf through it for a few minutes & cut out a few pieces that seem interesting to me at the time. This one took about an hour. I believe we should all allow ourselves at least an hour of playtime per day. Otherwise, we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, don't we?

...or maybe that's just me. :o)

buddha smile...

jazz, blues & purples

here comes the sun...

It's one of those "my head feels heavy today" kinda days... 

:o)

abstract

I don't attempt abstract painting too often. Now you know why. :o) Abstract is far more difficult than it appears. Of course, not all abstract is good abstract and precisely because there are no set guidelines or techniques, it's difficult to determine whether a painting is good or bad. Who makes such a decision? What makes a painting good or bad? Ultimately, for me, it always boils down to this: how does the painting make me feel? Is there something about it I love? Do the colors or the contrast or the form bring me back to a specific memory? Does something in the painting make me question something about myself? Do I feel good when i look at it, or does it just make me think, "WTF"? For me, it's never about who judged it worthy or not. We have countless masterpieces from the past that were judged "unworthy" at one point or another. It's all about having an open mind & heart... & trying to appreciate it for what it is - without judgment. 

david suzuki

Many of you are going to think I've finally gone off the deep end... but I think David Suzuki is hot.  Have you seen that half naked photo of him in the ad campaign for "Nature of Things"? Some consider him self righteous, but I just think he has a great body for a man his age. It's important to be able to appreciate both the brain AND the body. :o) hehehehhee... 

stream

I have done very little painting lately, so I'm posting something from a while ago. Things have simply been too busy. Life gets that way sometimes. So I'm feeling the need to regroup - to quiet myself and find my happy place again. One of my happy places is being around a body of water - an ocean, a stream, a river, a waterfall. I can almost hear the water gushing here. :o)