handwritten letters bring them back to life

Letters are among the most significant memorial

a person can leave behind them.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I love old letters.

Actual, real, handwritten letters on paper.

This box is one of many that i've kept over the years.

Once in a blue moon,

i sit with a glass of wine

and re-read some of them.

I read letters from the people i knew and loved

and although many are no longer here

there is nothing like handwriting

to make me feel like they were never gone.

I thought i'd try something a little different last night.

A collage combining paper, paint

and a few pieces of memorabilia i kept hidden in a box.

I thought these things would make a good piece of art,

and bring to life the memories

rather than keep them hidden in a box.

This man (not Jesus, but the one in the middle, Father Yvon)... ;-)

was a childhood friend of my father's.

He spent his life doing missionary work in Cuba.

He died there last year.

I've always loved writing,

and when i was a young teenager, Father Yvon and i

began corresponding.

We did so for years,

and whenever he came home,

he would come and visit us.

We all went ice skating together one winter... 

I created some of the texture with paper towel and paint...

added some paint splatter, charcoal and color...

and i gave him a little halo...

yes i did.

:-)

You don't have to be religious

to appreciate those who dedicate their lives to helping others.

Father Yvon was one of those people.

Look at his beautiful handwriting...

There's just something to me

about the actual writing of a person

that makes it far more intimate

than digitally written letters.

I really loved doing this collage...

i can see myself using more of the memorabilia in that box

to do more (very soon). 

I'm already thinking of what i'll use next... ;-)

The Jesus image is one he had sent me

in a letter...

a few of his letters (or envelopes) to me...

Isn't this cool?

i love the look of that opened envelope

with those red and blue lines like pillars...

I did this collage on canvas, but next time,

i'm going to try actual wood.

A smooth surface would work much better than canvas.

You can see (in a few places) where the paper bubbled...

The paper would probably stick much better to a smooth surface

than to canvas.

Have any of you done collages on wood?

I've never painted on wood

and since some of you out there are geniuses at collage,

so i'm sure you could teach me a few things.

I really had fun doing this one

and if some of you out there

are letter geeks like me...

you may want to try one of your own.

Happy Monday everyone! 

xox

does having a pretty yard make you good?

Good morning folks!

Happy Sunday.

I live in the country.

i am awakened in the morning

by birds and barking dogs,

crows and fighting seagulls…

I love the fact that i live near the ocean

but i wonder sometimes why so many people

 seem so obsessed with landscaping

and with having pretty things.

When i go for my morning walks,

i am amazed at how manicured some of the properties are.

Sometimes i think there must be a competition going on

that i'm not aware of. 

;-)

As i write this (it is 9am on Sunday)

i hear the sound of a chain saw cutting through my ears…

the neighbour across the street is "trimming" his trees again.

I love a nice garden

(this is the first year of many we decided not to put one in)

and i certainly love flowers,

but i see all these people spend most of their weekends working in the yard

and i never see them relaxing in the yard

or sitting in their beautiful matching white wicker Costco furniture in the yard

or just enjoying the scenery...

and i sometimes wonder, why they do it.

I realize it's important to have pride in your property

but i wonder how many are playing the

"my property is prettier than yours" game?

Is it me or have we become ridiculously obsessed

with appearances?

The houses we own

the cars we drive

the clothes we wear

all seem to be screaming "look at me! I'm successful!!"

Yeah, you're also an alcoholic,

hooked on anti-depressants,

and you've disowned your own child because he's gay.

Let's not try to hide that behind the pretty flowers, 'kay?

I'll never be impressed with such shallow beauty.

What impresses me is what's inside the person

as cheesy as that may sound.

If you look past the pretty flowers,

past the beautifully manicured lawns

past the BMW and the Mercedes…

you'll find a normal human being

with the same fears and doubts and regrets as you or I

who often feels less worthy without his "things".

I know because there are some in my family

who surround themselves with things

and try to make themselves feel better about who they are.

It never works.

I am never diminished by what my neighbour has

that i don't have,

including the perfectly manicured lawn

and the pretty flowers.

These things don't matter to me.

What matters is who you are as a person

and if you're a good person,

i'll like you,

and if you're an asshole, i won't.

Pretty things doesn't mean pretty people.

xoxo

Illustration Friday - LONELY

 Here's my entry for this week's topic on IF... lonely.

Watercolor and micron pens.

Since we're on the topic of loneliness,

I'm also sharing something i wrote about a neighbor

who wasn't the most generous man.

There he sits

among the branches

and leaves

that rustle in the wind.

He sits, and waits.

Waits for someone

or something.

His grown children

no longer visit

and he is left with

birds and bees

and the occasional car

passing by.

He waits for birds.

And even when he has

so little to love,

when the birds settle on his land

as they search for food,

he claps his hands together

making a loud noise

and the birds 

hurriedly scatter and fly away

like children running from an angry fist.

It must be

a lonely existence

to think even of the birds

as creatures that want something

from you.

He is undeniably alone.

I wonder if he wonders

how he will die.

Whether or not he will be

alone then too.

He walks on his grass,

in large circles,

around his land,

and spends his days

keeping his land free of birds.

His land is empty of birds

and his heart must be

empty of love.

*note: he died last year - alone.

On a lighter note, here's what i did with the flowers.

I like it a little more now,

although i may still add words somewhere.

Words and dots. 

It's all good.

:-)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend

and as always

thank you so much for visiting here.

It makes my heart happy

and inspires me more than you know.

xox

sailboat progress and Keith Richards

hi everyone!

Remember the sailboats?

I started them back in June...

you can see the earlier stages here.

I had a wonderful painting session last night

as opposed to the uncertain, doubtful, frustrating session

the previous night. 

:-)

I put on some good music,

lit a nice scented candle,

and played till the wee hours.

Well, not really "wee"...

it was only about 11pm when i stopped

although i probably could have painted till 3am,

but being a designer by day

means i need to get up for work

so 3am is out of the question.

It's times like these i miss not having 

a bajillion bucks in the bank.

These photos are more blue than the actual painting

but i didn't bother adjusting any colors.

I just wanted you all to see the progress...

one more sitting and i suspect it'll be done.

I'll post when it is.

I always know when to stop 

whenever i'm doing a commission.

Painting from a photo is never as daunting to me

as painting from an idea in my head.

My lovely palette of messy colors.

I heard something on the radio this morning

about Keith Richards, of the Rolling Stones

and it made me laugh.

I basically just have to look at him

and he makes me laugh.

Kinda like a cartoon character.

He was quoted as saying something like this:

"Sometimes, i forget how to play certain Rolling Stones songs,

but even when i forget,

my fingers always remember."

Considering everything this man has lived through,

i'm surprised he even remembers to breathe. 

Actually, sometimes - i'm not quite sure he IS breathing...

;-)

So right after i heard that quote,

i was inspired to draw Keith...

A quick sketch,

but a drawing nonetheless.

I actually think he's great,

and i love the Rolling Stones too.

We saw them in an outdoor concert here a few years ago

and it was one of the best concerts i've seen.

Anyone who can move the way they do

at their age,

after all they've "experienced"... (wink wink)

leaves me impressed.

Maybe they're just pickled?

but still,

i'm just saying... i love their music.

So here's to you, Keith!

A mini marker drawing,

done with Crayola Pip Squeaks. 

You just can't draw Keith with a smooth pencil...

It just don't seem right... ;-)

xox

turquoise abstract and choices

Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me

from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again.

Vincent Van Gogh

All hell broke loose in the studio last night... ;-)

I wanted to use just these four colors,

and it all started here.

I have never felt so unsure

during the painting process

as i did last night.

Maybe it's the mugginess.

Yeah, let's blame that. 

;-)

I wanted an abstract,

one that didn't look like anything,

and when I immediately saw a bird here,

i changed it...

To this...

then i saw a flower...

so i changed it.

To this. 

Then i not only still saw the flower and leaves,

but i saw a turquoise lobster claw.

Yup. Definitely muggy in here.

So I turned it over on its side

and I don't know what the hell i saw

but i knew i didn't like it.

So i turned it over again

and decided i'd paint a close up of hair

or wiggly worms...

(not really, but that's what it looked like to me)

I added beige to this little guy on the left,

poking his head out to see what all the commotion was about...

As if beige would transform this whole painting

into a masterpiece.

;-)

And then I wet my brush

and painted over the whole mess

and while the paint was wet,

I used paper towel to dab the extra paint off

and leave a nice texture on the canvas.

I used the plastic knife to create lines...

(i still wasn't sure where this was going)

and then - flowers.

Boring to me

at least when i do them.

So i guess my planned abstract painting

didn't want to be abstract after all.

For the record, i don't like this.

Maybe i'm not done with it.

I'll look at it again tonight,

when i feel a little less scattered.

I added little pink and white dots

cause dots just always make things better.

Still not good

even with my trusty little dots.

I took this pic this morning.

Much better lighting than last night

so you can see the colors more accurately.

I wanted to post this to show

that the creative process is not always easy

and smooth

and sometimes, in the end,

we just don't like what we've created

and that's ok.

Someone else may like it (or not)

but I don't have to like everything i paint.

Sometimes you just know you made a mistake
to paint over or change a certain step during the process.
But that step is gone
and you just have to let it go.

You can try and repaint it
but you know it'll never be the same.

Regardless of how accomplished you are as an artist,

during the process itself, 

there are almost always moments

of frustration and doubt.

And yet, having a crappy painting

is still better than no painting at all.

:-)

Having the courage to begin and end something creative

is far better than leaving this creativity unexpressed.

Creating something -

anything

is better than not creating.

So there you have it.

Give yourself permission to make mistakes

and to not like everything you do.

But have the courage to make those mistakes.

xoxo

sharing me...

Some things about me that you may not know...

I am afraid sometimes -

of failure

of success

of not being good enough

of not being enough

of not wanting enough

of settling

of not living fully.

I sometimes lack faith in myself

in others

in the universe

in the natural flow of things.

I savor the little things in life

like my toes in the sand,

the way coffee tastes first thing in the morning,

the sun on my face,

the way the breeze blows in my window at night,

the birds in the distance,

the smell of grass after rain

the way the clouds glide across the sky,

or paint glides across the canvas.

But there is rarely a day

where I don’t also savor

the disappointments

the doubts

the dashed hopes

and neglected dreams.

I take it all in

because to deny one or the other

would only take me further away

from my truth.

There is a balance

between bliss and sadness

and this is where my heart resides,

never totally in one or the other.

I think about death sometimes

and why so many of us

are more concerned about the afterlife

than this one life we have right here, right now.

I think about suffering

and sacrifice

and why so many hearts

still feel unloved.

Sometimes, I am afraid

of my own voice

and what it wants to say.

What it says about me.

I am afraid of how I may be judged

if I let it speak its truth.

And then I remind myself

of the importance of expression

of shared stories

shared ideas

shared love…

I love old photographs

and quiet walks in the woods

and the ocean

and solitude.

I hate intolerance

and gossip

and abuse of any kind.

I hate that so many on this planet

still lack clean water

and still starve to death.

I hate that our laptops

get more attention

than our loved ones.

It makes me sad

that so many of us

have lost the ability

to believe in ourselves,

in our own strength,

in our own path,

and we look to others

to tell us how to live our own truths,

when all we really need

is within.

I love that I share this space

with kind beings

with giving hearts

and selfless souls

who dedicate their lives to spreading hope,

and creating change

and making this world a better place

one person at a time,

one little thing at a time.

The secret of life

is all in the little things.

IF - CARRY and blue hair girl

Illustration Friday: CARRY

This is the first image that popped in my mind

when i saw the word of the week on IF.

How we all go through life

carrying different weights on our shoulders.

Some by choice,

others not.

I choose to see the glass half full

but i also realize that for some people,

this choice is far more difficult.

I don't wake up in the morning

to the sound of bombs outside my home,

or sitting in a jail cell,

or lying in a hospital bed,

or depressed,

or with a hangover the size of a house. ;-)

I wake to the sounds of birds chirping

and the breeze blowing,

and a peaceful heart

so it's relatively easy for me to see the glass half full.

I remind myself now and then

that we're not all carrying the same weight in life.

Some of us are carrying huge and heavy burdens.

Here's last night's playtime. 

I didn't take many pics this time.

It basically goes from step one to done. :-)

I started out with collage

and ended up just painting over the whole thing.

Kinda defeats the purpose of collage,

doesn't it...

This is kinda what makeup on a woman looks like to me. 

No offense to those who wear it -

i still love you, honest i do.

:-)

It may not be what the world sees,

but it's what i see.

I used to wear mascara when i was a teenager.

Then i went without wearing anything for years

and a few years ago, when mom was here,

i tried on her mascara on my eye lashes...

it looked (to me) like there were spiders on my eyes,

so it immediately came off.

:-)

I can handle lip gloss now and then,

that's about it.

Women are still far too conditioned

to look beautiful all the time.

The problem with that is that

we don't all interpret beauty in the same way.

I'm linking this to Illustration Friday.

Check out some of the fabulous illustrations there...

so inspirational.

Wishing you all the kinda day you love.

xoxo