i am one with the world - but not with spam.

Excuse me while i kiss the sky.

Jimi Hendrix

no words are necessary, right?

 except maybe beauty

This is what i find at the end of the road
after a long early morning walk.

Some people have attained that guru state
where they feel "at one" with the universe all the time.

i haven't yet.

But in places like this...
i am one with the world.

 or when i'm painting funky oranges... ;-)

a 15 minute sketch done with colored pencils and markers.

i like the rough sketches now and then...

art doesn't need to be perfect.

Art usually expresses a feeling, or an emotion, or a thought,

so actually - it should be anything but perfect.

At least that's how i see it.

 then i did this in my little Moleskin book

micron pen, watercolor and colored pencils.
i found the photo on-line and just added text.

On another note...

i've been getting a shitload of Anonymous spam comments lately.

i hate to resort to the WORD VERIFICATION thing,

but i may finally set it up this week.

18 spam comments in my inbox on one day is too much.

If anyone out there knows of a way to get rid of them

without doing the Word Verification thing, please let me know.

By the time i trash the 10th comment,

let's just say i am not feeling very zen.

Wishing you all a beautiful Sunday and a great week

filled with health and happy things.

And maybe ice cream.

Or rainbow lollipops.

Or chocolate.

Yes. Definitely chocolate. 

xox

running on empty...

When we have passed a certain age,

the soul of the child we were

and the souls of the dead from whom we have sprung

come to lavish on us their riches and their spells...

- Marcel Proust (In search of lost time)

hello friends.

It's been a while. :-)

I've been feeling the need to disconnect lately,

so i am giving myself the time i need

to get off the ride now and then.

Too many people out there are running on empty.

A good friend recently told me

that many of us out there are feeling this need lately,

that there is a shift of energy in the world.

Who knows.

I only know that when i feel this way,
i honor the feeling and give myself what i need.

Too many of us don't give ourselves the time we need
because we feel it's lazy,
or because we're told it's selfish,
or because we believe that needing a time out
means we're weak...
unable to deal with life's difficulties.

And for some of us with different reasons,
time to ourselves is a luxury we can't afford.

I believe my "time outs" now and then

are what allow me to deal with life's difficulties

and make sense of the world.

Although many things lately still have me scratching my head...

Educated, intelligent men killing in the name of religion.

Families disowning one another.

The Boston Marathon bombing (and any other bombing happening out there)

Honor killings. (there is nothing honorable about killing. Anyone. Ever.)

CEO's with outrageous salaries. 

Televangelists = ditto.

Science and religion still arguing over who's right.

Teachers with ridiculously low salaries.

Baby pageants. Actually, all pageants. 

Why so many people are filled with such hatred.

Why so many people are still so insecure about themselves.

People who try to keep up with the Jones'...

(living a life way above their needs so they can say they've been to Hawaii too!)

...and most reality shows. ;-)

Oh, and TLC.

I didn't get the memo that said The Learning Channel

would now become the Mentally Ill Channel.

Just a few of the things that irritate the hell outa me.

Thank you for reading my rant. :-)

Sometimes, it's just hard to be in the world.

Especially if you are sensitive.

(yup, that would be me...)

There's been very little art for me these days.

I always find those dry periods a little rough -

those days where i don't feel much like being near my art table.

But i also know that these breaks are necessary for me. 

I almost always go in waves...

i've made art a habit, just like my morning walks

so whenever i go a few days without creating something

i definitely feel out of sorts - like something is missing.

So when i finally sit myself at the art table again
like last night (for the first night in many)...
my heart literally breathes a sigh of relief
and i'm home again. :-)

Thanks for being here with me.
xox

it's an Alanis Morissette kinda day today...

the sound of melting snow...

It wasn't about believing this or that,

it wasn't about good and evil and right and wrong,

it was about finding the strength

to bear the discomfort that came

with being in the world.

- Mark Haddon (The red house)

i love this quote...

because truth be told, sometimes,

it is discomforting to be in the world.

A few pics of the melting snow and ice...

always a welcome sight after months of cold winter...

the thawing out of things...

the waking up of things...

slowly, the ice is transforming...and the blue ocean is visible once again.

...sigh...

You could actually hear the snow melting...

i stood there for a while and thought the sound was as beautiful
as what it must have been like to listen to Mozart live.
Well, ok, maybe not quite as beautiful,
but close.

ice melting and droplets of water,
falling on pools of calm ocean around me...
sounding like a room full of tiny clapping hands.

the sand shifting with the thawing and the tides and the mini icebergs
pushing their way on shore...

snow fences to be mended or torn down.

a parade of picnic tables
just waiting for summer.

Who doesn't love spring?

There's been little art for me lately,
but i wanted to share this beautiful video
of Beverly Hawksley,
and artist and woman i love.

I can't seem to link the video directly here,
so i'll copy the URL and you can just paste it in your browser.

Check it out if you can.
So inspirational.
http://vimeo.com/59933056

Wishing you the kind of week that makes you smile.

xox

maybe mom loved dots too...

Any fool can run towards the light. It takes a master with courage to turn and face the darkness and shine his own light there.

- Leslie Fieger

hi everyone.

My son came back from Mexico with this lovely souvenir for me,

which in turn, inspired a painting.

my camera was in another room,

so i didn't take any progress pics. 

some of these pics were taken last night,

and others this morning, by natural light.

Natural light is always better. 

I've been feeling the need to re-evaluate a few things lately,

so i may be blogging a little less for a while.

If i blog less, you'll know it's because i'm writing (or painting) more.

Sometimes, saying no to something

means we're saying YES to ourselves.

Saying yes can be very liberating...

This past while, i've been slowly sorting out

mom's things.

It's a strange feeling to be sorting out

things that belonged to another person,

even when that other person was my mom.

Old passports.

Receipts from purchases made years ago.

Cards kept in special places.

Letters.

Clothes...

Unlike what many of you may think,

i love doing this and find it all very healing.

i love finding some of her writing the most

because the handwriting of a person is very intimate

and my mother had beautiful handwriting.

This was one of mom's favorite tops...

Anyone who knows my art, knows how much i love using dots.

It made me smile from ear to ear when i saw this...

and noticed (for the first time!) all the dots.

i swear i had never noticed them before.

Life is funny sometimes...

Thank you all for being here...

xox

art, good music and kind people make me happy

hi peeps.

it's time for faces! :-)

a tiny acrylic and marker on paper (12 x 12 cm)

There's a video at the end of this post.

It's what i was listening to while i painted last night...

the whole CD, not just the one song. :-)

and then there's this woman... 

i love Jane Goodall, and what she's done with her life.

My first ever blog post was a little watercolor of Jane and a friend...

you can see it here.

I was a woman of few words when i first began blogging.

Now i won't shut up. 

(giggle...)

I had a hard time with this one...

i seem to have made her look much older

- something i'm not so sure she would like.

but it is what it is. 
Sometimes there's a likeness,
and sometimes less.

 I certainly tried to give her compassionate eyes.
Whenever i see her on tv, that's always what i notice about her first.
Those peaceful, loving, compassionate eyes.

You can see a lot in a person's eyes.

I then took time to finish this one too -

just added the word and a few magical dots. 

I kinda like it.

I hope you all know how much i appreciate

your kind comments.

The thing that makes me the happiest

is knowing that sometimes,

I may actually inspire someone out there

to make art

or write poetry

or take a walk outside

or listen to music

or bake a cake

or notice the moon

or write a song...

or just be more appreciative of something.

Anything.

That makes me happy.

Because i believe these are the things

that give life meaning -

and there are too many of us out there

waiting until we retire to find meaning in our lives.

hugs to all of you...

xox

hope you like the song