Thursday, June 26, 2014

oh my... school's OUT?!?

Hello to all!
This past Sunday, our son graduated from high school.
13 years of public schooling - check.
Some kids love school. My son wasn't one of them.
He's like his mom -
doesn't do so well with boredom and routine and rules. ;-)
Ask me how proud we are.
So the past few weeks were filled with excitement
and last minute preparations for the big day.
Check out the cute graduation caps his friend made...
mini peanut butter cups & chocolate. 
Adorable and delicious.
then this beautiful sunrise
on my birthday a few days ago
then a little later on in the day,
these wispy clouds.
Isn't it lovely?
Looks like paint to me.
ok, so after all the excitement of this past week,
i realized i had painted very little.
Sometimes I think to myself:
"what the hell do I do with my time"?
and the answer is usually: READ.
I love books, but too much of a good thing
isn't necessarily good, is it?
I have to re-evaluate a few things in the coming months.
Notice I didn't say WEEKS because i know
i'll have to wean myself off books slowly -
just like a crack addict!
Oh, and for the record, I'd never stop reading completely.
I just need to slow down enough
to make room for other things.
Like writing my own damn book. 
So today is the last day for this week's theme
on Illustration Friday
and the theme is: SUMMER!
I first started with a bit of a collage (for the blue)
but quickly decided I would just use paint.
(acrylic on paper)
At first, I didn't really like it
but kept going anyway.
You just never know how something's gonna end up...
By this point, i was kinda ok with it.
The actual colour of the sand is more yellow than orange,
but you get it.
I had fun with the waves...
those are collage (pieces of paper I cut out of a magazine)
and then I added white lines & dots
I was just in the mood for something light,
something fun, cartoony.
I'm not a big "50 shades of grey" fan.
giggle...
And here's the finished painting of my uncle,
although I altered his look a little
so it wouldn't look exactly like him.
It's acrylic on canvas.
(he still doesn't know this one's going in a show next week!)
These pastries are a popular Acadian treat called
PETES DE SOEURS
translation: Nun farts
Honestly.
So delicious.
And here's another painting going in the show.
(you'll understand the scribble of paint in the corner in a second!)
These were old barns in a field a few miles from here.
I believe the barns have now crumbled to the ground.
I painted this years ago
and I must have been feeling blue when I painted it
because looking at this painting always depressed me.
There was something about the weak barns,
barely standing and
surrounded with so much blue
that just made it sad.
It's pretty big (something like 30 x 30 inches)
and I kept it out of sight for years.
Until I was asked if I was interested
in doing a show of my paintings on canvas.
When I began looking at my paintings
and found this one,

My 1st thought was:
why does this bother me so much?

and my 2nd thought:
why don't I change what bothers me?

It's my painting...
I can do whatever i want, right?
So I did this.
Changed the sky to yellow
and added little bits of yellow here and there in the ground,
to balance things off a bit.
Much better to me.
Some people may prefer the blue one (and that's ok!)
but to ME - this makes my heart happier
Making such a change to a big painting isn't easy.
I didn't know if it would make it better,
or kill it completely.
Sometimes, we keep ourselves from taking risks
because we're just so damn afraid of the outcome.
And really - think about it -
what's the WORST thing that could happen?
It would have been a bad painting.
That's it.
No one dies.

It's a painting,
and sometimes, taking that risk
and trusting your gut
is exactly what needs to be done.
The minute I put that little squiggle of yellow paint in the corner
I went with it.
Go big or go home.
And i'm glad I did.
And speaking of going big -
a double rainbow again!
Awesome twice.
;-)

And I'll never understand why someone like Nicki Minaj is known around the world, but this guy isn't... (oh right - she has boobs!)

Ron Sexsmith - one of my favourite songwriters ever...
Thanks for hanging out!
Keep painting!
xx

8 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, your once absolutely adorable little boy has turned into such a handsome young man...I admire his tenacity to stick with school despite his aversion to it!! All the best to him!!

    That painting of your uncle is one of my favorites...nun farts look like Cinnamon buns translating across all languages! I love the draping texture of his shirt and his pleasant face! It's so special! Love the change on your barns too....enjoy the show....I'm sure it will be amazing!

    I always knew I liked you but hearing you love Ron as much as I do well I agree about Nicki.. I can't stand her speaking voice, sounds like nails on a chalk board! Nice touch on the double rainbow...we had one a couple of months back it was sooo cool!!

    Hugs Giggles

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh and I love love love your beach gal...so adorable!!

    Hugs Giggles

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pauline,

    Congratulations on your show and of course, your son surviving school and graduating! I hope everything goes as you wish! With your show!

    What. Fun beach painting. I really like the colours, the skinny legs and the WAVES. What fun details!

    Nun farts look like cinnamon buns. Your Uncle is so delightful. His pleasant welcoming smile, the colours and Petes de Soeurs are welcoming in for a nice visit!

    I like your barn painting with both backgrounds, but you are right, the yellow is more cheery, especially with the added yellow accents! A great way to look at things... What is the worst thing that could happen? So true, and good advice to beat those negative painting demons whispering in our ears!

    A double rainbow is so exciting!

    Thanks for sharing! I am also happy school is out, I am a teacher! Now I can get back to my art!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pauline what a great post! You must be so happy your son has made it through school, it looks like you had a great time and those chocolate graduation caps look scrumptious!
    Your art is always a delight, I love that Summer piece, it's full of character and comes to life with all your design and dots! Your houses are lovely, the blue stands out more with the yellow sky, though I liked them both, thanks for all you share!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congrats to your son!! That's a big accomplishment - funny how when we are young it seems like we will never get out of school and once a few years have passed school seems like such a distant memory!
    LOVE your beach lady - she is perfect!!
    Can't wait to see the pics from your show!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Another great post!!! I don't comment very often, but I do check your blog almost every day and always look forward to reading it. Whenever you get that book done I want to get the first copy!!! So, I have to first off say a great big congrats to Alexandre...what an accomplishment, especially when you're not that fond about school. Wishing him all the best in whatever path he chooses to follow!! And secondly, I absolutely love your beach lady!!! There's just something about a ''pleasantly plump'' gal walking on the beach!! Love the barns, with or without the change...great painting! And then your uncle painting, I have to ask is it Alyre? Sure looks like him! Those pettes de soeurs look so good, they are making me hungry right now!

    When and where is your exposition? Hope we are back home from Ottawa so I get a chance to go see it! Keep up the good work!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congratulations to your son, and a huge Happy Birthday to you!! Lots of wonderful things have been happening in your world, Pauline. :)

    I admire your boldness when it came to changing the sky color. It made the entire painting POP. I liked the blue sky before, but I have to agree with you about the yellow. It's kinda funny because yellow isn't really a color I would have picked..

    I just had trouble with blue sky in a painting, and kept choosing another shade of blue..and another. It still isn't what I was looking for, but I finally gave up. Now I'm wondering if I had only chosen yellow instead. Things that make me go hmmmm...

    Hope you have a great week in the studio. :) I'm reading a book that's super hard to put down right now.The Goldfinch..I know exactly what you mean about books. So addicting. Ack!! I have to force myself to get my work done first, and then read. If I do it the other way around, I'm in trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh how I wish I could see your paintings in person! I love that yellow sky. Bravo! xo

    ReplyDelete