Darwin and Parkinson's disease

But in every walk with nature,

one receives far more than he seeks.

- John Muir

So this is what I've been busy with lately.

Or who I've been bus with. :)

Since dad's diagnosis with Parkinson's

only a few months ago,

he's had a few falls.

A few weeks ago, he had a bad fall

on his bathroom floor

and broke 5 ribs, cut his arm and 

bruised his face like a prize fighter. 

So he has to use a walker for a while,

at least until his ribs heal.

(I wish he would come to terms with using it

all the time for balance, but i know he won't.)

It's hard to pull back and not tell him what to do.
I read somewhere that the cause for
much of the unhappiness we feel
is because we don't accept reality as it is.
We want to change things
or control things.

I wish my dad would use a walker all the time,
so that he wouldn't fall again,
but I know he won't.
And I can't force him.
He wouldn't listen to me anyway.

Dad's always been fiercely independent (like moi)
so I know he'll end up doing what he wants to do
and I have to accept that whatever happens - happens.
There are times in life that are joyful
and other times that are not so joyful.
This is a somewhat "not so joyful" time.

So when dad went back home

and I knew he was on the mend

and I could breathe again,

I went into my blue room

and "binge painted" for like 6 hours. :)

The painting above is the 1st one I did

called "banana & grape". :)

A little sketch I did while I waited for my car to be fixed...

And a few days ago,
when I had more time on my hands
and I knew dad was ok,
I did another "sheet music" portrait.

Charles Darwin.

King of Evolution. :)

I love old black & white photos

(even if i decided to add color here)

I began wanting to use only sepia tones,
but I ended up adding some dark blue
and then some white.

 It's acrylic on paper...

 I love his serious look.

My aunt gave me a bunch of canvases
she had started painting on,
but no longer wanted. (Merci Angèle!!)
This (top) was a painting she had begun...

I just wanted to do something fun
while keeping some of her background...

 I played with the whites, and dots

and then filled in a few blocks of color...

I'm trying to let go of the whole "I like it"

or "I don't like it" judgement of my own paintings - 

but I like this.

(giggle)...

On another note,
I bought artwork from Yocopio a few weeks ago.
I've been following him on Instagram for a while now
and i love his stuff.
Makes me smile whenever I see them.
I get original artwork.
He gets my support ($)
The illustrations make me smile.
It's win-win for everyone. :)
And the Frieda you see there on the left,
and the beautiful print/painting on the right...
That's from my lovely friend, Stéphanie Guimond
a card with a hand written note in it.
Is there anything more precious than receiving snail mail?
In today's "automated everything" world,
i love anything handwritten.
Gifts that came in the mail
when I needed them most.

Currently reading this...
(Felix Scheinberger was one of the teachers on the
Sketchbook Skool course I took this past summer) 
I LOVE HIM and his artwork.
Amazing what you can learn in 6 short weeks.

And reading this...
I've always loved the words of Julia Cameron.

I am writing this post rather quickly,
so i fear I may have shared some of this artwork before,
or said some of these things before...
but hey. Not a big deal if I did.
Just pretend you're hearing it for the first time. :)
Thank you all for being here.
xx