let's take a little trip

 In 1977, when I was almost 15 years old, 

my parents sold our house in eastern Canada,

filled a U-Haul with our furniture,

and drove the five of us

across Canada to move to Calgary, Alberta.

We had moved before, several times -

but never this far (4,600 km)

and never to such an unknown place.

We left on May 17th

and I decided to keep a journal along the way.

I have 10 pages of handwritten notes,

detailing everything from the weather

to the cost of food and gas in each province.

Why a 14 year old girl

would be interested in the price of gas

is a mystery to me,

but i'm guessing I was doing it for dad.

I know one thing.

I LOVED writing, even then.

And i especially loved handwriting.

I still do.

When I found these notes the other day,

i typed them all up, printed the pages

and gave them to my dad, 

for him to read.

When I called him later 

to ask if he had read it,

he replied:

I read it 3 times.

He loved reading it

and remembered the trip in his own way.

We had taken something like

6 days to drive there.

He said he had forgotten

so many things about that trip

but that my words had reminded him. :)

That's the joy of stories and words, isn't it?

Whether it was created from imagination

or memory,

it's such a fabulous way

to transport us back to a specific time.

To a specific place.

To a specific feeling,

good or bad.

Sometimes, is allows us to see

how much we've changed.

How much we've grown.

I've kept so many things from my past,

i'm afraid if there ever was a fire in here

the whole place would go up in smoke in minutes

because of all the damn paper in here. ;)

I keep things like this.

Yes, i do.

Because you never know

when i'll feel like being hypnotized

by pink & blue & orange rectangles

with a tiny ladder in the center. ;)

I don't keep EVERYTHING though.

I'm not a hoarder.

I only keep the art stuff.

Which is basically everything. 

(never mind). ;)

I got a bit of art done this week,

but more reading & watching movies than art.

 Still, a few sketches that were fun to do.

I also spent some quality time with friends,

which is always worth so much to me.

Another little note i found, 

from when i was doing some soul searching

a few years ago.

These were some of the things

I wanted to do in the coming years.

I've done or I AM doing most of them,

except attend Burning Man -

which is something i'd still like to do

at some point in my life. ;)

When I found this,

I was amazed at how many of these things

became reality for me.

I bought a kayak just last year

and used it regularly in the summer.

I've recently started yoga 

and i love it.

It does the body & mind so much good...

I do it at home, 

in the comfort of my living room,

because i'm not a gym kinda gal,

and there's a slim chance

exercise is gonna happen for me

if it means "going out" in the dead of winter.

I go for occasional walks outside

when the weather permits as well.

I still need to work on the "go on more excursions" 

and the "become mindful of what i eat" one too.

I'm not sure i'm too mindful

when i'm stuffing my face with a bag of chips. ;)

Thanks for being here, folks.

ENJOY the weekend!

xox

a calm, winter walk on the beach...

I need the sea because it teaches me.
Pablo Neruda

let's all go for a walk on the beach this morning, shall we?

My son woke up late, and i had to drive him to school

so i thought i'd take a walk at the beach after i dropped him off.

those who say they only like the beach in the summer
have obviously never been there in the winter...
such a vast beauty.

who doesn't love sand ripples...

and wide open spaces...

and close up sand ripples... ;-)

i had to lay down on the frozen sand for this shot...
you're welcome. ;-)

 just in case i forget where i am...
(yes, that's a beer cap. And yes, it's the Canadian maple leaf...)

washrooms, canteens, souvenir boutiques... 
all closed during the winter months, but still so pretty in the sun.

benches, just waiting for someone... 

another worn out lighthouse...
still beautiful.

The worn out, falling apart things
hold more beauty for me
than the sparkly, shiny things.

and here's my little painting from last night...

a small 6" x 6" - different than what i normally do,

but it felt good to get out of my comfort zone.

not sure what inspired it... 
i just felt very geometric last night, i guess... ;-)

Happy Tuesday, everyone!
xox

art in paint, in sand, in words, and in music

Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night.

- Virginia Woolf

i've been away from the sketchbooks for a few days,

thanks to a migraine. I get them now and then.

Whenever i get them,

the world stands still for a few days -

but i'm happily back to the drawing table again. :-)

I just finished this a few minutes ago -

this is acrylic on paper...

there may have been a left brain/right brain thing

happening here...

I only noticed after i got the basic blue paint on there

that it was rather symmetrical.

and then of course, you just KNOW i'm gonna find a face. ;-)

These shapes just looked like eyes to me,

and a nose, and mouth.

a few added white dots, and it's done.

The hardest thing for me (as an artist)

is knowing when to stop.

Then, time for a little collage/painting

 a few leaf shapes...

added circles and acrylic paint...

 a few details...

Painting abstracts always helps me let go

of the need to know the meaning of the painting.

It's very freeing to paint something

that doesn't NEED to look like anything.

At least for me it is.

And while i was recuperating on the couch,

i read this book again.

I absolutely love the soft illustrations in this book

and the story is such a fragile one...

about a young boy (Hervé) who loses his father...

Such a gentle way to share an overwhelming loss...

I leave you with this 8 minute video on sand art.

Some of you may have seen it already,

but i'm sharing it anyway,

because i not only find the art beautiful,

but i love music as well

and it's a wonderful reminder

that art extends much further

than the pencil or the paint brush.

Art is about communicating.

Across the oceans,

across different cultures,

across generations.

I don't know what that song is at 5:05,

nor what he is saying,

but it's one of the saddest songs

i've ever heard...

xox

mini ghost, abstract flowers and hope

hello folks.

I'm linking this to Illustration Friday... 

word of the week: HAUNT. 

I used cardboard from the Halloween chip box.

Yay!! free cardboard!! ;-)

I had fun making this little guy...

i'm a big chicken when it comes to scary stuff,

so i'll stick with the fun ghosts, thank you very much.

And then a bit of acrylic painting on paper...

It always seems to come alive for me when i add the dots... ;-)

and the black and white...

this photo (above) was taken last night, in my room...

and this one was taken this morning, 
by the window, with natural light...

What a difference, huh?
Colors are so much closer to the real thing.

For those of you who have sent such kind messages of concern
about my mother - thank you.

She is still in the hospital but in good spirits.
It's been an adjustment for everyone, 
so we're taking things one day at a time.

Just like the alcoholics do.  ;-)

It's hard not to worry all the time,
but then i'd be digging my own grave
if i spent every waking hour obsessing about mom
and cancer
and illness
and death...

So rather than go against the tide of what is our current reality,
i remind myself that she is in good hands
and that she is exactly where she needs to be right now.

She is doing well, despite everything,
thanks to her remarkable outlook on life and death.
The first thing she said when i went in to her room the other day was:

"aren't the leaves in the trees beautiful?"

We could all learn something from such a grateful heart,
don't you think?

xox

seashells, paintings and books

Let each man exercise the art he knows. 

Aristophanes

hello lovelies!

Yes, you. 

Including the men who join me here.

(and i know there are a few)

I hope i didn't scare you all away

with my recent "I'm not married" rant. ;-)

I may not believe in marriage

but i do believe in love.

Big difference between the two (in my eyes).

Now let's get on to some fun stuff, 

shall we?

The little yellow birds above

are paintings i used to do a lot.

I began doing them for friends

and they kinda started selling well.

A little too well.

I was faced with the age old question

most artists are faced with eventually...

"am i doing this because i love it

or because i know it'll sell?"

These little birds eventually became boring for me,

so i stopped painting them.

I still think they're cute - i just do them much less now.

I painted these two for my mother,

who's giving them as a gift.

(she still loves them...)

On my regular walk on the beach over the weekend,

I found these beauties.

I watched as a huge seagull

cracked this open with his beak

and feasted on what was inside.

Whenever i see something like this,

part of me is in awe of the whole spectacle,

and another part wants to run towards the seagull

and scare it off

so i can save this little guy.

But then i remind myself that this is nature,

the way things are supposed to be.

So i just sit and watch instead...

with my eyes half closed.

Isn't it beautiful?

As for painting, i've done a little less lately,

only because work got in the way.

i hate when that happens. ;-)

Whenever i have left over paints,

i spread them on paper, like i did here.

No particular image or idea,

 just blocks of leftover color.

Then whenever i have a bit of time -

I add more paint to it and turn it into something

a little more visually pleasing.

At least for me.

I like this free form kinda painting

where nothing needs to make much sense.

Very liberating.

A quick pencil sketch... 

may turn into a painting soon - not sure.

A while ago, i ordered these books

and they came in last week.

It's like Christmas at the house

whenever i get a box from Amazon!

Soooooo exciting!

The Fire Starter Sessions.

A. MA. ZING.

Steal like an artist...

SUCH a good little book.

So many gems in there.

And yes, there's a difference

between good stealing and bad stealing

so don't go sending me any hate emails

about how stealing is bad, ok?

I already know that.

And i don't run with scissors either. ;-)

One of his little nuggets of wisdom.

On that note, i've had a few conversations lately

about what it means to be creative.

With today's technology at our fingertips,

and everyone else's masterpiece in our face 24-7,

it's hard not to feel overwhelmed and intimidated sometimes.

There's nothing wrong with being inspired by others,

but i think we need to set limits for

inspirational time.

If you often find yourself sitting in front of your computer,

thinking things like

"I wish i would've done that"

"I wish I was that good"

"if i had the money, I would do blankety blank blank blank"...

shut off the damn computer

and go make something.

The only thing you should be concerned with is this:

what fuels me?

What do i want?

What do I love to do?

And go do it.

Let others do what they are best at,

and you wow us with what YOU are best at.

I know you're all best at something...

I've seen it.

Go do that.

"Let each man exercise the art he knows". 

xoxo