always toward the light

hey people!

i had so much fun doing this collage earlier today.

Sometimes i think art is an escape from reality,
and other times, i think of it as moving towards
something bigger than me
rather than away from reality.

I guess it means different things to different people

but don't you love it when things just come together

and it all feels right?

god knows it doesn't always feel right.

but today was a good day.

i even decided she would wear cowboy boots with tiny spurs.

You can't see them much, but they're there.

it's all in the details... (giggle)

and then a few little words.

I read somewhere that all living beings

gravitate toward the light...

Well - except mushrooms i guess...

and the grumpy old guy downtown. :-)

Just a quick note to all of you...

I've had to limit commenting on blogs lately,

only because i was spending more time on-line

than actually creating something.

Making art.

This damn social media can quickly eat up 

a lot of hours in the day

and I don't want to become a zombie

in order to be social

with the whole fucking world.

Besides - i don't want to be social with everyone.

Only with those of you who are here with me. :-)

So i just wanted you all to know that even if

i comment a little less on your posts lately,

i'm still reading them.

I'm still laughing

and sighing

and admiring

and oooo-ing and aaaaah-ing

So keep creating and posting, ok?

xox

Linking this to Illustration Friday! 

miss fashion girl gets a boost

I don't design clothes, I design dreams.

Ralph Lauren

hello folks...

I felt like having fun last night with collage.
Don't panic yet - she kinda looks like Rocky here.

Snippets of different parts of the face from different photos.
The mouth is actually the mouth of a baby,
just cause i'm guessing some of these fashion queens
must pout now and then.

No doubt from lack of food... ;-)

A bit of color in the background to shape the face...

Yeah, i could have simply cut the paper,
but there's not much thinking going on at the early stages.

Color in the eyes... and yes, i thought she looked better
with a flower on her head rather than hair. 

I'd make a fine fashion designer... ;-)

a few little extra doodles... and dots. ;-)

more detail...
notice the turtle neck sweater... it's wool. ;-)

she looks pretty sad, but most of them usually do...
(again, lack of food)

Give me a week with nothing but lemon juice and crackers,
and i'd be about ready to kill someone.

i need croissants and coffee
thank you very much...

I can't take much credit for something like this, since it's mostly collage.
But the purpose was to relax and have fun - and that i did.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!
it's Friiiiiiday!! 

xox

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

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

abstracts, strawberries and Virginia Woolf

I was all over the place yesterday.

You know those days when you're not sure

what kind of a mood you're in,

or rather, what kind of painting

you feel like doing, if any?

Yeah, that kind of a day.

So i have these little 4" x 6" cardboards that i use...

this is acrylic on the little card.

Looks like winter.

Yuck.

Then i jumped to this little watercolor on cardboard.

Not sure what it is, but it's titled REACH.

That much i know. 

Then i took a lovely little break with these...

and with Virginia Woolf.

(strawberries always make it a brighter day!)

Then i jumped to this collage.

See? I told you i was all over the place.

Maybe i have multiple personality disorder?

giggle.

All of this only accounts for about 1.5 hours in my day.

90 minutes in a day.

They're no masterpieces,

but the important thing is

i played.

At least it's important to me.

So today is a day of catching up

and running errands

and finishing projects,

but before i do this

i'm going for a nice walk

in the morning sun.

Priorities.

;-)

what IF and little bird on a branch...

This ended up being far more collage than anything,

but it was still fun to do

and such a relaxing way for me

to end the day.

That's my new motto. 

Is it fun?

Great!

Then do it!

Does it help make the day just a little better?

Great.

DO. IT.

We spend far too much time

justifying art.

It is what it is

and if it makes you happy -

do it.

So i spent over an hour last night

in my little blue room,

with good music,

a glass of wine on the left

and brush water on the right ;-)

and I played.

I've realized in the past year or so

how essential this playtime is for me.

Twyla Tharp calls it The creative habit.

I sometimes call it play but in reality, it's work.

It is my life's work

and it is no less important

than anyone else's life work.

And sometimes...

while painting and collaging...

when your mind is free,

and you no longer hear the chatter

you may even find answers

to some of your own questions.

little bird wishes you all a wonderful day...

filled with more color than you can handle.

:-)

Rex Ray: Art and Design

I saw this video last week on Julie's lovely site (Spaark - Artistically Afflicted)

and i just had to share for those of you who aren't familiar with Rex Ray.

Rex Ray. Artist. Collage lover. Designer extraordinaire. :-)

I love this guy.

This is for all of you out there

who ever feel like you're wasting time

when you're collaging or playing with paints.

Rex reminds us all

that playing is good.

That being creative is the essence of life itself.

That developing our own style

or body of work,

isn't always obvious or even necessary

and that the true pleasure

is the process itself.

He also reminded me that

there's room for everyone

and that we all see the world differently

and we should all embrace each others' views

and learn from one another

rather than compete and compare.

What works for one artist

may not work for another.

When i worked as a designer

for a large corporation

i often felt like a fish out of water.

Today,

i am not only working from home

- i am at home.

:-)

So let yourself be inspired by Rex

and take out those magazines

and spread them out everywhere

and use those scissors you love

to cut whatever your little heart desires

and play baby - play!

europe and standing tall

I started this painting yesterday.

It's for the sister of a friend who travelled across Europe

on her bicycle.

The grey-ish blue-ish purple path you see on the left

will eventually look like a bike path,

and she'll be on it with her bike. :-)

And the middle part will eventually look like water.

It's nowhere near done

but i'll post more pics when i have it finished.

... and this was last nights' fun.

mixed media collage.

I'm just noticing how crappy the hair looks right now  :-(

I may add a bit to it before the end of the day.

I saw a poster the other day that made me smile.

Carpe the hell out of this diem.

Don't you love it?

So yeah, that's what i wish for all of you today. 

To seize the hell outa this day,

wherever you may be on this big blue ball in the sky.

xoxo