can you make the world a better place?

Of all the paths you take in life,

make sure a few of them are dirt.

- John Muir

Hello folks!
Here's a little glimpse of my world
during the past few weeks...

Today is Black Friday
and I'll be as far away from the stores & malls
as I can possibly get.
A frenzy of crazy, desperate shoppers...
One of my worst nightmares. ;)

I'll be going for a walk here instead

later this afternoon.

A much more centered, sane place for me.

And alas,

COLOR FOR CLARITY has arrived!

November 17th was the date of mom's passing -

3 years now -

and this was what it looked like outside.

It'll always be a sad day to me.

My mind naturally goes back

to that time,

to that room,

to those last moments.

I don't spend the whole day crying,

but I just wake up with a heavy heart

and I'm always relieved when nighttime falls.

But this year was different.

There was glimpse of happiness

in this dark, snowy day

when I received the box from Amazon

filled with our lovely books!

It's a strange thing

how "living in the moment"

takes so much effort sometimes.

The whole process of collaborating

on this colouring book

was great.

Choosing our words,

doing the illustrations,

sending them off,

dreaming of holding

COLOR FOR CLARITY in our hands.

And then we get them,

and of course it's exciting,

but within the first few minutes,

I was already thinking,

"What can I do next?!"

I literally had to stop myself,

sit myself down with the book,

smell it (like I do with most books) ;)

and slowly go through it page by page,

and only then,

i began to feel gratitude.

There's always a time and a place
to consider our next dream...

but it's important to appreciate
the moment of THIS dream
while it's here.

So fall is here
and winter is just around the corner
and although last winter was long
and cold
and snowy
and fucking depressing at times...
there's still a part of me
that loves the cocooning of this cold season.

I tend to write more, paint more,

and feel more grounded, for some reason.

With everything happening in the world,

it's more important than ever

for each of us to find our own

quiet, peaceful place.

To do what we can for others,

without losing ourselves.

Everyone has an opinion about everything.

The yahoos think they can solve world problems

when they can't even find their own socks.

I've come to realize this:
I.
can't.
save.
the.
world.

I can't solve world hunger.

I can't bring peace to everyone on earth.

It's too heavy a burden for me.

All I can do is make my own little corner

as peaceful as possible.

All I can do is my own little part,

here in this corner of the globe,

and hope that others do the same

in different little corners everywhere.

And sometimes,
that little part for me
means nothing more
than smiling at someone.

Sometimes it means giving a few dollars,
or food,
or sending a card
or clothes.
Sometimes it means 
putting myself in someone else's shoes
if only for a moment
and trying to understand their fears
and their crushed hopes
and their sense of desperation.

We live in a first world country
with first world problems
so most of us have no idea
what it's like to worry about your next meal.
Or about the safety of your children.
Or about making it through another day
alive.

So I've been playing in this little book
on and off since June.

As you can see,
some of my drawings & doodles
are far less serious than others. ;)

Books like this are designed
to encourage bad drawings...
which are as important as good drawings.
I am nowhere near perfect
so why should my drawings be?

I hate even the word "perfection".
Or anyone who strives for perfection.
Perfection is not truth.
If anything,
it's farthest from the truth.
Which is probably why i dislike social media so much...
because we see a LOT of "untruths".
A lot of "pretend perfect lives".
The happy faces.
The happy wheels.
The happy meals. ;)

And on that note,
THANK YOU to everyone who bought
a COLOR FOR CLARITY colouring book
and those who helped encourage and inspire me
along the way.
It may be a small, dinky dream to some,
but small dreams are still sweet. :)
oh, and newsflash...
I'll be doing a giveaway of Color for Clarity
right HERE in the next week or so!!
Come back for a visit soon
if you want your name to be entered in the draw!
hugs to all of you.
xx

ps: Visit Amazon.com if you want to buy your own copy of Color for Clarity today!

The WILD TRUTH about Into the Wild

hi folks...

It's Friday night here, 

and the wind is howling outside.

Halloween tomorrow.

The little witches & goblins are gonna be out

trickin' & treatin'.

I may watch a movie later on

but first, I have a few things to share.

It seems like I'm doing nothing

but trying to catch up these days.

Well, that, and watching movies. ;)

There are so many emails I want to send,

thank you cards (or just cards to say 'hello'),

blogs & books to read,

paintings to make,

friends to visit,

things to write...

And here's the thing:

I am currently not working outside the home!

I should have all the time in the world

to get everything done!

But do I?

No.

I never seem to have enough hours in the day

to do everything I wanna do.

Maybe my list is too long?

Or I'm too easily distracted?

oh ok, fuck it,

I already know the answer.

I procrastinate. :)

I'll write those emails,

as soon as I go for a walk outside.

I'll send those cards,

right after I do a little painting.

I get everything done eventually,

it's just that sometimes,

'eventually' takes a long time to get here. ;)

And of course, 
there's always that other "fun stuff"
like housework
and groceries
and changing lightbulbs
and making meals.
The other day, a friend of mine told me
that I made her feel lazy
because I got so much done in the course of a day.
You're fucking kidding, right?
No, she wasn't kidding.
So maybe I really am productive
and I just FEEL like a procrastinator? ;)
Maybe i have razor sharp focus
but it just FEELS like a total mess in my own head? 
giggle....
As my son would say:
Whatevs.
(translation: WHATEVER - because the word "whatever"
just takes far too much energy for teenagers to say) ;)
I'm doing my best
and as long as I don't kill anyone
in the course of a day - it's all good.

I go for walks whenever I can
because nature is my sanctuary.
I spend as many quiet moments in a day
as I can, because silence is golden for me.
I'm not one of these people
who needs to turn on the radio or tv
as soon as I get up in the morning.
I listen to music when I'm painting
but too much noise just makes me
wanna run the other way.

And speaking of noise & nature,
I wanted to say a few things
about the movie Into the Wild.
For those who don't know the movie,
it's the true story of Christopher McCandless
who decides, after graduating from university
with top honours, to give away all his money to charity,
and set out for Alaska, to live off the land.
Oh, and did I mention
that his parents were wealthy assholes?
Yeah, his father was a scientist for NASA
who was used to manipulating people
with his money,
and his mother was basically a puppet on a string.
They were devoted to their church,
while at the same time,
abusive to their children (physically and mentally).

It's a movie about
freedom and adventure
and a young man who decides to
escape the clutches of his controlling parents
and live life on his terms.
That's where the heaviness comes in.
It's also profoundly sad.
I wish I could say he lived happily ever after,
but...
I'm sure you all know the outcome.
If you don't, Google it.
I came out of that theatre
feeling like I had been hit by a truck.
I had a heavy heart for weeks.
But still - one of my favorite movies.
The music, the scenery, the meaning...

Then in 2014, Christopher's sister, Carine McCandless
wrote a book called THE WILD TRUTH.
It explained everything.
I am happy she wrote this,
for herself, her siblings, and for Chris.
After reading her book,
I understood his reasons for leaving
and for breaking the family ties completely.

Appearances can be deceiving.
What you see in public
is not always the truth
which is why we should never judge others
who do things that may seem irrational to us.
We never really know
what someone is living behind closed doors.

And on that note,

I'll leave you with this adorable little face...

Fluffy (dad's dog)

making a tongue at us.

:)

Happy Halloween everyone!
Remember: chocolate is good for you!
xx

a little bit of art and lots of everything else

hello friends...

I hope you've all been well

and adjusting to whatever season it is

in your corner of the world. 

It's fall here, so the colours are beautiful,

although it's been windy lately

and the leaves are quickly

falling from the trees. 

I did this pastel years ago... of my son, Alexandre,
sitting in a big pile of leaves in our yard.
He was much smaller then, compared to now. :)
He'll be 20 in February.
I've been feeling stuck in a rut lately,
so I've been looking through some of my old art.

I'm doing a few little things
here and there...

I was sketching this the other night
when my son came in and said
it reminded him of one of the men
in the movie CAPTAIN PHILLIPS,
about the 2009 hijacking of a US ship
by Somali pirates.

I wasn't thinking of that while I was doing it.
Just in the mood to sketch something quirky
and not too serious.

Went to the bookstore the other day
and found these 2 gems.
I guess I may have been feeling a little blue. :)
The Joan Didion book was $2...
and the other one, $6.99.
Yes, thank you.
I've always wanted to learn more
about the history of the color Indigo.
Now I'll know (hopefully)
after reading this. 
I absolutely love the cover
of the Indigo book.

And I recently got this on Amazon.
A visual feast of a book,
filled with wonderful treasures like this

 ...and this.

So much truth here.

Why do so many of us

still think that creativity

is only reserved for children?

We are ALL creative

in our own personal

magical

individual ways.

And this one (below)...

my favorite in the book.

So many of us live our lives

focused on attaining these things

when in the end,

they matter very little (if at all).

What matters in the end

is LOVE.

Knowing that you gave love

and received it

as much as you could,

the best way you knew how,

with the time you were given.

Our colouring book project is almost done!

The cover is being finalized

and I'm told that the inside pages

are beautiful.

As soon as I have the link

where you can purchase

COLOR FOR CLARITY

I'll share it with all of you here.

In the meantime,

hang tight!

I've been watching some good documentaries lately.

Here are a few of the trailers,

for anyone who likes watching them. :)

I watched this one last night

called HAPPY.

(all of these were on Netflix).

A wonderful documentary

about the misconceptions we have

about money

and how it actually takes very little

to be happy in life.

A good art documentary I recently watched,

AI WEIWEI - NEVER SORRY.

A reminder that there are still

too many places in this world

where 'freedom' is nothing but a word.

I admire anyone who is courageous enough

to stand up and say 'this is wrong'.

Especially those who stand alone.

I watched this one lately - and loved it.

Lots of wisdom hiding behind

the dreadlocks & skull rings & smoke. ;) 

Plus, the guy is like 130 years old...

how can you NOT be impressed?

KEITH RICHARDS - Under the influence

Another art documentary

I found on Netflix.

This couple just made me smile.

Heartwarming, adorable,

profoundly sad and happy all rolled into one.

CUTIE AND THE BOXER.

This  music documentary that brought back

many fond memories for me.

Funny how hearing a certain song

brings me right back to where I was at the time,

doing whatever I was doing.

(usually up to no good - which basically means,

having fun). ;)

HISTORY OF THE EAGLES

A movie about loss,

and courage,

and conquering fears

and facing your demons

and redemption

and finding your way through the darkness.

WILD.

Along the same lines as one of my favorite movies,

Into the Wild,

only with a lighter ending. :)

And last but not least -

a documentary about the author,

SALINGER.

Like millions of others,

when I was in high school,

I read Catcher in the Rye

and my friends and I talked about it

for months after.

So yeah, there's lots of mystery

around J.D.Salinger

and what happened to him

after Catcher in the Rye...

Thanks for stopping by.

xox

fall colors and edith piaf

hello peeps.

Sunday night already... 

where did the weekend go?

 a few pics from my morning walk at the beach

Sometimes i think i live in the most beautiful part of the world
and other times, i'd do anything to leave, just for a bit.

I suspect most everyone feels like this now & then,
when things just feel heavy.

Whenever i start to feel the weight of the world
on my shoulders, i come to the ocean.
This is Parlee Beach.
It's about a 10 minute drive from where i live
and at this time of the year,
there's hardly ever anybody there.

 the sand finds its way to the grass...

...a calm and cloudy morning

so nice & quiet here

the tide coming up 

 tiny waves... ;-)

 another tiny wave...

i love this one... 
it looked like it was gonna rain.
I was walking in the opposite direction
when i turned around to look at the view
and saw this blue piece of sky...

seaweed, sand, ocean, tire tracks...
(one of these things is not like the other) ;-)
This is a provincial park,
so they drive around the beach to keep it clean
and to keep the sand level
at the beginning and the end of the summer.

A little watercolor i did this morning,
as the rest of the house slept
and i enjoyed a good cup of coffee.

 this is the view i see from the window in my blue room.

i love these calm mornings
when the bay looks like a mirror
and each cottage/house is reflected in the water.

it was very windy this weekend,
so the fall colors are slowly disappearing.

still pretty though...
i love the fall.
Still my favorite season.
Something about the cool, crisp air
and changing colors
makes me feel more creative.
Wishing you all a good week ahead!
xox

and for all Edith Piaf fans out there...
la vie en rose :-)