how do you make sense of a crazy world?

hello everyone!

My journal entry from

November 29th, 2016:

*****

I just came back from a beautiful walk.

The sun was shining and as I walked,

it started snowing at the same time.

Part of the sky was dark and cloudy,

ant the other part was blue sky.

So pretty.

The snowflakes falling

looked like little sparkles

or sprinkles in the sky.

It's moments like these

that feel blessed to me.

And i hesitate to say blessed

because it implies there is someone

or something

doing the blessing,

and that's just not what I believe.

It's just that whenever I see something like that,

or hear beautiful music -

even just a single note sometimes,

I feel like my insides turn to mush

and I am somehow weaved in

with the note or the snowflake

or the singing bird and for a moment -

we become one.

I know it sounds corny,

but whenever these moments happen for me,

everything makes sense.

It is no doubt what Eckhart Tolle calls

being in the moment.

It's not that everything makes sense, really,

but more like nothing else exists

outside of my tiny moment

with the snowflakes.

Like the rest of the world comes to a stop

and my moment happens in slow motion -

to make sure i grasp the significance.

It is during times like these

that I am grateful

for my artist heart.

*****

So it's been a rough past few months
for many of us
and as much as I am still saddened
by everything happening in the world,
specifically the hatred
I am reminded every day
that there are still small miracles
all around me and that
I am still the same person.
Only maybe more resilient now.
Maybe more determined
to speak out when it's time
for my voice to be heard.
I still love books.
I still love painting.
And writing.
I love my family
and my friends.
I love connecting with others
around the world (like you!).
These things will never change,
regardless of what is happening
around me.
I hope you are finding 
some sort of peace with it all too.
Especially my American friends.
Regardless of who you voted for,
let's face it,
there's a lot of uncertainty
for a lot of people right now.
Sometimes, having the world around us
shift in strange and unpleasant ways
makes us even more determined
to take our place in it.

On another note,
I did some cards with my acrylic paintings
and ordered them from Vistaprint
during their Black Friday sale (60% off!)
and I got them yesterday.
So exciting!

I like sending a little something extra
to those who buy from my ETSY shop,
so I'm pretty happy with these.

I'll be sending some
in Christmas cards this year as well...

I love the combination of
art and words.
Both are equally important to me.

Big love to every one of you.
xx

it's a bird... it's a plane... WTF is it?

hello everyone!

Last night's painting session

on large poster size paper/bristol board.

Sometimes, i feel like using a larger format,

but i don't really know what i'll be painting

and i never want to waste large canvas

in case it ends up looking like crap.

So i use poster paper. :-)

i started out with finger painting...

again... my fingers

by this stage, i picked up the brush

birds in the forest...
but i hated the left side.
The orange, yellow, greenish part
that looks like there's a tree on fire.

So i decided to add white & texture.
I used a plastic hair curler thing -
one of the many tools i buy at the dollar store
specifically for art textures.

i also use sponges, 
or whatever else i have in the house at the time.

 filled in some spaces with turquoise, black, white...

a close up of the bird...

this was taken this morning,
in natural light.

and look! i added some red.

Making art is a lot about daring to get away 
from our comfort zone, isn't it?

We're tempted to stay
where it's familiar
where we know exactly which color to use,
or which shape to draw.
There's nothing wrong with doing this,
but if you stick with doing this too long,
I believe the art becomes stagnant.
Predictable.
Safe.

It's good to feel scared when making art.
It's good to not always like what you see.
It's good to give ourselves permission to make bad art.
To use unfamiliar colors.
To make a mess.

It's in the MAKING that the magic occurs.

I read a story somewhere about a woman
who was asked by her psychologist to draw something really bad...
to make him a really crappy drawing.

She froze, starring at the blank piece of paper in front of her,
afraid that her drawing wouldn't be bad enough.
(need i tell you that she was a perfectionist?)

So if you want to create something,
but you're afraid it won't measure up...
give yourself permission to suck.
Give yourself permission to make it really bad.

But make it anyway.
You'll be happy you did.

Your heart will be happy too.
xox

IF - identical, and butterfly start

hi folks.

I'm linking this to Illustration Friday - the word this week: IDENTICAL.

A quiet Sunday at the easel... 

The beginning of a butterfly painting, a gift for someone
going through difficult times...

Painting insects is something i've never done before,
so i hope i render this butterfly as real as i want it to be.

The colors i used when i first began,
for the background and the outline of the butterfly.

Then i added purple and blue for the background...

I think it's gonna look good when i finish the background
and add the orange wings.

The canvas is 20" x 20", so a nice size.

These are not colors that i normally use much.
I do love them here though...

They feel like healing colors to me.

Do you ever work on a painting that just feels like it's eager to be born?

This is one of those paintings.

I'll post the finished piece when it's done.

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by,

and don't forget to hug the ones you love.

xox

Anyone who stands for freedom is on my pedestal

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains,

but to live in a way that respects and enhances

the freedom of others.

Nelson Mandela

It's portrait time again...

The weather was fine last night.

Far more comfortable for an evening of painting.

First block out the light and dark colors...

I usually use a bigger brush (this one) at this stage and a smaller one

for the details in the end...

can't have Nelson Mandela without strong colors...

strong colors for a strong man.

And there you have it.

I guess i could have made more of an effort to hide those words

"CAMPFIRE SONG" in his hair.  ;-)

Truth be told - i never noticed them much

until i was done. 

Several years ago, I read his book "LONG WALK TO FREEDOM"

and it reminded me of how so many of us take our own freedom for granted.

a lovely signature, wouldn't you say?

While i am a huge advocate of "knowing thyself"...

i also believe we make the world a better place

when we open our hearts to others,

and understand that there is room for everyone.

I still don't understand what most wars are about.

I suspect i never will.

Call me naive...

So here's the book i'm currently reading and loving...

You can often tell the character of a person

by the words he (or she) writes... especially if they are personal letters.

This is a book of letters Vincent wrote to his brother and friend, Theo, and

your love of the man grows with each page read.

His words speak to me of kindness and struggle and generosity and loneliness... and such heart.

Here are 3 passages that i found beautiful:

Oh, if only every artist had something to live on,

and to work on, but as that is not so,

i want to produce, to produce a lot and with a

consuming drive. And perhaps the time will come

when we can extend our business and be

more help to others.

*****

Come now, isn't it almost an actual religion

which these simple Japanese teach us,

who live in nature as though they themselves

were flowers?

*****

...you cannot study Japanese art, it seems to me,

without becoming much gayer and happier,

and we must return to nature in spite of

our education and our work in a world of convention.

*****

Beautiful, yes?

Being an artist sometimes means

feeling out of place in the world.

It's important for us as artists

to see the value in what we do.

To feel good about why we do it.

Too many of us still try to justify why we create,

or we downplay it as "just a hobby".

We create because we must.

Van Gogh created because he needed to.

Because it made sense of what he was feeling at the time.

His words remind me that there is room for everyone,

that many of us face the same struggles (whether in 1850 or 2012),

and his writings make me feel at home again.

Thank you all for visiting.

xox

permission...

Sometimes, we need to remind ourselves that it's ok to play - that it's ok if everything isn't a masterpiece, and that sometimes (perhaps most times), it's more about the process than the end result.

When I'm old & grey, I may find myself a different person than the one I thought I would become - but does that really matter, in the end? Isn't it more about the connections I made along the way - the lessons I learned, the freedom I felt to be who I wanted to be at the time? Change is inevitable, and the fact that I am one way today, doesn't mean I will be this way tomorrow.

Be kind to yourself & give yourself permission. :o)