painting a purple abstract on trust alone...

hello world.

It's abstract play time. :-)

I tend to over analyze,
so whenever i start these kinds of paintings,
i ask my heart to take the front seat
and tell my mind to shut up and sit quietly at the back. ;-)

It's hard to do sometimes - to let the heart lead...

There's almost always a point during the painting
where i hear myself say "i really don't like this"...

Which usually always means... 
I'm not painting with the heart and the mind wants to be
in the front seat again.

So i flip the painting on its side and continue.

  
I literally talk to myself through the process:

just keep going.

don't judge.

paint what feels right.

there's no right or wrong.

do what comes naturally.

it's a painting, not brain surgery...

if it sucks,

the sun will still rise tomorrow.

And that's usually when i get more comfortable and confident...
and a little more daring.

It still feels somewhat controlled to me,
but i am getting better at letting loose. 

I love adding the oil pastels...

And in the end, i do like it, even if it's no longer as abstract 
as i thought it would be at first.

Art is all about trusting.

Trusting that your opinion of the painting
really has nothing to do with the art itself. 

Trusting that the process always works itself out, in the end.

***

FYI - i won't be putting word verification on my blog.
I'll just keep trashing the Anonymous comments. 
Thank you all for letting me know you hate word verification 
as much as i do. :-)

Another FYI... i'll be gone for a few days of rest and relaxation.
I'll catch up to your blogs soon.
Wishing you all a great weekend! xox

Here's a beautiful song by Sarah Harmer,
to set you in the same relaxation mode as mine,
without even having to leave your chair. 
:-)

yellow head and spirit man

hi everyone!

Finally - a night of painting last night.

a few blotches of color...

(purple, blue, beige)

spreading the color and adding a bit of texture

in white and black...

I use anything at hand... in this case,

an old credit card (for the lines)

bubble wrap for the black circles,

and a sponge for the white texture. 

Some added red and detail,

like dots, of course!

 ;-)

Then just for the fun of it,

i flipped the book upside down,

and saw something totally different.

Do you do this sometimes?

It only works with semi abstract paintings, of course

but it's fun to be surprised

by what we find when we look at it

from another angle.

In this case, i saw a giant yellow head

eating a purple germ.

I'm sure a shrink would have a far better description

of what this actually represents, but for now,

let's go with the giant head and purple germ,

shall we?

;-)

So after this fun, colorful little abstract piece,

i still felt like painting, but this time,

something more quiet. 

I bought this book

at a second hand book store

a few weeks ago (for $3)

filled with wonderful black and white photographs

and beautiful stories.

a great title, i thought...

And so i chose this photograph,

taken in India.

Something very spiritual about this.

When i looked at this photo initially,

my first thought was:

I wish i was this spiritual.

There's a big difference

between being spiritual and being religious.

i am not religious.

I had a little piece of left over watercolor paper.

A few lines with Micron pens...

added watercolor, and then (brace yourselves...)

without even thinking about it

i was inspired to add these words -

misspelling and all.

(heroes)

Don't ask me why.

Other than the fact that

I was listening to music at the time (Pink Floyd)

and these are some of the lyrics

in the song "Wish you were here".

I love the lyrics of that song,

i'm just not sure they belong here.

But thanks to Photoshop,

I'll have them removed by the end of the day. 

;-)

Wishing you all a great day

in your little corner of the world.

Make time for the things

and the people

you love.

xoxo

Paint Party Friday and life's curve balls

This morning, as i went out for a little drive

(and picked up a coffee at the same time!)

i was thinking about what my life was like a few years ago

and how different it is today.

Based on all the cheerful, sparkly, yellow paintings

you've seen here on my blog,

some may think i live in la-la land.

That my life is always beautiful and peaceful

and pretty.

Well... it's not.

I face the same issues many of you face

on a daily basis

I just make a conscious choice

to focus on the good things.

I think this is the key to a happy life.

It may sound like denial to some

but it keeps me sane

so it's all good to me. :-)

In the past few years,

I've lost a job,

my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer,

my father had a serious heart attack,

good friends of ours lived through the painful experience

of seeing their son paralyzed in a car accident

and a dear friend of mine left this planet

way too soon,

leaving 2 beautiful young boys

who miss her deeply.

It's not what happens that matters,

it's how we look at it.

Each of these experiences

forced me to face

the important questions

and as cliché as it sounds

made me a stronger person.

My issues are minor

compared to the issues of so many others

and yet

i allow myself the space to grieve when it is time.

 I do this mostly through art and writing

as many of you must do as well.

So there is truth for me in the words:

Art saves

And there is still so much goodness

in the world...

my son's smile,

a good book,

conversation with a friend,

a walk on the beach,

morning coffee,

...and the chance to win a new car!

:-)

Try to notice the good things

in your day today.

...and don't lose sight of them,

regardless of the chaos around you.

xoxo

surprise purple bird

hi peoples!

A few years ago,

i came across something on the net called black out poetry.

It's basically using text in newspapers,

or magazines or books,

and hiding (or blacking out) the words you don't need

for the creation of your own masterpiece poem. :-)

You can see a sample here...

I began this journal page last night

thinking about black out poems...

only my poem ended up being loose words

just scattered across the page

willy-nilly. 

:-)

And the text i chose happened to be

from a boring article about finances.

Yawn.

Still - i managed to find a few choice words in there.

The purple bird just kinda happened

when i began to contour a few leaves

and saw the shape of a bird.

Well, ok, i kinda made it into the shape of a bird. 

:-)

This is a photo i took this morning, in natural light.

What a difference it makes, huh?

These colors are much closer to reality,

although the leaves are a punchier lime green.

And speaking of green...

let's talk money for a minute.

I read a lot,

although i've never been interested in books like these.

But this morning at the book store,

this one caught my eye

and practically jumped off the shelf and into my hands.

Published in 1937 - before it was even cool to be rich. :-)

I was raised to believe

that money is the root of all evil,

that money can't buy happiness

that those who seek wealth are selfish,

that real wealth is found

in a kind heart

rather than a full bank account.

I suspect i was raised this way

because we had no money.

:-)

I believe the greatest thing about having money

is being able to share it.

Being able to use it somehow

to inspire others

to reach their potential...

to realize their own dreams.

And one by one,

make the world a better place.

Maybe I'm naive to think this way -

but i know that in the end, i'd feel better about my life

knowing that I had lived it with an open heart,

rather than hoarding everything to myself.

Hoarding anything is unhealthy.

Especially art.

xoxo

One of the secrets of a happy life

is continuous small treats.

- Iris Murdoch

A few photos of last night's painting,

although i got carried away pretty quickly

and forgot to take "in between" photos. 

They basically go from the starting point...

to the end point. 

:-)

At first, all those lines in the yellowy-mustard color

made me think of the gates of hell.

(stop laughing...)

Don't ask me why, since i don't believe in hell.

I do know, however, that If there was a hell,

there would be more than one entrance. :-)

I was tempted to paint over them

cause i really didn't like where it was going

but then reminded myself

to let go.

Stop controlling.

Stop judging.

Stop planning.

Just go with whatever feels right for your next move,

your next brush stroke,

your next color.

That's not always easy to do,

because although we may not have an image in our heads

of what the final painting will look like,

we usually know what we don't like

and when we SEE what we don't like in our own brush strokes,

we're tempted to erase them,

remove them,

paint them over.

When instead,

we need to allow this transformation

to take place naturally.

So I resisted the temptation

(another difficult task sometimes...)

and kept the yellow gates where they were

and eventually,

they became more organic

and turned into seeds

and pods

and then trees.

...then a word that speak to me, for whatever reason...

and there you have it.

Magic.

Just like the taste in my mouth

after i ate one of these little babies...

:-)

Are there any other chocolate lovers out there?

Don't all scream at the same time.

(giggle)

Wishing you all a wonderful day filled with 

whatever your little heart desires.

xoxo

Van Gogh

I went for a nice walk last night in the cold winter air

and as i looked at the beautiful moon

and the starlit sky,

i thought of this quote by Van Gogh...

I agree with Vincent.

The sight of stars makes me dream too. 

You would think after so many years

of seeing the moon up there in the sky

i would have grown accustomed to it.

But I am still in awe.

As soon as i step out the door for my walk in the evenings,

I look up towards the moon & the stars

and it still reassures me

the same way it did 

when i was 13 years old.

So here's what i painted last night,

after my cold winter walk,

in honour of Vincent Van Gogh,

and his deep appreciation for the skies...

*****

And your smile for the day. 

:-)

I think we can all relate to this one.

intuitive painting

I thought i'd attempt intuitive painting last night.

Just let myself go & put blobs of paint anywhere on the paper

without thinking about whether it makes sense or not,

or without trying to make it look like something.

4 colours - prussian blue, purple, white and turquoise.

Whenever i begin this process, it never takes long for my brain to kick in

& start whispering things like, "what the hell is this supposed to be?" or

"c'mon now, you're not cut out for abstract painting". :-)

I ignore the inner critic & just keep putting blobs here & there,

looking for areas that feel interesting to circle or branch out with.

I don't know if it would be defined as abstract, because in the end,

something always ends up looking like something.

I don't give this much thought as i'm painting though. 

It doesn't need to be categorized. 

It just needs to be painted.

I put colour where i feel like putting colour

...and a few things start taking shape here & there...

some added white & detail, until it feels finished.

It may not be something i'd frame on my wall, but the process is very liberating,

and that's ultimately what it's about, isn't it? There's a certain point in this process

where i no longer hear the critical whispers in my head

and where the music is perfect

and the air is good

and I am totally comfortable

and i am in the zone...

I believe it is that sacred space that allows us all to shine.

It is that space that allowed Tiger Woods to be at the top of his game,

or Michaelangelo to paint his masterpiece,

or Mozart to compose his symphony.

After i'm done, I only then notice my dirty water. :-)

I'm bad with changing the water - I should really have spare water containers by my side

so I wouldn't need to get up & change it when i'm on a roll.

*******

And on another note, I feel like an magnet for assholes these days... :-(

I got stopped by the police yesterday for having expired license plates.

My stickers were due 2 weeks ago... i hadn't noticed. 

Some cops are good people - i'm sure of this - but this guy wasn't one of them.

He happily wrote me a ticket. 

$172.50, two weeks before Christmas.

I hope Santa brings him a bag of coal... :-)

I love happy bunny & have this little poster on my studio wall.

Last night, it made me smile more than usual.

reach for the moon

my pencil sketch wasn't worth much - after i spread the paint on the canvas,

it totally covered my pencil lines... :-)

a bit of colour & texture (sponge & paper towel!)

a bit more colour & detail

... me & the swirly swirls... :-)

a few little words & voilà.

This was done last night on a small canvas (i think it's 8" x 8"). 

I think back sometimes at how i became an artist and inevitably, it takes me back to childhood.

When my friends were playing with Barbies & dolls, i was painting their faces with magic markers. :-) I'd spend hours with colouring books & crayons & paper & scissors. Whenever it would thunder, mom would take out her ingredients & make us home made play dough with food colouring & all.

To this day, i love thunder.

When i was 10 or 11, a family friend came back from Japan & brought me a few magazines & books - all written in Japanese. I thought the lettering was the most beautiful thing i had ever seen. So I grabbed some paper & copied about 10 pages of text - only because i loved the look of all those little lines & squares & symbols. 

Were you always creative, or was it something you developed with time?

What kind of things did you love doing as a child? 

Carpe Diem folks...

xoxo