Relay for Life, making art and being art

We are only as strong as we are united,

as weak as we are divided.

- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblets of Fire

Hello everyone.
It's been a while...

I have a ton to tell you,
but i'll never be able to say it all here,
so i'll start slowly, with a few pics
from the Relay for Life over the weekend.

This is the team my son was on, minus a few missing team members.

He's the one holding the sign with the baseball hat on
next to the pretty red head (his girlfriend). :-)
Her name is Renée.
She lost her dad to cancer 3 years ago now.
He was 45.
His name was Charles and he loved the Peanuts characters...

It's always very touching to see so much love
in one place at the same time.

 The beautiful bagpipes... leading the parade of cancer survivors.

the yellow shirts are all cancer survivors... 
courage galore.
Those little white bags lining the track
each represent a person who has died of cancer in this area.

There are far too many little white bags.

this photo says it all...
courage and love.
That's what it's all about.

This was mom, walking with dad
in last year's Relay for Life...

After such an emotionally charged Friday evening,
i woke up on Saturday with the desire to paint.

I've had less time to myself lately,
or at least less flexible time. 
It's an adjustment for me to be "elsewhere" from 9 to 5. 
To not be able to take a break at 2pm and go for a walk,
or start my day at 7am and finish at 1pm if i want.
But i'm adjusting and for now, 
this is the stability i need.

I am learning valuable lessons along the way
that i will perhaps someday share in a book. :-)

I still write every day.
i try to make art every day, even if it's just a little doodle
or even if it makes no sense whatsoever (see above).

Someone asked me the other day (at work)
why i make art
and i looked at them like they had 3 heads.

I work with mostly left brained people.
(A challenge for any artist...)

I wanted to reply by asking them:
why do you breathe?

I make art because i HAVE to.
Because it's my oxygen.
Because it's who i am.
Because it's how i make sense of my world.
Because i'd feel lost without it,
just like i'd feel lost without music.
Because it's what i do.
Because it makes me happy.
Because it allows me to express how i feel.

This (above) is how i felt after the Relay...

(sketched quickly when i got back at 11pm on Friday night)

And then this the following day.
There's something about journaling
that feels more intimate to me
than an actual painting on canvas.

Maybe it's because it often includes writing?

Thoughts on paper.

After the bit of journaling,

i thought i'd paint something on a small canvas.

I had the whole day to myself on Saturday,

so i made soup and ate chocolate and painted. :-)

...not sure where this image came from,
but it was in my head so it went on canvas. :-)

i don't think i'm done yet

and i'm not sure i like it without the mouth.

It kinda reminds me of the Grinch. ;-)

I'll probably finish it today

and i'll post it again later.

I may have already shared this
but i'll do it again.

A book i bought myself years ago,
mainly for the illustrations.

Aren't they beautiful?

Dry pastel.

I just love this style.
Simple images with lots of breathing room.

The book layout is beautiful too,
as is the story.

Here's a quote i saw the other day by Nelson Mandela that i love:

When a person dies, their library of stories dies with them.

So they must share their story so that it is not forgotten.

Even the most simple story can teach and inspire others.

- Nelson Mandela

Thanks for being here.
xox