Darwin and Parkinson's disease

But in every walk with nature,

one receives far more than he seeks.

- John Muir

So this is what I've been busy with lately.

Or who I've been bus with. :)

Since dad's diagnosis with Parkinson's

only a few months ago,

he's had a few falls.

A few weeks ago, he had a bad fall

on his bathroom floor

and broke 5 ribs, cut his arm and 

bruised his face like a prize fighter. 

So he has to use a walker for a while,

at least until his ribs heal.

(I wish he would come to terms with using it

all the time for balance, but i know he won't.)

It's hard to pull back and not tell him what to do.
I read somewhere that the cause for
much of the unhappiness we feel
is because we don't accept reality as it is.
We want to change things
or control things.

I wish my dad would use a walker all the time,
so that he wouldn't fall again,
but I know he won't.
And I can't force him.
He wouldn't listen to me anyway.

Dad's always been fiercely independent (like moi)
so I know he'll end up doing what he wants to do
and I have to accept that whatever happens - happens.
There are times in life that are joyful
and other times that are not so joyful.
This is a somewhat "not so joyful" time.

So when dad went back home

and I knew he was on the mend

and I could breathe again,

I went into my blue room

and "binge painted" for like 6 hours. :)

The painting above is the 1st one I did

called "banana & grape". :)

A little sketch I did while I waited for my car to be fixed...

And a few days ago,
when I had more time on my hands
and I knew dad was ok,
I did another "sheet music" portrait.

Charles Darwin.

King of Evolution. :)

I love old black & white photos

(even if i decided to add color here)

I began wanting to use only sepia tones,
but I ended up adding some dark blue
and then some white.

 It's acrylic on paper...

 I love his serious look.

My aunt gave me a bunch of canvases
she had started painting on,
but no longer wanted. (Merci Angèle!!)
This (top) was a painting she had begun...

I just wanted to do something fun
while keeping some of her background...

 I played with the whites, and dots

and then filled in a few blocks of color...

I'm trying to let go of the whole "I like it"

or "I don't like it" judgement of my own paintings - 

but I like this.

(giggle)...

On another note,
I bought artwork from Yocopio a few weeks ago.
I've been following him on Instagram for a while now
and i love his stuff.
Makes me smile whenever I see them.
I get original artwork.
He gets my support ($)
The illustrations make me smile.
It's win-win for everyone. :)
And the Frieda you see there on the left,
and the beautiful print/painting on the right...
That's from my lovely friend, Stéphanie Guimond
a card with a hand written note in it.
Is there anything more precious than receiving snail mail?
In today's "automated everything" world,
i love anything handwritten.
Gifts that came in the mail
when I needed them most.

Currently reading this...
(Felix Scheinberger was one of the teachers on the
Sketchbook Skool course I took this past summer) 
I LOVE HIM and his artwork.
Amazing what you can learn in 6 short weeks.

And reading this...
I've always loved the words of Julia Cameron.

I am writing this post rather quickly,
so i fear I may have shared some of this artwork before,
or said some of these things before...
but hey. Not a big deal if I did.
Just pretend you're hearing it for the first time. :)
Thank you all for being here.
xx

toes in the sand

Greetings friends!

Can you believe it's almost JULY?!?

For several weeks now, I've been wanting to post something here,

to at least let you know that I'm still alive!

But alas...

it's SUMMER here

so I'm taking every chance I get

to spend some time outside. 

ok, so I have some art to share,

photos and musings of the past few weeks,

and i basically just wanted you all to know

how very excited I am to be done working soon.

I finish on July 21, so less than a month to go.

Yes, that works for me.

We got a lot of rain for a few weeks
but then when the sun came out,
it was absolutely gorgeous.
Our summer season is quite short here
(3 months if we're lucky)
so i take advantage of every day i can.

 ...sunset at the local Parlee Beach.

...and is there anything prettier

than designs by nature?

Sand ripples caused by the tides.

a very quick sketch I did the other night

as a warm up with acrylics on paper.

Quick sketches are always fun to do

because in 5 minutes,

you don't expect a masterpiece

so there's no pressure.

So what that the eyes are crooked?

It took 5 minutes.

So what that the nose is only on one side?

it's a 5 minute sketch!

No pressure. 

Gotta love it.

I am finding myself more tired
after a day at work,
even when I am sitting all day.
I'm tired mentally
from all the bullshit -
plus I feel like a robot for 8 hours.
Oh, and i miss making art.

I'm finding little bits of time
here and there (mostly on weekends)
to do something creative
and i've even joined another
Sketchbook Skool class! :)

For $99 (US), you get 6 different artists
for 6 fabulous weeks
and you learn all sorts of fun things.
And the best part?
You go at your own pace!
And you don't need expensive art materials
to follow along.

I'm doing the class called EXPRESSING

and I love it (even if i'm behind in "homework").

I'll catch up eventually.

There's always so much to learn

in a class like that,

as much from the participants

as from the teachers.

Those who want to share, do,

so we get to be inspired by ALL sorts of 

wonderful amateur and professional artists.

Plus - you make wonderful connections

that often become lifelong friendships.

So this (above) is an acrylic on paper,
in honour of my dear friend, Tara Leaver -
who inspired me once again
to use painting tape around my paper,
so that I can get that crisp line
and that beautiful white border around my painting.
It's kind of a surprise when you remove the tape,
because you're not sure where the painting ends
and the white border begins.
I know - cheap thrills for me. :)
That's what happens when you get older.
Takes VERY little to get me excited now.

So weekends usually consist of

walking on the beach,

kayaking (my son has the red kayak, his friend has the green one)

sitting out on the porch with iced tea...

or water

or wine. :)

Anything that doesn't require

too much thinking

heavy lifting,

or being inside for any length of time.

I actually feel like i'm decompressing...
just knowing i'll be done work
in a few weeks
already has me breathing lighter.
That, and this beautiful weather helps.

I have so many creative ideas

i want to get off the ground

when i get done with this contract.

I wanna do more illustrations for children's books.

I wanna do my own book.

I wanna help others do their books.

I wanna paint on canvas. Big canvas.

I wanna work on developing an e-course

that will inspire others to

live their own creative lives

and shout it out over the rooftops,

for the whole world to hear and see.

There are still too many

artists in hiding out there.

It was my birthday a few weeks ago (June 24)

and my good friend Lucille (who knows me well)

got me these 2 gems.

A big fat journal with blank pages

that i cannot wait to fill,

and a profound book of poetry

called Milk and Honey.

I also got to share a lovely meal

with friends last weekend,

at a place called Captain Dan's

here in Shediac,

sitting out on the patio

on a beautiful sunny evening.

You don't need a million bucks 

to do things that matter,

or that you enjoy.

Making memories is usually

pretty cheap.

(photo credit: Alvin Richard)

And speaking of Shediac...

(Sherrie, aka HAPPY TILER, this one's for you!)

we actually have a "Scrabble" festival happening

this summer here!!

oh the excitement!

i can't contain myself.

(giggle...)

Shediac is known as the lobster capitol of the world

(yeah, it's a thing) and this summer,

Shediac will host the

1st Atlantic International Scrabble Tournament!!

The thrill of it all.

How DO we do it?!? :)

Here's how i feel about the weekend approaching.

Friday (July 1st) is Canada Day, so

HAPPY CANADA DAY

to all fellow Canucks out there!

Here's to health,

maple sirup,

canoes & kayaks,

clean rivers,

good beer,

bonfires on the beach,

star gazing in a black velvet sky,

and love.

xx

Fear and loathing in eastern Canada

hello everyone!

Well, summer is almost over here,

so I'm enjoying every last bit of it.

As much as i love summer,

I love the fall even more

so at about this time of the year,

I begin to look forward to brisk morning walks

and cooler nights.

The weather here has been hotter 

and more humid than usual (for us at least)

- in the high 30s with humidity -

so one had to be either in the water,

in the shade, or in the house. 

My 2 brothers came home on vacation for a week

and stayed here with us.

They left a few days ago (last Sunday).

I loved spending time with them,

but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward

to having my own space again.

It has nothing to do with my brothers

or their families

and everything to do with 

having 5 extra people in the house

for an entire week

and no time to myself.

For someone who values alone time

as much as I do,

this was no easy task for me. :)

Having relatives visit

for extended periods of time

also makes me realize

how set we are in our own ways.

We were raised by the same parents,

and yet,

we are all so different from one another.

But despite the differences,

by the end of the week,

no one was insane,

and no one was murdered,

so I guess it's all good. ;)

It kinda made me sad

that so many of us spend so much time

on social media.

I almost regret not setting a rule

when they first arrived:

LIMIT OF ONE HOUR of SOCIAL MEDIA PER DAY.

I feel like we lost precious time together

because so many had their faces stuck to their screens...

scrolling for the next post on Facebook

or texting someone

or watching the next talent video on YouTube.

At one point, I wanted to scream:

SHUT THE DAMN GADGETS OFF!!

I don't care who's fucking talented on YouTube.

I don't care who's getting married

or divorced

or who ate what for dinner.

We did a lot together in one week,
but it just seemed like as soon as we got home
and there was down time,
even if only for a few minutes,
everyone would reach for their ipad or phones.
I remember a time
when we would engage in conversation,
or tell jokes,
or pull out the guitars to play music together.
Today, it seems like everyone's in their own little bubble.
It just made me sad.

So after they were all gone,
and the house was quiet again,
I did what I normally do
to feel grounded again.
I went to Frenchy's (2nd hand shop) 
and browsed the used books.
I picked up a coffee
and drove to the wharf to drink it
and watched the seagulls fight
over a piece french fry.
I wrote.
I listened to music.
I read.
I painted.

I watched a documentary the other night
on the life of Ralph Steadman called:
For no good reason.
Obviously inspired this piece.
Well, that and perhaps some of the
underlying frustration I felt.

Johnny Depp is in this documentary,
interviewing the artist (Steadman).
That was my reason for watching it. :)
Steadman is a British artist
who collaborated on several projects
with the infamous Hunter S. Thompson -
a journalist to some (gonzo journalism), 
a deranged idiot to others.
He put a bullet through his head in 2005.

I enjoyed the documentary,
but be forewarned:
it can seem a bit strange to some.
Steadman's art is nothing like the man himself.
Just as we say "never judge a book by its cover"...
well, never judge an artist by his or her paintings.
He comes across as a kind & generous man.
He is gentle.
And his paintings look like this:
(self portrait)


and this:

and this, his tribute to his friend, Hunter Thompson.

Years ago, I had read Hunter Thompson's book
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,
and I came away from the book thinking:
"this man is not well in the head". ;)
But I loved the few illustrations throughout the book.
Ralph Steadman's illustrations,
so I knew I had to look him up eventually.

One last sunset before I go. :)

a Tshirt I plan on getting for myself. :)

My book find from Frenchy's...

and this little story,

from Brian Andreas' book.

I love this.

xx