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

a dry spell and then *poof* - big magic.

Hello friends!

It seems like every time I sit to blog lately,

I have so much to say

and I fear forgetting half of it along the way. 

First of all, let me say

it's been a heavy week.

The little painting above

is the first painting I've done in weeks

and I'm not sure you can call it a painting.

Maybe a few lines on a page

would be more appropriate. :)

Dad had surgery last week

and there were a few minor issues after the surgery,

so consequent visits to the hospital.

He is now recuperating at home

and doing better every day,

but until he was back on his feet,

I felt a little unsettled myself.

A quick pen sketch of a sick man at the hospital...

So this past Monday, 

as my son and I rushed out the door

I misjudged the steps in the garage,

fell, and sprained my foot!

I spent a few days on crutches,

a day wobbling around,

and I'm now down to a limp. :)

During these down times

of making little (or no) art,

I tend to write more.

And of course, I read a lot.

I'm usually the one trailing behind

when it comes to reading the hot books

or seeing the hot movies.

I saw the Titanic movie about

a year after it was a hit.

I just recently watched Avatar.

But a few weeks ago,
I went to the bookstore and picked this up.
I was almost happy to be off my feet
for a few days,
just so I could curl up with this one.

I love so much of what she writes in here,
I basically wanted to underline the whole thing.
For anyone who is living a creative life,
this book is such a gift.
I love what she says here
about passion...

So many of us are bombarded
with messages of following our bliss...
of finding our passion
of doing what we love.
I'm all for doing what you love,
but sometimes, it just doesn't pay the bills
and you gotta do something shitty for a while
and on the side - do what you love!
On the side, write the novel.
On the side, play the guitar.
On the side, take acting classes.
It's those side things you do
that make life grand.
If you're lucky enough
to be able to make a living at what you love,
good for you!
But if you've yet to make a decent living at it,
DO IT ANYWAY.
Chances are good it makes you happy, right?
So already, it's worth it.
Whether or not my art (or writing)
provides a steady income for me
(and no, it doesn't)...
I'm still gonna do it because I love it.
I would still do it
if I knew I would never get a penny.
She talks about the differences
between passion and curiosity
and how we should ask ourselves this question:
What is interesting to me?

Don't you love that last paragraph?
AND THAT SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH
FOR ANYONE TO SAY
THAT THEY LIVED A RICH
AND SPLENDID LIFE.
I love it.
So reading this book during the past few days
got me fired up again
about all sorts of things.
One of those things was painting.

 Acrylic on paper.

When I first painted the black circles,
I was thinking of apples in a tree.
(it's apple harvesting time here)...

But they quickly became faces
without me having much time to think about it.

I took this picture this morning, by the window.
More accurate colours.
I like it. It makes me happy
although there's a kind of sadness to it too...

I also did some sketching

for the colouring book cover design!

This is such a fun project.

I'm as excited as everyone to see it printed. :)

It's such a joy to collaborate

with like minded people.

Not yet done, but getting there... 

Yes, this is still how excited I feel.

I stumbled upon this Canadian artist on-line this week...

Mandy Budan. 

What a lesson in patience.

Jaw dropping work.

I thought this smoke was pretty

after I put out the candle.

Maybe it'll become a painting soon?

And i finally - finally

finished this painting of mom.

I'm not totally happy with it

but I have to let it go.

I had given myself Aug 15th as a deadline

and here we are - 2 months later.

Maybe I just liked her hanging out here with me -

her reassuring smile cheering me on - as always.

She may stay here for a while still. :)

Happy weekend everyone!

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

someone loves me and lhasa de sela

the little bit of painting that happened today...

acrylic on paper...

i was gonna call it
Someone loves me on a windy day.
:-)

...and a beautiful song by Lhasa de Sela,

who left this world far too soon.

Wishing you all a peaceful easy Sunday night.

xox