colouring books, little birds and big skies

Hello everyone!

I'm finally back!

I hesitate to say 

I have some wonderful news

because maybe it's just wonderful for ME,

but hell, 

i'm sure at least ONE of you

will benefit from this as well.

At least I hope so.

That's the whole point.

Some of you already know this,

but for those who don't,

I'm working on an adult colouring book!!

Along with 5 other fabulous artists,

the book, called COLOR FOR CLARITY,

should be out in the world this November!

You can click here

to find out more

and don't forget to sign up

so you can get updates on where 

and when the book will be available.

We all have different styles,

so it's gonna be a great variety.

Every page has a quote or a question,

to encourage self discovery

and hopefully help you realize

that you have the potential

within yourself

to become who you want.

We tend to forget this, don't we?

We rely too much on outsiders

to teach us about our own worthiness.

I certainly hope that those who buy the book

have as much fun colouring the drawings

as I had in making them.

Such a fun project to work on.

Basically, it all happened very fast,

but sometimes, 

those are the best kinds of projects.

The kind that are unplanned.

No time to worry.

Right after I said YES

I knew it was the right decision.

We all had to develop several drawings

in a short amount of time,

but it's all coming together

and the work is amazing.

I cannot wait to color in it myself.

The wonderful Kristal Norton

is driving the bus on this one.

You can find her here.

Thanks to her genius organizational skills,

we are working together on a common goal,

from different parts of the world,

and she makes it feel easy. 

So besides that,
I've been painting here & there
whenever I get the chance.

When we went to New York last year in September,
I took a quick pic of these beautiful orchids 
we had in our hotel room,
with a card that said WELCOME!

I was really having problems

with the leaves & the pot on this one...

so what do you do when

there's part of the painting

that just doesn't seem to be working?

You remove it!
:)
Some will say *that's cheating*!
But i don't listen to those people,
and you shouldn't either.
Do what you gotta do
to feel good about the painting.
Or at least not to hate it.
I hated it with the leaves & pot.

I don't hate it so much anymore,
although i don't know why i added the words...
looks like something you could buy
at Walmart. Not good. ;)

Far from my greatest work,
but hey - win some, lose some.
The colours are off in the 1st few pics,
but you can see the actual color here.
i'm liking the teal these days. :)  

I drew this the other day
when we lost power for a few hours...
with no lights, no TV, no computer...
What a better time
than to draw something
by the light of the window?

Coloured pencils on paper.

This little bird urn holds my mom's ashes...

She loved birds. :)

A quick painting (acrylic on paper)...

I ordered these prints from Vistaprint the other day.
They had a sale on posters.
Something like $30 for 10 posters (11 x 14 or 28 x 35.5cm)
Next time, I'll order thicker paper
but other than that, quality is good.

It's a water-colour i did of Steve Jobs a while back...

and i love his 'here's to the crazy ones' quote.

These will be for sale in my Etsy shop

within the next week or so.

The ring around the sun, a day before
the torrential downpour we had the other day.

And of course,
you know I can't end a post
without sharing a few pics
of the sand and the sea... :)

 seagulls in a row

 ...and a more daring seagull. 
Maybe he thought I had fries. :)

wide open space... and sky. 

Warmer than usual for this time of the year for us. 

(like 75 F)

And skies like this
always make me feel
like i'm part of something grand
and that the real miracle of life
is the fact that I am here AT ALL.
If it all ends when I die
I'm ok with this
because I get to see
skies like this while I am here.
xx

The sky and Lhasa de Sela

Illustration Friday: SKY

Being surrounded by seagulls here

makes it hard not to include them

in an illustration with a sky theme. :-)

I'll say more tomorrow, but for tonight,

i'll leave you with this beautiful song by the lovely Lhasa de Sela...

La Marée Haute (High Tide)

how nature always helps keep me in line

hi everyone! 

It's Friday here, a beautiful, sunny fall day. 

There's a lot of heaviness in the air for me during this time,

but i'm posting anyway.

I wanted to post earlier, but my heart just wasn't in it.

It still isn't, but i'm posting at least a little something

so you won't think i've run off with a circus freak or something.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...(wink wink)

Sometimes I want to paint or draw what i feel,

and other times (like here) i want to paint or draw someone else

who looks like they're feeling what i'm feeling.

A safer distance for me sometimes. :-)

This is pastel on paper.

There's just no way to feel good about seeing a loved one suffer.

It's important during difficult times to remind ourselves

of the good stuff.

So this morning, I went for a nice long walk in the cool morning air,

then I sat outside for a half hour with my coffee,

and listened to the chirping birds

and watched the leaves dance in the wind

and the squirrels chase each other around the yard.

My mind wanted to race to the bad stuff-

the worry

the illness

the why's and 

the what if's...

But i gently moved those dirty little thoughts over,

and focused on the squirrels and the birds,

and reminded myself that whatever happens,

i'll handle it, and that despite everything,

life is still good.

Sometimes, we need to look a little deeper for the good stuff,

but it's still there.

I hesitated to show you pics of my studio in my last blog post
because i always find it a bit chi chi poo poo (yes, it's a made up word) 
whenever i hear an artist talk about his or her studio.

Here's a little secret folks.

you don't need a studio to be an artist,
and having a studio doesn't MAKE you an artist. :-)

Making art makes you an artist,
not the space you do it in.

Not just TALKING about art, but making art.

For years, i painted on the kitchen table. I still do sometimes.
That's where i did this pastel. 

For years, i was without a space,
and it was totally ok.
For me, it really doesn't matter where i create,
as long as i have a little space somewhere
and i hope it doesn't matter to you either.

The cavemen had cave walls, and they still found a way to make art! ;-)

Here are a few pics i took yesterday, near my home.

Enjoy the view, and have a wonderful weekend!

this lone red tree just made me smile...

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

spring is in the air...

Good morning Munchkins.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

:-)

I'm posting something that i painted a while ago,

since i spent most of my weekend outside

and have very little art to show this morning.

This is the view from our front porch.

That tree you see on the left side

is a lilac tree.

It's nowhere near growing flowers yet,

but soon my friends... soon.

:-)

We could feel spring in the air this weekend

and it was exactly what my body and soul needed.

After a few months of very little sunlight,

it does the body good.

I went for a long walk on the beach with my son yesterday

and we both smiled when we saw the ice breaking free.

Such a welcome sight after months of everything being frozen.

In Eastern Canada,

there are three things that scream SPRING IS HERE!!!

1. taking out the summer furniture...

2. chirping birds...

3. Tim Horton's "roll up the rim" contest. :-)

It's another beautiful day here today.

If all goes well,

i'll finish my work a little early today,

and sit out on those Adirondack chairs

with a good book and a glass of wine.

If all doesn't go well,

i'll just pout.

;-)

Wishing you all a week filled with fun, laughter, and art.

And no pouting.

xoxo

winter

 

it's not officially winter here yet, but we know it's on its way...

Soon, the leaves will be gone, and a cold white blanket will cover the earth,

& the little birds will find a place to huddle & cuddle away from the howling of the wind.

I know that for many of you, winter means having to put on a sweater, but here in Eastern Canada, winter means heavy coats & boots, thick scarves & mittens, and frozen noses.

And yet, i look forward to it almost as much as i did when i was a kid, when we'd spend days outside, on our "super slider snow skates" - red, hard plastic little ski-like contraptions that would attach to our boots and make us look like drunk idiots on the snow. Like wearing Crazy Carpets on our feet. 

...so much fun.  :-)

xoxo 

little bird...

No painting last night, so once again, I'm going into the "when i have nothing to post" file. :o) This was done a few months ago, when the grass was green & there actually were little yellow birds in the sky.