squeezing the last bits of summer...

Hello lovelies!

Well, this is my first bit of art in weeks,
and although it says FREEDOM,
it looks more like anger to me. ;)

There will be more art
in the coming days/weeks
(I'm hoping art that's worthy of sharing!)
but for now,
I'd love to share a bit of my summer with you!

This beach is about 20 minutes from my home,
called L'ABOITEAU.
This man (in the sky!) was sitting on a motorized chair,
and he flew himself back & forth across the beach
for long stretches of time.

Just a little buzzing sound in the sky...
like a giant mosquito.

Swimmers on the left of the wharf,
fishermen on the right.
(the fisherWOMEN are drinking wine on that tour boat). ;)

summertime at the wharf = fun for everyone

 ...and french fries, cheese & gravy,
aka "Quebec poutine".

One of the boardwalks going to the beach...

My brother Rick, pointing at what he thinks might be JAWS... ;)

And this lovely place is called The DUNES,

on Prince Edward Island.

I have fond memories of PEI.

We used to go camping on PEI every summer,

for at least a week,

when the crossings were done by boat.

Now, we have this:

 

The Confederation Bridge

linking New Brunswick to PEI,

so it takes much less time to cross.

But it's also much less fun.

So the Dunes is an oasis of flowers & plants
and exotic wooden sculptures from Bali
and other places in the world
and paintings and jewelry and a garden
an art gallery and delicious food.

My son Alex and I took a ride there yesterday.
It takes less than 2 hours to get there,
so a nice way to spend the afternoon.
I love this place.

 a lovely spiral staircase...

 and incredible wood carvings.

There are several levels to the gallery
and a few lookout points,
so more beautiful staircases.

 part of the beautiful garden

 ...some of the stone sculptures,
all very serene, wouldn't you say?

These beautiful blues & pinks
just made me "oooo" and "aaaaah".

 some of the handmade wooden benches & chairs...

 The gallery/café/pottery studio/lookout point

This cozy spot was just begging for me
to sit here.
So i hung out here for a while
right after I took this picture. :)

 all you need is love

 a lamp made with small seashells...

 happy dancing Buddhas

These beautiful spirals are made with magazine pages,
all folded & rolled & glued together!
Someone has far more patience than I do. :)
What beautiful things we can make
with time and gentle hands...

gorgeous wooden sculptures,
all for sale at different price points.

And I took this one as we were leaving,
but now that I see it here,
it looks like he's pooping a block of cement! LOL!
It's really just another stone sculpture behind him.
I guess I should have taken the photo from a different angle.
Funny how I never saw it when i took the photo,
and now, it's ALL I see. :)

So the days are already getting shorter here,
and I'm finally done my office job,
and the company's all gone,
and although I loved seeing everyone,
I am always so relieved 
when fall is just around the corner.
It's my favorite season
and one that is always filled
with renewed energy.
I cannot WAIT to catch up with on-line friends
and start making art more consistently again
and spending more time in my little blue room
and doing yoga and reading
and BREATHING again.

Yes.
Because life should never just be
about working & paying the bills.

My new motto.
You can borrow it if you want.
You're welcome. 
xx

why should art be important?

I sometimes feel like what I'm doing

is not important at all.

That it's stupid to fill my days

with art and writing

when there is a crisis in Syria,

and drowned children

and parents who are so desperate

for a new life - a safe life -

that they will risk everything

for the chance of a new beginning.

All of a sudden,

my little paintings

seem pretty senseless.

And insensitive.

And so not important.

But I make art anyway.

Because I need to.

Because it's the only way

I know how to process

the chaos out there.

And then when I see things like this

popping up all over the internet...

 ...or this

I realize that I'm not the only one
who needs art to make sense of the world.
Art is a powerful thing.
It's how we face our own pain.
It is powerful for the artist
and powerful for those who see it.

 It makes us think...

...and rethink

and sometimes, it makes us feel
like everything's gonna be ok.
Like we're no different
than anyone else.
Like we all have the same fears.
Cancelled dreams.
Who hasn't felt like this
at one time or another?
Like you were on the wrong path,
or things were just taking
too damn long to finally become REAL?

There are changes happening around here lately...

I am gently closing the door to some things,
and slowly opening the door to others.
They may not be permanent doors
and they may not be profitable doors,
but they are exciting doors
and interesting doors
and doors that look like
they could be filled with balloons
and sparkles
and unicorns.
So fuck it.
I'm going in. :)
Sometimes, we just need to give space
for something else to have room to grow.

I painted this (above) a few nights ago
in about 10 minutes flat.
I was surprised by how much
i liked it when it was done.
I used oil pastels for the black & white,
and acrylic paint (on paper) for the rest.
It captures the energy I was feeling
at the time.

Then a few fun doodles

in my little Moleskine book...

blue Sharpie pen on paper.

 and a tiny Buddha illustration. :)

I had coffee this week
with a wonderful person
who I consider a friend,
despite only seeing her in person a few times.
The lovely Stéphanie Guimond
at Creative Living Experiment
who I'm sure many of you have met on-line.
She's taking a bit of a break these days...
but still has loads of inspiration on her blog.
She's a fabulous artist
and an even more fabulous person.
We talked about all things & art,
and the dry spells we all encounter as artists.
The walls we hit.
I don't know of any artist
who hasn't questioned why they make art
at one point or another in their lives.
My days can flow into one another
with doodles & paintings & creativity
and everything is right with the world.
Sometimes.
And then, something happens
somewhere in a far away land -
like a drowned little boy,
and I question my whole reason for doing what I do.
That's usually when I pick up this book:

and see things like this...

 or this...

or this...

And I remember that the reason I do what I do
is because it's who I am
and I don't know how to be
anything or anyone else in this world.
When I look at the work
of Maira Kalman,
I know she doesn't know 
how to be anyone else either.
And that makes everything ok, somehow.
xx

some of life's hard lessons

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

Buddha

The past few days brought on a few heavy reminders for me...

That...

I cannot save the world.

Life is not fair - but it is sacred.

Some things don't have a solution.

Caring for myself is as important as caring for others.

We all have our own crosses to bear.

The questions are as important as the answers.

I can be sensitive to another persons' pain without
letting myself by swallowed by it.

(pastel on paper)

Sometimes, i just need to pull back and get a little perspective...

There is hope for me yet... ;-)

Remember this?

and this...

and this...

ta daaaaaa....
Kurt Cobain - boom. Done.

I bit of fine tuning with black and yellow, 
and there you have it.
I do like it, although his right eye is too big.
Or maybe his left eye is too small... ;-)

Painting and writing always help me
find my way back to myself.

You all know what i mean, right?

Even if this painting ends up sitting on my studio floor
for 5 years...

Or my journal pages end up stacked on the shelf
for the next 20 years...

the process of having given my thoughts a voice
is what matters.

I care very little what happens to it after it's painted,
or after it's written,
because for me, the purpose was simply to paint it.

To write it.

What happens to it afterwards
is up to the moon and the stars. :-)

Happy weekend everyone.
xox