finding time and Milton Glaser

hello everyone!

Here we are, 8pm on a Sunday night -

and I am in weekend mode

as long as I can stretch it. :)

The weather was beautiful today...
sunny and about 18C (65F)
which is nicer than it's been in a while.
No more snow at least
and the days are getting longer & warmer.
I sat outside today
with a coffee and a good book
and stayed there till late afternoon.
I washed some clothes
and hung them outside -
something my grandmother loved to do,
and my mother loved to do,
and now I love to do.
Then I made spaghetti sauce
so i didn't spend the entire day
on my ass
but i could have, easily. :)

I've felt this strange distance
from drawing these days.
When I do draw, it's done quickly
and with less patience it seems.
I've been writing a bit more than drawing
but even that - I am finding little time for these days.

Whenever I start working again,
it always takes me a little while
to adjust & find my groove.
To feel like myself again.
I always feel lost in those
first few days/weeks.
I usually paint a lot less
and write a lot more.
Then I start squeezing in a sketch
here and there
and by the time week 4 or 5 rolls in,
i'm doing what makes me happy
at least some of the time
during the course of a day.

It is difficult for me

to be in a social setting all day,

where there is rarely a quiet hour

during the day.

Sometimes, I get home

and i feel exhausted.

Like I've physically worked hard all day.

Being around people who talk a lot

(and usually say little)

drains my energy.

So that's when things like

yoga

or books

or a hot bath

or mint tea

or a nice walk

or a good Netflix movie

come in handy.

All of these things

save my sanity

and honestly -

compared to last year at this time,

i am in good shape.

We're not always able
to find what fuels us
and some of us know what we need
but it's just not attainable
for whatever reason
when we most need it.
My heart goes out to those people.
Those who run on adrenaline.
Or on fumes.
Neither is good
and if you are one of those people,
know that there are better days ahead.
Mom came from a family
of 13 children.
There had to be many moments
in my grandmother's life
where she was in desperate need
of a hot bath
or a quiet cup of tea
or an afternoon nap -
and she instead
had to feed the children
or bake bread
or mend the torn 
and tattered clothing.
I am in awe of such women.

Me, mom, and my sick little brother Ricky.
I was about 5 or 6. 

On another note,
I picked up this cute little book
the other day at the 2nd hand book store.

I am a sucker for books with visuals. :)

 This little doodle/logo page

brought me back to my college days 
when i studied graphic design.
I am more grateful now than ever
that I chose this for my career.
We don't often think of it,
but we are surrounded with art & design.
Packaging.
Posters.
Billboards.
Book covers.
The newspaper.
Your furniture.
Your fridge.
Your car.
Your clothes.
A good designer knows
that it's not only about how it looks,
but it's about what it communicates
and how it makes you feel.
Here's little video (6 min)
on one of my favorite designers,
Milton Glaser -
about art
and design
and love of life.
Happy week everyone!
Thanks for being here.
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