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

life on other planets, the crazies and art.

hello friends.

It's been a strange couple of weeks

although if you ask me why

i can't give you an answer.

Maybe because it's that time of year,

maybe because of the way of the world,

maybe because I've not painted much lately.

Maybe because I'm writing more,

and because I'm watching

great documentaries

and reading great books

that remind me that

life is not the same for everyone

and we don't all see

through the same eyes.

Getting up in the morning

is easy for me.

It's hell for someone else.

I wake up to the sound of silence.

Others wake up to the sound of bombs,

or in incredible pain,

or hungry, 

or unloved.

I eat when I want.

Others don't.

This is a huge privilege

and it shouldn't be.

Governments are spending

billions on wars they create,

on defence budgets,

on space programs,

and there are still people on this planet

who don't eat.

That is a fucking BASIC need.

Food.

Clothing.

Shelter.

We send people in space

but we've yet to figure out a way

to feed the world.

I love science

but why are we concerning ourselves

with finding life on other planets

when we are not taking care

of the lives we have here,

on this planet?

Makes me crazy.
(hence, the crazy doodle) ;)
This makes as much sense to me
as those who sacrifice this life
for an eternal life after death.
And they usually kill others
in the process. 
I believe in life before death.
Not life after.
I guess i'm still trying to make sense
of something that will forever be
senseless.

And then, there's this...
We got our first snowfall last week. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Time to take out the music.

I just bought this one, and I love it.

But this one is still

my favorite of all time. :)

It's not Christmas until the Charlie Brown music comes on.

And then this happened. ;)
I may have shared this already
but it's cute, so I get to share it again.

Dad made Fluffy this little bed.

She totally loves being a princess.

She can do no wrong.

A few doodles from my 'draw your life' book.
A left handed drawing.

A few weeks ago,

I ordered this watercolor print from Prashant Miranda,

one of the great Sketchbook Skool teachers.

(They're all SO good)

Prash makes his home

between Canada and India.

Isn't it beautiful!?

I love it.

Love the bold colours.
He was so much fun as a teacher.
If you want your own print,
you can get it here.

And last, but not least...

If you purchase a copy of Color for Clarity by Jan 1st 2016,

you’ll receive a free e-book as our gift to you in thanks

for your support. Inside, you’ll find bonus colouring pages

and some great resources (several of which are free!)

to continue exploring your own creativity.

To claim your free e-book, forward your receipt

(or send a photo of Color for Clarity or other proof of purchase)

to me at:

paulinel@nb.sympatico.ca

and I'll send you your free e-book within a day or two.

And YES! Anyone who purchased the book when it was first released gets a FREE e-book as well!

If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet (and you know you want to) ;)

you can get it at:  http://colorforclarity.com/

And if you can, please leave us a review on Amazon!

We'd love to know how you like it.

Thanks for hanging out
and listening to my rants. ;)
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