blue skies

I am loving this winter

compared to the last!

- Pauline Leger :)

I took this photo just the other day

on my afternoon walk.

Can you see the second sun there? 

When I took the photo, 

i was blinded by the sun in my face

so i didn't notice anything else in the sky...

but who knows? 

Maybe it's a reflection of something in the lens,

or maybe it's another planet.

Either way, it's beautiful.

This (below) is a photo of our front yard

taken a few days ago.

..and this is the same view,

taken at about the same time last year!!

Ask me why i was so often down in the dumps.

(the snowplow, trying to clear our road last year. Yes, that was the ROAD)

I found last winter so difficult

(for more reasons than one)

and i wonder how you all put up

with my ranting & complaining all the time?

The main issue for me last year was this:

I worked at a job that i grew to hate.

It's a strong word, I know.

I tried to like it, i honestly did.

I tried to understand my co-workers.

I tried to take the advice of some people,

to just go in, do your job, and come home

but i just couldn't do it.

(my friends told me to not go back) :) 

The frustration stayed with me.

And my reasons for staying?

I had said YES.

I needed to work.

The money was good.

It was close to home.

It was only a 5 month contract.

Eventually though,

i started to notice a difference in me.

A difference I didn't like.

I was more often sick.

I would often wake with headaches.

I was losing patience 

far more often than i normally would.

I didn't want to see my friends much.

Everyone annoyed me

and everything just felt heavy.

Some would say that's just menopause -

and maybe some would be right... 

but i know it was more than that.

It was something deeper.

(and no, it wasn't depression)

So I finished my 5 month term
and i told myself I would never work again
in such a negative environment,
regardless of the money.
It may not be negative for everyone,
but it was negative for me.
Imagine putting an free spirited artist
(who is not interested in material wealth)
to work at Wall Street.
Yeah, it was kinda like that. 

And I say all of this because
i met with my doctor a few weeks ago
for a routine check up,
and the first thing she said was:
Wow. You look so much better
than the last time i saw you.

I told her about my decision
to stay away from work that drains me
and my starting a gratitude journal again,
and going outside whenever I can...
First, she said she was so happy for me.
Then she said:
i know a few things about you...
I know that you can't stand injustice & greed

I know you love art & making work that matters

and I know you're an introvert...

So how did you ever make the decision
to even apply for this job?
she asked with a smile on her face.
(she's a good doctor and she knows me well) :)

We all do things we don't wanna do sometimes.

That's life.

Very few people love their jobs all the time.

But deep down inside
when we are negatively affected
by the environment we are in,
we have to do everything in our power
to remove ourselves from that environment.
Deep down inside,
we all know what's good and what's bad for us.

So I let go.
I decided I wasn't going back to the same thing this year.
Letting go was exactly what I needed.
I am in such a better place now.

Letting go of expectations.
From others and myself.

Letting go of the idea that
I need to make a ton of money.
(Again, we need far less than we think.)
I'm happy for those who reach their financial goals
but if my goals are different (if i don't want the BMW)
then my LIFE will be different too.

Let go of society's definition of success.
Do your OWN thing.
If you work at a donut shop with fun people,
and you get up in the morning
and you're happy to go to work -
you are living a good life!
If you love crafts
and you work at a craft shop with fun people,
you are successful!
There are people who make $75,000/year
and who 'burn out' on a regular basis.
That is NOT my definition of a good life.

And speaking of a good life,
whenever i see photos on-line of someone's work space
i'm usually in awe of how clean it all looks.
Of course, we all know things aren't always as they SEEM.
Everything in its place.
Everything organized and tidy.
Not a speck of dust anywhere.
Well. 
Let's just say that's not me. ;)
This is part of my workspace
and it's on a good day.
With crap on every inch of the table...
and lots of stuff on the floor too!

Fluffy with a bad hair day.
We all have our bad hair days, right?
So we also have our bad/messy art table/floor days.

Blue skies...all the way.
Just for you.

Thanks for being here!
Have a great weekend everyone!
xx

a little bit of art and lots of everything else

hello friends...

I hope you've all been well

and adjusting to whatever season it is

in your corner of the world. 

It's fall here, so the colours are beautiful,

although it's been windy lately

and the leaves are quickly

falling from the trees. 

I did this pastel years ago... of my son, Alexandre,
sitting in a big pile of leaves in our yard.
He was much smaller then, compared to now. :)
He'll be 20 in February.
I've been feeling stuck in a rut lately,
so I've been looking through some of my old art.

I'm doing a few little things
here and there...

I was sketching this the other night
when my son came in and said
it reminded him of one of the men
in the movie CAPTAIN PHILLIPS,
about the 2009 hijacking of a US ship
by Somali pirates.

I wasn't thinking of that while I was doing it.
Just in the mood to sketch something quirky
and not too serious.

Went to the bookstore the other day
and found these 2 gems.
I guess I may have been feeling a little blue. :)
The Joan Didion book was $2...
and the other one, $6.99.
Yes, thank you.
I've always wanted to learn more
about the history of the color Indigo.
Now I'll know (hopefully)
after reading this. 
I absolutely love the cover
of the Indigo book.

And I recently got this on Amazon.
A visual feast of a book,
filled with wonderful treasures like this

 ...and this.

So much truth here.

Why do so many of us

still think that creativity

is only reserved for children?

We are ALL creative

in our own personal

magical

individual ways.

And this one (below)...

my favorite in the book.

So many of us live our lives

focused on attaining these things

when in the end,

they matter very little (if at all).

What matters in the end

is LOVE.

Knowing that you gave love

and received it

as much as you could,

the best way you knew how,

with the time you were given.

Our colouring book project is almost done!

The cover is being finalized

and I'm told that the inside pages

are beautiful.

As soon as I have the link

where you can purchase

COLOR FOR CLARITY

I'll share it with all of you here.

In the meantime,

hang tight!

I've been watching some good documentaries lately.

Here are a few of the trailers,

for anyone who likes watching them. :)

I watched this one last night

called HAPPY.

(all of these were on Netflix).

A wonderful documentary

about the misconceptions we have

about money

and how it actually takes very little

to be happy in life.

A good art documentary I recently watched,

AI WEIWEI - NEVER SORRY.

A reminder that there are still

too many places in this world

where 'freedom' is nothing but a word.

I admire anyone who is courageous enough

to stand up and say 'this is wrong'.

Especially those who stand alone.

I watched this one lately - and loved it.

Lots of wisdom hiding behind

the dreadlocks & skull rings & smoke. ;) 

Plus, the guy is like 130 years old...

how can you NOT be impressed?

KEITH RICHARDS - Under the influence

Another art documentary

I found on Netflix.

This couple just made me smile.

Heartwarming, adorable,

profoundly sad and happy all rolled into one.

CUTIE AND THE BOXER.

This  music documentary that brought back

many fond memories for me.

Funny how hearing a certain song

brings me right back to where I was at the time,

doing whatever I was doing.

(usually up to no good - which basically means,

having fun). ;)

HISTORY OF THE EAGLES

A movie about loss,

and courage,

and conquering fears

and facing your demons

and redemption

and finding your way through the darkness.

WILD.

Along the same lines as one of my favorite movies,

Into the Wild,

only with a lighter ending. :)

And last but not least -

a documentary about the author,

SALINGER.

Like millions of others,

when I was in high school,

I read Catcher in the Rye

and my friends and I talked about it

for months after.

So yeah, there's lots of mystery

around J.D.Salinger

and what happened to him

after Catcher in the Rye...

Thanks for stopping by.

xox

dancing, doodles, and the boogie man... ;-)

And those who were seen dancing

were thought to be insane 

by those who could not hear the music.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

a bit of drawing from last night...
dry pastel on paper.

pastels are messy, but fun.
i love adding white to the tinted paper...

 Then a bit of journaling in cooler colors...

Found the image in a magazine,
painted & wrote the rest.

then a bit of doodling
with micron pens and Sharpies.
(this girls' all over the place!)

Mark Twain was a wise man,

with sage advice.

I also believe our brains need trampling on now & then.

Some of the ways i trample on mine:

- reading books for more than just entertainment

- writing whatever comes to mind without thinking too much about it

- crossword puzzles or sudoku

- doodling or painting with no particular goal in mind

- meditating

- avoiding TV, facebook, twitter - basically, bubble gum for the brain.

- going out in nature & pondering a leaf. (yes, a leaf)

- watching TED talks

- learning what i can and sharing with others

And here's a little creature...

in the name of Halloween

and Illustrated Friday. ;-)

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

xox