art heals - and so does Neil Young

hi everyone.

I thought i'd get a chance to catch up on all your blogs this past weekend

but alas... life had other plans.

I look forward to connecting with all of you again soon...

Any bit of spare time i have these days is shared between

visiting mom in the hospital,

checking up on dad,

being a mother,

working,

making meals,

painting,

reading,

writing,

walking,

and seeking sanity on a daily basis. ;-)

Hence, the sheet music painting tonight.

sheet music painting = sanity.

I hadn't done any in a while... and it's oh so meditative for me.

It just takes me to another place where time stands still.

I put on some music,

and within minutes,

i'm flying, far far away.

No, there are no drugs involved. (giggle)

I love the last part of a painting,
where the blacks and the whites are added.
It's where the painting comes alive, don't you think?

I'm guessing i'm not the only one who loves this part of a painting.

And even if once the painting is done,
i look at it for a few minutes,
and realize that the eyes are crooked,
and the nose is wrong,
and the mouth doesn't look quite like Neil's mouth...

I'm still smiling
cause it just felt so damn good to paint SOMETHING.

It's been hard for me to concentrate on art lately,
for obvious reasons.

My head knows that it's good to do something that i love,
but my heart has a hard time getting started sometimes.

Once i get myself started, it's all good.
But sometimes these days, sitting in the blue room is a bit of a challenge.

Art helps me feel grounded
so whenever i go a while without it,
i literally feel out of whack.

But still, i do something that many of us don't do often enough.

I go easy on myself.

I cut myself some slack.

I remind myself that the paints will be there tomorrow,

if i feel like painting,

or the day after,

or the day after that...

Tonight was one of those "day after's".

When i sat in the blue room, i felt like being there.
I knew it would be a good painting session before i even began.

Some things, you just know.

I have so much more to say to all of you,
about so many things,
but it'll have to be for a later time.

It's getting late and i'm running on empty already.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite Neil Young songs...
and i wish you all star filled skies this week.
xox

the only disadvantage of being in the zone

hi everyone!

A quick little painting from last night...

It should actually read:

wings and heart and a good massage will take me home.

:-)

I actually have a kinked neck (and back) from spending

too much time with my head down

working on that last collage. :-(

One of the only disadvantages of being in the zone...

I sometimes start working on a painting on my easel,

and by the time i finish,

the canvas is on the table,

i'm not too sure how it got there

...and my neck hurts. 

So last night, rather than spend 2 hours painting,

i spent about 20 minutes

on this little pink bird. 

I may do a cleaned up version

for my little ETSY shop - we'll see.

And a quick little sketch after the painting...

not sure what i'll do with this - if anything.

Wishing you all a wonderful evening,

and unkinked necks. 

;-)

xoxo

http://legerillustrations.blogspot.ca/2012/07/handwritten-letters-bring-them-back-to.html

Virginia Woolf and the full moon

I thought how unpleasant it is to be locked out;

and I thought how it is worse, perhaps, to be locked in.

Virginia Woolf

Last night's full moon.

Well, half full moon.

:-)

Nothing like a full moon to get me in the mood

for the writings of Virginia Woolf.

This is her portrait from a book called

Women who write.

Isn't she beautiful?

And from the portrait,

i thought i'd do another one of my 

sheet music paintings.

As i painted this,

i was reminded of how important it is

to just carry on sometimes.

I wish Virginia would have done so.

Everything seemed off about this painting.

I couldn't get the form of her face right,

the proportions were off,

her chin was huge,

the nose was too high...

sometimes, there are many stages during the process

where we just don't like what we see

and that's ok.

Just carry on.

There were several stages last night

where i wondered whether or not i could save her. 

:-)

But then i just kept painting,

and adding darker colors,

and filling in the space,

and slowly "molding" her face

like a sculptor with his clay.

In art as in life

it's important to just carry on

and trust

and breathe

and be kind to ourselves

and especially non judgmental

and see where it takes us.

In the end, i liked her face a lot more...

much softer, i think...

Even in this portrait,

there is such sadness in her eyes,

don't you think?

Virginia Woolf committed suicide

at the age of 59.

These words pierced my heart when i first read them:

Nothing was  more important to Woolf than the wholeness of her perception and the integrity of her art. Her life, marked by illness, fear, and suffering, was not one of oppression. It was the life of a heroic woman who could write to her husband, before leaving him forever:  

"I don't think two people could have been happier than we have been."

abstract, the great North, pheasant in the yard

Ahhhh... Saturdays. 

Don't you love them?

Especially rainy Saturdays.

I try my hand at abstract now and then

but it almost always ends up looking like something.

Usually flowers...

sigh.

Always so meditative though. 

I saw this quote the other day

and loved it:

Modern art = I could do that + Yeah, but you didn't

(Craig Damrauer)

Then it was time for a National Geographic portrait,

and this guy begged my attention,

for whatever reason.

the tattoo?

the lovely hair?

the gun?

Nah...

 it's the feeling of FREEDOM. 

Sitting in a canoe in a wide open space.

My kinda guy.

;-) 

Acrylic paint on sheet music...

although there's very little music on this one.

a bit more detail...

And voilà.

I was obviously tired by the end of this one.

Check out the claw hands... ;-)

oh well.

It is what it is.

a little visitor in our yard this morning...

always so beautiful.

Life is all about balance, isn't it?

We find time for work,

for family,

for chores,

for friends,

for Facebook

for entertainment,

for appointments,

for making meals,

and preparing lunch boxes...

and yet,

 why is it still so difficult for so many of us

who are artists at heart

to make time to practice our art?

Do we consider it frivolous?

Do we consider it less important

than real work

like doing the dishes

or cutting the lawn

or putting in a wash load?

Really?

I'm quite comfortable

with dirty dishes in the sink.

They'll get done eventually.

But i am not comfortable

with going days without making art.

I believe it is so important as artists

to give ourselves at least a bit of time each day

to practice our art.

Putting paint to canvas.

Creating a melody.

Writing a poem.

Developing a dance.

Making a sculpture...

The world needs more right brained people.

Really - it does.

What if your painting

is the one who inspires someone else

to become a full fledged artist?

What if the song you write

touches someone and

makes them want to pursue the passionate life

of a musician or a songwriter?

So in reality, you're not only creating your art,

but you're creating opportunities

for other little art hearts out there.

Leave it to me to give your art purpose,

dammit. ;-)

How we spend our days is, of course,

how we spend our lives.

(Annie Dillard)