Another school shooting? Yes. Another.

We are all in the gutter,

but some of us are looking at the stars.

- Oscar Wilde

Over this past week, it's been difficult

to keep looking at the stars, hasn't it?

On Valentine's day,

17 children in the US (Parkland, Florida) were murdered. 

Gunned down by another young, crazed, angry, white man.

It makes me sick to my stomach.

An 18 year old in the US can buy an AR-15 assault rifle,

but he can't buy a beer.

Some teenagers started eating Tide Pods (don't ask me why!)

and now, Tide Pods in grocery stores are practically kept

under lock & key, so as to avoid another incident.

In most pharmacies, certain medication

is kept safely stored behind the counter.

The guns - oh, those are ok.

You can buy them at Walmart,

along with 1000 of rounds of ammunition.

Not a problem at all.

IT.

IS.

INSANE.

It breaks my heart to know that these children

went through such hell.

I have faith that many of these young ones

are going to channel their anger and fear

into something grand and powerful.

Lord knows the old, white, wealthy politicians

are too busy counting their money to care at all.

So over the past week or so,

I've been busy cleaning & organizing!

It's not something I do often, trust me -

but lately, I've felt the need to get rid of some stuff,

externally and internally. ;)

The photo above is "before"

and the photo below here is "after".

It may not look that clean to some,

but it's more than fine for me.

I bought this fabulous book last weekend.
An illustrated book on how we are all
connected to the universe.

Science and art, rolled into one.
Hardcover, and it was something like $18 (CAN).

I love the book.

Anything that encourages
learning and thinking
is a good thing.

Too many of us have lost the ability (or the desire?)
to spend any time thinking on things.
We keep ourselves so busy,
that we barely allow ourselves time
to think of what to make for supper.

And with cell phones now,
we are almost constantly distracted 
from our own thoughts.

Sometimes, when things get heavy out there,

or when things just don't make any sense to me -

it feels good to be reminded that we are ALL part

of a huge universe,

more connected than not,

and that even in nature, 

there is suffering.

So I didn't just clean my desk,

I cleaned the whole room,

and man, did it feel good once it was done.

And the best part?

I got rid of a LOT of books.

Like between 75 or 100.

That's huge for me.

I'm kind of a nerd when it comes 

to getting rid of books.

They just feel much more a "part of me"

than clothes or shoes or furniture. 

But I let them go with good intentions,

hoping that whoever reads them,

gets as much out of them as I did.

Besides, there's a time for everything, right?

Some of the books I purged had me thinking:

"why the hell did I want to read THIS?!?" :)

Ta Daaaaaa!

Both book shelves - done.

I like organizing my books by color,

but I haven't tackled that since the cleanup.

I'm visual so whenever I'm looking for a certain book,

I can always remember the color,

and I usually find it quickly.

Plus, it looks cool when it's color coded. ;)

So I did this (below) on the evening of Feb 14th...
I was (and am still) so angry about it all.

And I did this one (below) the day after...
still processing the anger and sadness.

Some people can talk about it for an hour,
and then they're fine.
They move on to something else.

Not me.

I need to sit with the stories
and the questions, 
and the words -
sometimes for days.
None of it makes any sense,
but I'm at least able
to turn the anger & sadness
into art that becomes somewhat healing for me.

I can only hope the families of those murdered
can find their own path
to healing somehow...

Thanks for being here!
I'll keep you posted here on my new website 
as soon as it's live!
Wishing you all a happy week!
xo

a dry spell and then *poof* - big magic.

Hello friends!

It seems like every time I sit to blog lately,

I have so much to say

and I fear forgetting half of it along the way. 

First of all, let me say

it's been a heavy week.

The little painting above

is the first painting I've done in weeks

and I'm not sure you can call it a painting.

Maybe a few lines on a page

would be more appropriate. :)

Dad had surgery last week

and there were a few minor issues after the surgery,

so consequent visits to the hospital.

He is now recuperating at home

and doing better every day,

but until he was back on his feet,

I felt a little unsettled myself.

A quick pen sketch of a sick man at the hospital...

So this past Monday, 

as my son and I rushed out the door

I misjudged the steps in the garage,

fell, and sprained my foot!

I spent a few days on crutches,

a day wobbling around,

and I'm now down to a limp. :)

During these down times

of making little (or no) art,

I tend to write more.

And of course, I read a lot.

I'm usually the one trailing behind

when it comes to reading the hot books

or seeing the hot movies.

I saw the Titanic movie about

a year after it was a hit.

I just recently watched Avatar.

But a few weeks ago,
I went to the bookstore and picked this up.
I was almost happy to be off my feet
for a few days,
just so I could curl up with this one.

I love so much of what she writes in here,
I basically wanted to underline the whole thing.
For anyone who is living a creative life,
this book is such a gift.
I love what she says here
about passion...

So many of us are bombarded
with messages of following our bliss...
of finding our passion
of doing what we love.
I'm all for doing what you love,
but sometimes, it just doesn't pay the bills
and you gotta do something shitty for a while
and on the side - do what you love!
On the side, write the novel.
On the side, play the guitar.
On the side, take acting classes.
It's those side things you do
that make life grand.
If you're lucky enough
to be able to make a living at what you love,
good for you!
But if you've yet to make a decent living at it,
DO IT ANYWAY.
Chances are good it makes you happy, right?
So already, it's worth it.
Whether or not my art (or writing)
provides a steady income for me
(and no, it doesn't)...
I'm still gonna do it because I love it.
I would still do it
if I knew I would never get a penny.
She talks about the differences
between passion and curiosity
and how we should ask ourselves this question:
What is interesting to me?

Don't you love that last paragraph?
AND THAT SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH
FOR ANYONE TO SAY
THAT THEY LIVED A RICH
AND SPLENDID LIFE.
I love it.
So reading this book during the past few days
got me fired up again
about all sorts of things.
One of those things was painting.

 Acrylic on paper.

When I first painted the black circles,
I was thinking of apples in a tree.
(it's apple harvesting time here)...

But they quickly became faces
without me having much time to think about it.

I took this picture this morning, by the window.
More accurate colours.
I like it. It makes me happy
although there's a kind of sadness to it too...

I also did some sketching

for the colouring book cover design!

This is such a fun project.

I'm as excited as everyone to see it printed. :)

It's such a joy to collaborate

with like minded people.

Not yet done, but getting there... 

Yes, this is still how excited I feel.

I stumbled upon this Canadian artist on-line this week...

Mandy Budan. 

What a lesson in patience.

Jaw dropping work.

I thought this smoke was pretty

after I put out the candle.

Maybe it'll become a painting soon?

And i finally - finally

finished this painting of mom.

I'm not totally happy with it

but I have to let it go.

I had given myself Aug 15th as a deadline

and here we are - 2 months later.

Maybe I just liked her hanging out here with me -

her reassuring smile cheering me on - as always.

She may stay here for a while still. :)

Happy weekend everyone!

xx

How one book can change the world...

hello everyone.

This is Harriet Beecher Stowe. 

She's an american author who is most well known
for her book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin", 
a book about slavery and the desire for change.

A great book, although it was at times hard to read.
Too much suffering.

So many books to read...
so many things to learn.

I think women like this were so brave...

at a time where it was certainly uncool
to speak out against slavery (in the 1800's)
and where it was definitely uncool
to speak out at all, if you were a woman.

...and yet, she wrote.

It is said that when she met Abraham Lincoln,
he referred to her as
"the little woman who made this great war"
(the American civil war)

She may not be responsible for having started the war,
but one thing is certain:
she got people thinking
about why certain things were still accepted.

Why some things were still left unquestioned.

Thought is the seed that breeds action and change.

A quick tint in photoshop, and it feels more like the 1800's... :-)

And this was taken yesterday... 

today is a different picture. Another snow storm.

Another day of from school for the kids.

Another day inside for me,

drinking coffee and staying out of trouble. (giggle)

thank you all for your kind comments and emails

re: yesterday's post.

I knew most of you were kind souls

and truth seekers.

xox

groovy pants

hi folks.

A quick little groovy pants sketch.

I just wanted to make something

that would make me smile.

:-)

Sharpie markers on card stock.

I may add more "groovy-ness" to it,

and by "groovy-ness", you just KNOW i mean dots!

For now though, I'll just share my happy pants

and hope they make you smile too.

:-)

I found this wonderful quote and want to share this as well:

A master in the art of living

draws no sharp distinction

between his work and his play;

his labor and his leisure;

his mind and his body;

his education and his recreation.

He hardly knows which is which.

He simply pursues his vision of excellence

through whatever he is doing, 

and leaves others to determine

whether he is working or playing.

To himself,

he always appears to be doing both.

******

Wishing you all a great week!

xoxo

kite

Life isn't always logical... 

(a quick morning sketch - Sharpie marker on photo paper)

I always love Starbucks' Christmas coffee cups... great, simple, clean design.

...and for those of you who dare, try the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I think it's something like a million calories, but who's counting?

mmmmmmm.... :-) 

Alex

I did this one a few months ago. My study of Alex (in Greece, I believe) in preparation for a painting. Some of you may know Alex... artist extraordinaire. :o) Values are always so important in a painting - I dare say even moreso than color in a painting like this one, because of the gorgeous shadows. Looking at the value of something always helps me determine how light (or dark) the color will be.