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

can you make the world a better place?

Of all the paths you take in life,

make sure a few of them are dirt.

- John Muir

Hello folks!
Here's a little glimpse of my world
during the past few weeks...

Today is Black Friday
and I'll be as far away from the stores & malls
as I can possibly get.
A frenzy of crazy, desperate shoppers...
One of my worst nightmares. ;)

I'll be going for a walk here instead

later this afternoon.

A much more centered, sane place for me.

And alas,

COLOR FOR CLARITY has arrived!

November 17th was the date of mom's passing -

3 years now -

and this was what it looked like outside.

It'll always be a sad day to me.

My mind naturally goes back

to that time,

to that room,

to those last moments.

I don't spend the whole day crying,

but I just wake up with a heavy heart

and I'm always relieved when nighttime falls.

But this year was different.

There was glimpse of happiness

in this dark, snowy day

when I received the box from Amazon

filled with our lovely books!

It's a strange thing

how "living in the moment"

takes so much effort sometimes.

The whole process of collaborating

on this colouring book

was great.

Choosing our words,

doing the illustrations,

sending them off,

dreaming of holding

COLOR FOR CLARITY in our hands.

And then we get them,

and of course it's exciting,

but within the first few minutes,

I was already thinking,

"What can I do next?!"

I literally had to stop myself,

sit myself down with the book,

smell it (like I do with most books) ;)

and slowly go through it page by page,

and only then,

i began to feel gratitude.

There's always a time and a place
to consider our next dream...

but it's important to appreciate
the moment of THIS dream
while it's here.

So fall is here
and winter is just around the corner
and although last winter was long
and cold
and snowy
and fucking depressing at times...
there's still a part of me
that loves the cocooning of this cold season.

I tend to write more, paint more,

and feel more grounded, for some reason.

With everything happening in the world,

it's more important than ever

for each of us to find our own

quiet, peaceful place.

To do what we can for others,

without losing ourselves.

Everyone has an opinion about everything.

The yahoos think they can solve world problems

when they can't even find their own socks.

I've come to realize this:
I.
can't.
save.
the.
world.

I can't solve world hunger.

I can't bring peace to everyone on earth.

It's too heavy a burden for me.

All I can do is make my own little corner

as peaceful as possible.

All I can do is my own little part,

here in this corner of the globe,

and hope that others do the same

in different little corners everywhere.

And sometimes,
that little part for me
means nothing more
than smiling at someone.

Sometimes it means giving a few dollars,
or food,
or sending a card
or clothes.
Sometimes it means 
putting myself in someone else's shoes
if only for a moment
and trying to understand their fears
and their crushed hopes
and their sense of desperation.

We live in a first world country
with first world problems
so most of us have no idea
what it's like to worry about your next meal.
Or about the safety of your children.
Or about making it through another day
alive.

So I've been playing in this little book
on and off since June.

As you can see,
some of my drawings & doodles
are far less serious than others. ;)

Books like this are designed
to encourage bad drawings...
which are as important as good drawings.
I am nowhere near perfect
so why should my drawings be?

I hate even the word "perfection".
Or anyone who strives for perfection.
Perfection is not truth.
If anything,
it's farthest from the truth.
Which is probably why i dislike social media so much...
because we see a LOT of "untruths".
A lot of "pretend perfect lives".
The happy faces.
The happy wheels.
The happy meals. ;)

And on that note,
THANK YOU to everyone who bought
a COLOR FOR CLARITY colouring book
and those who helped encourage and inspire me
along the way.
It may be a small, dinky dream to some,
but small dreams are still sweet. :)
oh, and newsflash...
I'll be doing a giveaway of Color for Clarity
right HERE in the next week or so!!
Come back for a visit soon
if you want your name to be entered in the draw!
hugs to all of you.
xx

ps: Visit Amazon.com if you want to buy your own copy of Color for Clarity today!

the sound of melting snow...

It wasn't about believing this or that,

it wasn't about good and evil and right and wrong,

it was about finding the strength

to bear the discomfort that came

with being in the world.

- Mark Haddon (The red house)

i love this quote...

because truth be told, sometimes,

it is discomforting to be in the world.

A few pics of the melting snow and ice...

always a welcome sight after months of cold winter...

the thawing out of things...

the waking up of things...

slowly, the ice is transforming...and the blue ocean is visible once again.

...sigh...

You could actually hear the snow melting...

i stood there for a while and thought the sound was as beautiful
as what it must have been like to listen to Mozart live.
Well, ok, maybe not quite as beautiful,
but close.

ice melting and droplets of water,
falling on pools of calm ocean around me...
sounding like a room full of tiny clapping hands.

the sand shifting with the thawing and the tides and the mini icebergs
pushing their way on shore...

snow fences to be mended or torn down.

a parade of picnic tables
just waiting for summer.

Who doesn't love spring?

There's been little art for me lately,
but i wanted to share this beautiful video
of Beverly Hawksley,
and artist and woman i love.

I can't seem to link the video directly here,
so i'll copy the URL and you can just paste it in your browser.

Check it out if you can.
So inspirational.
http://vimeo.com/59933056

Wishing you the kind of week that makes you smile.

xox