wings to fly...

The butterfly counts not months but moments,

and has time enough.

Rabindranath Tagore

hi everyone.

The butterfly painting is done.

I finished it rather quickly - which is sometimes how it goes
for certain paintings.

Two weekends ago, there was an accident near here.
A young man was killed (18 years young) and he loved butterflies.
His mother said that she would think of him always,
especially when she saw a butterfly.

I painted this for her, and for him,
although i now question whether it'll help or hinder her healing.

I guess she can always hide it somewhere if it's too painful.

One never knows much what to do with such suffering...

These photos are not the greatest... (no natural light)

I've painted a few paintings like this one,
the kind that just seem to pour out of me.

They're usually done with intense energy and a controlled urgency
and although i don't much believe in angels,
whenever this happens so quickly,
it always moves me.

I only hope Nic's mom likes it...

And something that makes me smile...

I love Mark Twain's sense of humor and intelligence.

Don't we all know someone with 2 university degrees up their ass

and the common sense of a pea? ;-)

No offense to those of you who have 2 university degrees.

If you're reading my blog, you're already intelligent enough.

(giggle)

I also finished the boat painting a while ago.

I'm only posting this one close up,

since you're probably all so fucking tired of seeing it by now.

Notice the little Acadian flag up there... :-)

(vive l'Acadie!!) 

By the way, i've been getting so many bogus anonymous comments on my blog (usually advertising Viagra, Levitra, Valium, etc), I'm seriously considering setting up the word verification thing. But i really hate that word verification thing. Do any of you know of any other way to rid ourselves of these anonymous advertisers?

If only they knew how much i don't need Viagra... :-)

I've had very little time lately to comment on your blogs.

Please know that i'll be back soon. Can't wait to see what you've all been up to.

love and lollipops 

xox

IF - identical, and butterfly start

hi folks.

I'm linking this to Illustration Friday - the word this week: IDENTICAL.

A quiet Sunday at the easel... 

The beginning of a butterfly painting, a gift for someone
going through difficult times...

Painting insects is something i've never done before,
so i hope i render this butterfly as real as i want it to be.

The colors i used when i first began,
for the background and the outline of the butterfly.

Then i added purple and blue for the background...

I think it's gonna look good when i finish the background
and add the orange wings.

The canvas is 20" x 20", so a nice size.

These are not colors that i normally use much.
I do love them here though...

They feel like healing colors to me.

Do you ever work on a painting that just feels like it's eager to be born?

This is one of those paintings.

I'll post the finished piece when it's done.

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by,

and don't forget to hug the ones you love.

xox

ocean angel

Silence is a source of great strength. 

Lao Tzu

This morning's little sketch...

today feels melancholic to me.

A melancholic Monday.

I went for an early morning walk on the beach this morning,

and when i came back, i wrote this

in my little journal.

Life is ebb and flow.

It's about learning

when to hold on

and when to let go.

Like the turning of the tides

it comes and goes

in constant transformation.

There are days

where i have the strength

of an ox

and days where i am like

a butterfly in the wind.

On days when i am called

to have strength of steel

i go within

and imagine myself

as the ocean

capable of swallowing shores

and soothing spirits.

My heart pulses

and i become rhythm.

Back and forth,

the ticking of a clock

the breathing in and out

the breaking of waves on the shore

the singing of birds

the leaves in the wind

the footsteps in the sand

the blood in my veins...

i become one with the ocean

and there,

i find my voice.

I hope you all find some time today

to connect with what's important to you

and find your own voice.

xoxo

EMERGE and white wings...

Well, here it is. Done.

At least i think it's done.

I sometimes have to sit with it 

for a few days before i decide.

Not sure about the title...

EMERGE keeps coming to mind.

I just looked up a definition that reads:

Sea mammals must emerge periodically to breathe.

Yeah, sounds about right these days.

My apologies for the crappy photos.

Last night's painting is basically a "paint over".

(what you see here is already painted over)

I had done a painting a few years back

and hated it.

Every time i saw the painting in my studio,

i wanted to paint over it.

So i finally did,

and this one sits with me

far more comfortably than the other one did.

a few earthy, neutral colors...

and this little being was born.

I think this is the first time i've ever painted

in such neutral colors.

At least on canvas.

Maybe i just felt totally colored out

after EMERGE

and needed to get back to basics...

back to a more pure nakedness.

xoxo

flower fairy, wings and waves

Everyone should carefully observe

which way his heart draws him,

and then choose that way

with all his strength.

- Hasidic saying

It's Friday, the sun is shining

and I feel a song comin' on... 

:-)

I really wasn't sure about this one,

but a while ago,

i had sketched this in pencil

with the words 

"is there anyone out there?"

I put paint to paper,

but once i got this far,

the words didn't seem to make sense anymore.

So instead of the words,

i put a bird.

The bird is the word.

:-)

I usually go with my first instinct,

but this little flower winged fairy

just didn't seem to be someone who would question

whether or not there was anyone out there.

It's PAINT PARTY FRIDAY!!

Check out some of the other

wonderfully talented artists out there.

Get inspired.

Get pumped.

Get the paints.

I certainly had myself a party here this morning...

Here's my one rule when I sit myself down to paint:

coffee on left.

water for brushes on right.

:-)

I painted this one this morning as well.

The sea.

Inspired by the sea,

the heat wave we had yesterday,

and the promise of summer on its way!!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

xoxo

Do something that makes you smile.

Van Gogh

I went for a nice walk last night in the cold winter air

and as i looked at the beautiful moon

and the starlit sky,

i thought of this quote by Van Gogh...

I agree with Vincent.

The sight of stars makes me dream too. 

You would think after so many years

of seeing the moon up there in the sky

i would have grown accustomed to it.

But I am still in awe.

As soon as i step out the door for my walk in the evenings,

I look up towards the moon & the stars

and it still reassures me

the same way it did 

when i was 13 years old.

So here's what i painted last night,

after my cold winter walk,

in honour of Vincent Van Gogh,

and his deep appreciation for the skies...

*****

And your smile for the day. 

:-)

I think we can all relate to this one.

earth angel...

I want to say a few things about these "little women" paintings...

For those of you who are tired of seeing them, I understand. I realize that for some of you, i may seem stuck in this twilight zone filled with women with wings. I don't get it myself sometimes.

As mentioned in an earlier post, they are inspired by illness (cancer). My mother's diagnosis & the loss of a good friend in the last year. But i think the inspiration comes from elsewhere as well...

Those who know me well, know that i am not a religious person. When talking with a friend the other day, I mentioned that i don't really believe in angels - but that they must believe in me. :-) Strange as it may sound, a few months ago, I had a dream one night about Emily Carr. Why Emily Carr, you ask? Don't know.

In the dream, Emily was walking, high on a cliff of deep red earth... and i was walking below, near the water. We walked side by side (her above, me below) and she looked down on me reassuringly, smiling & gesturing for me to carry on, to keep moving in the same direction. When i woke the next morning, i made a mental note to stop eating popcorn so late at night - and to read up on Emily Carr. :-)

(For those who aren't familiar with Emily, she was one of Canada's great artists and lived a rather solitary life - but HER life nonetheless.)

After the dream, and subsequent dreams of my friend Liz, these little women came to life. Not quite sure what they mean, but i do know they want to be painted. So i paint. 

Without wanting to sound like those crackpots who think that "god speaks to them directly", I am simply painting what i feel inspired to paint at this time in my life. Two years down the road, i may be painting scenes from the holocaust... who knows.

But what i've discovered in the past year or so, is this: don't WAIT for the perfect circumstance, or the perfect moment to do what you love to do, or to love where you are, or who you are. Trust that you are exactly where you need to be right now, at this time in your life and try to make at least a bit of time every day to do something that fulfills you.

Do that for yourself, ok?

more little women

There is nothing to me like spending a Sunday night with my paintbrushes in hand. It is so important to me to get at least some painting done every day or two. I know it may seem like a lot to those who have hectic lives, but really, it's all a matter of what we choose as a priority.

What's important to you?

Do you have a creative spirit?

Do you have something to say or paint or sing or dance?

I believe we all have stories to tell...

we only need to quiet the world, quiet ourselves, and listen.