art in paint, in sand, in words, and in music

Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night.

- Virginia Woolf

i've been away from the sketchbooks for a few days,

thanks to a migraine. I get them now and then.

Whenever i get them,

the world stands still for a few days -

but i'm happily back to the drawing table again. :-)

I just finished this a few minutes ago -

this is acrylic on paper...

there may have been a left brain/right brain thing

happening here...

I only noticed after i got the basic blue paint on there

that it was rather symmetrical.

and then of course, you just KNOW i'm gonna find a face. ;-)

These shapes just looked like eyes to me,

and a nose, and mouth.

a few added white dots, and it's done.

The hardest thing for me (as an artist)

is knowing when to stop.

Then, time for a little collage/painting

 a few leaf shapes...

added circles and acrylic paint...

 a few details...

Painting abstracts always helps me let go

of the need to know the meaning of the painting.

It's very freeing to paint something

that doesn't NEED to look like anything.

At least for me it is.

And while i was recuperating on the couch,

i read this book again.

I absolutely love the soft illustrations in this book

and the story is such a fragile one...

about a young boy (Hervé) who loses his father...

Such a gentle way to share an overwhelming loss...

I leave you with this 8 minute video on sand art.

Some of you may have seen it already,

but i'm sharing it anyway,

because i not only find the art beautiful,

but i love music as well

and it's a wonderful reminder

that art extends much further

than the pencil or the paint brush.

Art is about communicating.

Across the oceans,

across different cultures,

across generations.

I don't know what that song is at 5:05,

nor what he is saying,

but it's one of the saddest songs

i've ever heard...

xox

sometimes you just need to scream and shout...

hello people of the world.

A quick little collage this afternoon.

You may see this one again soon.

I'm working on an e-book - a combination

of art and writing

and this piece was done to accompany

something i wrote a few years ago

about a dying friend.

i can't wait to show it to you all.

but for now, just the art.

Sometimes the darker themes

are the most profound, don't you think?

The most honest.

I read this quote years ago

(can't remember who wrote it!)

Bear your sadness with greater trust

than your joy.

If the world was filled with happy people

living in happy places

with happy jobs

surrounded by happy bubbles

and happy birds chirping

and happy rainbows...

i think i'd want to slit my wrists. ;-)

Life isn't always happy,

so art can't always be happy either.

At least not my art.

That's what i love about art.

If you learn to get out of your own way

and give your art the space it needs

to say what it wants to say,

it can be nothing but truth.

So after the collage, I decided to paint

this little sketch i did a while ago.

Not exactly as the sketch,

but close enough...

a few healing colours...

a bit more detail in the face...

cleaner white lines around the hair...

I'm not quite done with it yet,

so i'll post it again when it's done.

Someone sent me this today

and it cracked me up,

so i wanted to share with you.

This was the note attached to the message:

I get this poem every winter & every winter I love re-reading it.

It's a beautiful poem and so well written.

A poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

SHIT ITS COLD

The End.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

If you can't smell the roses,

play in the snow -

and if you can't play in the snow

you can always drink wine. ;-)

...giggle. 

I have a dream...

We have guided missiles

and misguided men.

- Martin Luther King Jr.