rose and marshmallow...

hi everyone.

We're getting a blizzard here today...

this is only the beginning, taken earlier this morning.

But i have wine, so all is well. :-)

I am posting something i painted and wrote
about a week ago.

****

i just came back from my parent's place.

My father's place, now that mom is gone.

i spent a few hours there,

sorting some of mom's things…

baskets filled with her makeup,

creams and lotions,

nail polish, lipsticks,

expired medication.

Half empty bottles

sitting next to

christian crosses

and religious medals.

Empty promises

and prayers.

It felt very strange to open a tube of lipstick

and to know that she used it

only a few months ago.

To find medication,

for muscle pain

and itchy scalps

and mouth sores

and sensitive skin -

the lovely effects of chemotherapy.

It is a strange weeding out

of things.

What to keep and what to trash.

As i looked at expiration dates,

i thought about how

nothing is permanent.

Even the eye drops have a beginning

and an end.

A kind and generous soul asked me

the other day

if i had reached the anger stage

of grieving yet.

i replied no, that I hadn't,

and that i didn't think i ever would

because in my mind and heart,

there is no one to be angry with.

The doctors and caregivers

did everything they could

for my mother.

My mother

did everything she could for herself.

Compassion is much healthier

for the heart

than anger.

Life doesn't go on forever

for any one of us,

and sadly, some lives end

before we want them to.

that's just how life is.

At least that's what mom would tell me.

xox

the answer my friend, is blowing in the wind...

I consider myself a poet first and a musician second.

I live like a poet and i'll die like a poet.

- Bob Dylan

You either hate Bob Dylan,

or you love him.

There is no in between. 

i love him.

love his music,

love his poetry,

love his ability to reach so many hearts

with a song.

I don't really think much about the colors i choose.

Whatever feels right at the time.

In this case, 4 crayola crayons - plus black at the end.

For the dark shadows and thinner lines around the eyes,
I use wooden colored pencils.

you can see the difference in the eyes especially...

Maybe i made him look a little younger...

or more angry. :-)

The most important thing when doing something like this,

is to keep the hand loose,

to try to have fun,

to not be afraid to have extra lines,

and extra squiggles.

You can always apply color over them later.

Plus, the squiggles makes it more interesting, 

don't you think?

If i'm gonna do a bob dylan portrait 

that looks EXACTLY like the photo,

i may as well just have the photo.

It's not important to be precise and exact.

It's important to feel good when you're drawing.

It's important to trust yourself.

It's important to let your hand dance across the page

and color lightly in some places and darker in others

and feel the freedom of just scribbling colors

one over the other.

And if portraits aren't your thing, that's ok!

You can scribble an abstract, or a still life,

or a landscape...

it's all still beautiful,

and there's just such freedom in scribbling.

(and in music)

xox

abstract angels and mother and child...

An abstract from yesterday's painting session...

The red pieces of paper are just craft paper i buy at the dollar store...

No need for anything fancy.

I enjoy painting abstracts now and then.
Never too sure where it's going, 
and that's always exciting to me.

And i use whatever i have nearby to create any sort of texture.

In this case, an expired medicare card, dipped in paint. :-)

The whole thing was just too red and gold for me,

so i added these blotches of turquoise for contrast.

Yes, it's a squiggly angel. :-)

i love the effect of the white over the bits of red paper...

I basically just used the card on an angle,

scraping the white paint downwards.

Abstract is all about playing and exploring.

Nothing needs to look like anything, 

although if it does, that's ok too.

In this case, it kinda looks like a holy mess.

...sigh...

After that, i needed a bit more structure...

Found a photo in a magazine that i liked,

and did this watercolor in my mini Moleskin book.

A mother's love for her child... 

At least that's what i see...

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

xox