a bit of this and that - and music in the mix...

hello people.

Happy Friday!

(watercolor on paper)

I hesitate to post this because

i made poor John Coltrane look so angry...

The art we make is often a reflection

of how we're feeling at the time.

Obviously, a few nights ago,

i was not in my happy place. :-)

The photo i used...

I love how John Coltrane felt that music was a form of meditation.

Music is a big part of the creative process for me.

 (sharpie markers on photo paper)

This is what i'm playing with today.

Much happier, yes?

Confusing, but happier. :-)
Looks like something my son would have drawn
when he was about 5 years old. 

Picasso once said:
Every child is an artist.
The problem is how to remain an artist
once we grow up.

So i make it a point to draw whatever the hell i feel like drawing.

Sometimes it looks good, sometimes not.

But the point is: IT'S A DRAWING.

Truth bomb: Art is as important to me as the air i breathe.

And here's what i'm listening to today...

Hope it brings a smile to all your lovely faces. :-)

xox

put a little love in your heart...

I used to think that i could love everyone

(just like jesus and mother teresa!)

and that everyone deserved to be loved.

(acrylic and colored pencils on paper)

I used to think this was my life purpose.

To love everyone in my path, no matter what.

A flower child.

Then life happened.

I read about the Holocaust.

I learned about slavery.

I saw the Killing Fields

and Mississippi Burning

and Mahatma Ghandi…

I heard about the Beslan school massacre in 2004

and couldn't believe what was happening...

Then there were other school shootings.

And rape victims in India.

And Apartheid in Africa.

And injustice in Tibet.

I worked in the prison system

and met men who killed children

just for fun.

And then i began to realize

that I would not be able to love everyone in my path,

and that was ok.

Some days, i would be lucky to get through the day

without punching someone in the face -

let alone "love them". ;-)

With each story i heard,

with each year that passed,

with each job i held,

my circle of "people to love" was reduced

from world

to country

to city

to family

and eventually - to me.

Which is where it should have started

in the first place

but you don't know this when you're 14. :-)

I eventually understood

that there was more to life than loving everyone.

I eventually understood

that some things - i would never understand. 

(pen and watercolor on paper)

I'm ok with this now -

that i am able to love some

and not others.

That in order for me to make the best of ME,

I need to surround myself with people

who inspire me and make me feel good,

and I need to keep my distance from others.

That with some people

my heart is open

and with others

it is guarded.

Some people are easy to love.

Others - not so much.

(me at 14)

Maybe eventually,

i'll work my way up to loving the whole world again. ;-)

Who knows.

I'm told miracles happen.

xox

sometimes, winter is good for the soul...

hi folks!

A few pics from my walk yesterday...

I live near the ocean
and when it freezes over during the winter months
we get to walk on the ice (and the ski-doo tracks!)
and get a whole new perspective.

I am not alone... ;-)

they rent out these little cottages in the summer months

more animal tracks...

sometimes I see a deer or a fox crossing to the other side.

see that tiny speck on the horizon, on the left hand side?

it's a little fishing hut. 

they start fishing as soon as the ice is thick enough

to hold a small shed. :-)

the fishing shed again...far away. :-)

on my way back home,
and to a good cup of coffee. 

self portrait.

with a big jacket.

and a hood.

and huge mittens,

under my armpits

while i take the photo. :-)

Tell me this doesn't beat facebook...

xox