old paintings, new jobs, and music

hello friends.

I've missed you all.

i am posting this very quickly tonight
to let you all know i'm still alive...

lots of changes for me here lately...

After days and nights of thinking about it,
and writing about it, and analyzing and discussing...
i finally made the decision to get myself a job outside the home.

So now, there's much less time to make art (and blog!)

After 8 years of working alone in my studio at home

doing a combination of graphic design, illustration, and art...

I needed a change.

There's truth to the saying:

too much of a good thing isn't always good.

It's certainly an adjustment for me,

but I know i've made the right decision.

And it's a temporary position (until September)...

something else i find very comforting. 

I suspect i'll be a crazy woman with the paints on the weekend,
so brace yourself for another post come Sunday. (giggle...)

You know that feeling when you really wanna do something,
and you can't because you just don't have the time,
so you store that extra little "wanting" inside
until you get the chance to unleash it?

Yeah, that's how i'm feeling right now about art. 

These are all old paintings of mine...

The one on the left is a dry pastel painting i did of my son when he was young...

and the one on the right is an acrylic painting on canvas of my father in law,
helping us plant potatoes in our garden. 

He lived till the ripe old age of 99...

I have a ton of old paintings hanging around the house
that i'd love to set free soon.

i don't like hanging on to paintings,
and several of these have been with me far too long now.

Not sure how i'm going to do it,
but i'm feeling the need to clear space
so i can make room for more. :-)
I'll let you all know what i decide to do with them.

I plan on catching up with your blogs this weekend.
eeeeeeeeeeek!! i can't wait!

I'll be back this weekend sometime.
Hoping you're all keeping your heads above the water.

A few videos for you...(that i may, or may not have already posted!?)

(Sia has ants in her pants, but i love her)

love and lollipops... xox

a beautiful song by Don Mclean with the wonderful paintings of Van Gogh

the fabulous Mariza... 

the first time i heard this song on the radio,

i had to pull over the car so i could catch my breath

and cry without having an accident. ;-)

i have no idea what she's singing about,

but it doesn't matter, does it?

Music touches the heart

without language.

...and the lovely Sia...

unable to sit still for more than 10 seconds. ;-)

and Coldplay... 

not sure why this song makes me feel good,

but it always does.

i am one with the world - but not with spam.

Excuse me while i kiss the sky.

Jimi Hendrix

no words are necessary, right?

 except maybe beauty

This is what i find at the end of the road
after a long early morning walk.

Some people have attained that guru state
where they feel "at one" with the universe all the time.

i haven't yet.

But in places like this...
i am one with the world.

 or when i'm painting funky oranges... ;-)

a 15 minute sketch done with colored pencils and markers.

i like the rough sketches now and then...

art doesn't need to be perfect.

Art usually expresses a feeling, or an emotion, or a thought,

so actually - it should be anything but perfect.

At least that's how i see it.

 then i did this in my little Moleskin book

micron pen, watercolor and colored pencils.
i found the photo on-line and just added text.

On another note...

i've been getting a shitload of Anonymous spam comments lately.

i hate to resort to the WORD VERIFICATION thing,

but i may finally set it up this week.

18 spam comments in my inbox on one day is too much.

If anyone out there knows of a way to get rid of them

without doing the Word Verification thing, please let me know.

By the time i trash the 10th comment,

let's just say i am not feeling very zen.

Wishing you all a beautiful Sunday and a great week

filled with health and happy things.

And maybe ice cream.

Or rainbow lollipops.

Or chocolate.

Yes. Definitely chocolate. 

xox

running on empty...

When we have passed a certain age,

the soul of the child we were

and the souls of the dead from whom we have sprung

come to lavish on us their riches and their spells...

- Marcel Proust (In search of lost time)

hello friends.

It's been a while. :-)

I've been feeling the need to disconnect lately,

so i am giving myself the time i need

to get off the ride now and then.

Too many people out there are running on empty.

A good friend recently told me

that many of us out there are feeling this need lately,

that there is a shift of energy in the world.

Who knows.

I only know that when i feel this way,
i honor the feeling and give myself what i need.

Too many of us don't give ourselves the time we need
because we feel it's lazy,
or because we're told it's selfish,
or because we believe that needing a time out
means we're weak...
unable to deal with life's difficulties.

And for some of us with different reasons,
time to ourselves is a luxury we can't afford.

I believe my "time outs" now and then

are what allow me to deal with life's difficulties

and make sense of the world.

Although many things lately still have me scratching my head...

Educated, intelligent men killing in the name of religion.

Families disowning one another.

The Boston Marathon bombing (and any other bombing happening out there)

Honor killings. (there is nothing honorable about killing. Anyone. Ever.)

CEO's with outrageous salaries. 

Televangelists = ditto.

Science and religion still arguing over who's right.

Teachers with ridiculously low salaries.

Baby pageants. Actually, all pageants. 

Why so many people are filled with such hatred.

Why so many people are still so insecure about themselves.

People who try to keep up with the Jones'...

(living a life way above their needs so they can say they've been to Hawaii too!)

...and most reality shows. ;-)

Oh, and TLC.

I didn't get the memo that said The Learning Channel

would now become the Mentally Ill Channel.

Just a few of the things that irritate the hell outa me.

Thank you for reading my rant. :-)

Sometimes, it's just hard to be in the world.

Especially if you are sensitive.

(yup, that would be me...)

There's been very little art for me these days.

I always find those dry periods a little rough -

those days where i don't feel much like being near my art table.

But i also know that these breaks are necessary for me. 

I almost always go in waves...

i've made art a habit, just like my morning walks

so whenever i go a few days without creating something

i definitely feel out of sorts - like something is missing.

So when i finally sit myself at the art table again
like last night (for the first night in many)...
my heart literally breathes a sigh of relief
and i'm home again. :-)

Thanks for being here with me.
xox

it's an Alanis Morissette kinda day today...