slowly winding down... or up.

hi everyone!

Last week, my 9 to 5, four month term position ended.

And now my friends, the fun begins. :-)

AS grateful as i am for the experience (and the money),

i am more grateful to get time to myself again,

time to make art and to write again.

I plan on using this time wisely.

Over the weekend, i started this portrait.

The niece of a friend...

Nowhere near done, but a beginning, at least.
i love new beginnings...

 I'll share more pics as the painting progresses...

i'm still trying to loosen up whenever i do portraits.

It's the hardest thing for me...

i'd love to do portraits like this, by Melinda Cootsona:

or like this, by the incredible Karin Jurick...

or this...

but alas... there is no sense in comparing myself
to others.

a nice, clean workspace...

And a quote to remind me
that's is ok when it gets messy again.
:-)

Wishing you all a great day.
Thanks for stopping by...
xox

September 11th...

Something i wrote

a few days after

September 11.

in honor of the lives lost

and changed forever.

(sorry about the small text... you can read it below the video)

It has now been 3 days

Since the towers have crumbled

And lives were shattered.

3 days since the world

came to a stop

and the mourning began.

3 days since the horror

and the bravery

and the body bags,

and the ultimate loss

of freedom

for so many.

The destruction

is devastating to me.

The possibility that this

is only the beginning.

In the past few days,

we have seen the best

and the worst

of humanity.

I wonder,

If the terrorists are satisified

with having expressed their hatred

so clearly.

I wonder,

if they are proud,

of having accomplished

such a monumental task,

of eliminating THE symbol of power

and financial wealth in the U.S.

and having cast doubt and fear

on an entire nation…

perhaps on the world.

It is so unsettling

and sad to me,

to live with the knowledge

that so many of us

possess such hatred

for one another.

And now –

it is tit for tat.

An eye for an eye.

And we will watch

In desperation and disbelief

the dissintegration of

a world – a nation – a city –

a soul.

Life will continue

in one corner of the globe,

and it will end in another.

There will be death and destruction,

And the blood of innocent children

On our hands.

Hatred breeds hatred.

Love breeds love.

I sit here,

In the glorious sunshine,

Listening to crickets play

And watching the bees…

And somewhere in New York,

There are those brave souls

Who listen through the rubble

And chaos of crushed concrete –

For the sound of a human voice.

I look at fine green grass,

And beautiful yellow flowers,

And they look at body parts

And blood.

I simply don’t understand

the hatred

and the suffering.

I may understand tomorrow,

But today –

My heart is aching too much.

Pauline Leger ©

across the oceans and the universe...

The earth has music for those who listen.

- George Santayana

This is where i sat with my coffee
on Saturday morning.


















Summer is nearing the end...
sigh...
as much as i love the fall,
it saddens me to think that soon,
i'll need to toss the flip flops
and wear shoes again.

A quick little pencil sketch.
i feel rusty these days.

It looks like a garbage can
but it's actually a plastic cup. :-)

My 4 month, 9 to 5 term job ends this week.

Like anything in life,

there were good things about it,

and bad.

Most of the bad had to do with feeling

like a fish out of water

and having little time for art.

Feeling like i was betraying
my artist self.
And Roberto... you were right.
My brain was churning on new ideas all the time,
even in the confines of a grey cubicle,
and now, i am counting the days
till i can put pen to paper again
or paint to canvas.

i learned many things while i was there.

Lesson #1:

i understand my own value as an artist now

and the value of art in the world.

We are led to believe that art is less important
than other more normal professions.
When school budgets are cut,
art and music are the first to go.

And yet, when we look back at our history,
it is art and music
and writing
and poetry
and dance...
that connect us
to our past...

to the stories that matter.

That is why i make art.
To leave my mark in the world.
And because i know now
with certainty
that it is where i belong.

If art makes you alone happy
and nobody else -
then already,
it has served a grand purpose,
wouldn't you say?

 i like to think so...

Wishing you ALL a wonderful week ahead.

Do something that makes you happy.

Life is too precious to be miserable.

xox