fun in the sun and death.

Hello folks!

It's been cloudy & rainy here for the past few days.

Perfect weather for art & reading. :)

When the weather is beautiful,

I wanna be outside.

I took these about a week ago...
a place nearby called the Bouctouche Dunes.

You'd think nothing would grow in sand,
but beach grass does. 
This place is sort of an Eco-Center
and bird sanctuary,
so they keep it as green as possible.

A lovely boardwalk...

Part of it was demolished by a rough winter storm one year.

They repaired part of it, but it's not quite as long as it used to be.

Granddad & his little girl...

having fun with the rocks.

how precious is that...

 Beach bums... :)

 A quick little sketch of my bathroom counter.

It was Ernest Hemmingway's birthday this week,
so a painting on paper in honour of the man & his stories.

I chose blue, because like Van Gogh & other artists,
writers also have blue periods.

I think Hemmingway's blue period lasted a lifetime.

I've discovered that the only way i can paint looser,

is to use a really crappy, bigger brush.

This shot was taken at daylight.
A lovely difference...
When I'm doing a painting quickly
(this one took about 30 minutes),
I want to avoid too much detail.
If I start getting caught up in details,
the painting is gonna take 3 hours 
instead of 30 minutes,
and sometimes, just like you,
I don't have 3 hours. :)

 These were mom's glasses.

Watercolor on paper.
I've been working on her portrait this week too.
I think i'm finished, so i'll be sharing that with you soon.
I usually like to leave it for a few days,
just to make sure i feel ok with it.

It's true what they say about grief coming in waves.
Life goes on, but sometimes, 
something as small as a piece of clothing,
or seeing mom's handwriting
makes me miss her all over again.

Of course I miss her everyday,
but sometimes, the grief catches me off guard.

Death is a strange thing.
I'm grateful that mom enjoyed her life to the fullest.
She may not have been happy all the time
but she was honest
and she made the most of each day.
Too many of us lose sight of that during our lives.
We get caught up in the 'busy-ness'
and the buying
and the doing
and the accomplishing
and we forget about the BEing.
We forget that we could not wake up tomorrow.

Once in a while
I read the top 5 regrets of the dying, just to remind myself:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to 

    myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I'm sure most of us can relate to many of these.

I know I certainly can.

There are so many lessons we can learn
from those who have gone before us.
My mom worked in nursing homes,
with old people who sometimes died in the night,
with her by their bedside.
Maybe this is why she had deep gratitude for life.
Because she understood how fragile it was.
Mom was deeply compassionate & caring.
Maybe this is why I have deep gratitude for life...
:)

summer scatter brain

hello lovely people!

First, I'm sorry I disappeared for so long.

It's summer here

and it's been hot, hot, hot!

Need I say more?

I am spending as much time as I can outside

and as little time as I can on the computer.

Secondly, I have several pics to share,
so i hope this post doesn't explode on me. :)
It is the annual Lobster festival here in Shediac
and these few photos were taken on July 1st - Canada Day (evening)

Shediac is the Lobster Capital of the world...
which basically means nothing,
but lots of tourist come in during July to share in the excitement. ;)
And yes, the big lobster is always an attraction.

Kids love to play on the big claws
and have their photo taken with Mr. Fisherman. :)

I thought this little girl admiring the flowers was so cute...

Guess where I've been spending some time? 
We have several beaches around here,
and the above sketch was done in the morning.
I love the beach during the morning or evening.
Too hot for me during the day now,
and crowded with too many tourists.

Another beautiful one (Parlee Beach) 
where I often go for walks during the evenings.

So beautiful, especially when the tide is low.

Even the seagulls are cooling off.

I had to take a picture of this.
When my nephew was about 5 years old (he's over 30 now),
he rarely swam in the ocean  because he said
he didn't like the lettuce. :)
Makes me smile every time I see it now.

A friend got me this book
and i've been sketching like a madwoman
along with drinking wine
because his mom also got me this glass
and i have to use it. 
Often.
Because that's what friends do for one another.
:)

 Beautiful clouds...

"Is that thunder I hear"?
dad's dog Fluffy is terrified of thunder. :(

My son works in a Vietnamese restaurant in Shediac
and I wanted to give the owners a little something
because they've been so good to him.

She is from a small coastal village in Vietnam called Sa Dec
so I found a few images on line
that I hoped would bring back fond memories for Binh.

I did 2 small paintings (6" x 6") on canvas...

And in the end, I was happy when my son told me
that they both loved them
and hung them in the restaurant.

A quick little Paul Cézanne watercolor on thick board.

And a few books I got from Amazon
to give me the kick in the ass I need
to take that LAST step towards publishing my book.
Or maybe these books are actually distractions?
Either way, summer has always been a 
"running on empty" kinda season for me.
I sketch a bit and paint a bit
but far less than I do in the fall.
It's a slow motion season.
It's a "do what you want" season.
It's a "pay attention to what's around you" season.
It a gestational period.
But come the fall -
I get a burst of energy like no other time of the year
and I "make something" with everything I gathered in my head
during the hot summer months.

I suspect most artists do the same thing.

I want to post more consistently - like once a week -

and have smaller posts ;)

You shouldn't feel like you're reading a book

when you visit here.

I'll probably aim for Friday posts,

although I'll be leaving myself lots of flexibility

cause I don't do well with rules

or with anything that constrains me.

The minute you say: "don't think of a cow",

you can bet your butt

i'll be thinking of a cow.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!

Thanks for visiting here - I appreciate you all.

Now get off the computer

and go outside if you can. :)

xx

a whole lota lovin'

hello people!

I can't remember if I shared these or not,
but if I did, i'm sharing again. :)
I don't watch much TV,
but when I do, I often sketch at the same time.
I keep a sketchbook nearby with pens & crayons
so if I feel like drawing, everything's there at my fingertips.

These sketches were done while I was watching

the movie, Saving Private Ryan. 

The ones above are of a church that had been blown up

and that the soldiers were using as shelter.

These are done quickly, 

because you only have a few minutes of a certain scene

on the tv screen.

I usually just sketch quickly

and add a bit of detail later on if I want.

And then this doodle below
I did while I was watching a show
on the Great Pyramids of Egypt.
The pyramids are so fascinating.
Another place i'd love to visit someday.

This is a bit different, 
because I'm not sketching something I see on TV,
I'm doodling while listening
so the drawing is really more imaginative
than figurative.

As I doodle, I lift my face now and then

to look at the TV

but mostly, I just listen and doodle what comes to mind.

I wonder if the brain absorbs more this way?

Either way, it is so meditative
to doodle something like this.
There's no right or wrong.
There's no rhyme or reason.
You make lines, draw circles or squares,
color certain parts in
and leave some white.
This is the kind of doodle you would do slowly.
It took me almost an hour of slow drawing,
and when I finished,
i called it a night
and had the deepest sleep.

We could wipe out so many prescription drugs in this world
if we all just made art. :)

Sketchers - my most comfortable shoes.
I am past the age of wearing sexy shoes.

Comfort is what it's all about, baby.

Added watercolor (even if it's not watercolor paper!)
so the paper buckled a bit, but whatever.

And guess what, peeps?

Today is my birthday!

(yes, another birthday!)

I turn 52 today, and I must say, it was a good one.

I did everything i love.

I went for a long walk this morning,

I read, I painted, I wrote...

I'm at that age now where once in a while,

reality sets in and I think to myself:

Is this it?

Is this my life?

Have I done everything I wanted to?

and the answer is always NO, of course not!

We always want more, don't we?

So I thought I'd share 52 things about me

that you may not know.

You may not care about them either - but what the hell.

I'm sharing them anyway cause

it's my birthday and I get to do what I want! Yay!

1. I was born in Massachusetts, US, but we moved to Canada when I was 7.

2. I backpacked in Europe by myself when I was 30. I would do it again in a heartbeat, only this time, I'd be smarter about it. 

3. I hate huge corporations. They treat people like numbers. I hate that.

4. I used to dream about working in 3rd world countries, helping others.

5. I want to go to India before I die.

6. I am not religious. (yes, i know most of you must know this already). :)

7. I am an introvert. (another "not so big surprise" to those who know me).

8. I am often alone but rarely lonely.

9. I love books. (surprise!!)

10. I once had a drink with my dad in an old fashion saloon in Great Falls, Montana, USA. The kind of saloon you see in movies - with swinging doors!

11. I lost my wallet in Paris and a kind stranger gave me $100. She was a nun.

12. I saw Prince (the performer) at the Charles de Gaulle airport.

13. I tented in the woods in Jasper where we hung our food in the trees to keep it away from the bears.

14. I believe pot (marijuana/cannabis) should be legalized.

15. I love being bare feet.

16. I hate wearing a bra (and I usually don't.)

17. Music moves me. Sometimes deeply.

18. Painting always makes me feel like i'm home.

19. I once went to Florida for 3 weeks with two girls I had just met one week before the trip. (We had a blast & became good friends).

20. I smoked my 1st cigarette when I was 12, hiding behind our garage. I never smoked another.

21. I was on the honour roll in high school, and my favorite subject was (ironically) Religious Studies. :)

22. I've made the trip across Canada by car twice. It's beautiful. And long.

23. I am a Maritimer, but I don't like lobster. They look too much like spiders to me. :)

24.  I've never had an entire beer. (Don't like the taste).

25.  I write everyday.

26.  I love history - in particular, Jewish history.

27.  I don't believe in life after death at this time in my life.

28.  I carry guilt about being the only one with mom when she died. I wished my two brothers had been there too.

29. Giving birth to my son was the most important and beautiful thing that ever happened to me.

30. When I was a child, I had a small, glow in the dark Buddha that I kept with me at all times - especially at night, when things were dark and creepy.

31. I'd rather drive a standard (transmission) car than an automatic.

32. I spent a lot of my teenage years horseback riding in Western Canada, rollerskating, tenting in the mountains and writing.

33. In the middle of a freezing winter, I fell through the ice while eel fishing and got pneumonia.

34. I don't go eel fishing anymore. :)

35. I only watched the BIG BANG THEORY once and didn't like it. Not funny to me.

36. I used to have pen pals around the world - including inmates who were serving life sentences.

37. I worked as a prison guard and trusted some of the inmates more than some of the other prison guards.

38. I played guitar when I was younger and wrote a few songs. I once sang one of my songs to a guy I was crazy about - and when I finished, he cried.

39. I can't stand people who cling to me.

40. I'd much rather live in a small home than a big one.

41. I believe politicians and athletes are paid far too much.

42. I believe teachers are paid far too little.

43. I need very little to be happy. Good coffee. Good music. Good books.

44. I have a soft spot for the homeless - and alcoholics.

45. When I was 13, I stayed on a teeter totter with my cousin for 5 hours. We could barely walk the next day, but after that, we felt like we could do anything!

46. I avoid big crowds and loud places. My senses just feel attacked.

47. We lived in so many different houses when I was growing up, my friends all thought I was an army brat (that my father was in the army). He wasn't.

48. When I was in grade 7, my friend and I won 1st place in a snow sculpting contest. We sculpted SNOOPY on his dog house, and we shared a trophy for an entire year. (she had it one week, I had it the other). giggle....

49. I once saved my dad from drowning in a hotel pool.

50. George Jones, the famous country singer, once sang me Happy Birthday at an outdoor concert in Maine, USA. He was sober. I wasn't. ;)

51. I once went on a weekend pilgrimage with mom and spent more time flirting with the cute bus drivers than praying. I was saved anyway. ;)

52. Being 52 is not so bad. Really. I'm happy to be here

To those of you who have read all the way through these useless tidbits -

thanks for being here with me. xx