New Dreams

A Thoughtful Cup of Tea

I was in a very thoughtful frame of mind this past week. A dear friend lost two of her furry friends in three days. My father's headstone was set and photos sent to me as family is so very far and away. Labor Day week-end became a few days of remembrances. Though this piece was actually begun well before. The cup is collaged with an image from one of my art journals, the handle formed from a small portion of some chip board shapes I have had forever. The opened envelope just appeared as I was finishing. funny how the painting can tell you what it wants. I didn't even think of a sealed envelope. This one has had its secrets revealed, as all secrets come to be revealed. The heart seal is broken..and perhaps another heart , also ? The painting is on heavy watercolor paper and mounted on half inch deep art board. I scanned this piece instead of photographing it and the color and detail is wonderful. It should be available in my Etsy in the next day or so. Or I might decide to ship it of to the wilds of California and see if they would like another article !!!!!Recycle your art images !!!! Yee=Haaaaa.

Other projects are swimming along. My Art Journaling class starts again next Monday and I have enough students to make it a go, so I am very excited about that. If you are reading this in St. Louis, you can jump in over at the St. Louis Artists Guild on Clayton. Final drafts on my Somerset Gallery article are off and getting their professional treatment. I am so excited about being in a Somerset publication. Of course, now I will have to try for a few more !!!! I have just invested in some special art quality printing paper to begin experimenting with making prints from my artwork, which will provide my Etsy shop with some more affordable images. Keep your fingers crossed on that one !

Fall is barely here and it seems I am scheduled to the minute. What a whirlwind life can become if you don't take some time out to breathe. I will attend a yoga retreat in October and I am already wanting to fast forward to days full of downward facing Dog and Warrior II. I see candy corn and marshmallow witches have already shouldered aside the summertime treats. Now don't get me wrong...I am a huge fan of candy corn and chocolate witches, but I am still mourning the weariness of my tiny garden patch which is almost empty. Guess I'll have to put up a scarecrow and a few pumpkins and get with the program.

Gratitude is a major focus in my life these days. Perhaps I am warming up for Thanksgiving. I am grateful my work is finding an appreciative audience. I am grateful to be teaching art again. I am very grateful for this corner of Middle Earth I abide in with its changing seasons and mercurial weather. I am grateful beyond words for the friends and family that inhabit my little world. They are truly the best of the best. There are days when I am grateful for every cell in my body...even the funny looking ones. There is an art to extending your gratitudes..by telling folks how important they are to you, by giving lots of hugs and by baking up some coconut zucchini bread or shortbread cookies and delivering them in your brightest basket.

What are you grateful for? Let me know. I would love to hear !

New Tricks

I learned a new trick this afternoon. How to scan an image !!!!! I'll get this techie stuff yet ! This cute little guy is a pencil sketch I made while wandering the wilds of the St. Louis zoo. An intrepid fellow artist and I braved unbearable heat and humidity to get to the zoo's climate controlled bird house and do some sketching. I was quite proud of this one simply because the birdies do tend to move about and are not cooperative models. That said, this guy and a feathery friend were snoozing so I could actually complete a decent image.

I really wanted to keep things simple and just folded a few sheets of colored drawing paper in half, stacked them and clipped them together with a bull dog clip. The resulting package was firm enough to draw on so all I needed was that and a pencil and I was off and sketching. Drawing animals takes some patience..more with yourself than with the critter. They are doing what is natural and that is precisely what gives life to the drawing. You can actually see how the stand or perch and move about. It may take several warm-up sketches for you to develop a sort of visual short hand that will give you nice results. Details definitely come last or from you memory. It is really a great exercise for sharpening your drawing skills.

Next time I plan on making some sort of envelope or sandwich board to protect the drawings a bit better. Keeping things simple is still a major goal. I am waiting for the weather to improve just a bit more so I can move onto the elephants and tigers. Oh My !

A lot on her Mind !

Have you ever had a night where your thoughts just took on a life of their own, completely ignoring the fact that it is 2:00 AM and you have to get up in a few hours ???? Sometimes it feels like a weight on one's head...a lot on my mind. Daytime is for work and chores and extra large doses of denial, but it all comes up when things get dark and quiet, doesn't it ? These ladies are obviously my companions in this process. Having a lot on one's mind doesn't mean its all bad...there is just a LOT of it.

I've been working over three or four different pieces recently, after finishing these lovelies. Some new things, some familiar subjects. Grace's teacups seem to be a legacy of inspiration. I had an interesting spin in the studio yesterday. After a night of rampant insomnia that left me with a mere two hours of very active dream filled sleep, I decided I was sentient enough to go in and spend an hour or so just drawing. I had frustrated myself a bit the day before and I thought a further frustration wouldn't matter because I was so darned TIRED.

So I took a nice friendly piece of good watercolor paper and tore it into three pieces: two small and one big. I took one of my favorite cups and placed it before me, grabbed a permanent black fine tipped pen and scribbled the cup onto my paper. Pretty cool...different, but cool. I liked it so well I collaged it immediately into my sketchbook. Then I grabbed the second piece and my black stabilo pencil..which is water soluble..and sketched away. I used a small brush to blend the pencil with some water and wound up with a not bad sketch.

Now the real fun started on the third sheet. My creativity decided it was awake even if I wasn't ! I smooshed some paint..right out of the jar onto the paper, working in blue and gold with lots of white and creating some nice grays. I stamped and smooshed and had fun with it, using a scrap of paper to blot the paint. I stopped and looked at the blotter and it looked great, so I glued that onto the bottom part of the paper. While that was drying I noticed some color copies of my art journal work poking up from my file. Hmmm. I decided to cut out a cup shape from the copy and glue that down. After that I was off and running. Something new had happened ! Every time I stopped to let something dry a bit, I noticed new ways of using many other things in my studio. I had somehow opened up a very rich vein of creativity despite being exhausted. I designed a lovely garland of butterflies, created several mini collages and sketches and had a wonderful time. I wasn't even that tired after I was finished, so I sat down and made a list of all the things I wanted to do over the next few days to complete the works I had started.

So, the lesson learned is a bit of discipline...forcing myself into the studio even though I was tired and sitting down with my materials was very worthwhile. I promise to photo all of this magic for you and post it in the near future.

I also have some wonderful news for those who don't do Facebook. Somerset Gallery is publishing some of my art work in their Winter 2010 issue which will come onto news stands December 1. I wrote the article as well so I am very excited about this. I LOVE all the Somerset publications including Somerset Life and Where Women Create. At one point I took an issue of Somerset Studio and altered the cover to include my own name as a featured artist...now I am one !!!!! Talk about visioning !!!!! I was so excited when I received the notification I laughed and cried at the same time ! I am much calmer now and looking forward to more wonderments !

Stay with me !!!

I am happily painting away and plan on being back soon with lots of great news and paintings. See you soon !

Blue Suede Shoes

Some days being Queen of the Paintbrush just ain't enough. You have to just put on your best blue suede shoes, tilt your cap and jump into the fray. Oh, where oh where have I been ? Well, I lost a few posts and decided it was Divine intervention and I needed to be focusing on my art journal class and paint projects. So I did. The fairy queen guarding her eggs was the final project demo. I completed her in class to show how fast one could put together an image with a little help from a magazine page..or two. It was a fun class and I already have folks signed up for round two, so I am happy dancing about that. It will be nice to have a bit of a break before the next season..after Labor Day..but I will miss my Monday morning run to Clayton and my picnic lunches in the park. Sigh. I love this gal's glowering stare. You just TRY to touch those eggs. HeeHeee!!!

Another journal page here. I used some buttons from a Gypsy treasure procured earlier this year. I love Gypsy markets. I dream of my very own Gypsy wagon to wander about in. I would paint and make Gypsy treasures and sleep under the stars again. Too much domestication melts brain cells. We all need to call upon our Wild Child and let her loose now and again. The fun part of art journaling is that you can just play with the unexpected: a few scraps of paper, a bit of paint and a large dose of bravery and Voila ! There you have a wonderful creation and it's all about YOU ! And, if for some reason you are NOT tickled pink by what you do that day, you can just collage right over it and start a whole new vision.

Life is not all black and White. We need a flash of color, a splash of wonder and a bit of painted magic to brighten up our days. A few new additions will be making there way to my Etsy in the next week or so. It's a bit thin over there and time for some new sparkle. Check back soon.

The case for Beauty

I have been on a short summertime hiatus, busy painting, planning and plotting all manner of creativity. My most important goal has been to get myself out the door and into my garden a whole lot more this Middle Earth Summer. Early mornings are my favorite time to grab my over sized coffee mug and wander out into the yard in my pajamas and flip flops. I find a cozy corner with a pillowed chair and a small soft blanket to ward off any small chill. I leave my books and paints behind me . I want to hear Dawn coming once again. The sun seems to come up slowly in Middle Earth. My memory of the Southwest is a very fast paced sunrise, perhaps because the sun was often popping up over a mountain rather than the edge of the earth. I like the slow Dawn.

I set my chair facing this corner. As the sun comes up a faint steam rises from the fence as a kind of dramatic precursor to the sun itself. Then I get this scene, slightly out of focus in reality because of the mist rising from the grass. The birdsong adds a touch of opera . It is all very theatrical and it happens almost every morning. A private performance, just for me. Sometimes I think God visits this little corner like I peek at my own paintings and say they are good.

I am reading a book called "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge that presents the case for Beauty being a spiritual blessing, a gift of comfort, inspiration and nourishment. They support their case by citing the beauty of nature, creation itself. I have to agree with my whole heart for many, many times when life has thrown me a curve ball, getting out into nature has saved my soul and sanity whether it was hiking Zion National Park or wandering Yosemite, two of my favorite wells of natural beauty, I have always felt a very deep sense of invitation and comfort from the beauty of nature.

So this year I planted a tiny garden. I was quite carried away when I went out to buy the seedlings and bought too many, so some live in their own pots besides the plant bed. I made some very eclectic choices. Lemon Verbena and Rosemary for scent...I pop off a leaf or two and rub them between my fingers and sigh with the pleasure of it all. I planted peppers,half of which perished, cucumbers, all prickly to ward of the local furries, three kinds of tomatoes and zucchini to make enough bread to take us through Autumn with breakfast smiles. To compliment the kitchen, I planted basil, parsley and oregano which loved their new home and are rewarding me with scent and flavor. This tiny garden, besides providing physical nourishment, blesses me with Beauty and a joy I cannot describe, but fills my heart up so full it bursts me into a smile of pure peace and contentment. My gratitude for this gift of God is literally boundless.

I will go back to the studio and make some eye candy for you very soon, but I have to grate some zucchini and slice a few cucumbers right now. Then in the cool of the evening perhaps I will take out my drawing board and pencils and capture some of this lush Middle Earth beauty to see me through the winter.