The Surprise

This is my latest painting in the class I'm taking with Wyanne. *waving at Wyanne!* Ooh, I got busted recently. She visited my blog and read my little comment about using the last painting (Scarred: see last post) as a substitute for the assignment to do THIS painting. Ha! She knew I was just kidding, though.  ;)

We were to paint whatever the word surprise meant to us. That was the assignment. Oh, that one had me stumped. I even went so far as to Google the word surprise just to get some ideas... pathetic, I know. But I started thinking about recent events and little surprises. And here's what I came up with:

I've met some awesome people on the internet. And starting tomorrow, as a matter of fact, a very special friend is launching a new artist's site called the Rabbit's Den. It is going to be so cool! And it's not just for artists. It's also for writers and poets...just check it out! So, here is what I was trying to show in my painting:  As I dance through my life, down my little path, every once in a while I come across some very special people. And this friend has certainly been a very welcome and pleasant surprise!

Scarred

This painting was in response to an art prompt by my good friend Rabbit. The prompt was actually a music video by Christina Perri singing the song "Jar of Hearts" (great song!). There was so much inspiration from that video alone...I just started playing around with paints and papers and ended up with this.  :)

So while I've been working on this and having so much fun with it, I should have been working on my next painting assignment for my class...it has me totally stumped and I'm now looking for something else to use as an excuse not to start that painting... That's not totally true, but I am scratching my head over the assignment. Happily, my sister is in town visiting and I can put off thinking about it for a few more days at least.

If I can't come up with any other ideas, I wonder if my instructor will let me use this as my painting...may be worth a try!

Blink

Yes, I know you've seen this before. A couple of versions, even... I'm taking another painting class from Wyanne called Tough Love. It's challenging (that's the tough part) and she is really a very patient teacher (that's the love).

One of the first things she did was have us look at a painting we had done and ask us what we would change about it if we could. I had done a different version of this one for a good friend in an art trade. I was going to paint a version for myself but hadn't started it yet.  My plan was just to do a painting similar to his but she suggested I look at it differently.

So I thought about it and had absolutely no ideas...lol! She gave me a few and I liked her idea of a pop art look. Then she told me about a technique that she had learned and showed the class how to do it so I tried that too. Of course she did it much better but I did give it a go. ;) Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it. At least the assignment is over and I have my painting. The deal with this class is the painting isn't finished until she says it is. I haven't heard back from her yet so I think it's finished. We shall see...

Dazzled

Dazzled, 7" x 9" Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper



"Still, what I want in my life

is to be willing

to be dazzled --"

from The Ponds by Mary Oliver



Dreaming

8 x 8, mixed media on canvas

For J, thank you for being you...

Heavy

Heavy

by Mary Oliver

That time

I thought I could not

go any closer to grief

without dying

I went closer,

and I did not die.

Surely God

had His hand in this

as well as friends.

Still, I was bent,

and my laughter,

as the poet said,

was nowhere to be found.

Then my friend Daniel

(brave even among the lions),

"It's not the weight you carry

but how you carry it --

books, bricks, grief --

it's all in the way

you embrace it, balance it, carry it

when you cannot, and would not,

put it down."

So I went practicing.

Have you noticed?

Have you heard

the laughter

that comes, now and again,

out of my startled mouth?

How I linger

to admire, admire, admire,

the things of this world

that are kind, and maybe

also troubled --

roses in the wind,

the sea geese on the steep waves,

a love

to which there is no reply?

Taking Flight

11 x 14, Mixed Media on Canvas

The Visitor

"When death comes

like the hungry bear in autumn;

when death comes and takes all the bright coins
 from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door,
full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? ...

When it's over, I don't want to wonder

if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,

or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world."

from "When Death Comes"

By Mary Oliver

Waking Up

The Journey

by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice--

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets and clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do --

determined to save

the only life you could save.



Taking Time To Heal

Tomorrow is my surgery. I made this journal page with that in mind. I'm nervous but thanks to the support and love of all my friends I know everything will be fine. I want to thank all of you for your kind words, your emails, your calls, and your prayers. All of them are greatly appreciated! :)

I plan to take a few days to recover and then spend some time with my family. I'm really looking forward to my sister visiting soon. We always have such fun with our movie marathons, art journaling, shopping sprees and general silliness.

Just a while ago I heard crunching of snow outside the door. It is getting kind of late and I couldn't imagine anyone visiting at this hour so I crept quietly to the front room and peeked out the window. There in the moonlight I saw three deer by the window. They were eating berries off one of the trees. They were right there in front of my window and didn't see me! We live up on a ridge and often there will be deer passing through but this is the first time I've been this close. It was such a nice surprise! And a great way to end the evening on a positive note.  ;)

Dark Lady: Journal Page

Been playing with collage and paint in my journal. I love using my CitraSolv pages for the backgrounds. I've torn up a few and pieced them together for this page. They have that look I just can't make with paint. I think they look like concrete here...kind of grungy. LOVE that!

This is a larger journal page; about 9 x 12. I like to work in different sizes. Found this cool sketchbook at Barnes & Noble. It had a Paris street scene on the cover. Couldn't resist that! The paper is kind of thin but when you collage, it holds up nicely. Ooh, I must stay out of there. I've been lusting after one of the Kate Spade Nook covers...I visit it every time I go into the store. Maybe hubby will get it for me for Christmas.  ;)

I've also signed up for a couple of workshops coming up in January. One is with Misty Mawn (yay! finally another workshop with Misty!) You can read about it  here.  And another workshop is with Michael DeMeng (I love his work!) through Creative Souls Ning site. You can read about it here. So lots to look forward to in January.

I want to say Happy Birthday to my brother Jamie. Today he is a big 4-0! Ha! Don't worry, little brother, I'll always be older than you. Love ya!  ;)

In My Dreams

I always think of my Mom a lot this time of year. I dream about her more. She loved Christmas! ;) She would put up two trees...more if my Dad would have let her. She loved to decorate and have an open house on Christmas Eve. It was very important for her to have the entire family there that night. Others were invited, too, but the family better show up. No excuses! Her eyes would light up when we were all milling about, munching on her cookies and fudge (yummy!), usually teasing each other about something.

So sometimes in my dreams I get these letters from her. It's as if she's on this trip and she's checking in. ;) They are usually just short notes that refer to a vague house she's staying in. It's all very strange but somehow reassuring. She seems happy. She never mentions coming home but she always seems full of energy and busy. That was how she used to be before she got sick: always doing something. ;) I sometimes wish I could just join her now. But I guess we all go when it's our time.

This will be the first Christmas I won't be spending with my family. Due to my surgery being so near the holiday we will just be staying put this year and not be making the trip. But a quiet holiday won't be a bad thing. I'll just keep reading her letters... in my dreams.  ;)

Pretty In Pink: Journal Page

It's good to be back home! Although I already miss Columbus :( I was itching to sketch and paint and get back into my studio with all of my paints and supplies. And I picked up a BIG load of goodies while I visited the Blick Art Supply store in Columbus. :) Lots of huge canvasses, paints, and encaustic paints in many yummy colors... yes, I was in heaven!

So tonight I worked on sketching this girl. I've been in a frilly, girly mood lately. Oooh, I LOVE the color pink! So I sketched her out and painted her all up in a nice sunny background. Then scanned her into Photoshop and added some digital elements. Just playing around with pink: Pretty In Pink. ;)

I was so excited to see that Blick was selling the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons individually. And I found THE perfect shade: flesh! LOVE it. Used it here on the girl. Blends great with all of the other colors I have. Now I am in my happy place.  ;)

I have to get caught up in my painting class and in the art journal group. So much catching up to do. Just wanted to take a little fun time to play tonight. Also had a close call on my trip back due to bad weather but I DID make it home all in one piece. So I hope to get back in the groove within the next few days.

Highwire

In my highwire days

I can see all the way

from Highwire Days by Psychedelic Furs

I'm off on my trip today! This is how I'll be feeling on the road. LOL! I've been reading about a lot of fatalities lately on the interstate I'll be travelling. It reminded me of this guy...up on the highwire. Hopefully I'll be able to see all the way if there is any danger looming ahead. ;)

This was a digital manipulation I put together a while back. I really liked it. It was a combination of an image I was able to get using the CitraSolv method (man on highwire) and then digitally added the rest. I have a fresh batch of CitraSolv pages that I've packed away for my trip. Of course now the house smells like oranges but hubby can deal with that. ;)

So, let the games begin! I hope to check in at least once from my little retreat. Have a great week everyone. I'll be playing dodge cars for a while out on the interstate but I hope to maneuver everything just fine.