Ode To February
February Sunset
Rose Arizmendi (C) 2008
“The February sunshine steeps your boughs and tints the buds and swells the leaves within.”
– William C. Bryant
“I stood beside a hill
Smooth with new-laid snow,
A single star looked out
From the cold evening glow.
There was not other creature
That saw what I could see,
I stood and watched the evening star
As long as it watched me.”
– Sara Teasdale, February Twilight
Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Henry David Thoreau
Serenity
I find serenity and peace of mind on my daily walks as I observe people and things in nature that catch my eye.
Often I bring my sketch book or camera just in case I find something that may give inspiration for later paintings and also bring back happy memories.
Sometimes all we need is a little extra inspiration and imagination to help keep the creative juices flowing, and my daily walk seems to do the trick for me.
A White Rose
Rose Arizmendi (C) 2008
The world is a rose, smell it and pass it to your friends. – Persian Proverb
In The Garden
I spent most of the day cleaning up our garden, removing fallen tree limbs, raking up dead leaves, and emptying water out of the bird bath.
Afterwards I was so tired I needed to rest for awhile, so I decided to take some time to sit and relax in our garden, it was so peaceful and calming as the warmth of the sun soothed my tired achy body.
In the garden
A Beautiful Day
It was a warm and sunny day and as I was working on a painting, the birds were practicing their spring love songs right outside my studio window. What a beautiful day!
Flowers in the neighbors yard
Luther Burbank Gardens
Ancient Roots
It is never too late to be what you might have been. – George Eliot a.k.a. Mary Ann (Marian) Evans
C’est La Vie
This morning my art table was covered with paint, paper, gel medium and gesso, so I cleaned it up a bit before concentrating on the new piece I wanted to work on today.
I continued working this afternoon in the studio until around dinner time. Having finished some areas that needed more work, I decided it was time to quit for the day, and began cleaning up my work area.
There is something so wonderful about getting your fingers all sticky with acrylic paint and gel medium, except when you notice you have managed to get some of it on the sleeve of your favorite sweater.
Oh well, C’est la vie. The most important thing is I did what needed to be done and had fun doing it.
Sunny Afternoon
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. -Unknown
Wild Stormy Day
My husband and I are enjoying our weekend even though the weather has been wet and wild.
This afternoon we watched this amazing video on You Tube showing the beautiful art work of a 13 year old child prodigy named Akiane. A truly inspirational story.
[youtube 7vzRpYp7WME nolink]
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
— Unknown.
Busy Week
Thank goodness it’s Friday, this week has been very busy and we are looking forward to a nice quiet and relaxing weekend, a good movie , a big bowl of popcorn and my hubby beside me, sounds like a great recipe for a perfect stormy Saturday afternoon.
Today I cleaned up the studio and set out some watercolor paper, paint and brushes so we can have a creative play date at home. My husband and I enjoy artistic endeavors so we are going to have a great time.
A Perfect Rainy Day
It was a perfect rainy day for painting, drinking chai tea and dreaming up new projects.
I got a lot of work done today and afterwards my painting area was a mess. Below is a photo of the aftermath.
The weatherman says we have a whopper of a storm headed our way this weekend bringing several inches of rain and possibly hurricane force winds, so we are battening down the hatches in preparation for this storm.
They are also expecting power outages so if I don’t post this weekend you will know what happened.
“The wind began to moan in hollow murmurs, as the sun went down carrying glad day elsewhere; and a train of dull clouds coming up against it, menaced thunder and lightning. Large drops of rain soon began to fall, and, as the storm clouds came sailing onward, others supplied the void they left behind and spread over all the sky. Then was heard the low rumbling of distant thunder, then the lightning quivered, and then the darkness of an hour seemed to have gathered in an instant”.
-Charles Dickens The Old Curiosity Shop
Lunar Eclipse
Lots of people turned out to view the lunar eclipse tonight, the last total lunar eclipse until December 21, 2010. I wanted to try and take some photos, but I couldn’t get a good shot.
I started this piece today, but was feeling a little under the weather so I put it aside for another time. Afterwards I made some tea and then took it easy for the rest of the afternoon.
Dreamer
Later I took our dog Rupert for a walk and I just happened to notice our calla lilies were blooming. I am a huge fan of calla lilies, and I love to photograph them every chance I get, so here is one of the photos I took today.
Calla Lily
Mr. Rupert
Here is a photo of our little dog Mr. Rupert. He is such a sweetie pie !
One Of Those Days
Today was cold and rainy and full of last minute changes. I’m not saying that Change is bad, but I do prefer it in small doses not all at once.
After a rather interesting morning of delays, computer glitches, a server down and other oddities, I finally returned to my painting.
I placed a newly prepared canvas on my easel, selected my paints and brushes and hit the proverbial blank wall. Zip, nada, nothing, my muse had left the building and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it..
Feeling frustrated I decided to play around with some tissue paper, rice paper, illustration board and fluid acrylic paints.
The painting below is what I ended up with, and I did feel much better for having done it as opposed to just totally giving up and not painting at all.
Rainy Day In February
RAIN POEM
“The rain was like a little mouse, quiet, small, and gray, it pattered all around the house and then it went away. It did not come I understand, in doors at all, until it found an open window and left tracks across the sill”. – Elizabeth Coatsworth