Busy Summer

Summer is always a very busy time of the year for me, and there seems to be no end to the various projects that need to be done.

So far I’ve managed to slowly whittle down a rather large to do list, but when it is so beautiful outside, it’s hard not to be distracted by Mother Nature.

Of course, I also have a stack of books next to my bedside table, patiently waiting to be read. I plan to start one real soon (like tonight) . . .  Mainly because I just can’t stand them staring at me any longer.  lol

This video is an introduction to Ashville abstract artist, Jonas Gerald. Wow! I love his energy.

thought for the day;

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” – Confucius

Rice Paper & Leaves

Here is a fabulous collage idea using thin rice paper and leaves. Wow!

I have to try this sometime.

thought for the day;

“If you create from the heart, nearly everything works;  if from the head, almost nothing.” – Marc Chagall

A Healer’s Touch

Yesterday as I was cleaning the studio, I came across a couple of watercolor and acrylic paintings, which were works in progress. They were my first attempt to break out of the cyclic creative block that I seemed unable to shake this past week.

One of them represented the different emotional and psychological imprints that can happen when one has a chronic illness. The woman figure symbolizes a medical practitioner, the flower in the vintage lab beaker is representative of our creative adaptability and  innate biological ability to heal. The bird symbolizes tapping into our own creative and healing energies.

I had covered the other canvas with sections of one of my favorite articles about a grandmother who used plant medicine to heal her granddaughter, and her ability to blend her will with the energies of the earth to nourish and sustain her family.

As I looked at these two separate paintings, I suddenly felt inspired to scan both images and thought why not combine both of them together, so I did.

I had to cut, rearrange and then merge all the different images to make them fit together. The whole process took me a couple of hours and it really helped me to break out of my creative slump. I used Photoshop & Painter IX to create the image above  from my original paintings.

So  here’s a very heartfelt thank you to all the women, mothers and grandmothers who inspire, nurture and sustain us throughout our lives.

Creativity in the Kitchen

The studio is dark, silent . . . the easel sits empty.

However, in the kitchen, all is well!

Cooking relaxes me and engages me in a creative way . . . like blending the right spices or ingredients together.

I have homemade chicken curry simmering on the stove, and mangoes, papaya, and peaches in ceramic bowls on the counter waiting to be made into salsa.  Yum!

My creativity for right now is focused on preparing wholesome, nutritious food for my family.

Peach & Papaya Salsa . . .

“Good painting is like good cooking, it can be tasted, but not explained.” – Maurice de Vlaminck

Monday

To make a long story short . . .  I’ve been out sick for the past week with a rather nasty upper respiratory infection.

I’m beginning to feel much better and am looking forward to getting back to work in the studio.

Here is an amazing animation by a young animator, Carmen Bromfield Mason.

Monday

Over the weekend I discovered  some Yupo Paper hidden away on one of my shelves, and  I was hoping to play around with it today, but I came down with a nasty flu yesterday.

So here I lie in bed surrounded by Kleenex, a big pot of hot tea and various medications which are suppose to help me get through the worst of it. C’est la vie!

thought for the day:

“Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
– Joshua J. Marine