Collecting Owls

I began my love affair with owls many years ago when I was a child. Over the years I have collected, sketched and painted owls.

Recently, my neighbor passed away. She was 101 years old and also happened to be an avid collector of owls. I was pleasantly surprised to find out she was a fellow owl lover.

We will miss you Pauline. Thank you for all those wonderful conversations over the garden fence.

The Owl & The Moon- Pastel- Combined Media – 9 X 12 inches

“The crow wished everything was black, the owl, that every thing was white.” – William Blake

“In the Native American tradition, the owl is the totem for people born during the time of the Popping Trees Moon – the period between November 11th and December 10th. The time of year when owls may be often seen silently hunting at dusk, making use of their keen sight and excellent hearing. The deepening winter time is regarded as the time of coming into wisdom – a time for telling of experiences, storing memories and learning – hence its association with the owl – the bird of wisdom.” – Unknown

We’re Having a Heat Wave!

Can you believe it’s 7 am in the morning and it’s already 84 degrees outside. The weatherman says we can expect triple-digit temperatures today. Our average temperature for this time of the year is 74 degrees.

This morning as I was watering the garden, Mr. Merlin (scrub jay) showed up for breakfast. He is such a character, he actually taps on our kitchen window with his beak when he wants to be fed. As I was finishing up, I saw him frolicking in our water fountain. At least he has found a way to keep cool!

Mr. Merlin in the Garden

Erratic Day

The day was a little erratic, with taking our dog to have his nails trimmed, giving him a bath, and trying to get some painting done.

I did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours of painting. The image below is a cropped portion of the painting I worked on today.

Secrets – Digital Combined Media – 16 X 20 inches

“We dance round in a ring and suppose, while the secret sits in the middle and knows.” – Robert Frost

“If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.” – Kahlil Gibran

Monday

The day was beautiful and sunny, but somehow I just couldn’t seem to get started. I felt totally uninspired to do anything constructive.

I made some coffee and decided to try my hand at drawing a cartoon character or something. I had fun playing around with some ideas.

Later, I finally gave up and decided to work in the garden for awhile. This is the image I came up with, but all in all I think it sums the day up pretty well.

More Coffee Please! – Combined Media – 5 X 7 inches

Emerging Artists Show

Saturday we went to The Emerging Artist Show in Sonoma County, and we had a great time! Santa Rosa showcased the event at the Courthouse square, and provided live entertainment throughout the day.

Afterwards we had a nice leisurely lunch and then visited a couple of bookstores.

I would like to say Happy Mother’s day to all you moms out there! I hope you had a great weekend!

“To the world you might just be one person,
but to one person you might just be the world.”
~Author Unknown~

“We only have One Mom, One Mommy,
One Mother in this World, One life.
Don’t wait for the Tomorrow’s
to tell Mom, you love her”
~Author Unknown~

Just Showing Up

When the weather is as beautiful as it was today, I wanted to be anywhere but in the studio. Then I reminded myself what Woody Allen once said, “80% of success is just showing up.” With that in mind, I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed towards the studio.

Once I got started, I couldn’t stop. I put in at least 6 hours of work today, and loved every minute of it. Later on, I did manage to get out in the fresh air and enjoy some sunshine on my lunch break. Afterwards, I worked on the painting below.

Hope Springs Eternal – Acrylic, Mixed Media on canvas – 11 X 14 inches

Dragonflies in the Garden

I went out to water the garden this morning, and was greeted by lots of dragonflies in our backyard. It was so magical watching the dragonflies darting here and there. What a wonderful experience!

Later back in my studio I began working on a painting, which is almost finished. There are still a few areas which need work, but it needs to dry before I can continue.

One might ask oneself, “Is a painting ever finished?” This is a question artists have been asking themselves for eons, and it seems as if everybody has an opinion on the subject. Personally, I agree wholeheartedly with Rembrandt, “A painting is finished when the artist says it is finished.”

I also worked on the painting Unity, and started another canvas. I felt inspired to paint a likeness of my aunt Dorothy. All in all it was a pretty busy day.

Aunt Dorothy – Acrylic, Mixed Media- 16 X 20 inches

Unity – Acrylic, Mixed Medium – 16 X 20 inches

Thoughts For The Day

“If modern man would use it, he could find old wisdom in his heart and clear his vision enough to see from start to finish and finish to start, the circle rounding perfectly.” – Tao-te Ching

Garden Roses – Photograph – 8 X 10 inches

Gratitude

Grow.
Remember.
Accept.
Trade.
Invoke.
Treasure.
Understand.
Delight.
Explore. – Unknown

Figurative Abstract

I had some extra time today to work on my painting, so I began adding three abstract figures and collage elements to the background.

The inspiration for this piece came from some reoccurring dreams I’ve had over the past year, in which these very elongated tall abstract figures float over the landscape. They usually travel together in family groups.

Unity – Acrylic, Mixed Media – 16 X 20 inches

“I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

“Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.”
-John Muir

“I am the country, my eyes the sky, my limbs the trees,
I am the rock, the depth of water.
I am not here, in order to control nature or exploit her.
I am even nature.”
– Hopi

Monday In The Studio

I spent the whole day in my studio working on a new painting, and was feeling pretty guilty about not working on some of the other canvases waiting in the wings to be finished.

I couldn’t help myself. Inspiration hit and my muse came out of hiding, as I gleefully proceeded with my art project. I was dabbing and splashing color on the canvas as I completely immersed myself in the moment.

It felt so good to set aside my somewhat structured way of doing things, and let my creative child out to play.