My Self

It occurred to me that I should do a self-portrait in my persuit of my true self. This is the first time I have felt myself worthy of a self-portrait. I've always enjoyed the self-portraits of others, like Frida Kahlo and Alice Neel, but somehow I've never felt I was worthy of the time or materials, I guess. I had the same feeling about journaling. I always thought, "Who would want to read about me?" I felt very comfortable writing about others, but never myself.

This self-portait was actually fun, once I started it. Simply painting in watercolors or acrylics had begun to bore me a few years ago, so I had stopped painting. But now that I have discovered (a bit late, I'll admit!) mixed-media and collage and so many ways to add texture, I feel energized.

The blogs of the many, many talented women out there have given me the confidence to put myself out there with this blog. I'm learning so many new things every day, especially about myself, and it's exactly what I need right now.

I'm really looking forward to finding out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. And I'm looking forward to creating many different kinds of art in the coming months and years.

Summer and Fall

In early Summer, the Bleeding Hearts are among the first flowers, and I look forward to them every year.

I miss the flowers on my patio. This summer there was a riot of color and it was so beautiful.

Now that Autumn is really here, though, I really appreciate the few hardy flowers that are still trying to survive the cool nights and keep Buddha company.