Bluebird Fantasy

"Bluebird Fantasy"

textured acrylic 

on 8 x 10 gallery wrapped canvas

I was happily surprised to learn that this painting sold over the weekend.  Yay!  I painted it a few years ago when I was beginning to experiment with textures, and it will always be one of my favorites.

(detail)

I've left the photos big, so you can click on them to see everything up close.

(detail)

(detail)

I've always really liked how this flower turned out. :0)

Now that several paintings have sold I'll be creating some more items to sell, since wall space has opened up at the little cafe gallery that sells my work.  I like that!

Things are a bit hectic here right now, with my daughter graduating from college and getting ready for graduate school.  It's a wonderful feeling to be able to share these exciting times with her.

Our sweet old Beau-doggy is still with us, too, although last week we had a few days where we thought he'd be leaving us very soon.  We're just so glad that he's still here with us to enjoy another spring, dozing outside when weather permits.

I hope you all have a good week!  

The Art of a Life

I have a confession to make.  Until a few years ago, I thought most diaries and journals were essentially narcissistic and silly.  I thought my own few early attempts were, anyway. That could be because I was told often, by a person who was very important to me in my childhood, that I should just be quiet.  I shouldn't waste paper.   I had nothing important to say, and never would.

Words like that stay with you.

But, thankfully, I realize now that we all do have something worthwhile to say.  I realize now that journaling can be whatever you want and need it to be.  It's all OK.  When I started to realize that keeping journals might be perfect for me, too, after all, I started to research how people journal. And I have found some fabulous inspiration, but none as inspirational as Dan Eldon. Dan lived a full life of adventure and humanitarianism, creating some stunning journals along the way, until he was tragically killed at only 22.

There's a book about him called, The Journey is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon, which was lovingly produced by his mother after his death.

Available on Amazon here

There is a foundation established in his name, Creative Visions Foundation, which carries on his work, combining creativity with activism in a way I've never seen before.

And there is this moving video, found on the foundation website, which was aired on CNN shortly after he died.



I don't know about you, but I am forever changed by learning about this amazing human being.

 "Find your own dance." 

~ Dan Eldon

 

A couple-two-three

dandelion stems 
(Wisconsin)

Usually when I hear that phrase, "a couple-two-three," I cringe.  But this morning, when the TV meteorologist (who says this regularly) said it during her weather forecast, I had to smile.  Because this Wisconsin phrase was going to be the perfect title for my post today.

I really do just have a couple-two-three little things to say today.

First, there are definitely some benefits to walking our old Beau-doggy these days.  He strolls so slowly, that I get plenty of time to look around me.  This morning I couldn't stop looking at what was left of all the dandelions (in the top photo).  We had some very powerful storms, with high winds and pounding rain, yesterday.  The dandelion seed puffs are all gone now, leaving behind these gorgeous stems.  They remind me of Edelweiss, the beautiful little Alpine flower.  Do you see it?

Alpine Edelweiss 
(Europe)

I also have had plenty of time to look at our pile of firewood, and noticed some more log ends which I find incredibly beautiful.  I love the different patterns of decay.

And the inside of the bark intrigues me as much as the outside these days, too.

aged bark, inside view

And, did you know that tomorrow's full moon is known as the supermoon?  That's because it will be closer to Earth than normal, and BIG.  You can read more about it here and here, or just do an internet search.

 supermoon

And finally, I've figured out part of the problem regarding lost blog comments on this blog.  With Blogger's new interface, some of the comments you leave here end up on my Blogger spam folder, and I haven't found out how to access them from the new Dashboard.  I am only able to find them using the old Dashboard configuration.  When I receive notification of a comment in an e-mail, I can click on "moderate comments" and then I'm able to see that there is something in my spam folder. I hope they fix this glitch soon.

So anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend and has at least a couple-two-three wonderful things come your way.

Why not?

Many years ago, before I started painting again, I met a very interesting older woman. She had jet-black hair and wore hot-pink sneakers. Of course I had to meet her! It turned out that she was an artist (of course!), and she invited me to her home to see her art and her studio. Looking back on this chance meeting all these years later, I finally realized something. I really think meeting her changed my life. Although it has taken me a few years to actually act on what she taught me.

She moved away, across the country, years ago. But I sometimes still think of her fabulous paintings and wall hangings, and of a phrase she used often while she was enthusiastically talking about making art, fully living her life, and learning new languages well into her 70s. Her favorite phrase was, "Why not?"

"Why not!"

I often seem to stand in my own way, rather than to boldly move forward in certain aspects of my life. Art is one of those aspects. The last few days, when I think about the different directions I'd like to go in artistically, I've been hearing this woman's voice say emphatically, "Why not?!"


Why not, indeed! Why not just go for it?! Finally show my colors and bloom where I'm planted.

Why not?!

So, I'm going to be *BOLDLY* experimenting with some new directions in art. I don't know how much I'll be showing here for a while, but I will be back with new art when I start to get an idea of where I'm heading.


In the mean time, I discovered this wonderful video today. The artist is Sarah Kiser, and her work just makes me happy.




She also has a website:
http://www.artbysarahkiser.com/

“The best way to know life
is to love many things”
~ Vincent van Gogh
found on Tumblr