Vacation time!

Hi bloggers, I'm getting ready to go on a two week vacation.
My sister treated me to my first manicure/pedicure today...yes I am a girly girl who has never had a manicure, lol!
We have a few more things to take care of, then it's off to sunny Greece!
I will be checking in while away, but not sure how much time I will have. I would love to show some photos, we will see though.

I thought I would leave you with this cute Youtube video that was forwarded to me. Check out how this couple decided to walk down the isle on their wedding day. Enjoy!

Rain Rain Go Away!

What is with this lousy weather? The entire weekend has been rainy, or ready to rain.
In fact,the entire season has been like this, and every once in a while, we get to see a few minutes of sun! (insert sarcasm here). Since I can't do anything about this, I may as well make the best of it. Hey, at least it keeps me inside where I can paint or draw :-)
Believe me, it is not easy to look on the bright side, when I love summer. However, in one week, I am off to Greece, for a well deserved vacation. I haven't been in 9 years!

From the time I decided to go, I had 2 months to get in shape. No problem, I thought! I would do yoga, go to the gym, swim, walk, and watch my diet. Well, you can guess where this is going right? haha! not a chance...I swear this was easier to do when I was younger. Now I understand why women complain about that stubborn belly fat! I thought it would melt off with a bit of exercise, and salads every day. Oh well, I will keep reminding myself that my relatives love me no matter what I look like in a bikini, lol!

Speaking of salads, I thought I'd share one of my favorite ones with you. It is delicious, easy and healthy.

Pink's Berrylicious Salad

Spinach or a mix of baby greens
Slices of yellow pepper
Sliced vidalia onion (adds interest, but not necessary)
Any, or all of the following: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, tangerine slices
Any of the following: walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pecans
Dried cranberries
A wee bit of Brie cheese for protein, and because its good! (goat cheese works as well)

Dressing: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, raspberry vinaigrette (or your fave fruity salad dressing)

The dressing is really simple. Add olive oil to the greens, peppers and vidalia. Don't be stingy with the olive oil, its good for you :-)
Then add balsamic vinegar to taste, and mix well. Then add some of the raspberry vinaigrette for sweetness. Now toss in your fruits, nuts, cranberries and cheese, and enjoy!

Avocado and dried fruit are also nice in this.

Ok, must get back to painting :-D

If not now, when?

That question is directed at anyone who tends to postpone or procrastinate their life away. I went looking through my piles of art related stuff and came across a painting on a vintage page I did maybe a year or so ago. It was not very well done, it was an experiment, but I had wanted to start a new series. Well, that obviously didn't happen, lol! Until this weekend that is...I found it, and asked myself one of my favorite questions when I find myself putting off things that need to be done..'if not now, when?'. So I sat down and created a few of my girls, on beautiful old book pages.



There is an assumption that we have all the time in the world, when the truth is, it can be gone in a second. Instead of living in fear of that thought, it serves us well to remember that nothing is promised. So let's commit to looking at our excuses for not doing the things we want to do. If you hear that evil little excuse that says you don't have time, ask yourself, is this true? Sometimes we don't have time, it happens, don't beat yourself up for that. Life can be hectic, especially for those of you with children. You may have to sacrifice temporarily, until things settle down, and they will. But don't put things off until it is too late. If you have a passion for something, fit in a few moments a day working towards it. I cannot stress enough to people how important it is to add some joy to your life every day. Do one little thing that feels good, even if it is simply sitting quietly by a sunny window, enjoying a cup of your favorite beverage.

Creating art makes me happy, and this weekend, I fought those excuses, and got to work. I ended up with lots of new art, and a feeling of accomplishment. Tomorrow, I will have to fight procrastination again, but if I keep painting daily, it will become a habit, and then the excuses will become so quiet, they may as well not exist. At least I'm hoping :-D
Have a wonderful day!

Illustration Friday - Hollow

We are the hollow men....
is the first line from T.S. Elliot's poem titled 'The hollow men'. This week's Illustration Friday topic was a tough one for me to illustrate. I had a hard time deciding how to show 'hollow, so I went with this quick sketch, and I mean 'quick' sketch. This will never be mistaken for fine art, haha!
I made a commitment to attempt each weeks theme, and I wasn't about to be beaten by a little word.
So here are my 'hollow' men (and one woman) trudging off to work.

New Art, and other news

I love cupcakes!! so naturally I had to do a painting praising them :-D

Today I finally got around to updating my Etsy shop, it was getting quite stale. It's been a busy few weeks, and I feel pulled in many directions, which I am sure many of you understand. There is so much to do, and focusing on one thing is a problem.

This weeks word for Illustration Friday is 'hollow' and I was hoping to have something to submit, but this one has me stumped. If nothing comes to mind, I may have to pass.

Now for some good news (for me at least)...one of my prints made it to the July issue of 'Pregnancy and Newborn' magazine! What a great feeling to open up this magazine, and see my American Beauty print!
Here is a pic of the page, and the magazine. I'd like to say thanks again to Shea, for choosing my little American gal.




That's it for tonight, I have some new ACEO mermaids I finished today, but I will have to show them another day...thanks for reading my blog dear friends :-)

Illustration Friday - Shaky

This weeks topic for Illustration Friday is the word 'shaky'. It took me a while to figure out how to illustrate this one, but eventually came up with this quick little drawing showing how some of us would feel if we didn't get our morning coffee.

I would recommend joining Illustration Friday, it forces you to stretch yourself artistically. This is out of my comfort zone, but maybe if I stick with it, the ideas will come much easier. It's also a good way to kick your butt if you find yourself in a slump :-)

Happy 4th of July!!

It's been a while since I picked up my paints,(not including my journal page posted last week) so I finally started this one last night, in honor of Independence Day, and refused to go to bed till it was done. I had planned to do this one as well as one for Canada Day on July 1st, which I never got done - Sorry to my Canadian friends :-(
Just call it good old fashion procrastination, or fear, you choose, lol!

Anyway, my sister likes her except for the pink background, so what do you all think? Should I add touches of cream paint to make the pink not so obvious? or leave it?

Today is the first time I can see the blue sky, we've had such a crappy last week, with thick grey clouds and rain, so I'm off to the market to enjoy the sunshine.
Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!!