Still a kid at heart

I've always loved roller coasters and amusement parks, and I doubt that will change. I imagine being 70 years old and still going on the rides, lol!
On Thursday a friend and I  went to Canada's Wonderland . What a pleasant surprise to find hardly any lineups, the longest may have been about half an hour. We went on the most thrilling rides, including Canada's fastest and tallest roller coaster. I even talked her into going on the antique carousel.I 'm sure we fit in very nicely with all the little children riding it, haha!

It was a long day, and I was so exhausted that I forgot I had wanted to play one of the games, in hopes of winning a stuffed toy.

I almost forgot to mention, I got pooped on twice by birds!! On my nice black pants!I noticed the first one when we were about to go on one of the rides...then a bit later sitting outside enjoying an ice cream, something splattered on my knee. You can see it in this photo, lol! I'm smiling because I have no idea I am walking around like this.

Don't they say it's good luck if a bird poops on you? Well I don't know if that's true or not, but later on, when we headed to the nearest mall for some quick shopping, I bought myself a lottery ticket, just in case....

Here I am, cleaned up, holding my Starbucks coffee in front of a pet store in the mall, carrying a bag from an artstore. My two addictions at the same time, life doesn't get better than this. (the expression on my face is my 'hurry up and take the picture people are looking ' face).

How weird is this, as I was finishing this post, a chickadee flew into my window, I saw it fly back into the tree and ran to the window to make sure he was ok. He seemed fine, the poor little thing! But now I'm thinking, what is it with birds and me these days??

More Carnival Gals and a blog award

hi everyone, here is my second Carnival girl/puppet. I called her 'Black Diamond Desmonda', and she goes with the other one I showed a couple weeks back. Her dress is actually a hot pink, but I couldn't get it to show properly due to the lack of sunshine outside.
Not much other  artwork to show, I've been busy the last week, but finally, I've got all my organizing done. It is an amazing feeling to have things in their place, and I know a lot of you commented that you needed to do this as well. Let me tell you, once you do the work and get it done, you will feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders, so trust me, it is worth the effort.
We are having some dreary weather right now, it goes from heavy rain, to that fine misty rain. Perfect day to stay in and create!

 Hey! Someone thinks my blog is fabulous, lol! I'd like to say thank you to sweet Lauren at fairrosie.blogspot.com, do check out her blog.
I am supposed to share 5 addictions with you, so here are mine:

1 - I'm addicted to coffee, yes I admit it. I'm sure I've mentioned it in many a blog post, lol!

2 - addicted to sugar. Even though I am trying to cut back, I love my deserts, pies, muffins, scones, they all go so well with my delicious coffee!

3 - addicted to buying art supplies. I can't stop, in fact I am about to buy a couple more paint colors (yeah, like I really need more!) and some wooden panels.

4 - my TV and DVDs. I actually watch very little tv, but I have lots of movies and TV series. Right now I'm going through Touched by an Angel Season 2

5 - Last but not least, I'm addicted to my computer....I'm on it way too much, and I sure love reading my blogs. Especially while drinking coffee and enjoying my dessert :-)

I would like to pass this award to anyone who would like it, since there is no way I could choose only 5, so feel free to share your 5 addictions. I'm a very curious gal....

Thanks for Reading!

Long overdue re-organizing

The last few days I have decided to completely re-organize my entire home. I couldn't stand the clutter and chaos any longer. So last night I went to Walmart and picked up some shelving units and storage boxes. I removed everything from one of my closets, threw out 2 bags of old clothing that I will never wear, and basically organized it so well I can't believe I never thought of this before.  It has such a better energy now. I don't have to sift through art supplies, canvases, and perfume bottles (they need to be in a cool place) that I had stacked on the floor. Now everything has it's place. 

Today's project is the kitchen, and I am being ruthless, throwing out old recipes that I have torn out of magazines over the years. I figure with the internet, and so many online recipe sites, why would you keep loose pieces of paper? Oh, and the fact that I really don't cook anything that fancy may have something to do with it, lol!

This still life painting you see has been sitting unfinished, started in an acrylics class I had taken many years ago. It was done on the last date of the class, and I remember it well because we had a blizzard that night, and me and another gentlemen were the only ones that showed up, haha! So we got lots of attention from the instructor. She had us stand at our easel, and made sure we painted with a thick brush, very loosely, and at arm's length from the canvas. I had never painted this way and it felt awkward, but in a way,  very liberating. I feel like I could see the shadow and shapes much better this way. I've always loved this painting, probably because I was surprised I could paint this way.
Maybe this weekend would be a good time to finally finish it, so that I can display it - unless I completely mess it up, lol!  We shall see.....

A lovely Saturday

Today I've been cleaning and organizing my home, so I made a cup of coffee, grabbed a pile of papers on which I draw rough sketches and ideas, and went outside for a short break. It was supposed to be unsettled weather today, but instead it is just gorgeous.  Sitting there, I looked around me at the blue sky, the clouds and the trees, and was filled with gratitude for the gift of life. 
Someone is cutting grass down the street, I hear the cars go by, and a neighbors dog is barking, but even with all that noise, everything in this moment is perfect. Whenever I can, I try to remind myself that this is the only moment we have, and we really miss out when our minds are cluttered with stuff from the past, or thoughts of the future.  How wonderful to stop the mind chatter, and just 'be'.

There is nothing like the feel of sunshine warming your body to make it seem like all is well in the world, at least in this moment. Wherever you are, I hope you are able to take a few moments, and remind yourself that being alive, even with the stress and problems, is truly a great blessing.
Have a wonderful and sacred day!

Carnival Girls

Hello lovely people!
Here she is, 'Dancing Delilah',  the painting I gave you a teeny little peak of on my last post. I had been holding onto this idea for a couple of years now, and I finally thought, enough!  I've always loved the gaudy glamour of carnivals since I was a child, and wanted to create these dolls/puppets, on a faded and shabby background.

Why did I wait so long you ask? well, I was plagued with the usual doubts of 'I'm not good enough yet'. You know, that negative voice in your head that is forever trying to hold you down.  That tells you to wait until you are a better painter/ artist/ writer, etc... Do you know what happens when you listen to that annoying voice, and don't create the thing you desire to create? Someone else beats you to it. That's right, and then you think to yourself  " I can't do it now, everyone will think I copied from so and so'.

This is not the case with these carnival girl paintings, but it has happened to me in the past when I've been holding onto an idea until I felt ready, and then one day noticed another artist doing the same thing. It can be very frustrating, and you feel deflated. 
I guess what I want to say is don't wait until you feel good enough. Just get your creativity out into the world, who cares if it is not perfect! Who said our art needs to be perfect anyway? I know I will never be fetching millions of dollars for my work, I simply do this because it is in my soul, and I can't imagine not creating. I do it because it is fun, and fulfilling. If others like my work, that is a bonus.

Creating should make you feel joyful and alive, not scared of making mistakes.  Put love into everything you do.  The world needs you to be who you were meant to be. No one else can do this.
Each one of us is a One-of a-Kind creation, so lets stop beating ourselves up over our perceived flaws, and celebrate them!

Thanks for reading

Antiques, Sunshine and a Sneak peek

hi friends!  Today I went to the Annual Christy Antique Show. It is a huge event with many antique vendors. What a fun time! I'm glad I took a camera along, as there was some interesting stuff, lol! like the photo you see above. Don't ask me what it is, haha! maybe paper mache??

The weather was perfect, hot and sunny, no clouds...although I ended up getting a sunburn on my arms. My friend asked if I wanted to use her sunblock before we left the car, and I thought I would be ok without. Well I was wrong, after a few hours in the heat, I was searching out shaded areas for relief.  
I didn't buy too much as there was so much to look at, it was hard to choose.  I picked up some antique cranberry glass buttons and black lace to use in a future painting, and I saw a primitive folk art  painting I really liked, see below.

If you haven't been to an antique market or show, you should try it. Even if you are not into antiques. I only started going the last few years, and you never know what you will find. I look for anything to use in art, and have a small collection of antique post cards and ephemera that I use.  But then I go and cover them with layers of paint, lol! like my latest painting....I adore her, and she is almost done, so I will show you a teeny tiny  sneak peek for now.

 I love the look of beeswax on a painting, but it tends to dull it, which is the whole point....for this particular painting I used more subdued color, so I'm debating whether I should use a gloss varnish to add some shine.....once I finish, I will show it.

thanks for reading!

sweet poison, and my latest cheeky girl

It is so hot today! I refuse to turn the air conditioner on, since we haven't had a real summer for the last 2 years. I am sitting in my tiny little art room, it is so sticky, but I wanted to get my cheeky American girl finished, and varnished. I'm also listening to a great program on Hayhouseradio.com on healing spices. You may as well learn something while you work right?
I was reminded of the benefits of cinammon, so I promptly went to my kitchen, got a large glass of water and added a cinnamon stick to it. Water is another thing I forget to drink, I'm sure I'm not the only one.

There are so many easy things we can do to improve our health, but we have to make the effort. Most of them really don't take that long. I get lazy...but then I hear about another person struggling with illness, and am reminded how fragile this life is. I remember hearing a phrase that said basically make time for your health, or make time for illness. I have blogged before about my addiction to sugar.  I am in the process of cutting back, but it is not easy.  I remember learning that cancer cells need sugar to thrive, so you would think that kind of information would do it, but nope. I still continued. Why is it that caring for ourselves is so difficult?
Or perhaps it is the fact that sugar -especially the High Fructose syrop, is addictive and hard to stop.

I picked up a book out of curiosity from my library called the Belly Fat Cure and skimmed it briefly. His plan is not really a diet, but a change in how you eat, and one of the things he does is tell you to cut your sugar intake to 15 grams per day. When I look at a food label, I normally look to see how many carbs are in it, since all this time I thought that was the problem. Well I was in for a shock, sugar is everywhere! even in so-called healthy 100% bran cereal!! All this time I only considered things like cookies, muffins, and cakes as the things I needed to cut back on, only to find sugar lurking in almost all processed foods.

This was reinforced by another article on the dangers of sugar I read on Mercola.com.  This concerns me because I don't think we realize how dangerous it is, and by blogging about this, I hope some of you do a little research of your own. I don't want any more people to deal with illnesses that can be avoided by eating a more natural diet. I'm just saying know the facts, and make an educated decision when you are buying your groceries.  And if you think drinking diet soda is better, think again, it is poison! .The information is all out there if we want to see it. . Our lives are way too precious to take for granted, it's time to treat our bodies like the temples that they are.

thanks for reading, and stay healthy :-)

Busy Sunday

hi friends!  this weekend is flying by so quickly. It's a good thing tomorrow is a national holiday. I spent the
morning at an antique market, it is open every Sunday during the summer, and is huge! it takes hours to get through the whole place. I normally go there looking for old books and vintage ephemera to use in my art,  or paintings I may like.  I ended up with 4 vintage children's books, and a nice horse painting.

Afterward I went with my dear friend to her boyfriend's farm and took some photos of the horses. Of course,  the weather clouded over, just like the 2 or 3 previous times I went there trying to get good pics. Once we finished, and sat down on the porch with a coffee, that's when the sun came out again. I'm starting to think I am  jinxed, lol! I know the best photos are the ones with lots of contrast, with a nice blue sky in the background but it wasn't to be this time, but I like this pic of mama and baby horse.

 Last night  I started some more whimsical owl ACEOs, including this one featuring  2 owls at a drive in, complete with popcorn and soda.  After all those angels I have been doing I felt like a change.
Thanks for reading! enjoy the rest of your day

Blonde Angel

hi friends,  yes, another angel, but I tried to do blonde hair this time...it's not so easy.  Yesterday was such a gorgeous hot day, the first in a long while, so I made myself a coffee, and sat outside with my sketchbook. I worked out details on some ideas I had a while ago, and maybe this weekend will try one out,  after I clean up my workspace, what a mess!
It was never this bad when I did simple acrylic painting, but the moment I discovered mixed media, look out! not a single piece of paper gets thrown out now, as well as anything that may be added to a painting.  I've heard this from other mixed media artists, lol! I'm sure we all peel glue off our fingers every night before bed.

Another thing I'd like to get to is actually making my small art room feel more like a creative space. Maybe some nice Christmas lights hung on the window, and a tealight holder  to keep on the desk I work on.  This is supposed to be a creative area, and it looks anything but.  It amazes me I can work in such a cluttered area, but right now, it's the only space I have. I do know artists who work on a kitchen table, and they manage just fine. We got to make the best of what we have, and work around the limitations. You somehow focus on the work at hand, but I'm tired of not being able to find what I need due to clutter.  This sounds like a good project for this long weekend.

What are your plans this weekend?

Fly

Hi folks, it sure took a lot of thought to come up with today's post title, lol!
This is just a short post, showing my latest mixed media angel, my 3rd one in the last 2 weeks. Once I finish catching up on some blogs, I will be starting another one.  May as well take advantage when you are motivated, because you never know when you will hit a little art 'slump', especially now with the nicer, sunny weather.
have a great night!

Endless Night

Every night and every morn

Some to misery are born.

Every morn and every night

Some are born to sweet delight

Some are born to sweet delight

Some are born to Endless Night

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.

Hello friends!  I  finished my latest mixed media painting called  'Endless Night'. After the pink angel I showed on my last blog post, I needed something a little darker.  I must say though, that this painting flowed so easily for me. It was so much fun, and I didn't have to think or plan, it just came together.  I'd say it's my favorite one in a long time.
She is based on the poem 'Auguries of Innocence' by William Blake, which I had memorized a while ago. One of my strange quirks that people don't know about me is that I love memorizing poems, just for the fun of it.  The lines you see above are from that poem, and I have added some on the painting, which I then covered lightly with sheer paint, and tissue paper.
There will be a companion painting for this, a lighter one, born to 'sweet delight'. 

thanks for reading!

Pink Angel

hello lovely people! I finished this mixed media angel tonight. She is a bit different from the original sketch I planned out, but once I got to this stage, I was afraid of ruining her with the idea I had. You will have to wait and see the next one I do to know what I mean. I went crazy with the background, using a few different techniques, and lots of gold leaf.
She's quite pink and glittery, just like my screen name, lol!

For the next one I think I will pull out my book on color  and try something with maybe yellow and green, for spring.

thanks for reading!

Too much TV, not enough art

After finishing my last painting, I've kind of been sitting around not sure what to do.Well, that is not entirely true, I've been watching lots of dvds. I got hooked on a TV series called Wildfire. It's about a girl out of juvenille hall who is taken to work on a horse ranch. Of course there is a love triangle involving the ranch owner's son, and the son of a rival ranch. If you are a horse fan, you will enjoy this series. It started off a bit slow, but once you got to know the characters, you will want to keep playing the next episode, and then the next.  I just finished Season 3, and now am hoping they will release the final season.  They left you with a cliff hanger, and now it is bugging me not to know what happens.  Those who live in the US are so lucky,  there is a site called  hulu.com where you can watch entire episodes. For me in Canada, I can't access it, so have to wait for the DVDs.

I also finished watching  'The Horse Whisperer' which I saw when it first came out, but couldn't remember.   What a fantastic movie, with gorgeous scenery!  The first few minutes are heartbreaking, and feature Scarlett Johansson when she was only 14. I would definitely recommend this movie if you haven't seen it already.

 Well, I suppose I should continue working on the painting I showed last week. I'm stuck right now, and not sure what to do next, so I may as well just play, and see what happens.
thanks for reading!
xoxo

Mother's Day Art and a WIP

hi everyone! I thought I would show my latest folk art painting. You may have seen the rough sketch for this last week.
What a relief to finally finsh it. I changed the background 3 times!  nothing seemed to work, so after adding some nice vintage papers for texture, I ended up gessoing over it, and trying another color. That didn't work either, it was the wrong shade of blue. So out comes the white gesso, and then I came up with this one which I am happy with. I wanted the mother and her kids to stand out against a shabby background. Now if you can't tell, the kid on the left is a boy, lol! and my very first one. I think he's kind of cute :-)

Next up, is a work in process I am doing for the Gut Art class taught by the awesome Mystele. Working with this much color and this loose is very new for me, but I'm loving every second of it. Can't wait to get back to it. This may not look  like my style, but I really enjoy learning new things. There are so many online workshops out there, and I believe in learning all you can about something you are passionate about. Art should also be fun. I realize I never play at art, I am too serious, and spend countless hours trying to make sure a painting is 'perfect'. It feels good to let go of that, and let a painting go where it wants to.
thanks for reading!

Sunday Sketch and a page from my Sketchbook

I can't believe I haven't blogged anything since last Sunday! Time sure got away from me.  Here is my Sunday Sketch,  which I did last night in bed. It's a bit rough, but I was working out a face I will be putting on canvas soon.  The other two are just folk art girls that showed up to fill the page, lol! 
If you would like to see more Sunday Sketches by other participating artists, check out Sophia's blog
Blue Chair Diary.  It's nice to see this weekly group growing.

A Page from my Sketchbook

Time for my weekly peek into my sketchbook. Except this time, it's not in my sketchbook but on a loose sheet of graph paper. I have a little secret...my favorite way of sketching is to use pen on graph paper. I'm obsessed with it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I had several hundred loose sheets lying around with sketches, and handwritten ideas on them.  Folders are filled with these loose sheets, and I keep weeding through them, trying to get the freshest ideas at the front, but they are soon buried with dozens more pages. I swear I am out of control!
One benefit to using graph paper is that you can easily line up eyes, and other features quickly. If you are a beginner to drawing faces, I would highly recommend you buy yourself some graph paper, and draw out your lines for your face. It's easy to see when you have mistakes, and easy to correct (use pencil for this).
Once you get a perfect sketch that you are happy with, take some carbon paper, and trace it onto a good sheet of drawing paper.  It sure beats measuring with a ruler, and trying to get things lined up.

 The page you see above shows some of my folk art ideas for mother's day. The one on the left with the boy and girl is one I am painting right now.  It's also one of the sketches I showed last week,  with a bit more detail.  Hopefully it will be done by tonight and I will show it here. There is nothing glamorous about these pages, it's simply a matter of getting ideas out of your head and onto paper, where you can have a permanent record.

Thanks for reading!