The Garden Girls
Mixed Media on 14 x 16 2 inch gallery wrap canvas
$125 + shipping

These are the girls who hang out in my garden all summer long.
They bring me endless moments of joy.

I can't imagine what my life would be like without my garden. Many of my first memories in life are of flowers. The tulips and zinnias in my grandmother's yard brought me moments of total wonderment that have stayed with me throughout my entire life.

Never, never, ever, discount what your grandchild remembers at an early age.

And I tend to feel this applies to life in general, you never know what positive impression you are leaving on you spouse, your co-workers, your neighbors, the universe.

My slogan for 2008 -

Keep It Simple And Be Nice

YOU MAKE MY DAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh how sweet can anyone possibly be ! My sweet friend over at A Kite Rises has awarded me the "You Make My Day" award. Thank you so much! Sometimes out here in cyberland it is difficult to feel so alone and yet experience the wonderment of connecting to other's in the world from far away places. Again thank you !

And, with that said I'd like to name a few of my favorites the "You Make My Day" award as well. Here's to Corey - Andrea - Linda - Shelly - Ulla - Sarah - Maryam

And I'm sure there are many of you that I just can't get to right this moment.......best get to work since I still need this day job !!!

Have a wonderful day everyone !!!

NEW INSPIRATION

acrylic on 14 x 16 gallery wrap canvas ready to hang

$75 + $10 shipping

Where does inspiration come from?

To me this is the great mystery of life.

Creativity seems to be the one constant in my life that cannot be harnessed. Well maybe it can be wrangled in, but truthfully, I've never tried. I just hang around my materials and resources and wait for it to strike.

Like Cupid, you could say.

Actually I tend to think of this little quirk in my life as a gift. It arrives without warning and leaves me with a sense of wonder and a belief in some divine universal force that drives us through each moment of life.

May inspiration strike the depths of your heart today.

ALMOST CHRISTMAS !

We are just a few days away from the Christmas Holidays. I've planned to take some time off and delight in the joy of my jammies and my studio for 11 straight days. Yippee !

Looking towards the new year, hey, did I say that? I've never in my entire life looked towards the new year but for some reason about 30 days or so ago, a switch flipped inside of me and things, life, people, jobs, my body, my work, my art have all shifted.

I'm looking forward to marketing my art. I'm letting go of the things, people, places, events that have been weighing me down. No I've not been in therapy. No I've not changed my drugs. No I've not been widowed or divorced. Something shifted.

I used to say I'm not a morning person. I used to get on the treadmill at night and I hated it, I dreaded it, I actually cried a few times while on the darned thing. One day (quite some time ago) a friend told me he runs early in the morning because then he gets it out of the way, it frees him up to do and think about other things during the day and he doesn't waste so much energy talking himself into running later when he'd rather be doing something else. Well I guess I filed this away somewhere in my brain because for some reason one morning I woke up at 5am, got out of bed and got on the treadmill. Didn't even have to think about it. Me, the 'NOT A MORNING PERSON" has been up and on the treadmill everyday for over a month now. Go figure.

I think the universe is smiling down on me. I think it has been all along but something within me was blocking the glow.

I very rarely post to this blog without also publishing an image. Image person that I am. But somehow today, all the words seemed "just enough".

Have a great day and drop me a line, I love hearing from you.

SOME THINGS TO THINK ON

Scan of a postcard made and sent to my daughter-in-law.

Sorry, it has post office goop on it.

What will 2008 be like for you?
Different?
Will you create a cure for horrible disease?
Maybe your love will heal someone's heart.
Or, when you close your eyes you'll hear music and smell flowers.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

ETSY SHOP UPDATE !

Well after laboring long and hard the new baby is nearly born !! There is still a bit of tweaking to do but many of my works of art are now up at Etsy.

Keep checking back, I'm on a pretty fast learning curve here ! Whew! Can you feel the wind rushing through your hair !

QUEEN OF THE FLOCK

12 x 12 acrylic on 2" gallery wrap canvas w/found crown and beads
$125 + shipping

Just once in a blue moon
will you ever meet a
bird like this ?

HOLY MOLEY, OVER RULED BY MY HUSBAND WHO THINKS THIS SHOULD REALLY BE "QUEEN OF THE FLOCK" INSTEAD OF MEET BUSTER !

He's had a few too many holiday treats and with that crown it is evident he has an ego to match his bottom !!

Buster joins me in thanking everyone who stopped to comment on my little melt-down last week about being "cute". You know, I've decided my art is what it is and if someone thinks it is cute then more power to them. Art is something that only the viewer can assign meaning too. Either you like it or you don't, you think it is cute or gross or bland.

I tend to think that what you think of me is none of my business and on a personal level that is really quite true. I am who I am and so be it ~ the same goes for my art. Even if it does bring up scary stuff from time to time.

I am grateful for each and every comment I recieve no matter what the content. Your honest comments are what allow me to grow.

Jeez, isn't life great ??? !!!!

WHAT IS ON MY MIND TODAY

I'm generally a person of few words here at this blog but today I stopped in over at Andrea Pratt's blog and her post created a fire storm of emotion for me.

I've thought about opening an Etsy shop. The posts at Andrea's really made me stop and think long and hard about the value of that idea.

Lately I've been getting a few comments on my art posted here. A couple of people have used the word "cute". Now PLEASE don't get me wrong, I really truly appreciate ANY comment I get because, well, quite frankly I get so few comments so any affirmation of my work is of value to me. But, do I want my work to be seen as "cute" ??

Oh, god, I feel so damned lost as an artist.

I have friends who tell me they think my art is remarkable. Let's be honest here, how much stock should a person put in the opinion of friends?

I had four pieces at a boutique gallery for nearly a year. Only two items ever sold. I know, I know someone will say "find your audience". That is true. And if I want this to happen I need to make it happen for myself. No one else will do it for me.

So on the other side of this, my friend who is such a champion of my work is bringing two people to my house today to look at furniture and art for potential purchase. I guess she feels strongly enough about my work to talk it up to her network. I'm excited, scared. What next?

Off to think on this some more......................

If anyone is out there, your honest feedback is what I really need right now.

THIS SAYS IT ALL, DON'T YOU THINK???

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

Once in a blue moon, you might see a green camoflouge cow.

A BIRD WHO RAN AWAY FROM HOME

I love birds. Don't really know why for sure.
When I first painted this, it felt a bit too
folky. But then I started thinking about
the story this bird held under her wing,
close to her heart.

I think if you click on the image you'll get
an expanded view and then you
will be able to read "her story".

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

MORE ADVENTURES IN FURNITURE

Here is another of my husband's tables that I painted. What do you think?

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

Here "Jack" the first installment of my
Once in a Blue Moon Series.
I just love this guy.

SWEET BABY STUART

"Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the tunes without the words
and never stops
at all. "
Emily Dickenson

It seems impossible that Stuart would be 29. Sometimes I tell myself the pain has eased. Sometimes I even manage to let the date slip by altogether.

Be nice, live fully, love your children.

Copper Poppy

So this weekend I ran out of fresh canvases so resorted to a postcard. I haven't done these in quite some time and I guess I didn't realize how vital they are to my creative process.

KEEP IT SIMPLE AND BE NICE

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE - NEW MEXICO

This little old guy was really something. He announced to the few locals in the little market that he was out to bag some rabbits, and had anyone seen some good ones. Yikes.

I just love these back roads of New Mexico.

I always try imagine what these folks do for a living, how do they make enough money to pay the bills. Out here in the middle of nowhere, I doubt they have huge living expenses, what with no Starbucks, fast food, Hobby Lobby. Well, you guessed it, my imagination always comes up dry. I guess the guy behind the wheel relies on rabbits for dinner.

And then of course I start thinking about our culture, our society, our consumption. Our need for new jeans and the latest style boots.

What is really important in life? Rabbits or jeans? Perception is everything I guess.

BEHIND THE RED DOOR

I always love looking at the images of doors that other people post at their blogs. So here is my contribution. The colors jumped out at me in the cool autumn air.......and imagine the almost overwhelming smell of apples on trees, lying the in the grass........that was the scene. Fall is my favorite time of year. My children were born in the Fall, I once lived in New England where the Fall season is spectacular and I guess, well, I just love the Fall. What else is there to say????? I'm such a visual person that words often escape me.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

I just love her face. Looking at our lives with love and compassion. I so much need a warm mother figure in my life.

I took this photo Sunday afternoon in Cuba, New Mexico.

AUTUMN APPLES

Autumn is my favorite time of year.

Last weekend we attended the Highroad Studio Tour where I photographed these apples outside an artist's studio. The air was just perfect, not too cool, not too hot. Some areas were so thick with apples on trees that the air literally hung with fragrance.