Layers and Fossils

According to a friend's facebook post, today is World Gratitude Day. I'm all over that idea. I will say it all day, everyday; having an attitude of gratitude makes all the difference in the way you view your life. I've actually had more than a few tough days in the last week. I had to remind myself how good my life really is more than once, and it really did put my problems into perspective. Another thing that calms me down and takes away those worries for a time is painting. Without a doubt I have found my Element. I can't imagine any prescription medication could calm me down any more effectively (BTW, I HIGHLY recommend the book The Element by Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D for anyone who has kids, teaches kids, or just feels like they haven't found their niche yet)

The painting above was done for an online painting course I'm taking. A study in layers and abstracts. Well I think that pretty well describes us all. We are all studies in layers and abstraction. I have a hard time with a pure abstract so I added some fossils; ammonites and turritellid gastropods. I guess my thinking was that here are some of the most common marine fossils and still some stand out more than others. We all leave a distinct impression on this world. Here are the progress shots:

Daily ephemera

A seahorse, a hip chick and a couple of hippos

graphite, watercolor, and colored pencils in watercolor sketchbook

Mama's eyes are not quite so pink in real life...hey it happens to the best of us.

graphite, watercolor pencil, and colored pencil in moleskine

September Sketches

The three month stretch of over 100 degree weather finally broke and when it did it came with strong winds that stirred the tinderbox that it is Texas into wildfires all over the state. We wake every morning to the smell of wood smoke and wonder how close it is to home today. Reminds me of living in Northern California. Scary. Dry and scary and we are all praying non-stop for rain.

This bunny started life on my work calendar last month. I think I love him. Like most calendar sketches he got pasted into a sketchbook and doctored up a bit. I've been told by several people that I need to draw whatever it is that he is smelling or leaning toward. Glad I didn't. I could tell you what it is but what fun is that. Gather your own impressions. Besides I hate when people tell me what I should add or take away from my art.

Just like it says on the journalling. I need to organize the boring parts of my life. They remain unorganized. I remain unapologetic.

Lastly, a sketch of what I wish I would get up and DO instead of just think about, turned into an impossible to do list for the mere four hours between coming home from work and getting ready for bed. Depressing. I read something today that implied that we try to do so much, accomplish so much, make our lives look so perfect because we live in a culture driven by lies and shame. Interesting theory. Which prompted me to spend this evening on the sofa with a cup of tea and mail order catalogs just to repair any damage I may have done with my list-making yesterday. Balance. Life is all about balance.

camera

Birthday present from my love. For taking pictures of my work. I hope I can live up to the incredible gift of his faith in me.

Collage of a seahorse for an online painting class. Made of letters, painted over and cut into pieces.