Doodles

This guy almost could pass for Sweet Gussie boy but Gus's ears NEVER lay down. We were pretty busy at work today but I still managed to give him some fur while I was on hold on the phone. Looks like he's smiling but that just some numbers under the 16. 

This is a little hard to read. It says;

Dear tomatoes on the vine,

Take your time.

Ripen in that hot Texas sunshine.

We'll be waiting for you.

Love,

Olive Oil, Mozzarella, and

Fresh Basil

So true. Pacing back in forth in the garden. Ready for fresh tomatoes.

Got tired of coloring and just scribbled on the oil bottle. You get the idea. I want tomatoes.

To Live Is To Fly

Well here is my latest and probably last painting, for a while at least. The joy of painting has sort of flown away like these little luna moths. I don't know if I'm burned out or just uninspired. I keep saying I'm going back to the sketchbook but keep finding reasons not to. I think this laziness coincides with the purchase of my new sofa which has made my living room way more comfortable than the studio/craft-room/junk room.

This painting has been facilitated by the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Chopin (and my all-time favorite song, Berccuse in D flat, Op. 57), Crowded House, Foo Fighters, and The Cowboy Junkies who inspired this piece's title, To Live Is To Fly. To me it's easy to see what I was listening to when each piece was painted. And each piece has an over-powering sound.

Here is a photo to show the scale of the piece.  It was taken in front of what we affectionately call the potty garden because it was planted to hide the mechanics of the septic system.

Acrylic on 12 x 36 inch canvas    

             

A sore throat and a sneak peek

             

This is what I worked on this weekend. I don't mind telling you I'm less than thrilled with the progress thus far. Needless to say this was way more gorgeous in my mind. I saw the Luna moths as more luminescent. Plenty of work left to do, lots of chances to make it better. But I've had a sore throat all weekend and haven't been all that motivated. At all.

Carsen, in his astute and less than subtle way, said the bottom one was the worst.  O-kaayyy. I probably don't need to explain but it's only blocked out with a color I had leftover from another project. Chill out Car and have some faith in what (I hope) is yet to come. Hard to tell but the background is sort of purple-y. Also please ignore that greenish spot where I didn't clear the canvas as I reached over to reload my brush. This is fixable.

I did some final touch-ups on the octopus and am either satisfied with it or sick of it. Thought I'd include it's evolution as well, because I like to see other people's work in each of their stages so...

Hope to get back to some fun, non-goal-oriented, plain ole sketching soon. I also want to reread all of the Jane Austen novels, and organize the closet in the guest room (scary), and quilt all the quilt tops that are stacked on the shelf in my craft room closet but those may all be lofty goals.

Have an awesome week, friends. BE awesome.

The Queen-Of Getting-It-Done needs a break

More than a few things have been weighing me down lately. Even as we were celebrating Mother's Day I felt like a fraud. It seems that I was a better mom in the past, better at everything before I starting spending 38 hours a week in an office with enough artificial light to rival an operating theater. I clean on Saturday afternoons and by Sunday my house is dirty again (it's not just Carsen and Gus, I take full responsibility for my share of mess). I can't get past the first chapter of the book for book club in the month we were allotted to read it. I wake up with a start in the middle of the night, wondering if I mailed that payment or shoved it in my bag on my way out of the house. I'll weed the flowerbeds, go back a couple of weeks later and find four foot four-o-clocks growing jauntily in the bed where I thought I had finally cleared them out. Sometimes it feels like I'm spitting in the wind.

I had a conversation with a lovely friend today who mentioned reading an article that suggested writing down ten things you are grateful for and then going back later and reading it. I told her I used to do that. When I first read Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance, I adopted her habit of keeping a Gratitude Journal. Some days it was difficult to find the 5 things I was grateful for everyday, but in the end I always came up with more than 5. When the kids were crazy and ugly and money was tight, I was grateful for electricity and a warm house and for the knowledge that I would still love my children the next day, even if they didn't deserve it that very moment. 

So I try to remind myself of that feeling (and I WILL dig out my Gratitude Journal this evening) and find the things I am grateful for. Ten years ago I wouldn't have let my kids eat on the sofa in front of the television. Now I know that even though we are eating on the sofa, we are eating together and that is a good thing. Ten years ago I wanted more time with my parents, now I get to visit with them everyday, and my life is SO much better for it. I have less free time now, so I must learn the art of discernment. Working in an office teaches me patience and humility. And I mean, come on, we all know cleanliness is overrated. (If this is a false statement, whatever you do, please don't tell me.)

So why the octopus? I first drew that lady on a Friday evening after a really tough week. To me it means not only do I not have enough hands to get everything done that needs doing, I'm much too tired to even try. I must confess, I am not Super-woman. We were promised we could have it all, and maybe some can, but I'm finally ready to acknowledge that I can't. And that's ok. I guess. But hey, at least when I call my daughter her ring tone for me is the theme song from the 70's series Wonder Woman. When I'm near her I'll call her phone several times just to hear it. For a moment or two I can pretend I really am a Wonder Woman. That'll do for now.

A little sketching before bedtime...

Self Portrait

Hey, you know what happens when a 41 year-old woman spends her Friday night watching Looney Toons Golden Collection (disc 3 is my favorite) and playing with art supplies? This:

Well I guess he doesn't look THAT much like me. I can just relate to the strained eyes. Probably from all that reading. Acrylic and mixed media.

The Evolution of an Elephant

This is (I think) the finished version of my elephant painting. Truth be told I may tweak it several times in the next few months as nerves about showing it in public begin to sit in. 

Thought I would show the painting in stages just to demonstrate how terrifying the beginning and clumsy stages can be. 

Ewww! At this point I tell myself I should not be allowed to spend money on art supplies or even hold a brush.

Oh, his little eye is looking at me and he begs me not to give up. I think he may be a baby elephant but I'm not sure.

He is progressing along. This photo was taken at night and looks more blue than gray. That bring up the issue of light and demonstrates the difficulty of sometimes painting in natural light and sometimes at night in poor light. 

And viola! Done! Well I skipped a few days in between because I got tired of uploading pictures, so... We're done. I think. Now I need to learn how to photograph artwork. Anyone out there have any ideas on how to that? Please keep in mind that though I love the IDEA of being a photographer I don't actually  TAKE pictures or own anything other than a point and shoot camera that may or may not have batteries at any given time.