Burrrrrr...Cold Sunday....

Sooooo cold and windy today.  Feeling like winter for sure.

Face lift for my blog...

 I just put up a new background for my blog.  I love it!  I think it will be more complimentary to my artwork, and I think it is just more calming and pretty.  I just love the free blog stuff at Itkupili, free blog stuff.  It was fun remaking my blog tonight.  I am easily entertained!  haha

OUR TREE...

Posting some pretty pictures I took last night to help get us all in the Christmas spirit-hope you enjoy!

Etsy sales are picking up.  It's so fun to get an order!  :)

CHRISTMAS CAKE

Just finished this one today.  Guess the Scrooge in me is going away  :)

CHRISTMAS CAKE
8 x 10
acrylic, ink, collage, wax
November 2009

Meeting Lisa Kaus

Today was a great day.  Actually it started kind of blue, but turned out awsome.  I went to a store in Sellwood, OR, called THE JEALOUS GARDNER.  This is a beautiful store with garden type decor and some plants and flowers.  It is always an inspiration to go there during ANY holiday because you go home and just want to decorate your whole house...Anyway...LISA KAUS was there today having a trunk show.  She had some original work there as well as some of her prints and gift items.  I love her work so much.  She and Kelly Rae Roberts are my two favorite mixed media artists, and I admire their work so much.  Lisa's is the class I had signed up for at the ART AND SOUL event, that I was so excited about and ended up missing.  Ugh...that was a heart break!  Anyway....I met her today and she was lovely and sweet and I bought one of her originals!  Merry Xmas to me!!!!  I had my husband take our picture, so her we are...

p.s.  Lisa, if you happen to see this, I hope I didn't come off as a stalker!  I just was really excited to meet you as I really love your work and admire your style and free spirit.  It was really great to meet you!

CHRISTMAS ROSIE

Ok, back to the Christmas season.  Don't really know where the pastel cake came from.  Maybe I'll do a Christmas cake next.
This is Christmas Rosie, a little x-mas elf...hope you like her.

Christmas Rosie
8 x 10
acrylic, ink, collage, wax
November 2009

Cake...

I guess I'm craving sweets.  What a great cake though- ZERO calories!

Winter Joy...

Winter Joy
8 x 10
acrylic, ink, collage, wax
November 2009

Stuff on my shelves...

and in my art studio-  I love all my little treasures and junk!

Simple Sweetness...

With lots of xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox's

Mind baffeling!!!!

How can my baby boy be turning 19?   Mind baffeling!

Each day...

Live each day like it may be your last.  Say I love you!

Sparkles...

I love sparkly things!  Everything is better with sparkles!

sleepy...

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

Pedicure....

My sparkly blue toes!

A nice Sunday...

Today was dark and rainy, but I had a nice day anyway.  Said goodbye to Jacob (who stopped by for another visit), shopped with my honey, downtown in Portland, had a nice lunch, and cleaned and organized my art studio!  I always feel like I won the battle, when I make it happily through a dark, rainy day!  Hurray!  I won today!

I got this beautiful award this morning!  What a great way to start my day!  Thank you Barbara at A Bird in My Hand.  Barbara is a writer of romance novels, and I can't wait to sink my teeth into one of her books!  You should check out her blog, as all of her posts are very fun to read!

So as a recipient of this award, I am supposed to let you in on 7 facts about myself that you may not have known...So here goes.

1.  When I was growing up, all I wanted to be was a Mom.

2.  I love painting my toenails in fun colors, like blues and purples and sparkly anything.

3.  I lived in South Korea for 3 1/2 years.

4.   I lived in Taiwan for 2 1/2 years.

5.  I am totally deaf on my left side, after having brain surgery in 2007.

6.  I change my hair color way too much!

7.  My intuition has never lead me wrong...I just have to be sure to listen.

Now...I need to pass this on to some of my favorite blog friends!

I would like to pass this award on to four different people that inspire me in different ways.
To Renee at Circling My Head.  She is the most beautiful and graceful soul and I learn from every post that she writes.

To Carrie at Carrie Joy Art who paints the most lovely and touching paintings of angels that they will make you want to cry.

To Sherry at Everyday Possibilities who's posts always are from the heart and full of words of wisdom. Thank you for sharing those words.

To Darla at Artistic Accents by Darla who makes beautiful artwork and recently shared such a touching story and asked for all of our prayers.  I was honored to pray.

Drum roll please....

Welcome to the unveiling of LOVE-THE NATIVITY SCENE...Drum roll please....

LOVE-THE NATIVITY SCENE
24 x 30
Acrylic, Ink, collage, wax
November 2009

Sneak Peek

Here is a little "sneak peek".  I have it all finished, but I need some natural light to get a good photograph, so I will have to wait till morning.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I only want to show a little peek because it's not that good of a photo and I want you to get the full effect when you see the whole thing!  I'll post all of it tomorrow!

Nativity scene almost finished....

Well, I'm almost finished, in fact later today I will post the finished picture.  I'm really happy with it so far...can't wait to show you!

Set back...

I'm trying really hard right now to believe in possibilities, but I seem to keep getting discouraged or disappointed.  I'm not giving up, just feeling set back a bit.

workout clothes

I actually worked out in my work out clothes today!  Hurray! :)

Another one of those days...just gotta keep on plugging along I guess...

distracted....

So I got up this morning, worked on my art a little bit...put on my work out clothes to head to the gym, and...did some more art!  I'm still in my work out clothes and it's now 7:30pm!

Still working on my big project...

I have to say that this is pretty much all I can think about lately!

Sleepy ideas...

So this morning I woke up with an idea in my head, the kind that is screaming at me, yelling "make me come to life!!! Just Do It!"  (This seems to be the way my best ideas come about)
I'm supposed to create a new blog and use it to write my own little biography.  I'm supposed to make it a separate blog, so that all of my friends who enjoy my art blog won't get bored and leave me...and anyone who may be interested in my story can jump on over to my bio blog and take a peek.  I'm going to write about myself, and my life, and my flaws, and my strengths and how art has always been there for me.  It's more for me than anyone else, and maybe I will get bored with it...time will tell...

Nativity scene in progress

Finally I have found the time to get started on my big project!  This is the beginning stages of my Nativity Scene that I am so very excited about!  I will try to post the progression as I work on it.  Wish me luck!

First I drew all my characters, then refined them and traced them onto tracing paper...

Then I laid them all out where I thought they should be....

Then I transfered my picture onto my canvas with the old fashioned charcoal on the back of the drawing and went over my lines with a pencil...

Then I went over my charcoal impression with ink, and walla!  I am ready to begin painting!!!  

I'm painting this one on a big (24 x 30 ) canvas-should be fun!

Tis the season for eggnog lattes!

Mmmmmmmmm....Eggnog lattes-my fav!   :)

So many ideas...not enough time!

My definition of the word ARTIST...

I loved reading all the comments after my last post.  This journey as an artist is just amazing to me, and I love feeling connected to other artists and seeing their view of this "life style" that we are all in together.  I've always had trouble with calling myself an artist...like it was a special word that only a handful of people could possibly deserve.  But the more I see and do and experience,  I am finally discovering that I have that right too.  Even when I go to an art museum, I see all the work on the walls and still feel that so many of us deserve that title also.  I don't think that title comes as a result of the work that is done either, rather I think it is more a description of the soul and how we see the world and the need inside of us to create our version of life.  I think for me, creating is a way to leave my mark on this world, hopefully to leave it a better place after I have touched it.  I feel so lucky that this is who I am.  What a fun way to live this life!

Bigger than me...

So I hope what I'm about to write doesn't sound too pretentious, but do you ever feel like you are about to create something bigger than yourself?  Like you are just the vessel for this "special" project, and your job is to be open and listen and let it be created through you?  My next project is going to be a Nativity Scene, with all the characters, and I'm feeling so excited and moved, and I keep getting new ideas and pictures of it in my head.  I can't wait to see the finished project, almost as if I am just an observer myself...

Anyway, it is a wonderful feeling and I'm trying to just enjoy every bit of it.   I think it will be beautiful and I am so anxious to watch it come to life.

Sort of funny...huh?

Realization...

I'm really enjoying watching my style evolve.  It's just sort of fascinating to me to see it change and stay the same with each piece.  It's so fun, cause I never know how it will end or how the piece will change each time.  Going with the flow, the mood, the inspiration, the ideas, ...it's all so fun.  I'm really loving the act of creating right now.  I want to feel like this forever.  And I feel like, now that blogging is in my life, it will be easier to stay in the zone and always want to create.  Wow...it feels like a relief to know that it wont go away.  :)  It may keep changing forms, but it never has to go away...I'm smiling as I type this, can you tell?

Rain...

When it's raining outside, all I want to do is paint or sleep!

Adrenaline overload...

I got a call from the editor at Somerset Magazine!  They liked my Alice in Wonderland submissions and want to do an article on my style and put it in the March-April issue!   Someone pinch me!  I think I'm dreaming!  I want to live in the moment...the moment is very exciting, and at the same time, I'm afraid to live in the moment, cuz you just never really know if these things will really pan out....ugh!  I wish I could just take a long nap and wake up when the issue comes out!  hahaha!  Wouldn't that be sort of lovely!  But I have much too much work to do right now-I feel like I'm on a roll-its a good feeling.  :)

P.S.
Last week I drove Jacob back to college after his visit here (which he was sick for-maybe the flu) and when I said goodbye and drove away, I didn't shed a drop!  Wooooo Hooooo!   I've come along way baby!   :)

Happy Halloween Weekend FRIENDS!    Boo!