Grace ~ Flamenco Dancer in Red

Grace ~ 6" x 6" oil on canvas SOLD

Today I have another Flamenco Dancer to share with you. I have it up for bid on DailyPaintworks, so if you'd like an opportunity to own a piece of my work for a very affordable price, click on the Bid Now button above.

I am captivated by dance, especially flamenco and ballet. I've always been hopeless at anything choreographed so I am left watching in awe at the passion and energy and pure worship that can be conveyed by these amazing women. I feel like, by painting them, I can capture some of that passion for myself.

I have always loved to dance, and have a good sense of the beat, but I have never been great at learning the steps. Now that I'm older, I'd love to take salsa or flamenco classes, but they don't offer anything like that here...hmmm, maybe a suggestion to bring up with the Art's Council!

Dance Like No-one is Watching

Dance Like No-One is Watching ~ 6" x 6" oil on panel

BID NOW

 Being happy, healthy, fit...It's something that I work really hard at in my life

. But sometimes, things don't always click. It's hard to stay present and be in the moment.  There are so many distractions that we forget to have fun, and the whole staying healthy, happy and present thing just becomes one more thing to knock off on the ever growing list of things to do. I'm up at 6 for my morning run, then back home to make breakfast for the family, pack lunches, get the kids out the door, then do my weights, shower, answer emails and do all the internet stuff, start painting, paint until the kids get home from school, then try to switch my attention to house cleaning, dinner, bath and bedtime. But just like so many other parents out there, I forget to take a break and do something just for me. Something that fills me with joy. And its something that is not on the to-do list but really should be. 

I love to dance. When I was a young adult, I loved to go to clubs. It made my parents worry so much, because that environment was so not like me. I didn't drink, I didn't even have boyfriends. That's not why I went. I just wanted to dance. So the other day, one of my favorite songs, "The Mull River Shuffle" by the Rankin Family came on, and I just stopped what I was doing and danced. Like a lunatic, until I was breathless. At first my kids looked at me like I was nuts! What's mom on?! But pretty soon they starting dancing too! It's one of the last times I really remember just having fun, with no agenda...So do it, now. Click on that link and go "dance like no one is watching."

Have a lovely day, my friends.

"When we are too busy doing things for our children, we forget how important it is to simply be with them." ~ Daniel Siegel and Mry Hartzell : Parenting From the Inside Out

Check out my little lovelies:

Little Diva ~ portrait of my daughter

Little Diva ~  8" x 10" oil on panel

It's wonderful, and amazing, how your children so completely steal your heart forever. I am in love with them like nothing else! I could paint them every day, they're so incredibly beautiful and inspiring to me. I know that I see them through mommy goggles, and I'm afraid that others won't see them like I do, but that doesn't matter, does it? They're mine:)

This is a portait of my beautiful daughter, Rhiannon. I've been meaning to paint this one for a long time. It is from a photo shoot I did when she was only two. I can't believe she's six now!  And she's still obsessed with leopard print, lol! 

I am captivated by her grown up expression, her "diva" look...she seems to be the  embodiment of some glamorous fifties movie star in this pic. She was getting impatient with me, with the camera, and on the verge of getting tearful, and that shows a bit in the painting. Not so much in the photo. Strange how that works sometimes...

I realized when I painted this, that I am meant to paint people.  I know, I paint a lot of other things, because of market demand, but when I'm working on someone's face is almost the only time I'm so completely absorbed and involved in a painting that it is hard to stop for anything. I go without lunch, I get irritated with bathroom interruptions...I just want to keep going until it's finished! 

This painting will soon be on its way to the Federation Gallery in Vancouver. I was recently contacted by them and asked to send them half a dozen paintings because someone who bought my work last year was looking for more! Yay! Wish me luck...

"Belle" Portrait of a Cow

 "Belle"  10" x 10" oil on canvas  $350.00

 

This is a painting I did last week of a cow. It makes me smile when I look at it. That big dumb stare and the nose in your face, lol!

I love cows...their wet noses, their soulful eyes and the milk they give us. We get our milk from a farmer down the road. The kids love it, and I make my own yogurt and butter. It saves a load of money, plus you get the peace of mind knowing exactly where it comes from and what's in it. No antibiotics and preservatives, thank you very much! 

You can buy this painting directly from my website. If you have any questions please give me a call.