Slowing Down

Wishing ~ 7" x 9" oil on canvas panel

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75% of the proceeds of this painting go to the Hunger Project Charity. Help me help an African family build a sustainable life...and you get a painting!

Today I awoke to the sound of my computer powering up...I guess when you put your computer to sleep it lasts exactly 12 hours, and then the monitor wakes itself up again?! I didn't know that...I thought there was a ghost in my room:P, Lol! But that means I slept 12 hours! Crazy! (I only had four hours of sleep the night before, in my own defense:)

At any rate, what did I do? Rush over to check my emails, start surfing, before you know it I've got like, 12 tabs open and I'm switching back and forth, not even finishing one post before my attention is snagged by another, my brain full of images, factoids, quotes. All before my morning coffee! What!? 

And I realized, not for the first time, that I hate, and I love the internet. For it has created this fast paced society, where we're not satisfied with only one thing at a time, but we have to be speeding through, gleaning bits and pieces, and never fully absorbing anything. Looking for instant gratification, but never satisfaction, because something better or more interesting might be around the corner. It's become a necessary part of my business, but also a huge distraction and mode of procrastination.

So today instead of going for my morning run, I decided to walk. 

And what I saw, and smelled, and thought about, was truly amazing.

Did you know the forest in summer in Quesnel smells like cinammon?

I saw hundreds of deer tracks, and behind them, little mini deer tracks, telling me the story of a mama and baby following the same route as I...I wonder where they went. Are they hiding, watching me pass by? My thoughts wandered, about things important and unimportant, about things sad and happy, I acknowledged them all, and followed them around, asking what they meant to me, but allowing myself to just observe them.

I ate wild strawberries (didn't know they were still out), found a huge saskatoon bush (delicious and juicy), and peeking around the corner of a new path I saw a clearing and I found it filled with wild raspberries. So I had my breakfast, growing wild, a tasty gift from Mother Earth. 

I made a decision to try to do this every day. Acknowledge and absorb the beauty around me, get away from the computer. Be in the  moment.  Appreciate the abundance around me, because I have so much more than these people that I want to help.

Paintings for Charity

7" x 9" oil on canvas covered panel

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  Paintings for Charity

Ever since I was a young girl, I have been enthralled by images of Africa.  Even through photos, I felt their spirit shining through. I promised myself that one day I would go there and help those beautiful people with the shining faces. There seems to be power in poverty. Something in them so strong that has been tempered by suffering. Maybe this is naive, but I imagine that they must persevere by living for the spiritual gifts instead of the material ones, since their physical lack is so great.

At any rate, my dream hasn't happened yet. I got tied up in work, got married, had a family, and now the opportunity seems so distant. But now with the advent of MissionFish, I am easily able to donate right through my auctions. I will be doing a series of portraits from the photographs of amazing photographer, Steve Evans. His portraits capture the heart and soul of these beautiful people and cut to my heart as soon as I saw them.  I knew that I had to paint these shining faces, and he has graciously given me permission to use his photos for this worthy cause. 75% of the money I raise will go straight to the Hunger Project, the other 25% is just to pay for art supplies.  I hope you'll help me help these people by bidding on my paintings! Thanks in advance:)

Cheers!

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

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 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.

My Memories Suite Giveaway

Today I am hosting a giveaway...my very very first.

I was always really attracted to the "idea" of scrapbooking, and I've even managed to put together a few, before I was a full time artist and a mom. The only problem....Time! A few years ago, I started to make a scrapbook for my mom for a birthday gift. It's still not done!! I always say, "when I have time"...with my kids growing up and being soooooo...busy, I just haven't managed to finish it off.  Deciding on paper, finding the right embellishments and then cutting and gluing everything takes forever. Well, I don't have to do that anymore, because now I've found My Memories.

My Memories Suite is rated #1 on Amazon and Top Ten Reviews. You can create so many different projects: photobooks, digital scrapbooks, cards, calendars, and printables for parties, and they're free templates are gorgeous. Look what I made today, in half an hour!

I couldn't resist sharing the whole thing...it was fun to put together, and super, super easy. Basically just drag and drop your photos into the squares and...voila! A beautiful layout. They have a lot of great pre-made templates, and new ones are very affordable from their site. Everything is customizable, too. The sizes of pictures, the embellishments, the page elements...it's really a great program.

Sooooo....I guess you're wondering what you have to do to Win this great software: just follow the instructions below...

First, Like my Facebook Page or if you don't do facebook, follow my blog...

Then, follow me on Twitter

Then, answer me this, in the comment section...What made you smile today? (and tell me if you've done the other things)

I'll announce the winners in a week...and if you just can't wait, or you don't want to follow my instructions, lol, you can get 10 bucks off of the software, any time, by clicking on the little icon below...