Cut the Can

     I'm not sure if making jewelry is a distraction from my painting, but I know I like giving it as gifts.  This pair of earrings is for my mother, Carolyn Patterson.  She deserves a little something special. 
     I appreciate art made from found or recycled objects.  I've only dabbled with the idea before.  This project gave me a reason to drive around the neighborhood with my children scouting for cans.  They were rather quick to spot them and anxious to jump from the car to snatch them.  It's rather humorous seeing your son grab a half full beer can, empty it and bring it to the car proudly exclaiming, "Look at this one!"  (And who in the world drinks beer with tomato and clam juice in it?!  Ugh!)  If you're wondering, the children and cans were thoroughly cleaned soon after that.  I'll be making more since I was pleased with this pair.  I need to use up all the cans we got!  Then I can post some on my etsy.com store for sale to justify my funny projects.

Praying or Talking to the Voices in My Head

     For me, there is a fine line between prayer and talking to yourself.  I probably do a fair amount of both.  There really doesn't seem to be a reason to determine which is which?  They each have benefits since one can lead to the other.  Talk to yourself long enough and you may realize you could pray for some guidance.  Likewise, throw out some wild prayers and you may find yourself giving the answer as you ramble on. 
     Painting can be another form of prayer.  I've walked away from my art world for a little while.  I was just exploring my options again.  Luckily, I've been praying for clarity and discussing my feelings with the voices in my head.  The universe has put some road blocks down a few of the paths.  Go figure, one of them is teaching.  That's always been a tricky path for me.  I'm not surprised that I don't feel like skipping down that one.  So, signs have been pushing me back to my art.  It's funny how my friends and family have encouraged me to stick with the art and not teaching as much.  As a career, neither one is about the money, but one is a lot more secure than the other.  (One of the reasons I felt I had to give teaching another chance.) 
     I'm still asking for guidance on my life path.  Now I can go back to painting as another way to find some answers to my questions.  It helps give focus to your prayers.   I've always been a visual thinker.  Maybe I'll see something new in my paintings this time around.

Late Night Painting

It started as a meditative mandala.  I had the intention to incorporate a lot of images similar to an Indian or a Native American style.  I drew some concentric circles, painted a base of pink (influenced by the recent pink full moon) and surrounded it by blues and purples.  Soon I was traveling far out in the universe.  Yes, when my mind wanders, I travel far, far away.  Painting late at night can lead to some fun experimental painting techniques, so I grabbed some colored sand and began sprinkling.  Most of this image, especially the original with the bright colors, is the sand that you see.  I did spray it with a clear varnish to help hold the sand on once the paint dried.  Once I had the image on the computer, I was able to play with digital editing.  I'm not always a computer's best friend, but I just love what it can do with an image.  There usually isn't any point to starting with a plan when I paint since it usually goes in a totally different direction. (Ok, that applies to the majority of my life.  I know.)

If you would like to leave some feedback, I would be interested to know which image is your favorite.  It's difficult to predict what people will be drawn towards.  I have my favorite, but I don't want to influence anyone.

Labradorite



Sunstone

Agate

Bloodstone



Obsidian

Creating a Painting is Like Building Your Own Burrito or Getting Sucked into a Good Book



Yet to be titled



I may have some similar styles or themes in my paintings, but I think the experimentation of new techniques and the surprise of the original image or emotions that come from each painting are what keeps me coming back for more.  I really don't go in with a plan.  It's like picking the restaraunt, but building your own meal as you go.  I chose art, then painting, then the brush or the hand, which paint, what colors and then where it goes.  I just watch the what is in front of me and follow.  This angel is a great example of that.  I really love bright colors now and she got lots of it.  She could be done, but she's not.  It's like a good book you don't want to end, so I'm going to keep reading.  I'm bet there's another book after this one, but I'm still enjoying this one.

Conversation with a Canvas

Look at the clouds in the sky.  What do you see? 

(Piles of cotton.)

Keep trying.

(Dragons and ducks.)

Ok, more.

(A waterfall with the mist rising, a fire, someone knitting, laughter, swirls…)

What colors do you see?

(White.)

And?

(Pink, orange, peach...like that creamy peach yogurt I had, blue as a Siamese cat’s eyes.)

What feelings do you feel?

(Calm…silly, pleasant, humble.)

What’s it telling you?

(It’s time to play.)

Listen.  Give it what wants.

A Need to Play

If I don't take time for "free play" with my art, I get a little cranky. It's my release. As I've been setting up this website and working on a few other projects, I kept denying myself the opportunity to create for no other reason than just that. Ick! That could go on forever. There's always something that needs to be done.
Once I found my excuse to slap some blank paper on the wall not knowing what it would become, all my concerns just drained away. It's easy to look back and wonder why I didn't let myself do that in the first place. Must have been a lot stuck in my mind, because some funny things came out.

"Don't Give Up Five Minutes Before the Miracle"

(I have had a horrible time uploading this image!??!