Eye Of The Storm . . .

"the eye of the storm"

"mixed media on 9x12 watercolor paper"

I am happy to be back online tonite and have power at home.  More than that I am grateful that everyone I love is safe.  Hurricane Sandy devastated NY as well as most of the east coast.  Part of the city I love is under water.  A close friend of mine is homeless as the house she was renting across from the Hudson River was destroyed by the storm.  

Its times like these when you realize just how lucky you are and just how much we take for granted.  You realize what is most important.  And then you can't help but wonder . . . why was I spared?  Luckily we only lost power for 3 days and thankfully we have a generator.  I was able to keep in touch with people via my iPhone on facebook and texting.  

What I was surprised at was how much painting I did over the past few days.  Maybe it was the anxiety over the storm.  I suppose I was inspired by a hurricane.  The piece above appears to be kind of evidence of that to me.  

I used watercolor crayons, gesso, and my hands to create it.  Messy as it is oddly enough this piece is the type of art I long to create.   It just spilled out of me onto the paper and I loved every minute of creating it.   

My heart goes out to those suffering from this horrific storm.  I hope my dear blog friends that all of you are safe . . .

xo

Metallic Paints, A Heart, And A Woman . . .

I had been wanting to try some metallic paints.  I was browsing in the craft store and picked up a tube of copper paint.  It was Golden's iridecent fine copper.  It was love at first sight.  I really love the rose tones in that shade of copper.  That color was the inspiration for this painting.  

Originally I was going to make this a multilayered painting.  But then I kept looking at it after the first layer and it just felt like it didn't need much more.  I added some silver in both paint and sharpie form for some scribbles.  And splattered some of the silver as well.  I posted the image on facebook and it already has a home!  

It felt good to paint again after a long hiatus so to speak.  

In case  you missed my last post I wanted to share another piece I created this week.  I used a piece of birch wood and payne's gray.  I smeared the paint around on the wood with my hand and a paper towel.  Immediately this image appeared!  I thought it was a bit creepy at first but then I really loved it.  I used a black watercolor crayon to bring out the image and shade a bit.  It looks like a woman.  And I can't help but wonder who she is . . . 

I am sharing today over at Paint Party Friday.  If you haven't yet joined us please come by and check it out!

Click HERE

xo

Do You See Her ??

Late last night I had the beginnings of a headache.  Disgruntled and tired I tried to meditate on my Chi Machine in an attempt to get rid of my headache.  I was sure it had to be from a tight neck.  And while the machine helped I found myself still not wanting to go to sleep.  

So I grabbed an 8x10 piece of birch wood I had laying around and some payne's gray paint.  I squirted some of the paint onto the wood and smeared it around with my hand and a paper towel.  I didn't put any gesso on the wood and forgot how the wood soaks up the paint.  I used to paint this way and loved it.  You never know what will show up.  I also love the look of the wood grain coming through.  

So very quickly I noticed a face presented itself!  It is a side profile of what looks to be a woman.  I took a black crayon and shaded around the image to bring it forward more.  

I was happy to be playing with paint again and I feel like my work on wood with these images that always seem to appear feels the most like "me".

Do you see her too??

Moody Tree . . .

prints available on etsy

I continue to be staying away from paint.  Not sure why although I did recently purchase a tube of pretty copper paint the other day.  I have an image in my head of a painting that I want to use it for so we will see how long it takes for me to get to it.  Hate when I step away from the canvas.  

Having said that, there is always photography to feed my soul.  I took some pictures at the golf course where Lou works.  He took me out on a cart to some of his favorite spots.  I saw this lovely weeping willow tree and knew I wanted to shoot an image through the branches.  There was a little pond there too. When I got home I started playing with it in snapseed and I fell in love with this grunged up moody image I created.  

I hope you do too!
xo

Finding Love On the Trail . . .

On my walk this weekend I found this cool graffiti heart.  It was on the wall of an old rusty bridge.  I love the colors and textures.  

You just never know where you will find love  ;)

xo

My Breast Cancer Story . . .

In honor of breast cancer awareness month my friend and fellow survivor Sherry over at "Finding the Fierce"  interviewed me about my experience going through breast cancer treatment as a young widow.  I am now an 11 year survivor and was so pleased to have the opportunity to share my story.  

Click HERE to stop by Sherry's blog and check it out!  There is also a book giveaway involved!  If you would like the chance to win a copy of my memoir "Breastless in the City" do check out the interview post over at Sherry's!  

xo

Late Night Digital Collaging . . .

Sometimes my creativity hits me late at night.  Most of the time I try to ignore it as I hate to miss sleep.  I have enough trouble in that area that I don't want to press my luck.  However, last night I was playing with photos on my iphone and created this digital collage.  I used 3 images, 2 paintings, and a nyc photo.  

The bad thing is that the iphone is very small and tired eyes do not do well with that!  I woke up this morning with a really bad headache that I have been trying to get rid of to no avail.  

I do love the collage though.  lol

xo

Putting Myself Out There . . .

A few months ago I found out about a local art exhibit.  They were hosting their annual show exhibiting the art of local artists.  I was nervous at first to put my work out there at this type of event but decided it would be a good thing.  I decided on 4 pieces, one painting, and 3 digital collages. 

The opening reception was Saturday afternoon. When we walked in there was my work right above the welcome table.  It was very cool to see!  There was a really great turnout despite the humid rainy weather which is not typical for a fall day in NY.   

I also want to thank everyone who left a comment on my last post.  It helps to know that I am not the only one who feels the energetic changes happening out in the universe this year. 

xo

The Circle Of Life . . . And Where I've Been

 Well, I am finally back after neglecting this blog for a week now!  This is the first painting I have done in quite a few weeks.  I don't typically have that long of a dry spell.  Not sure what is going on with me.  I have not felt like myself lately.  I feel lost on many levels.  

Never in my life have I been so painfully aware of the passage of time.  I feel stuck, I feel down, and I feel all mixed up.  I have always been spiritual and intuitive.  I feel like the energy all around me is chaotic, I mean out in the universe.  Wonder if anyone else feels that way these days.  When I my mind feels messed up my art shows it.  As  you can see here is messy journal page I did yesterday.  

Despite the mess though the message is a good one I think . . . 

Sharing over at Paint Party Friday today.  Hopefully I will be back soon with new art but if not I have lots of silly pug pics to share!

xo