day 30, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

woodland creatures, mixed media 

take a step to the right, a step to the left

you may find yourself in the woodlands 

of your mind where whimsical 

creatures greet you.  tiptoe.

you don't want to frighten them away.

a few of the african dolls i collect

day 29, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

floating dream, mixed media

30 paintings in 30 days challenge

day 26

day 27, jerry

day 28

hello.  today i am posting three paintings to catch up.

 now i am up to snuff.

some days are like that....



posting along with the creatives 
at paint party friday.  thank you
ava and kristin for hosting.

day 25, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

here's looking at you, kid, acrylic and ink

for some odd reason which i have yet to discover,

i love roosters.   maybe it's the pride with which 

they seem to hold their head up high, 

as if they pay no heed to how funny looking 

they are.  or perhaps, it is the silly wattle.  

well, you may or may not be interested to know

that the smithsonian did a study on why roosters 

have wattles by studying  the behavior of hens around

roosters with regular wattles, without a wattle and

with a wattle that flops around quite a bit.  the winner,

that is the most attractive  at least in the estimation of hens 

is the one with the regular wattle.  

i love roosters even more now that i know this.

day 24, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

untitled. acrylic and ink

my life

Sometimes I see it as a straight line
drawn with a pencil and a ruler
transecting the circle of the world

or as a finger piercing
a smoke ring, casual, inquisitive

but then the sun will come out
or the phone will ring
and I will cease to wonder

if it is one thing,
a large ball of air and memory,
or many things,
a string of small farming towns,
a dark road winding through them.

Let us say it is a field
I have been hoeing every day,
hoeing and singing,
then going to sleep in one of its furrows,

or now that it is more than half over,
a partially open door,
rain dripping from eaves.

Like yours, it could be anything,
a nest with one egg,
a hallway that leads to a thousand rooms ---
whatever happens to float into view
when I close my eyes 

or look out a window
for more than a few minutes,
so that some days I think
it must be everything and nothing at once.

But this morning, sitting up in bed,
wearing my black sweater and my glasses,
the curtains drawn and the windows up,

I am a lake, my poem is an empty boat,
and my life is the breeze that blows
through the whole scene

stirring everything it touches ---
the surface of the water, the limp sail,
even the heavy, leafy trees along the shore.

by Billy Collins

day 23, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

how many geese does it take?

wild geese

you do not have to be good.

you do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

you only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

tell me about despair, your, and i will tell you mine.

meanwhile the sun and the deer pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the parries and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

whoever your are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls sot you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting~

over and over announcing you place

in the family of things.

~mary oliver

day 22m 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

love that wind in my hair, mixed media

i remember 

my first bike

the feeling of 

freedom

alone

balanced

wind in my hair.

posting happily today with paint party friday.

i am a bit behind on replying to comments. as 

is said, sometimes life gets in the way of 

good intentions.  

day 21, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

seeing faces, acrylic

i was inspired this week by the many many diverse

and courageous artists at the LA art show.  

i will post pictures for you this week.  here is one of my

favorite poems by one of my favorite poets.

the art of disappearing

when they say don't I know you?
say no.

when they invite you to the party
remember what parties are like 
before answering.
someone telling you in a loud voice
they once wrote a poem.
greasy sausage balls on a paper plate.
then reply.

if they say we should get together
say why?

it's not that you don't love them anymore.
you're trying to remember something
too important to forget.
trees. the monastery bell at twilight.
tell them you have a new project.
it will never be finished.

when someone recognizes you in a grocery store
nod briefly and become a cabbage.
when someone you haven't seen in ten years
appears at the door,
don't start singing him all your new songs.
you will never catch up.

walk around feeling like a leaf.
know you could tumble any second.
then decide what to do with your time.

naomi shihab nye



tomorrow, day 22!


X O X O X O 

day 20, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

everything is waiting, mixed media

i added a little gold to this.  it was difficult to photograph.  

there are only 10 more days left in the challenge.  

i will miss it.   for the last 20 days i woke up

at the crack of dawn, made a cup of tea then

headed into my studio to paint.  its been pure heaven.  

i wonder if i will continue.  in school waited  until 

the night before to study for a test, needing a push.  this

challenge has been the push.  although i paint daily, this

has gotten me to go the extra bit to have the paintings 

to the point where i can post them.  i know i will tweak most

of them at a future time but for now, they are finished.  

day 19, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

long winter nights, mixed media

i am trying new color combinations, 

seeing  how i like them.  

random picture...

i saw this at a gift store and it gave me a chuckle.

day 18, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

thinking of you, mixed media

this is a painting after my mother's japanese style 

wooden badminton paddle.   the paddle sits in 

the window sill of my studio so i see it 

every day.   i also have the image

on the screen of my iphone.  my 

husband says it looks cartoony but

i like it as is.  she's not to be

a gorgeous model, just 

a sweet japanese girl.

day 17, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

coming 'round full circle



some days simple is best





have a lovely weekend


X O X O X O

day 16, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

finding my wings, mixed media



some days, our feet need a little help

carrying the load.

day 15, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

a kind of stillness, mixed media, chair 1

i have wanted to paint chairs for a while now.  

finally got around to it.  a painting a day for a month 

offers many different kinds of opportunities.  subject 

matter, medium, color schemes, substrate ... 

just some of the decisions.  not to speak of the 

mind challenges.  i read about mindfulness recently,

staying in the present moment, noticing what the 

senses have to offer.  i have tried to do less multitasking

and am surprised at how much i may have missed.

pelican feet

on a totally random note,  i was looking through my photo library

and  found this picture i took a month or so ago on 

the redondo beach pier.   

no need for shoes :)

posting today along with other artists at 

paint party friday.  thank you to kristin and ava 

for continuing the circle

day 14, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

a girl and her dog, acrylic and ink




i love the camera on my new iphone 6 and

never tire of taking photos of the pacific,

the sky, trees and sunsets.  i had to pull over

and stop the car on my way home

yesterday to take this.  it always seems

like a little miracle.

days 13, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

into the deep, acrylic on a large board book

i have been asked if i run out of things  to paint.  

nope, not yet.  another question,where you i find my subjects?

they just seem to come.  i do know that i try really hard to find a subject,  

it becomes a chore.  i might be pollyanish but 

i would rather painting just be fun.   i thought about the 

vastness of the ocean, the depth, the stillness 

and the undercurrent that leads the way when i painted this.

day 12, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

a face in the crowd, mixed media on unstretched canvas

i wanted to try a paint black and white piece.  that's how 

this started out.  But it was crying out for just a little

color.   maybe next go 'round.

day 11, 30 paintings in 30 days

the way

i continue to explore abstract painting, trying to stay loose and open....

and, of course, having fun.   this i painted in my journal.

sometimes that feels less intimidating.

day 10, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

what lies in the shadow

when you slow your pace, take a step at a time, your own step,

not the step you think you should take, 

you may see what lies in 

the shadow

day 9, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

undecided

i thought i might paint this one over but did not know 

in which direction.  so i left it alone on my counter.

i actually liked her better when i came back later.

i didn't see when i set her down but i like the business

coming out of her head.

so for now, i will leave her be.

thank you for visiting today.

have a lovely weekend.

day 8, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

wehre am i ??

today i tried a little texture, collage and gold paint

on a square canvas.

i visited the pompeii exhibit at the california science center

yesterday.    these faces on this theatrical mural relief

fascinated me.  i like the three-d quality and wondered about

the story that goes along with these faces.

afterwards we went to an iconic greek deli, papa cristos

http://papacristos.com.   the fragrances alone when you first step in

the door will send you into another time, another land.  there is the

fresh baking bread, the melding of warmed cheeses, meats, garlic,

pita and baked goods...well, if you weren't hungry when you walked

in, you would not be able to resist ordering too much.

papa cristo himself took our order

photo from website

in the room next to the prepared food is the deli

with all sorts of goodies

jars of honey with nuts

jordan almonds and other goodies

my friend, lorraine who grew up in south africa was sent right back

to her childhood remembering foods her grandmother prepared that 

she hasn't had in years.  we ate way too much.  it was a perfect ending 

to an outing and made-up for the fire alarm (turned out to be false )  

that sent us scattering out of the  imax theater.

this morning on my walk in redondo beach, no blue skies to be seen.

posting today with paint party friday

day 7, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

this challenge is pushing me to explore different styles.

it's quite fun.

who's in charge of the weather

january 7, 2014

expected temperature 82 degrees

southern california

crazy!!

8am, unedited photo taken at redondo beach

not a cloud in sight

...and a peek at my desk this morning and linking with woyww