on this last day of 2016

i continue my daily 

teabag painting practice

using various mediums.

journals of the year stacked together

on my night stand for now. 

some sketches with micron pens,

a water brush and graphite. 

and i wrote a letter about

something that needed to let go.

the letter was burned, 

some ashes added to my journal 

to honor its place in my life

and to say a final goodbye.

while for the most part is has been a full and

wonderful year,

“I've learned a lot this year.. I learned that things

don't always turn our the way you planned,

 or the way you think they should. And I've learned that there are things 

that go wrong that don't always get fixed or get put back together 

the way they were before. I've learned that some broken things stay broken, 

and I've learned that you can get through bad times and 

keep looking for better ones, as long as you have people who love you.” 

jennifer weiner

i am ready for fresh newness in 2017.

also, i say goodbye, once again, to my favorite 

sight every year as i come down my stairs. 

happy new year!

may your days be filled with 

inner peace, joy that you love

and are loved.   

X O X O 

posting with friends at paint party friday,

an online collective of artistic who 

share their work weekly.  Thank you to our

hostesses, Eva and Kristen for another

year of eye candy!

it's beginning to look a lot

like christmas ...

wishing you the love of family and 

friends and peace in the world.

happy holidays to all!

posting with paint party friday

life is full!

the art i have created daily can be seen on 

instagram.  this a collaged and painted teabag.

an acrylic abstract painted on a page of a large book.

rust dyed papers done in a

weekend workshop with orly avineri.

atcs for my international group.

the them was to use a minimal number

of papers within less than 10 minutes.

i started with papers which were painted already.

and i hosted a birthday party for a 

dear dear friend.  i broke my own boundary by singing 

'you're the tops.'... and i cannot sing!

this week i tried using extra large images.

what do you think?  too big?

it rained in southern california! yay!  it has been a 

very long time since i head the sound of water on my rooftop.

it was like music to my ears.

last night the rain spoke to me

by mary oliver

last night 

the rain 

spoke to me

slowly, saying,

what joy

to come falling

out of the brisk cloud,

to be happy again

in a new way

on the earth!

that's what it said

as it dropped,

smelling of iron,

and vanished

like a dream of the ocean

into the branches

and the grass below.

then it was over.

the sky cleared.

i was standing

under a tree

the tree was a tree 

with happy leaves,

and i was myself,

and there were stars in the sky

that were also themselves

at the moment

at which moment

my right hand 

was holding my left hand

which was holding the tree

which was filled with stars 

and the soft rain-

imagine! imagine!

the long and wondrous journeys

still to be ours.

X O X O X O

posting with paint party friday, 

a weekly online party of creatives 

hosted by eva and kristen.  

it is the sparkly time of year.

christmas music surrounds us

and spirits soar.  this can feel like pressure

for many whose lives are filled with obligations

and burdens.  here in southern california, even when driving 

on the streets you can feel the change in the air.  tempers are 

short, people are in a hurry, horns are honking.  

yesterday i saw this card at a local trader joes and 

use it as a daily mantra.  

here are a few of this week's 

creative endeavors.

i keep these tiny teabag art pieces in an antique 

leptons tea tin.  this week i brought some out to

have a little tea party.  i love the variety of styles and colors 

that can be seen when they are together that i don't seewhen

i do my daily painting.

a fabric pendant painted on hand painted fabric for a gift exchange.

i took a one day figurative workshop.

it was so hard and there is so much to learn!  

here is the first drawing with some 

acrylic paint from a live model.  

this class made me realize how important it is 

to practice drawing so i began to sketch

while i watched the borgias.  the scenes 

change quickly so you don't have much time

to jot down the basic shapes.

and of course my daily walks 

on the redondo beach esplanade.

a view that can only be seen in southern california

in december!  vw wagon, palm trees and the sun!

happy paint party friday and

than you for visiting this week.

wishing you peace and peace

and peace!

                                 

teabag

it is the time of year when regular schedules

are thrown off by a flurry of activity 

around the holidays, family, and deadlines.  

there are those thanksgiving dishes

that seems to last for days.

and bittersweet trips to the airport where embraces 

hello and goodbyes take place

and finding the perfect stool for the studio.

at last!

but a little art has been squeezed in

if this looks like a mish mash 

you're right!  these are a number of 'starts.'

i use pieces of watercolor paper for my palate

or a blotters when I paint.  I save them and

randomly cut them up.  eventually,

they may show up in a piece or as mail art.

do you have favorite ways to start 

your art pieces?  

posting with paint party friday

hosted by the lovelies, kristen and eva

the answer is yes!

i am still painting teabags and

finding them a source of 

inspiration and just plain fun.

here this week's collage 

selection in my little journal.

when i say little, i mean

it fits in my palm.  i added a

few lines with a micron pen.

i experimented with a different

brush stroke in my painting workshop.

it took focus to try a new technique for a whole painting.

this is acrylic over collage.  i plan to do a series

using this brush stroke to get more familiar with its nature.

i am not sure that i can explain it but i will try.  several colors of

acrylic paint is put on a palette.  swipe one side of a brush and

then the other.  apply the paint to the canvas in the same swipe technique

using both sides of the brush.   

when i walked outside to the large patio of the art center   

for a break from my workshop i happened upon 

the end of a  marvelous demo.  the artist, Peter Adams, 

was commissioned to paint the  stations of the cross for the 

University of Southern California.

here is are some example of

the studies he did for the commission.

i thought them to be exceptional.

also this weeki attend the stamp convention 

held three times a year in carson.

kat skamoto is the organizer. 

she was so thrilled that she found new 

kuretake markers with brilliant colors

and that layer easily.  she had pages 

of beautiful drawings in her journal.

among the vendors i saw the 

creative drawings by tracy moore.

and colorful collages by 

teesha moore.

there was a time when i would always be seen

carrying  a camera on my shoulder or on my wrist. 

i took soccer and football photos for the team members when my son

was in high s cool.  but i have gotten lazy.  my iPhone has replaced

the camera.  sometimes i am surprise

by what i capture.  this week it was the supermoon

with an enormous whale mural in the foreground

at the redondo beach marina.

and of course, my daily sunset snap.

have a lovely weekend wherever you are.

hugs to all.

posting with eva and kristen at  paint party friday