Choices

        Either you let your life slip away by not doing the things you want to do or you get up and do them.

                                                                        Roger von Oech

                    There are just too many wonderful things to do in this world!  For more than a year now I have been chasing too many varied interests.  I have thrown myself into writing, genealogy, tai chi, learning a musical instrument, cooking and on and on.  Did you know that getting a book published takes more time than actually writing a book?  That tai chi takes a lot of practice?  Well, you get the idea why I have not been blogging.  And, yes, I have been complaining that there is never enough time to do the things I really want to do...like painting and drawing.  Having spent countless hours organizing my "projects" and reading books on how to "get your days organized" I decided it was time to make some new choices.  #1 You can't do it all ~ some things have got to go.  #2 Clean out your project closet right away.  It was while following up on choice #2 that I came across this small needlepoint I completed about two years ago.  Upon seeing it I suddenly realized I used to be better at making choices.  The pattern for this project was in black and white so the color scheme was up to me.  It probably took a little while to decide on the colors but I'm satisfied with how it turned out.  I just may frame this and hang it above my desk as a constant reminder:  If you're not happy about something in all likelihood it's because of some random choice quickly made.  Admit you made a mistake and choose to change it.

Peace

 PEACE

Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind.  Universal responsibility is the key to human survival.  It is the best foundation for world peace.

                            14th Dalai Lama

            The sunflower painting above has been sitting in my studio for quite awhile now waiting for a coat of varnish.  It is still waiting.  Just as the world is still waiting for so-called leaders to recognize that the path they have chosen for the world's inhabitants is not leading to peace but rather destruction.  The beautiful sunflower standing in a field reaching for freedom to soak up the gentle rain of an afternoon thunderstorm and the warm, embracing sun that follows is the Ukraine's national flower.  What a sad time it is as the whole world watches the ruin and heartache spreading across the country.  

I've Got It!

                 

            Human happiness and human satisfaction must ultimately come from within oneself... Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

                                        Dalai Lama

        The above drawing is one I made of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres' drawing of his friend and fellow artist Merry-Joseph Blondel.  In an effort to go back to what originally drew me to drawing (great pun, right?), portraiture, I am working on copying some of the best portraits in the classical style.  I was particularly drawn to this drawing because Mr. Blondel looks so satisfied with where he is and the image he projects.   Hence it came to me as no surprise that he was, himself, a famous artist creating paintings and frescoes in palaces, museums, and churches from the early to mid 1850's.  Although still a young man when this drawing was completed, he gives the impression that he has, indeed, found happiness while living in the moment.  In the troubled age we live in today we hear time and again how we should each be practicing meditation and mindfulness.  I've tried them both and found neither of them to be as easy as proponents would have you believe.  I can, however, recommend picking up a pencil and giving drawing a portrait a try.  Being so occupied can get you pretty close to a serene state of mind and keep you there until it is literally time to turn out the lights.  Of course, then you won't be able to sleep because you will keep thinking about how to improve your drawing.  Nothing's perfect.  

Lady in Red

   

        Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

                         Leonardo da Vinci

    Well, Mr. da Vinci certainly hit the nail on the head with his observation about simplicity.  This lady couldn't radiate more sophistication yet note she is not wearing one single piece of jewelry.  Her simple hairdo and lack of lipstick further eliminate any distraction from her elegant posture.  The clean lines of her red dress add to her air of refinement and poise.  And with all that simplicity in view she fairly exudes an air of not only sophistication but peace as well.  One can well imagine her getting ready to sit for this portrait.  Tucking in a few final wisps of hair and slipping into her dress she was ready in a matter of minutes ~ no dashing around looking for shoes or trying on countless pairs of earrings looking for just the right ones.  To me her portrait sends a message of how life should be.  As I sit typing this on my Mac while listening to music emanating from my iPad and fretting about all I have to do today I can't help but conclude that half the stress and anxiety I carry around all day is totally self-inflicted.  Well, that's all I have to say about that...not going to stress over stressing.  Time to go look for a red dress!

Perspective Pears

      It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time.  People say "It's as plain as the nose on your face."  But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up for you?"

                    Isaac Asimov

        This morning I decided instead of painting I would do a quick drawing of three pears sitting on a mirror.  I have been busy taking a drawing class online and yesterday's lecture was on perspective.  The professor's assignment was to find a long hall with several doors on either side and using several measuring techniques draw what can be seen keeping in mind all the tricks of getting the proper perspective.  I don't want to be an architect so I decided to draw three pears sitting on a mirror.  Naturally, my mind wandered away from the perspective of the pears to how to achieve the proper perspective on how to live one's life.  I came up with three concrete facts that seem to be hard and fast rules of achieving a happy and productive life.  Number one:  We are each surrounded by an infinite number of ways to spend our time.  Number two:  We are not given an infinite amount of time to examine these opportunities.  Number three:  Stop thinking about Number one and Number two, realize how blessed we are and embrace each day as the gift it is. 

AGING

                 "Do not grow old, no matter how long you live.  Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born."

                                                             Albert Einstein

                    This small painting called to my mind some positive aspects of growing older.  First off, the older I get the more I come to realize that not just me but all of us are operating in the dark.  Basically we don't really have a clue what tomorrow will bring.  And while that thought can be rather frightening at times, it can be pretty exhilarating as well.  What great adventure awaits us tomorrow?   Secondly, even though I tried to make the vase look as old and beat up as possible, there is a certain beauty to not only the shape but also to the aging surface.  In my eye, it holds as much appeal or perhaps even more than the flowers do.  Older faces do indeed tell their own story.  In them are written tracks of tears, laugh lines, and worry lines ~ hints of sad times and happy times, exciting moments of overwhelming joy and dark moments of grief and despair.  Einstein was so right.  No matter what our time here on earth brings to us, our experiences rarely turn out the way we think.  All in all they are mysterious events that unfold in their own time and their own way no matter what we think we have planned.  So, I for one, am going to try to be happy to sit back and enjoy the ride.  Of course, though, having grown a little fragile over the past few years, I'll try to remember to buckle up.

 Symbolism

            Symbols have a trick of stealing the show away from the thing they stand for.

                            Henry S. Haskins

                To save you a few clicks on your iPad I will tell you that lilies symbolically signify that the soul of the deceased has been restored to the state of innocence.  I don't exactly see that when I look at a lily but I can glimpse the idea of new life and purity.  Thoughts like the restoration of innocence to a deceased person or even new beginnings weren't exactly on my mind, however, as I worked on this painting.  I was too focused on getting the right colors, the right perspective, the right composition.  Only when the painting was completed and had sat in my studio for quite a while did I take the time to look up and find out exactly what made the lily an Easter favorite.  Never again, I thought upon reading the Wikipedia post, will I look at a lily the same way.  When I took out my camera and began to take pictures of this painting I was also struck by the idea that I had been missing out on seeing the symbolic meaning of so many things I come across every day, many of which are things I am either creating or doing, not just things that I touch or pass by every day.  While the world around us may seem to us a beautiful place adding the icing of symbolism can make it a place of wonder and peace as well.  So these days if you catch me bent over my iPad it just means I'm trying to figure out what exactly I'm looking at, touching, tasting, smelling..........well, you get it 

Pharaoh's Tulip

I think I can, I think I can.

        The Little Engine That Could (Watty Piper)

When looking at any design I usually wind up trying to figure out what is on the artist's mind while he or she is trying to come up with what goes where.  What makes a design have a personality?  The longer I look at something the stronger the personality becomes and eventually produces some sort of emotional response, a conversation as it were between myself, the design, and the designer.  And so, after studying this particular cross stitch for a while it occurred to me that this particular design brings to mind the idea of attitude.  Looking closely it is clear the flowers couldn't possibly hold those positions without a determined outlook.  Those skinny little stems couldn't hold up those flowers in such a contorted position without the right frame of mind.  To my mind, therefore, this is the perfect bouquet to have adorning my wall right now.  If those little flowers can hold their heads up on those fragile little stems, surely we should be able to hold our heads up during this pandemic as well.  It may not be easy but given all that we have, all the unseen support we are blessed with we, too, can do it.  I'm sure we can.  I'm sure we can.  

 

 Breakfast For Two

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word ~ excellence.  To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.

                                        Pearl S. Buck

    Well, Ms. Buck in my opinion has surely hit the nail on the head with her definition of excellence.  Too many times I have wasted valuable time trying to achieve excellence when I should have just spent the time enjoying what I was doing.  How many beautiful sights do I miss on my morning walk because I am too busy looking at my Fitbit and checking my heart rate?  How may times have I struggled to get just the right color on my palette?  How many hugs have I not felt?  At least the pandemic, the quarantining, has made me slow down and realize excellence is something to experience not to aspire to.  Excellence is seeing, tasting, feeling this beautiful life right in front of me.  The pears and grapes may not be perfect but I had an excellent time watching them come into being on my canvas.  Tomorrow morning I might just leave my Fitbit home!

                                                                 RODNEY

The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't.

                                    Joshua Becker

        I am addicted to a British TV show called Escape to the Country.  The premise of the program is to show people that are looking to move out of London into the beautiful rural countryside three different properties within their budget in the hopes that they will buy one.  Taking into account their budget and their needs the search is on for a property that will match both their criteria and also appeal to their desire to get away from city life.  Not surprising most of these people are also looking to have a small garden and, more often than not, the space to house some animals.  I have heard couples proclaim they would like to raise everything from goats to llamas.  When I painted this rooster several years ago I had no desire to live in the country and raise chickens ~ I still don't.  However, it seems to me the quote above makes the idea of crafting a simple life just a little too simple.  Sure, you can have chickens without a noisy rooster, but if you want baby chickens you better get use to an early wake-up call every morning.  Right now however, still living under this pandemic cloud, the simple life is quickly losing its appeal with just about everyone I know.  Dealing with and adapting to things that aren't necessarily on our top ten list of things we love to do actually can make life more interesting, more challenging, and sometimes even fun.  For now, I am content with Rodney the Rooster but if this keeps up much longer I may have to rethink the whole idea.  

Jasper

 

     Ever wonder where you’d end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash?

                              Robert Breault

This is a drawing of my imaginary dog, Jasper.  He and I have grown very close during the pandemic.  Very easy to maintain, never once stepping in his water bowl, and a surprisingly good listener, I worry our time together is growing short.  I have forgotten when he actually came into being but know that he has been with me for many years.  The only bad thing about Jasper is that I can’t take him for walks without drawing unwanted attention.  This has become even more distressing with the upsurge of “real dog” walkers in my neighborhood.  Mask wearing strollers linger on street corners 6 feet apart and actually socialize.  I drew Jasper from a photograph and really enjoyed working with colored pencils.  If you don’t relish staying in the lines steer clear of coloring books ~ you’ll be surprised. AND   you can have anything you want for a pet!

Pondering

        All the things in the world will not make a man happy if he knows neither friendship nor love.

                                        William Barclay

        I drew this picture a long time ago when I was working on a series of charcoal drawings of women with a dash of red.  Here we are at the end of another year ~ usually a time when people ponder the past and plan for the future.  But this is a unique time.  Very few of us have ever lived through a pandemic and I doubt any of us ever thought we would.  And while we can pick and choose what we want to remember we have all realized this past year that we can't pick or choose what is to come next.  In some ways 2020 has been a good year.  We've had time to catch up on things, time to connect with old friends, time to draw closer to family.  But in other ways 2020 has been a very difficult year.  Many of us have lost friends or family members.  Many people have lost their jobs.  Many others have struggled trying to juggle parenting with working.  This particular drawing, however, struck me as illustrating a problem not talked about that much ~ loneliness.  When my father died I tried to console my mother by reminding her how many children and grandchildren she still had to be with her.  Through her tears she replied that I didn't understand, claiming that we all had each other but her brothers and sisters, her friends, and now her husband were all gone.  I will never forget the depth of loneliness she felt and shared with me that day.  And so, when I think I cannot endure this quarantining business another minute, I ponder the past and am grateful for the family I had.   I think of the present and the family I still have.  And, throwing caution to the wind, I plan for the future and all the things I am going to do when I can once again be with the friends I know and love.  Ain't no pandemic gonna keep me down ~ oh no!  Oh no!  

            

                    Distance not only gives nostalgia, but perspective and maybe objectivity. 

                                                  Robert Morgan

             When in the company of a giraffe I have often thought of it as being rather aloof ~ probably an attitude it adopted as a result of being lonely.  After coming across Robert Morgan's quote I now see the towering giraffe in a whole new light.  How fortunate he is!  Way up there he has the solitude and the time to evaluate what is happening around him.  He can embrace his emotional response, rightly conclude that he is seeing things from only one viewpoint, an enviably unique one, and only then chose whether to remain merely an observer or to become part of the action.  It seems to me a good idea to slow down and take a page out of the giraffe's book.  I'm definitely going to keep this one peeking out of the bamboo where I can see it.    

            Recreate your life, always, always.  Remove the stones, plant rose bushes, and make sweets. Begin again.

                                   Cora Coralina

                                    Well, I have always tried to look for the silver lining no matter how dark the cloud.  And this pandemic we are all living through has certainly presented itself as a pretty dark cloud.  One silver lining it provides, however, is time to catch up on those things that we all say to ourselves "once I get a little time I'm going to ......"  Well, after cleaning out all my closets, reorganizing the kitchen, researching my family tree, touching base with old friends, and closing in on the finishing chapters of a book I have been writing for years, there seemed to be no excuse not to pick up my art supplies again.  The drawing above I made when quarantining had just begun and didn't yet seem like such a horrible idea.  My husband had just moved into a new office and I thought some birds could brighten his tan walls.  So the plan for now after straightening out the studio is to circle back once again and start fresh.  Taking Cora's advice, I am going to remove dried out paints and stiff brushes, enjoy a shopping spree at Hobby Lobby, and create.  It's great to be back and great to be starting over!  

      

   
       Would that life were like the shadow cast by a wall or a tree, but it is like the shadow of a bird in flight.
                                                    The Talmud


      When I put "The Big Red Pot" that I am not currently speaking to back in the closet I was confronted with a stack of paintings that I had previously not been speaking to.  This little one above called the loudest so out it came.  When I set it down on the easel I inadvertently set it sideways and decided that looking at it the wrong way had been the problem all along.  After about an hour or so of touch-up it was finished.  Life lesson learned ~ go away, take a deep breath, come back and look at the problem from a different angle, things just may look a lot better.

          We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

                                                                           Charles Kingsley

          The above quote is so true.  This little painting above just came together so well and I was very happy while doing it.  It seems the more I plan a painting the more frustrated I become which is why I have been so long away from this blog.  The large painting that has been sitting on my easel for months is now sitting in the back of a small closet in my studio.   And there it will remain for awhile. We are not speaking right now.  It's best I have come to believe to let the subject matter pick the painter sometimes rather than the other way around.  I found a small black and white photo of the arrangement above, fell in love with it right away, and let the colors develop during the process.  Over time we became close friends.  This one can come out of the studio and stay in the house.

All That's Left

     Remember that happiness is a way of travel ~ not a destination.
                                                
                                                            Roy M. Goodman
 
     Well, I am finally getting around to some of my new year's resolutions.  This poor painting has been sitting in the corner waiting some final touch-ups.  I broke out my smallest brushes and came in and did some work in the shadows.  It's always a pleasant surprise to go back and work on something that just needs an hour or so to get it finished.  There are way too many of these projects sitting around my studio ~ was so tempted to start something new this morning but now am happy to have spent the time on this one.  One down ~ ??? to go!

The Blue Pot

 Removing the faults in a stage-coach may produce a prefect stage-coach, but it is unlikely to produce the first motor car.
                                                                         Edward de Bono

            Well, as promised here is a painting in the beginning stages.  Its a small painting ~ 8 X 10 ~ so I was able to get a lot done in just two sittings.  First I did the background and the table and today I worked on the pot.  Not quite sure where I will go from here ~ that's a no-no as supposedly it is much better to have a plan for the entire composition before setting out.  While I did have something in mind I didn't realize that the size of the canvas was going to play such a big part in the final overall look.  Because it is so small I don't want to add a lot of clutter.  The background and the pot are busy enough.  Actually, though, I'm not really sorry I am tackling this piece by piece ~ trying to be more personally creative in my work for a change.  Now I've got some homework to do.

Pinks

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

                         Oscar Wilde

I love this quote simply because it fits me to a T.   I procrastinate so much about putting my work on this blog.  While I have every intent of posting photos of my progress on each project I never seem to get around to it.  Anyway, this is the second in the series of six cross stitch patterns of bouquets.  The patterns don't include a border so I am having a great time designing my own ~ guess I do have a little imagination! 

Jennifer

Beauty, the adjustment of all parts proportionately so that one cannot add or subtract or change without impairing the harmony of the whole.

                                          Leon Battista Alberti

          Well, Jennifer's neck has grown considerably.  We have spent a fair amount of time together since my return from Seattle.  I think her proportions are perfect ~ God's work, not mine.  A little more attention to some shadows and highlights will bring her forward a little.  I have been spending a bit of time studying the works of Caravaggio and realize how important subtle changes can be.  While I have left the background empty on the recent animal drawings I am seriously considering adding some foliage to this one to better accentuate her size and shape.  Maybe.