Notes to my Teenage Self

I started this painting with the intention of letting go of parts of me and my life that were no longer serving me well. It quickly became a nurturing piece feeding the soul of my teenage self. I suppose letting go of things needed to start there. It's filled with words of wisdom, encouragement, and love for a seventeen year old who had just lost her grandmother. Though my outside appearance at that age absolutely did not look like this, the girl in the painting is a 17 year old representation of what I look like today.

I placed this painting on top of the piano my mother recently gave me. It had been my grandmother's. It felt right.

"Notes to my Teenage Self"

This original painting is available in my online gallery.

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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This painting was inspired by a class taught by Tamara Laporte.

 

 

Dreamer - Part 3

"Dreamer"

I neglected to document the final stages of this painting. In addition to giving her wavy hair and adding some green to the background, I painted over her right eye at least five times as I tried and tried to get that eye right...not too heavy, not too light, just right. I'm not sure it's "just right", but it is right enough. I like that her face isn't that of complete serenity. There's just the slightest touch of angst. Just like in all of us.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

I'm running a big sale on my paintings through the end of August. Almost everything in my gallery is 60% off. I'm only keeping my most current work (paintings on page 1) at the listed prices. If there's something you'd like, please let me know by message or comment so I can manually adjust the price. Thanks!!! http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/kali-parsons-3935/artwork

Dreamer - Part 2

My little guy got some chips today at a Subway. They were biscuit and gravy flavored. Have you ever heard of such a thing? They had other crazy flavors, too, but I only offered to pay for one bag and that's the one he picked. Against my better judgment, I tried one of them. And you know what? Those crazy chips did taste exactly like biscuits and gravy. I felt like I was on some futuristic TV show where I ordered a meal in a pill form and it tasted like the meal I wanted. While I can't really recommend them as a yummy addition to any meal, I will definitely recommend them as a weird space-age taste experience.


I've continued working on this painting but I'm not ready to call it done. I still have work to do on her. I like the direction it's heading, though. Maybe tomorrow will be "finish" day.

I extended her chin lower and added more color
to her hair. I also added more ribbons.

I added a brown tone to her hair.

I added even more brown and lengthened her eyelashes.
I think they're too thick and dark. I also added
pink to the ribbons and darkened her lips.

I lightened her lashes and worked on the background a bit.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

I'm running a big sale on my paintings through the end of August. Almost everything in my gallery is 60% off. I'm only keeping my most current work (paintings on page 1) at the listed prices. If there's something you'd like, please let me know by message or comment so I can manually adjust the price. Thanks!!! http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/kali-parsons-3935/artwork

Dreamer - Part 1

Even dogs like to feel fancy. I don't know about bows, painted nails and such, but I do know that when I put a bandana around Hazel's neck she clearly releases her inner cowgirl and struts her stuff. So this week she's got her pink outfit on. I'm thinking a sporty red for next week.


I started on a new painting. I've been exploring all things flowers and loving it!

I started with an abstract background, fully
planning on painting over much of it.

I laid in the basic shape of a woman
wearing a floral headband.

I added color to a lot of the elements.

I added texture to her hair and added another layer to
her face, neck, shoulders, and dress.

I added another layer of paint and
added highlights to the flowers.
I also added ribbons.

She still needs tons of work. Her chin isn't big enough and I want to work on her flesh tones. I also want to do more with her hair.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

I'm running a big sale on my paintings through the end of August. Almost everything in my gallery is 60% off. I'm only keeping my most current work (paintings on page 1) at the listed prices. If there's something you'd like, please let me know by message or comment so I can manually adjust the price. Thanks!!! http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/kali-parsons-3935/artwork

The Look of Compassion

So the little guy is a slob. His floor is covered with all kinds of everything. Dishes linger in his room for days on end. And it never, ever occurs to him to empty his overflowing trash can.


Me: "You oughta clean your room, kiddo."

Little guy: "What? It's fine."

Me: "Well at least bring your dishes to the kitchen."


He stood up right away to do it because he is an awesome kid, took one step, and landed SPLAT on the ground...because he tripped over one of the gazillion things on his floor.

Me, being the kind supportive mom that I am, looked at him with sweet tender love and compassion.


Little guy: "I know you're laughing on the inside, mom. Let it out or you'll explode."


So I did. Such a great kid to take care of his mom like that.


P.S. No, it's not a self portrait. I wouldn't dare attempt such a thing.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Fliptastic

Yup, that's my little guy. What with doing karate and being on the high school wrestling team, that kid is freakishly fliptastic. Now, mind you, by "fliptastic" I don't mean that he's doing flips all about the house. Nope, the kid finds every opportunity to attempt to flip anyone smaller than he is in the house...which leaves only me. I, however, am not fliptastic. And by "not fliptastic" I mean that when he tries to flip me I pull his leg hairs, I tell him that I'll never make him sandwiches again, I scream and shout.

And while I'm quite sure that the flipping attempts will continue to occur, I'm also quite sure that I'll continue to foil said attempts.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Some Like it Hot

I've always prided myself on my ability to eat the heat.  I love spicy foods...I really, really do.  At one sitting I'll easily consume one third to a half a jar of pickled jalepeños and not break a sweat or be bothered in any way.

So tonight when I took my kid to a sandwich shop I asked for jalepeños on my sub.  And out came a whole pickled jalepeño which the sub technician sliced open, squeezed all the juice on my sub, and then sliced it up and put all the jalepeño meat and the seeds on my sandwich.

Well, I ate that sucker, and I LOVED that sucker, and I was on FIRE!

And I really, really enjoyed it.

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I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Farrah's Feathers

OK, I'm totally going to admit something here.  Yup, when I was in junior high and high school I absolutely wanted hair like Farrah.  I never managed it as I was convinced that I'd never have hair that would be long enough to truly work it, so I just kept getting my standard long bob.  I did, however, manage to have baby feathers that I'd glued in place with copious amounts of Aqua Net.  And then a few years later I tossed in the towel, gave up, went for a mohawk and then shaved almost all of my hair.  Yeah, I throw the towel in in a big way.

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The Forgiveness of Curls

I get a little twitchy about my hair every six months or so.  Boredom, disgust, disappointment, you name it.  But I'm too cheap and admittedly lazy to actually make an appointment and take care of it.  This time I decided to take matters in to my own hands.  Literally.  On pure impulse I grabbed a chunk of hair and "did it just like the professionals"... -ish.  Then I grabbed another chunk, and another, and another, until I'd made it all the way around.  And, by golly, it worked!  Mind you, I have very wavy hair and it is, by nature, forgiving of haircut mistakes, but it worked!

And every time I go into the hallway bathroom at our house I swear the shears on the shelf wink and beckon me to use them again.  And sometimes I do!

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I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

A Perfect Storm

This morning.


Me:  "Get up, kiddo.  You need to clean your room, do that homework you've been putting off all week, check your email, take a shower, and put your dirty laundry in this basket."

Little guy:  "Wow, mom.  That was a perfect storm of nag."


Ya...makes me feel all powerful and stuff.  Not that it's at all effective, of course.

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I Officially Dread Paybacks

I've always thought I had a tough scalp.  I rather prided myself on it.  But for some reason the other day my kid grabbed my brush and started brushing my hair.  Super sweet, right?  Well, I found out that I'm not that tough after all.

It freakin' hurt!

Now, a little about my hair.  It's naturally curly.  A little about me.  I brush my hair pretty much never.  One more thing about my hair.  It forms lovely little dreadlocks whilst I'm neglecting it.

And...I am, post brushing, currently dreadlocks free.  Technically I still own them as they were brushed out intact.


My hair brushing little guy:  "Remember how much I hated it when you used to brush out my long hair?  It felt just like this."  His hair was curly just like mine, formed dreadlocks just like mine, and he never brushed it either.  Though I would on the rarest of occasion, sometimes brush dreadlocks out intact.


Oy, paybacks are a wee bit hellish.

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Hippie Chick Fail

A funny thing happened at the store today.  I was walking around, holding my phone, checking off items on our shopping list that Dave and I had entered (we're geeky, we can both enter things and it combines it as one list), and a nice super market guy asked me, "You need any help finding anything?"


Me:  "No, I've got it, thanks."

Super market guy:  "I just noticed that you were looking at your phone for a while."

Me:  "My shopping list is on it.  I was checking things off."


And then I realized that while my goal was to be a hyper environmentally conscious paperless, canvas bag carrying mama, in reality I was just one of the masses who walks around not engaging with others because they're so focused on their hand held technology.

Hippie chick fail.

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Learning Things the Hard Way

Sometimes you learn things the hard way.  That's what happened today.

The thing is this.  (Big reveal - stick with me ladies, you know we all do it, right?)  When it starts getting cold out, shaving goes on a great big decline.  If I remember the term correctly from that class I took a million years ago, there's an inverse relationship between hair length and temperature when it comes to me.

Anyway, tonight it was rather lovely out and instead of putting my longer pants on to go run, I put on my capris.  And since I don't want to scare anyone, I thought, "Hey, I'll just do a quick shave of my legs below the knees...a dry quick shave.  Here's what I learned.  When you do a dry shave on already dry skin, you get an awful case of itchy, rashy-looking bumps...that only get worse when you then go run.

So my big lesson?  Hairy is sometimes less scary.

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Splitting Hairs

So I got my hair cut today.  Not just a little cut, mind you.  Nope, I'm talking four or five inches worth.  Noticeable, right?  Well, amazingly enough, the kid did notice.  Almost immediately.  And then he suckered me into a hug during which he slipped his freezing cold hands up under my shirt and onto my back.  All points for noticing my haircut were lost at that very moment.

But up to this point no one else has noticed the dramatic decrease in head covering I now present with.  I'm going to just assume that it's because when they look at me they only see my pure love and beauty shining through...and it must be so bright that it's blinding.

Yup, that's the theory I'm sticking with.

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In Need of Support

So my little guy went out in drag for Halloween this year.  And while he got to have the delightful freedom that a skirt allows, he also go to experience an issue that is not so delightful.


Little guy:  "That bra you had me wearing didn't hold these up."  He held up the roller derby socks I'd "enhanced" him with.

Me:  "Not enough support, eh?"

Little guy:  Yeah, they kept popping out."

Me:  "Yup, it happens."


Super mom here...doing my part to bring up a man with empathy.

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Aw, nuts!

There I was, minding my own business at the playground, when WHOMP!  I rubbed my head as I looked down...then up.

(Um, why do we always rub our heads when they get bumped?  

Never really helps, right?) 

Two large nuts on the ground, squirrel in the tree above.  And I'm quite sure I heard him laughing.  I took a step back to get out from directly underneath him and more nuts came cascading down, this time partially chewed.  I moved again, more nuts.  I moved again, more nuts!

I'm quite sure that squirrel was out to get me...and wondering just a little bit if he knew the scorpion I smashed the other day, and was looking for vengeance. 

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Warrior Princess

If you know me, you likely know I'm fart phobic (click here for proof)...particularly when it comes to yoga.  Seriously, it's on my "won't do" list.  But last night I conquered my fears.  I downward dogged, I child posed, I warriored, I saluted the sun...and I got through it with nary an issue.  Oh, and did I mention that they also had us in partners, actually touching strangers?!?!  Well, I got through that, too, without hyperventilating and passing out or anything.

Seriously feeling like that warrior I posed as.  Can't wait to do it again!

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