Balance through Connection

I've felt called to activism since the election and have been raising money for different organizations from the sales of my art. This week I found myself craving balance and compassion and the idea for this painting came to mind. All of our beautiful differences complement each other and together I really do think we can work toward balance and peace in our world.

I'm going to give a portion of the sales of this image to Girl Forward, an organization that creates amazing opportunities for refugee girls. I'll be donating $50 from the sale of this original painting and then $5 for each 12"x12" print.

Please spread the word.

"Balance through Connection"

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

It's a funny thing what happens to art when it's framed. When one of my pieces is bought or if I buy someone else's work, and the piece happens to be framed, well, it's like it just got a huge promotion. Like they went from being a high school graduate to completing their master's thesis. It never fails to amaze me what a difference an "outfit" makes for art.

Now do I generalize this fabulous information to my own life and my own outfits? Nope...or at least hardly ever. I like to think of my style as being always ready for a workout or for getting dirty.


This piece was an exercise for a class I'm taking. We're focusing on the artist Marie Laurencin. Loving her style and I cannot wait till we get to her watercolors!

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!

Laughter

As the lone human female 'round these parts I just have to say how absolutely wonderful it is to have my oldest son's girlfriend around.  She's kind, delightful, intelligent, and gorgeous, but what gives me the most blissful pause is her laugh.  I usually hear it through my kid's closed door, and it's the sort of sound that lifts you up and plants a big smile upon your face. 

Now, if I really want to count the estrogen card carriers in my house, it's females for the win...two dogs, four chickens, and one me vs. Dave, the guys, and two cats.

 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!

My Hallway Mural is Finished!

Yup, I finished it. 

The family has been so great.  Dave thinks it's awesome.  My little guy thinks it's a bit "kiddish" and that I "should have started it a few years ago," but he also thinks it's pretty darn neat.  My big guy says, "That's really cool, mom."  And his girlfriend, the only other human girl that hangs out at my house these days says, "I love the cat.  It's my favorite part."

So there ya go!  The reviews are in.  And I'm giving myself five stars...see 'em?  They're right there at the top.

Oh, and when the light is low, the owls and stars appear to glow.  And now I think I need a black light!

Stop by any time.  The mural loves visitors.


P.S. The actual mural is more of a square shape.  My wonderful husband took a bunch of photos of its parts and seamed them together to create this image.  Thanks, Dave!!!!

 

 This is my Hallway Project.

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

Negative Image

As a kid I spent a considerable amount of time in the darkroom with my mom.  It was cool, fascinating, patience testing, likely toxic, but mostly cool.  While my mom may have been working on something very particular and likely teaching me along the way, what I remember most is the coolness of the room when it was all dark except for the amber lights that barely illuminated the activity. 

I remember the smell.  The way the wall and floor felt different than when the lights were on.  I remember the silence broken by the swishing of water and my mother's voice counting seconds aloud.  And I remember so, so many black and white images of myself hanging on a line to dry.

Making negatives positive....

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Can't make this up...or maybe I can.

I had the occasion to wear make-up for the first time in forever yesterday.  And I'm not counting the times I've worn make-up on Halloween or the very occasional dance performance.  Those don't count.  Anyway, I realized that morning that the only make-up I had was some very old Mary Kay I'd bought about fifteen years ago...it was still fine, but it was just blush and eye shadow.  I had an old, old mascara...a big no-no, right?  I mean aren't those things breeding grounds for bacteria over the years?  And I'd given all of my lipsticks to my mom when she was in the hospital not too long ago.  So, the mascara was tossed and the Mary Kay stuff set aside somewhere where I wouldn't forget for the next few hours, and I headed off to Target.

And I was clueless.

I meandered around the make-up section, both unsure of what I even needed and determined to find products that weren't tested on animals.  Not the best combo for a quest in a big ol' mainstream store.  But there it was, amongst the Revlon and L'Oreal, a brand made exclusively for Target that does not test on animals (Let me go on ahead and plug Sonia Kashuk since I mentioned those other guys).  I was half-way there, people.  And then the guesswork began.  I picked this and that, tossed them into my bag, and headed home.

Where I discovered a couple of new-to-me things.

1.  Eye liner comes sealed for my protection...so sealed that it took me about ten minutes to get all of the sealing off of the darn thing.

2.  Mascara (all of them?) comes with a little eyelash comb.  I had no idea that eyelashes ever tangled, but I went on ahead and combed mine, by golly.

3.  Lip coloring things have remarkably little sealed for my protection stuff.

4.  Wearing make-up is kinda fun.

I even did my hair and wore my contacts.  Had a real girly moment, people.  Might just be inclined to do it again sometime.

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