Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Homeward Bound

This painting is called Homeward Bound. I painted it last summer inspired by the weekends Phil and I spend taking a ferry to our little cottage on Vashon Island. Vashon is a lovely 15 minute ferry ride across Puget Sound. It is one of my favorite parts of the weekend. I just love getting on that boat and leaving all our cares behind. I always get the feeling that we are going home on the way there. I keep my eyes open watching for whales. They do come down this far in Puget sound but it is somewhat rare. I have seen orca whales twice on the ferry from West Seattle to Vashon, what a thrill!
It seems that we are in a time when we can all use a getaway to escape from our fears, worries, and concerns. It seems that everyone has something we are dealing with and if we don't, all we have to do is look around and find things to worry about. Phil and I feel very blessed to have a place to remind us to stay in the moment, get grounded and be grateful for all of our blessings.
Being grateful is so important and it's easy to find things to be grateful for- like take a deep breath, ahhhh, I can breath, I am thankful that I have lungs and for that breath. I can see that beautiful flower or sunset.
Oh I am so thankful I have eyes to see with!

Homeward Bound started as a watercolor painting, I then painted a canvas as a background for it. I glued the watercolor painting to the painted canvas. Then I applied layers of specialty papers and more paint to create a collage like appearance. A technique I developed over time.
It is approximately 20"x20"x2"
Watercolor painting on paper, acrylic and specialty papers on canvas.

Friday, April 8, 2011

This is the lovely mini quilt I received from my swap partner in the creative color challenge in February.
I thought I had already posted it, but in looking back I see I have not.
It is such a beautiful piece of art! This small mini quilt is beautifully stitched and beaded in my favorite color! I just LOVE it! I hung it in my studio, but I know it will move around the house as it is a treasure.
The creative color challenge was really fun to participate in, and even better because I got to meet someone from Australia, Lisa my swap partner lives, in Australia.
After posting this, I realize, I didn't do a very good job shooting the photo for this, sorry Lisa it really doesn't show the details very well. I will try to get a better one up.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

This falls under "love"

This falls under "love".
This is A.J. my 1 1/2 year old grandson.  My JOY!
I am very lucky to spend a few Mondays every month with him. Last week we learned how to color with color crayons and put stickers on paper, he really loves art. But he loves being outside even more! He doesn't mind the cold and doesn't tire of exploring all the wonders of nature! A.J. loves going for long walks, exploring the trails at the park, picking up sticks and stones just like the nursery rhyme. He makes Mondays my favorite days! My Grandma Mary made that hat for me when I was little.
This week I spent my creative energy sewing curtains for my daughter, her husband and A.J. for their new home. They were outgrowing the little house they were in and moved into a larger one.  We found some really nice curtains at Ikea, and then I was able to shorten them enough to make a whole other window curtain out of what was left. So I made 10 sets of curtains over the weekend. They look really nice and the kids love them, it makes me feel good to be able to do something creative for them that makes their new home feel welcoming.
I am anxious to get back to painting, but it was fun to have a completely different project.