the fate of ice

August Break #4

i won't though

August Break #3

all i feel like doing tonight is going out to get one of those chemically delicious, total crap, sara lee cakes. i feel like coming home with that cake, grabbing a fork, and collapsing into the softness of my couch. i feel like eating the whole thing while watching a movie in the dark, in my baggiest, most comfortable pajamas. i feel like leaving that empty tinfoil pan of chocolate crumbs on the coffee table until the next day. i feel like falling asleep and letting the rest of the movie watch me.

sigh.

ascending the dark

August Break #2

i've been thinking a lot about escape lately. i seem to be in a negative space right now, where bad things just seem to be happening more often than good. this happens, it's part of the cycle. i couldn't enjoy the good without bad having its turn in the spotlight.

i worked on a painting all day saturday that really speaks of my inner desire to escape, run away. you can see a hint of it above, beneath the bird cut out i held up in front of it. i'll show the painting here in a few days once it's complete. I'm really happy with it, a mixed media piece on wood that resonates peacefulness when i look at it. i might hang it at the foot of our bed so i can meditate on it as i try to fall asleep amongst the fluttering thoughts in my head.

handmade autumn

August Break #1

i'm starting late, i just tripped and landed on lovely Susannah Conway's photo project today. i'm not TOO late though and besides, it's never too late.... right? so here it is my first piece ofAugust Break!

a truck fire on our highway journey into the 9-5 detoured us onto back roads (which is preferred anyway. i mean if you have to go into the city you might as well soak in some country to get there). on those back roads we found others who were doing the same thing, thus, a different traffic jam. we were stopped solid in a long, one lane line of various colours of metal . it was pretty though, when i looked to the right. i lowered my window and the scent of wet earth and green tiptoed in. despite the collection of cars it seemed still outside, the sound of crickets and a slight wind. i rested my head on the door and closed my eyes, i thought about how great it would be to just fly away.

it's come to that point in summer where i start to crave autumn. my favourite season. i crave the sweaters, that cozy feeling of wrapping up. i crave the smell of fallen leaves and the papery sound as i kick through them. i crave the chill in the air, an awakening coolness. i crave the colours. i crave the trips to a local farm for pumpkin donuts and the scented spice menagerie of homemade. i crave walks that collect blushed cheeks (a winter favourite as well).

i thought of autumn today in the traffic jam, imagined the trees abloom in colour. so i decided to create it. i took a perfectly fine photo of a summer green field and bibbity bobbity booed it into fall. now i just need some cinnamon to make it complete!

another two

'No Particular Dream of Light' - mixed media abstract collage. stretched canvas measures 16" x 20"

'Flutter' - acrylic, mixed media abstract. gallery stretched canvas measures 18" x 24"

*** Two more originals available for sale in my shop! ***

after sun-shone

after collecting freckles on my shoulders in the hot sun heat of the day, i find myself back in the happiness of my studio. i'm glaring at the blankness of a wood panel perched on the cliffs edge of my easel. i have an idea of what i want on it, i can see ideas floating from right to left, up and down across the surface. only when i courage up enough action with my paintbrush will something stay put.

a blank canvas is a funny thing, it holds so much possibility, anything can happen. that's both exciting and scary at the same time. so much responsibility lies in the palm of the hand that grips the brush. what if i make a mistake? what if it turns out ugly? what if the colours are all wrong, what if i hate it? what if what if what if.....

that's what gesso is for, to cover the what ifs. IF it turns out horrible i simply slather a few coats of gorgeous wet gesso over it and begin again. i wonder how many "what if" paintings rest beneath the final pieces i've come to adore? what ghosts hide under the final brush strokes of the works of Modigliani, Chagall, Wyeth, Twombly, Lautrec, Rauschenburg.......

"what if" can RSVP when the idea of something more life threatening enters my head (like skydiving) but for now, there is no room for it in my studio. here and now i turn the negative inclinations into positive. what if i make a mistake and it turns out brilliant? what if ugly is beauty buried underneath? what if the wrong colours turn more right than i could ever have planned? what if i love it? what if what if what if.....

new pieces and the last day of 4

'Certain Nights' - original acrylic abstract painting - 24" x 30" on canvas

'The Village of Nuit' - original mixed media painting - 11" x 14" on wood panel

both of these pieces are now available in my shop! I have two more originals to put up as well... coming soon.

now it's off to enjoy the last day of my 4 day long weekend. a beautiful sunny morning beckons me outdoors. i'll follow the suns rays to the lake where artists and craftspeople are selling their wares.

p.s. it's that time again, time for a new layout/banner. also coming soon.