my little exhibition

This is me at my little exhibition. I was a bit embaressed to bring my honking big slr camera but my dear friend Mandy snapped this with her phone. ahh, where would we be without the cell phone? Anyway, ta daaaa. Here it is, hanging on a wall!!

And now, it is at my place... will have to find a hook strong enough to hold it up!

now, off to watch the hockey!!

another little ditti

This Friday is my first art exhibition. Well, there was that one when I was a kid. The Dandenong Art show - I remember a certificate and going to see my art on the wall in a large gym somewhere. I had done a pastel piece and someone had touched it and then rubbed their dirty finger on the matt frame. Lovely!!!

The pieces for this exhibition are framed though. Phew.


The first one is my long chakra piece. It is massive now that it is under glass.

The second piece I entered into the exhibition was this one:


But after spending all my cashola framing the big bertha up there, there was no way that I was going to be able to frame this one as well. I know Monika, you are soooo right. Find the frames first.

So, I took that advice and nicked a frame from one of my kids photos and painted this little number. I am so enamoured with the sap green colour of spring - the same colour my beloved tree ferns are. It always inspires me to paint the heart chakra. And then there is that, who cant love the heart chakra?



So, this is Anahata, the second piece going into the show.


Dont you love that green?

And for those of you in Saskatoon - Friday and Saturday at the Refinery.

See you there!!

Love.

painting in the dark

The other night, the night of the dark moon, I took up the call to paint in the dark. A friend of mine (my elvish friend who I have painted for before) was calling people to paint in the dark to see what would arrive without the direction of light.

I crawled into bed with my sketch book in hand and my ink pens and some coloured pencils. I chose six colours from the chakras.. but was sure that most of what appeared would be the explorations with that ink.

This is what became...



I had been thinking of drawing a tree all week as we got ready for the night to arrive. But I didnt want to influence what came out - I love to draw trees and have done so for years. I have my way of drawing them - I didnt know if this would help or hinder the process.


Anyway, I sat in bed, turned the light off and closed my eyes. I let go of my intentions and opened up to the dark moon and let what wanted to come, appear on the page.

Funny enough, a tree did arrive.. so I let it become. What was new to my idea was the way the roots went downwards to envelop and cradle the earth.



I turned the light on when I was done, and fell in love with the image. It is haphazard and so much more about the process for me, but it inspired.

This is the sketch that I drew last night with my waking eyes - still seeing the image that inspired the first piece.


And this piece ... well, I adore. It will become more I am sure.


A larger detailed sketch with every leaf and all the shading. I cant wait. I can see it now before my eyes.. just waiting. You know, for all of that uninterupted time that a mother of three gets!!


lol.

have a beautiful if not cold, day.

Namaste

I know, I know....

I was just out an an art exhibition with my friend Mandy - we were there to see our friend Monika's work. Stunning and sooo inspiring.

Anyway, the comment was made.. 'you blog?' !! ha ha, point taken.

I dont write enough. Well, I dont write on here enough.

In my own defense, I've been busy. I'm writing my application for school - trying to get back for fall and needing to rework most of my research proposal by the middle of June. Two weeks... eh gad. I best get a move on.

But, in the mean time, here is the lastest piece.

It is a take on my traditional chakra series and it is for my good friend Joyce. I put the dragon in there because she is Chinese and to me, this is a very iconic Chinese symbol.


The piece seem to paint itself and I absolutely fell in love with the black ink with the colour in the back ground.


After it was done, I saw that the dragon was guarding Joyce's chakras. Very cool.

There you go you two. An update...

Now, if only I can keep it going!

taxes done... its time to paint!

It is a very good feeling to be done the taxes. I'm not what you would call a numbers girl... I can get them done, but I dont really enjoy it (does anyone?). And it is a bit tough doing them when the kids are home from school on holidays for the week... but, they are done!

So, today, I got to paint.

It was my reward for crossing another thing off my to do list since coming home from Australia.

My friend Karen had asked me to paint a tiny wee little painting of Ajna - the third eye chakra.

Here it is thrown into a frame just to see how it would look.

She also asked me to paint a smaller chakra lineage painting - I love the way it turned out as well - lots of play with the movement within the whirling centres, linking the lines to each other, more so than what I usually do with the larger pieces.


I also finally got my contract and artist information emailed off to the Saskatoon Women's Art Alliance, SHEBAM festival. It is coming up in June. I can not wait to see my painting hanging on a wall with all of the other amazing work. Of course, first I have to frame it. So, putting it out there to the universe... Framing Needed Pronto!

Now, that I have this painting thing up and running again, I think I would like to keep it up!!

Ahh, spring. Amazing the difference it makes to me - I think in one week, I have written as many blogs as I wrote over the entire winter.

Beaches

I was just reading a friend's blog http://www.mysweetprairie.blogspot.com/ and she was writing about the grain elevators of the prairies. Beautiful, iconic giants that are becoming extinct as the world moves on. Spinning ever faster with sometimes barely a glance back at where we came from. Thank goodness for artistic souls like Monika!

It made me think of the typical Australian view - our amazing coastline. Each beach seems to be different - and it can be different on any given day. If it is windy, then the bay will be whipped into a frenzy but if it is still, this same bay is as smooth as glass and people can water ski on it.

And the white sandy beaches...

These are views from down the surf coast - Torquay and Bells Beach - made famous by Patrick Swayze in Point Break!!


I love the contrast with the colours in the grass that you find on the cliffs. Tough, stubborn foliage that has to withstand the lashings of the wind and salt spray.

I was lucky enough to be down that way on a beautiful warm day. And of course, how could I not share some more Aussie pics!!



For me this is a beautiful Australian landscape - but how ironic - now that Isee the grass and sky, it reminds me of a Prairie view. I wonder what my Prairie friends will think of it?

I'm back

I'm back - figuratively and physically. After three weeks in my beautiful Australia, I'm back to Spring in Canada.

And what a trip - everything fell into place beautifully. I got to see mostly everyone and I spent a magical morning with my beautiful trees up in the Dandenongs.




I have so many photos from that one morning, I can hardly choose which ones to share. The whole time we were there, I kept telling my good friend Nicki that there was no way that my photos could do what I was seeing justice. The feeling of these ancient trees and their friends, the ferns. The tree ferns up in the Dandenongs can be over 20 metres tall and I've heard it said that each 1 metre = 100 years of growth.





I learnt a new word that morning - Ombay. It is a traditional Aboriginal word for the smell of the earth after the rain. It is the spice and dampness and richness of the earth. For me, it evokes a visceral response - something so old and deep that I have no doubt it comes from a place older than my time on this earth. Ancient memories that connect me to that land. MMMMM I love it there.



One morning of walking and breathing filled me with the most amazing peace.

I hope it is enough to tide me over until my next trip home. Something tells me it might be a while!!

This last picture is from a felled tree - the energy and power that came from the centre was amazing and so palpable. It reminded of my chakras spinning - I think there is a painting in this one.