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.

Yoga and art exhibitions

Alright, I think I have fallen off the face of the earth. Where have I been? - well, winter!!Need I say more? Seriously, my previous life in Australia is like another world away - rain and sunshine and the ability to still dry your clothes outside does not in anyway relate or compare to this. The minus 44 windchill, the pain in your fingers as you try to do up the frozen metal seatbelt buckles, the pain in your face as the arctic like wind drives into your face and the burn in your cheeks that night as you realise you have windburn from the cold. I crave the fresh air and the sunshine - thank God for Mandy's loungeroom and the afternoon sun.

But, I have been pottering.

Today my favourite yoga teacher (Vincent Lu) opens his own studio in town - Vidya yoga. Vidya means knowledge. I am so enamoured with the choice of name - to go and learn, to evolve and become.. well, to become your true self. I do LOVE yoga.

http://www.saskatoonvidyayoga.com/index.html

Anyway, it inspired me to paint again. And so, I did. I havent painted a chakra piece since before Christmas - so it was nice to revisit that connection to my art.

I painted two pieces - the first is the name of the studio - Vidya.


I chose the orange/red and yellow palate because the studio signage is that colour. And that lead to Muladhara being the chakra behind the script. It made sense to me in so many ways - Muladhara is the base chakra. It represents foundation and support. I sent energy into my work with the intention that strong and peaceful foundations fill the studio.

The next piece evolved from there.


This piece is the yin to the Vidya piece.

The warm colours and sanskrit wording became balanced by cooler colours and an english translation. And to balance the base chakra, I painted the crown chakra - Sahasrara. It symbolises higher consciousness... an evolution of energy from the strong foundations of the previous piece. The Sahasrara chakra usually as one thousand petals - so I simply paint the entire chakra as one single petal. Infinity represented in simplicity.

And then, as a special message from the universe, the very day that I delivered the finished paintings to the studio, I get home to a voicemail message that my art work has been accepted into an upcoming art exhibition. WHOOO HOOO!!

It is an exhibition put on by the Saskatoon Women's Art Alliance. It is being held in June - I can not wait.

Of course, a minor point is the framing of these pieces. But, since the universe is giving me a little feedback on my artistic meanderings, I'll take that as a positive sign that all will be taken care of. There is always a way!!

This is a small piece of the painting that will be shown...


a close up of my heart chakra - brimming and overflowing as I embrace my artistic self.

What a fantastic couple of days. Now, to get myself ready for yoga!!

Namaste

winter's slow pace

Seems to me what I want to say in this blog is exactly what I said in the last one. So dark, so cold, so dreary. !! Funny how winter does that to me. While I do like watching it snow, and sledding is fun, I have to admit, that I do prefer three months of winter. The winters here are sooooooo long! Oh, and cold, but that goes without saying!

For my friends in Australia - to show you what I sometimes wake up to here in Saskatchewan!!


That's minus thirty. With the windchill it was about minus thirty. brrr

But there are some beautiful things to see when its winter.



This is the view out of our back windows - sunset over the neighbourhood with all of the icycles that are hanging off the back drains.

And this is the ice that formed on the car on one of the nicer days. It actually freaked me out a bit as I wondered about getting myself electrocuted next time I tried to plug the car in!


And some frost patterns from the back window - things we dont see in Australia and I love to look out the windows at them. You can never quite capture the beauty of them with the camera.




Now, even with all of this winter beauty, you might have noticed a certain lack of colour in the landscape. Needless to say, I had to add some of my own in....


my new hair! I thought I would go as red as I could get it. Just in pieces - I thought it would hide the grey (ha ha - I think it just accentuated it!) I love it - I dont even mind the red that is now on all of my collars, my towels and my pillow cases!! Thats the price you pay! he he.

And finally, a sneak peak at my picture of Autumn. Part of me wants to just suprise everyone at the end when I'm done. I am really happy with how it is coming along - and absolutely amazed at how much this picture and Autumn herself, look like my sister. I think it is the freckles and the delicate skin.


Now, off to colour some more. !!

Late Winter movement

What a bleak and cold winter this is - naturally. It is winter, right?

Well, I've been a little on the creative side - but mostly a lot on the cold and waiting side. Waiting for spring I think. Waiting for that trip to Australia perhaps?

Ahh, to walk in the trees and see and smell the ocean and to see my friends. I cant believe I only have three weeks. I'm sure my husband who will be looking after the kids on his own is thanking God it is only three weeks.

Anyway, I thought I should grease the wheels so to speak and actually get this blog going again - the post christmas, new year entries didnt materialise. I watch my friends write everyday or at least every week... and I feel inspired... but at the same time a little lacking in the get up and do it department.

So, what I have done is to start something I have wanted to draw for a long time.

This is the picture of my son Halyn. I did it a couple of years ago as a project for a breastfeeding advocacy group that I was working with. I was supposed to hand over the finished piece, but fell in love with it. So, I kept the original and we got it scanned and now a print of said piece, hangs in the breastfeeding room at West Winds Public Health Centre.


Anyway, being totally suprised and inspired by this work, I fell in love with the idea of sketching all of my kids and this is what I've started. A picture of Autumn - none of the photos I had of her were crisp enough or had enough detail for me to use for a sketch. So, I got her in front of the window for lots of light and started clicking.

This is the photo I'm basing the sketch off....


... and so far, I'm nearly done one eye!


Nothing like diving back into your art to get you feeling cosy on the inside. I dont want to put the pencils down... but I guess I had better go and take Autumn to school!!

Now I just cant wait to get back to it this evening.

enjoy the late winter sun on all of this snow.

Amazing buttons

While things have been quiet on the painting front over the last few weeks, I've been filling my evenings with knitting.

I've shown you the neck warmers that I've made... well, I had a few more that I'd finished but these were waiting for some amazing buttons that I found on Etsy.



The buttons are made from oak and I absolutely love the rustic look of them, complete with bark and moss. Stunning! The green you can see in the moss, goes perfectly with some wool I found a few weeks ago. A couple of balls made two neck warmers. One for my sister in law for christmas

and one for me.

I wore it today with the temperatures at around 20 below and it is sooo warm. I love them so much, I want to go and get more wool to make a few more. If it wasnt so cold, I'd be tempted to run out straight away to get some to knit up tonight.

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve - a time for reflection and resolutions. I have had an amazing time experiencing the last few months of this year. I dont think I'll find it hard to think of things to wish for and draw into my year for 2011.

Time for me to put little people to bed... have an amazing New Year.

Allowing

the sky on Christmas morning.

Again, with the slackery. Or the busyness... well, it is Christmas.

I havent been downstairs to paint for a while .. so last night, I made myself go down to get the creative energy flowing. Even if just to paint a few petals on the sunflower I've started. Just to get me moving and to see what would come. I thought the lack of commissioned pieces would open up the floodgates to get me moving.

Seems I'm panic stricken and afraid to lift a brush and that is no way for an artist to be. Funny how your mental stuff can so easily get in the way.. of, well, everything. I've been reading my good friend Monika's blog and I love that she is always creating. It really is inspiring. I thought about the notion of just allowing, getting out of your own way. Of just letting it be, whatever it is that wants out!!

I've been imagining a few things that I want to paint, so after I added a few petals to my sunflower, I grabbed a scrap piece of paper. With a palete full of wet yellow paint, this is what materialised.


She is a prairie spirit, floating in the grass. I have been trying to find a reference for her face - and I've had no luck at all. Nothing matches the image in my mind. Anyway, as I was just noodling around, I gave myself permission to just play. And what came out was an ethereal, watery face that didnt need the detail that I thought it needed. I realised my own mental gymnastics were going in the wrong direction. Not only did they stop me from painting altogether, they were over thinking a painting who's energy is spiritual and flowing and moving. And for that, there really wont be a lot of detail. What I want to convey is movement ... and I had a great time doing that with this little sketch.

One little step at a time - but always lots of learning to be had if we just let go and and allow.

Namaste.