This little one was painted for her mother on her birthday, commissioned by her grandmother. It's a joy to see the treasure she is and the delight she brings to the entire family!
The painting is 4" x 4" and completed in watercolor. Then coated in a wax varnish. It's really difficult to give the smallness of these little miniatures justice in digital images. But this one is so cute!
Happy Birthday Becca! I hope you enjoy the finished piece as much as I enjoyed painting it for you!
It began as I painted the beautiful plumage patterns. The shapes and markings oddly matched the sun spots I have. We women of 40 years old have been taught they are our enemies. And I thought of the money, time and tangle of emotions we western culture ladies spend on battling aging.
Then I went to visit my grandmother in Germany and I saw the pain of arthritis on a daily basis. And it broke my heart.
Pause. Reset.
When in our society did aging lose its beautiful honor & wisdom? Why would we try to hide and fight against that? Perhaps because it frightens us?
So I am trying to live beyond myself. Learning to recognize which things in our lives give and which take.
Vainglory, I believe you are a thief.
watercolor
19" x 24"
(background hand drawn and painted, ... took FOREVER!)
I recently had the privilege of painting a set of grandchildren for a special friend.
Three of the four happened to be British...The morning I went to photograph the three British children, they had arrived the night before from that long flight.
And it made me think of how excited I always was - as I child to go see my family in Germany. And how that was my normal ! Flying to another country to see family.
I now recognize that as an incredible gift and also how very difficult it is to be SO FAR from family.
So for my friend Jennifer, I hope these little paintings make all four of these sweet grands of yours feel close when miles may make it seem and feel otherwise.
All four have such distinct personalities but I can tell each one of these little ones adore you to the moon and back!
I've been determined to streamline and clean up my personal computer's desktop. I'm also sorting through old pictures and images. And boy, the memories.
Here's a few.
Sophmore year of High School. 1992 Ms. Plaxco's Class. Katherine Hudson sat behind me. And I loved this acrylic painting assignment. Image was taken out of some torn out magazine ad, I think... But seeing it takes me back. I remember lipstick colors, AP European History, some of the best of friends and the sense of independence only a driver's license can provide. (Side note: Katherine and I went to see U2 in Concert in Birmingham, AL on a SCHOOL NIGHT! - Now as a parent, I think twice about that. But an interesting fact: my now husband was also at that concert.)
Collage, Acrylic, 1992
Friendship. I have some of the greatest of friends. And this was painted in celebration of that.
Talueek, watercolor and ink, 2007
And then this one. I painted this for a friend based off of Psalm 23. This one makes my heart still for a moment. She showed me goodness, strength and love when I most needed to see that.
Psalm 23, watercolor, pencil and ink, 2007
And this one is so strange to me. It's bright and colorful but it was painted as I waited for some of my mother's test results to come back during her battle with cancer. I felt as if my family was navigating through uncharted waters without a map or destination that could be seen nor understood.
Fluid Utopia, watercolor, 2018
Asian Girl in the Middle, watercolor, 2008
What Color are You?, watercolor, 2008
Lyrics of Lascaux 3, Watercolor, 2008
A Black Tie Affair, watercolor, 2007
There's No Place Like Home, watercolor, 2008
The Homeplace, Watercolor, 2008
Consider the Sparrow, watercolor, 2013
Relentless Prayer, watercolor and acrylic medium, 2015
"Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind." -Nathaniel Hawthorne
I followed the trend. #100dayproject
On Instagram, these people committed to a 100 day project. I felt this would be a brilliant way to commit to practicing art and it would instill good habits. Tiffany Thomas being the most inspiring with all her beautifully captured abstract paintings.
I recently also read that Khaled Hosseini would wake up EARLY in the morning to find the time to write his best selling book, The Kite Runner and still tend to his day job.
That balance to find time for creating (aka sanity) and still tend to the chores of the day is so ... so... desired but yet so difficult to attain. For me there was/is so much to paint and learn! And knowing that time is one of our most valuable assets, I wanted to use and claim it, not squander it.
So I committed to 100 studio mornings. And it has proven to be so much more than simply time for creating and good habits.
Things I learned these 100 days:
All to say, I have loved the process though there were times in the midst of it, that I was ready to be done with it. Mainly because of the posting aspect and not knowing what to put out there.
Here a look back at my first little full of energy and good intention filled post beginning the process. It feels very long ago! Now, I have only two days left. It has increased my productivity, my drawing skills have improved and I've learned a new thing or two about watercolor as well.
A few years ago, I learned to love watercolor from Tom Herzog. He encouraged our class then to commit to painting or drawing each day for at least ten minutes. I get it now, why that is so important and I completely agree.
