Wishing you these gifts...

(287)
magic and wonder...

the joy of family and friends

warmth and comfort

and the blessings of
light, hope, love and peace...

Pauline Day

(286) Pink Rose
private collection
5 x 7, oil
A pink rose for Pauline, Jerre, and Kela; three phenomenal women whose lives served as examples of grace, kindness, inspiration and strength. To see Teaworthy's tribute in skirt! outlining how to celebrate "Pauline Day" today, please click here.
"Grace was in all her steps, Heav'n in her Eye, In every gesture dignity and love"...John Milton

Superman

(285) I stepped outside the art museum and here was this little one skateboarding in his cape, seemingly oblivious to everything else.
"I never rebel so much against France as not to regard Paris with a friendly eye; she has had my heart since my childhood.... I love her tenderly, even to her warts and her spots. I am French only by this great city: the glory of France, and one of the noblest ornaments of the world"...Michel de Montaigne

I'll have what she's having...

(284) A shadow shot from inside the restaurant at Musée d’Orsay--This Paris museum used to be a train station; the giant clock overlooks the Seine below...enchanting at every turn. This museum is a great place to get lost, or just lose yourself.
To see a collage of other shadow shots, please visit here.
"America is my country and Paris is my hometown" ... Gertrude Stein

French Toast

(283) Leave it to the French to present food so beautifully...would you like heart-shaped strawberry slices on your toast? ...Oui, s'il vous plaît!
"Paris is the city in which one loves to live. Sometimes I think this is because it is the only city in the world where you can step out of a railway station—the Gare D’Orsay—and see, simultaneously, the chief enchantments: the Seine with its bridges and bookstalls, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Tuileries Gardens, the Place de la Concorde, the beginning of the Champs Elysees—nearly everything except the Luxembourg Gardens and the Palais Royal. But what other city offers as much as you leave a train?"...Margaret Anderson

At The Museum...(or not?)

Ever wonder what your paintings/photographs would look like in a museum?
Go here to play and see what fun it is.








(282) "All in all the creative act is not formed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contributions to the creative act"...Marcel Duchamp

Tour Eiffel

(281) This week's shadow shot comes from the Eiffel Tower casting a shadow over the line of people waiting below. Click here to visit Hey Harriet! and see more shadow shots.
"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast"...-Ernest Hemingway

Shadow shot

(280) This shadow results from a steel sculpture created by Kentucky artist Donnie Firkins. To see more shadow shots, please visit Hey Harriet!
The photo is an excellent reminder in how to paint shadows because it is easy to see that they appear darker with a harder edge the closer they are to the object casting the shadow. Then they transition to lighter values with softer edges as they move further away from the object.
"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same"...Nelson Mandela

Tagged!

(279)
I have been tagged by Marian Fortunati and asked to share some "unusual" things about myself.
Unusual? That is the assignment? oh gee, maybe you should grab some caffeine and try to stay awake... but here goes:

1. Years ago, my sister got concert tickets for us to see Paul and Linda McCartney--the only concert I ever attended when the audience knew the words to every song---so great. Later when Linda passed, synchronicity played a role in my travel plans, allowing me to be in London on the evening of her memorial. Like thousands of others, I stood outside St. Marins in the Fields and caught a glimpse of Paul and others as they waved hello and filed into the church. Lily of the Valley was Linda's favorite flower so her family had bouquets all along the facade of the church and the invitees were given one as they departed. There were extras, and one of the security guards offered a bouquet to me...lovely.



2. I received my first "art award" was when I was in the 5th grade. The class was was given a huge double bar of Ivory soap (I'm quite sure they no longer make those), and asked to carve something from it. I was so enthralled with Renaissance art at that age, and had just read about how Michelangelo observed a huge piece of marble that no one else wanted, and was able to visualize his sculpture of David within its boundaries. So I studied the shape of my soap bar and tried to imagine what would fit inside my rectangle (about 4"x7" not quite 2 inches thick)--and then I "saw" it. An opened book, lying flat would fit perfectly in that space, and was my "best of show" win. It was the first time I had considered sketching "within the envelope" to find a shape.

3. Although I took art classes in college, my major was psychology, and working with a white lab rat was a requirement for graduation. Let me just say that when a rat bites you, he doesn't let go immediately...and may I also add that when your rat is then running loose in the classroom, lying down on that nice cool science table to keep from fainting can be a godsend. Just in case you were wondering, such an event requires a new round of immunizations. Nightmares? why yes-- for years actually.

4. I first saw the Rolling Stones when I was 8 months pregnant. And a few years later, when that "baby" grew taller than me, we went to hear Mick and Keith again....



5. About 12 years ago, I was liberated by the sudden realization that I do not have to watch the evening news. Who knew? With apologies to John Mayer, I am not "waiting on the world to change" but hoping to follow Ghandi's advice to "BE the change you wish to see in the world." What in the world would we do without that daily dose of horror, you ask? Why not fill your head with what is good in the world instead?...perhaps with words by people who have have something uplifting to say about life like Deepak Chopra, Dwayne Dyer, Mattie Stepanek, Maya Angelou, Elie Weisel, Sarah Ban Breathnach, Eckhart Tolle, just to name a few- So many adults are up in arms about the negative effects of video games, but does the news not also desensitize us to violence? Clearly my news avoidance is "unusual" considering that 24-hour news stations are so very plentiful. (how many are sponsored by anti-depressant drugs?) Go ahead. TRY it-- try a news fast! It will feel weird at first, you will swear that you NEED to "know what is going on in the world" but soon you will realize that for every single sensational, negative story they have chosen for you, there are millions of unreported, inspiring and uplifting ones all around you. Millions!

6. I am ambidextrous in both writing and painting, but I didn't discover that fact until I had an injured rotator cuff.

okay, that's enough...still awake? If so, I'll stop there and TAG these fine folks...can't wait to learn more about them:
Diane Bronstein
Lorrie Drennan
M.E. Bailey
Vicki Shuck
Kellie Hill
Jennifer Woodburn
Paula Cravens
Mary Duvall

The rules for tagging are these:

1. put a link in your posting about the artist that tagged you.
2. write 5 -7 unusual things about yourself.
3. tag 5 - 7 other bloggers and let them know.

Golden Harvest

(278) ...stepping away for a few days to spend Thanksgiving with the fam.
~Wishing you blessings of health, love and comfort~
"I open the door. The gorgeous guest from afar sweeps in. In her hands are her gifts-the gifts of hours and far-seeing moments, the gift of mornings and evenings, the gift of spring and summer, the gift of autumn and winter. She must have searched the heavens for boons so rare"...Abbie Graham

Waiting...

(277) The long shadows of the season offer the "perfect" shadow shots at every turn. Waiting for family to join us for brunch, I sat down in the big comfy chair, glanced down at the floor and click! (to see other shadow shots, please visit Hey Harriet! here)
"The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between notes...ah, that is where the art resides"...Arthur Schnabel

Maple Syrup

(276) A worm's eye view...and another opportunity to hug a beautiful tree.
“My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.”
Aldous Huxley

Blue

(275) Nature's complimentary colors.
"Work is love made visible"...Kahlil Gibran

Yellow Maple

(274) We are still enjoying the last days of autumn colors-simply stunning!
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven"...Ecclesiastes 3:1

Fountain

(273)
One of my favorite books, The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, delves into how we approach the creative process; specifically how we locate, organize, condense and compile the multitude of things that touch, affect and inspires us each day. Take the scene above. I was stunned at how the dark figure stood out against the light. It grabbed my attention and I could only hope to capture how I felt about the gesture, the light, the mood created by the surrounding dark. Pure magic!!! Getting out and taking photos like this sparks my imagination and offers instant inspiration and enthusiasm for future projects. My friend Diane goes out and sketches from life. What process do YOU find energizing to kickstart your creativity?
"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts"...Henry David Thoreau

"Duck mind"

(272) This shot was taken at a local park, and reminded me of Eckhart Tolle's observation of ducks after a skirmish. He noted that the fights never last long. And, as you see above, immediately afterward they vigorously flap their wings to shake off surplus energy built up during the fight. Then they float away peacefully, just as if nothing ever happened.
He compares this reaction to humans who tend to hang onto that negative energy by holding grudges and thinking/talking/obsessing about it. It becomes our story.

"We are a species that has lost its way. Everything natural, every flower or tree, and every animal have important lessons to teach us if we would only stop, look, and listen. Our duck’s lesson is this: Flap your wings—which translates as ‘let go of the story’—and return to the only place of power: the present moment"...Eckhart Tolle

Shadow Shot 4

(271) We planted pink knock-out roses at the beginning of the summer, and here it is almost Thanksgiving and they are still blooming! I have enjoyed them in vases, and worn them in my hair all summer and fall. They have certainly earned their name.
To see other terrific shadow shots, go here.
"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.
When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves"...Buddha

Love Your Life

(270) I took this photo of a sidewalk facing the centuries old Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Is it merely graffiti or a timeless message from the universe, a gentle reminder to count our blessings and make the most of each day?
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money- than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you"...Charles R. Swindoll

Shimmer

Diane, from Inspiration By Design has issued a challenge to bloggers to post a "favorite dress", so I am including this one, painted earlier this year. I love the color of this fabric which changes in the light. To participate and/or be eligible to win her painting, you may visit her site here.
"A dress can mean so much to a woman... it reminds us of the event it was worn at, be it a walk down the street or a formal affair. It also reminds us of who we met or who we were in love with then, or who broke her heart. Somehow the dress or the outfit plays a role in that moment".....Diane Bronstein

Little Hands

(269
"It is not pure fantasy to say that the color red is like the sound of a trumpet"...Joyce Carey

Herman Munster; the early years...

(268) Okay...the economy has gone straight down the tubes, so this is my meager (but heartfelt) attempt to take your mind off it, even if it is just for a moment and hopefully give you a reason to smile. You can even laugh out loud if you want. Go ahead. There, isn't that better? This photo was taken in France where apparently, car-makers haven't quite caught on to the fact that people come in various sizes, shapes, and heights.
Thanks to all who came to the reception and for making it a super fun party! I am honored--
“I don't say that we ought to all misbehave, but we ought to look as if we could”...Orson Welles

Shadow Shot Sunday 3

(267)
To see more creative and unique Shadow Shots, please visit here.

And, although these words were penned in the 1800's, they are just as pertinent and timeless today:
"Things do not change;
we change"
...Henry David Thoreau

New Gallery Exhibit!

(266)
...Just taking a moment to put up my feet and catch up on some required reading while awaiting Friday evening's opening reception.
New paintings for November's show at Gallery 916 are finished, framed and hanging, so if you are in the neighborhood on Nov. 7th, between 5-7 p.m. (central), please drop by and say hello (that goes for you too, George!)
Joining me will be fellow painter, Rhonda Smith, and don't forget to stop by the All KY Juried Exhibition (same reception hours) located just down the street at the Capitol. Sounds like a great evening for art! (ballgown not required)
This post rates two favorite quotes:
"Be yourself, everyone else is taken"...Oscar Wilde
"The best advice I got from my aunt, the great singer Rosemary Clooney, and from my dad, who was a game show host and news anchor, was: don't wake up at seventy years old sighing over what you should have tried. Just do it, be willing to fail, and at least you gave it a shot. That's echoed for me all through the last few years"...George Clooney (me too, George)

Sky of Blessed Life

(265) I love a new dawn, and the new possibilities it brings. I ventured out super early one summer morning and captured this shot. Can you see the full moon nestled in the pink clouds?
"Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life, (a dream of life),
Come on up for the rising"...Bruce Springsteen

Ruby Tuesday

(264) I took this photo of London schoolboys walking to class -- and am posting it in response to the photo challenge, Ruby Tuesday, where the post must contain the color red, a little or a lot!
"Color! What a deep and mysterious language, the language of dreams"...Paul Gauguin

The Future

(263) I took this photo in Sedona while out on an early morning walk. The temperature was in the 20s so there is a thin layer of ice on the sculptures. Pretty cool (literally).
Regardless of where you live or how you cast your vote in tomorrow's local and national elections, may our collective choice, decision, and voice provide a better world for our children as we strive to "be the change you wish to see in the world"...Mahatma Ghandi

Shadow Shot Sunday

(262) This one was taken at the farmer's market. Visit here to see more SSS photo entries for today!
"The illusion of three-dimensional forms in space grows out of my attempt to re-create the fall of light over the actual form in front of me"...Philip Pearlstein

Pumpkin Day

(261)
"Ultimately, my hope is to amaze myself. The anticipation of discovering new possibilities becomes my greatest joy"...Jerry Uelsmann

Fall Colors

(260)
"I drew and painted all through grammar school. For me, the high point of the day was when the paints came out"...Richard Diebenkorn (me too!)

Dazzling!

(259)
When my youngest son was 7, he drew a picture of roses for me and wrote an inscription that said "You are the most dazzling angel in the whole world" As you can see above, he knows all about "dazzling".
"Art and joy go together, with bold openness, and high head, and ready hand--fearing nought, and dreading no exposure"...James McNeill Whistler

Sailing...

(258)
Last days (hours) of warm weather!
"In photography, as with most things in life, there is a natural tendency to want to establish a clearly defined procedure. However, when the entire process becomes a prescribed ritual that does not allow for spontaneous variations and reactions, the vitality of the medium and our elation to it suffers"...Jerry Uelsmann

Underwater

(257)
I took this photo of my son with one of those disposable cameras - lots of fun (for him too) After- all, when else would your mom allow you to put a chair in the pool?
"Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the songs of a bird?" ...Picasso

Shadow Shot Sundays

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I love this challenge by Hey Harriet! Check it out.
"Shadow is the absence of light, merely the obstruction of the luminous rays by an opaque body. Shadow is of the nature of darkness. Light (on an object) is of the nature of luminous body; one conceals and the other reveals"...Leonardo da Vinci

A New Day...

I began this blog a year ago with the intention of challenging myself to paint daily. The year before, I had only finished around 30 paintings, so it was a real stretch to consider adding 200+ to that number. In celebration of that feat and to honor a new beginning, I want to expand that challenge a little by moving toward more complicated paintings requiring more than a day; creating some from life and some in the studio. Meanwhile, my new challenge is the addition of photographs...my second love. No, I don't have a lot of fancy equipment, just a desire to capture fleeting moments in time, perhaps some works in progress in between posting paintings. And, if you frequent this blog, you already know that I love to collect quotes, and in so doing, honor the power of words. So... put it all together, and it becomes "paintings, photographs, poetry and prose...inspired by the beauty that surrounds each day" - if you are reading this in your email, check out the new look here.
Today's exceedingly inspired words come from ABC/Good Morning America's Robin Roberts and one of my favorite musicians, India.Arie as they composed this song in honor of Robin's breast cancer recovery:
"Early in the morning, the start of a new day... new hopes, new dreams, new ways. I opened up my eyes and, I opened up my mind and, I wonder how life will surprise me today. New hopes, new dreams, new ways..."
YES! to hear them sing it, go here
And here's hoping I can inspire you in the coming year toward new hopes, new challenges, new dreams, and a new day!

(254) Flower Alley
12 x 20, oil
This beautiful chestnut stallion stands at Kentucky's Three Chimneys Farm.
" A seed doesn't struggle to become a tree- it simply unfolds in grace"...Deepak Chopra

(253) Promenade
12 x 16, oil
This week marks the one year anniversary of this blog. In September of 2007, I attended a Sante Fe workshop with daily painter Carol Marine, (her second workshop) and it was there that I was instructed on how to begin. Although I haven't finished a painting every single day since I began, I am pleased to say that I have painted on most days, so technically I guess that makes me an "almost" daily painter. So, what have I learned? Well, perhaps I will ponder that in the coming days, but in the meantime, I want to offer congrats to other participants from that workshop: Lorrie Drennen, Paula Cravens, Terry Rafferty, and Vicki Shuck, - friends from Mississippi, Canada, Arizona and Oregon who have continued to keep the same comittment to painting, and have encouraged and inspired me along the way. We represent a third of that class. Carol has taught many workshops since then. I wonder what percentage of her other workshops have begun blogs...anybody know?
"Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz"...Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

(252) Chestnut
8 x 10, oil
Toulouse-Lautrec loved redheads. Me too - although I'm not sure I ever met one who knew just how beautifully their orange/red/copper/auburn colors glisten in sunlight. It is pure magic. But then you spot a Chestnut horse majestically strolling along - and you know he/she knows. They get it.
"In our time there are many artists who do something because it is new; they see their value and their justification in this newness. They are deceiving themselves; novelty is seldom the essential. This has to do with one thing only; making a subject better from its intrinsic nature"...Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

(251) Lucky in Love
private collection
6 x 8, oil
Although I enjoy seeing the horses race, my favorite moments at the track are "behind the scenes" like this early morning workout. Some of these guys are jockey "wannabes" who cannot meet the 110 lb. weight limit, but they live for the chance to just be here. Horses are their passion, and riding is their art.
"I'm bettin' on a filly down at the track
A natural-born winner, that's a fact
A hundred yards from the winning post
The horse fell down, musta seen a ghost...
But there's a place where I still win -
Oh, I'm lucky in love!
Yes, I've got the winning touch
Lucky in love!! Suddenly, I'm dangerous"...Mick Jagger

(250) Keeneland in October
8 x 10, oil
Fall in Kentucky means Keeneland, especially beautiful this time of year, offering a grand opportunity to collect reference photos for paintings like this.
"A work of art revives and re-adapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world - the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air"...Leonard Berstein

(249) Morning Song
8 x 10, oil
"Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile"...William Cullen Bryant

(248) Glow
8 x 10, oil
This is that last light of day when the sun is a red rubber ball moving behind the mountains- and just for a moment it casts a fleeting orange light on the tree trunks...my favorite time of day. It just doesn't get any better than this.
"Would you teach your children to tell the truth?
Would you take the high road if you could choose?
Do you believe you're a victim of a great compromise?
Cause I believe you could change your mind and change our lives.
In this undiscovered moment
Lift your head up above the crowd
We could shake this world
If you would only show us how-
Your life is now"... John Mellencamp (happy birthday, John)

(247) Golden Light
12 x 16, oil
"Thriving as an artist--in all of its forms--our entitlement to our lives and livelihood, our imagination, our believed limitations, our expectations and dreams for our work, our professionalism, our perceived competition and, most importantly, our JOY, requires the serving of an eviction notice to the voice of doubt squatting inside us"...Sara Genn

(246) Same, But Different...
private collection
8 x 8, oil
“Each person designs his own life,
freedom gives him the power to carry out his own designs,
and power gives the freedom to interfere with the designs of others”...Eric Berne