Over-the-Top Imagination

My summer read came to me in the airport bookstore while our flight was delayed. It had been a very long time since I had the pleasure of perusing through the recent arrivals in the bookstore and so I enjoyed the unexpected time and soaked up the words around me. Out of three books I wanted to read right then and there, one did accompany me out of the store and onto the plane.

"The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in 
a Ship of her own Making"

I feel in love with each wonderful visual that came to my mind as I read page after page. And because I was so delighted in this so very over-the-top imaginary story, I marked the selected page of inspiration with a turned  corner, either up or down, depending on where on the page my mind was caught. 

The other night before I went to bed, I went back through the recently finished book; back to those turned corner pages. I wanted to catalog those specific sentences or phrases so that I could enjoy these favorites a while longer, outside of the boundaries of the book.  I feel these phrases or sentences, in and of themselves, are a wonderful story all on their own! I find they conjure up such a strong image by themselves they aren't in need or in want of a supporting cast of additional words...... So with pen and paper in hand I wrote down the following:

1. "Several small clouds skipped huffily out of their path."
2. "A girl in want of a Leopard still has her feet."
3. "She folded up the stirring very carefully and put it away at the bottom of her mind."
4. "....a cauldron full of tomorrow."
5. "The sun hitched up her trousers and soldiered on up into the sky."
6. "...grief pack away for the duration of a bath."
7. "....the ears of folk with legs and noses and eyebrows are not made to hearken to the weeping of those with inseams and button holes and lapels."
8. "...past a moon like a bony knee."
9. "...the movers of our tales."
10. "...good grief and all gallows!"
11. "....nothing but string and time."

Aren't these delightful? Which is your favorite?  I would love to know if you have one!

P.S. on the link above, you must watch the "trailer" at the bottom of the page. It does an excellent job of giving one the flavor of the story - not to mention share with you the talents of the illustrator.  :)

Say what your soul needs to say

I occasionally follow/read the words spoken by Danielle LaPorte, whom I came across a year or so ago. I originally fell in love with her blunt, say-it-like-it is approach to life and signed up to receive her "truthbombs" - I signed up for these to arrive in my inbox a few times a week. Some days I skip over them as they are unwanted. Some days they just don't hit home. But other days, the message, story or phrase will make perfect sense or give me an answer I wasn't aware that I was wanting. The latter of these keeps me coming back for more and holds me back from unsubscribing entirely.

This morning greeted me with the narrative titled, "Drama at the cafe...a tale of self expression". As you know (or perhaps you don't?), I love titles and was snagged. I took the time it took to read her story and was taken in with the moral of it all, "say what your soul needs to say".

How often, when I'm at home, and I have time, do I fret and worry about what to do with this free time. If I just instead ask myself "what does my soul need to say?", it might just be the kick-in-the-pants and self-love I need to pick up the paintbrush.....

Checkmarks, highlights, circles and more

The list of paintings and their newly titled patterns

 I wanted to share the visual process of what I had just completed the other day at exactly 12:00 noon (the timing of it's completion couldn't have been better!).  It was quite a process, but one I enjoyed and found immense satisfaction in. 

The completed list includes 25 oil paintings and 53 different patterns. Some of the patterns stand alone under each painting, while others coordinate with others from the same painting. And I was reintroduced to still others that are a possibility of becoming a new addition to my portfolio down the road.

The end result, not only of the visual portfolio I'll have in hand to show and tell, can also be found on my computer. My organizational skills (thankfully!) showed up for the job and I love how easy it will now be to find what I need. There was a short time ago when this was not the case due to perhaps laziness or the desire to not be at the computer any longer than I need to be or the molehill that had grown into a huge mountain of undertaking! (case-in-point: the green highlighted titles above - the patterns I remember so clearly creating for each where missing in action! I did eventually find them.....)

I also found I have learned a ton about creating these patterns since the beginning and found that some of my earlier original files needed some TLC. All in all, it's all coming together. With this part near completion, updating my website to reflect all 53 possibilities is now on the to-do list  :)  Stay tuned!

Words with Art

"One (Tiny Little House)"

I have, over the years, been curious about the impact of adding a word (or two or three), a thought, or a sentence into a work of art. I know, as a viewer myself, how influenced I have been by the creator's combination of the two. I have fluctuated between liking this and not - perhaps it's my preconceived notion that needs reworking: that the added word or words make the piece more "crafty" instead of "art". Another curiosity......

Granted, you may already may know how important titles are to me with my original oil paintings. As my grandmother said, a painting is unfinished unless it has a title. This has stayed with me and I have found myself open to different possible titles as I progress through the process of a painting. And because the title and the painting are so intricately connected I think they can each help the viewer to gain more information about what they are viewing. The story is more complete for it.

Now when it comes to incorporating a word into the work of art, now that seems maybe not so different? As the title would then be the word.... Hmmm....

And so yesterday, in the studio, I was compelled to bring forth the combination of the two in one tiny little house encaustic painting. What do you think? I am personally quite pleased with the results and am eager to continue this line of thought....

The Eye of the Leek

Wouldn't that make a great title for a painting?

I was inspired to take this shot the other night while cooking dinner. I find leeks to be so very inspiring in all of their rings lined in green. And I love pushing my finger through and popping out the middle, splitting the concentric circles apart.....

"Time flies like...."

an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

A new-found favorite quote of mine as I am curious about the passing of time and I am intrigued by fruit flies (on a side note, I think a fun title for a painting would be: " the nose of a fruit fly" (as I think they must have a wonderful sense of smell in order to locate the source of their food!)). I also like the play on words and the sense of humor in this quote....