I had an idea and it involved gold leaf....

As much as I wanted to say this painting was finished, I  knew deep down it wasn't. How did I know? Because I had an idea that I kept shooting down and trying to forget - all to no avail as it kept hounding me. So I gave in and am thrilled I did so! You can see the latest detail/addition to my painting, My Inner Reptile. I still have a few more layers to do, but that is all, and then for sure it will be done  :)  As always, do stay tuned....

Curiosity and Mystery

I'm trying to hang onto being curious. Curious with a capital "W" for Why, What, Who and When..... And we can't forget about How so I also need to have Curious with a capital "H"....

I feel there is a direct correlation between being curious and playing (creating) and I feel I have lost these abilities (to some extent). If I can devote time to being curious (read more here), I then imagine I will take the time to play and lose myself in the mystery of it all.

I think having a magnifying glass with me at all times will help......

Millimeters and centimeters

I'm becoming acquainted, and I'm sure by the time the last page has turned, good friends with millimeters and centimeters.  This delicious, eye candy book caught my eye at a local bookstore the other week. I am in love with the itty-bitty detail of it all found in the fruits colors, textures and forms. And to think some of these are just a few millimeters in length is really quite mind-boggling! And then to realize these works of art (if I may call them such) actually exist!! As with most things in the natural world - it just takes time to observe and really see what is already around us to then be able to learn to appreciate the simpleness in life.....

Happy New Year to All!

And so it is the 2nd day of the New Year and I can't help but wonder what is in store in the months ahead. Curiosity has struck and I am feeling there are possibilities and potentials out there waiting for discovery.  I'm excited to have this feeling!

So last year I started the year off with resolutions... And how did I do with these over the past 12 months, you ask? There are many I touched upon and a few I didn't. And it's okay I tell myself if I didn't accomplish all that I set out to do. Because in their place there were many more experiences I wouldn't have imagined near a year ago that I was able to participate in. Isn't that what life is really all about?  I kinda think so. Not to control, but instead to live in the moment and allow what is meant to be to be.

It's very much like how I approach a painting! So will I set new resolutions for 2011? I like that I put out into the Universe the ideas and deadlines (per say) I'd like to accomplish, but really it's all a lot more fulfilling to be in/to live in the process and not just for the end result. That is really what it is all about.

So I wish you, my reader, a very joy and process-filled year ahead. May it be luxurious in ideas and living in the moments!

The Line of Thought Behind it All

This last holiday weekend I was able to experience the exhibition at MOMA titled "On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century". Since then, my mind keeps noodling around the visual ideas the exhibit presented (I have to say I'm curious to incorporate the ideas I have seen into the processes of my own creations........ I've been influenced and inspired.....).

And I found myself quite taken by the thoughts expressed by some of the artists. Here are a couple:
"sewing thread to mend gaps and create visual connections between materials" --Anna Maria Maiolino
"Klee said of his drawn line: "It goes out for a walk, so to speak, aimlessly for the sake of the walk.""

Brussels Sprouts? Hedgehog Gourd?

Hmmmm.... Certainly a little of each perhaps is influencing/inspiring the forms in my new painting. This is the companion door to the canvas of my most recent painting, "My Inner Reptile".
I'm really excited to continue the building up of layers.... This morning I just finished laying out the forms. Now the details....
As always, stay tuned  :)

My mind is all a buzz...

with the glorious imagery from the latest movie we watched, "The Secret of Kells". I highly recommend it for the visuals (though the story is quite good) ~ the layers of textures, forms, patterns and colors throughout create an amazing world worth visiting.....

(unfortunately this snippet above just doesn't give justice to it - you must see it for yourself.....)

P.S. I'm so inspired by it all! and thus it is certainly giving "Alice in Wonderland" a run for it's money for my favorite movie category.... I must see it again!