Striped

Coming along now on this one. Rough start, placing the venetian blind shadows just so, and

manipulating hand position and how does the shadow work in curly hair? My photo reference was all but destroyed in a move a few years back and so a lot of this is guessing and working from very tiny photo prints I made back then but never enlarged. It is off and running now, though.

A bit depressing to realize how much I have changed in the four years since then. I look at our eldest dog (we have four dogs) and he doesn't really look that different from when he was young - a few grey hairs, a bit skinnier, less clear in the eye, but otherwise very nice looking. Humans age so much more radically, but then, we live a lot longer too,...if we're lucky! I should post a pic of me at 35 in my belly dance outfit (I was with a troupe for five years) - oh to have that flat tummy again.

Tristan Traveling Through Time

Thinking so much about my son lately that I decided to put this image up of a painting I did of him about 10 years ago for a show in Vancouver. I have long been impressed and mystified by the process of change we all go through from birth to death. These are both my son but could be two separate people. Both are true and neither are true any longer. The essences of "impermanence" that is the most compelling truth in existence. I think I would like to do a new painting of him very soon as he has grown so much spiritually and mentally in ten years and this

year, in particular, seems to be a pivotal one for him. I cannot make his road for him or remove many obstacles from the one he is on but I can record it and perhaps allow him to see the underlying gifts he possesses. Gifts we all have if we look.

Keeping it Together

I have received sad news from my only child - he and his fiance have separated after four years. Impossible, tragic situation that he tried to work with for some time now and it finally fell apart. He is sad but relieved. My gentle child. I will post a painting I did of him a while back after this post. Here I am exhibiting my own fragmented feelings in these two pieces that I have recently started. The top is a self portrait, similar to "On the Cusp" piece from last year, but in pastel, nude, with more shadows changing the image shapes. Again, my old self, my new self, contrasted starkly in light and shadow. Which is me? They both are and have been and will be. "All compounded things are impermanent." Accepting this is difficult but easy if you let go all notions of ego and self. How to do this? I feel the pain of my child and of the world. Seeking joy while of two minds (as is Lyndia in the second painting) is like reaching across an ocean. Can we connect? I want to help. I want to heal.

Holding the tongue in just the right way...

Bringing Lyndia "together" will be her option for hanging once this is finished and in her possession. For now I am finding the ocean is going to be harder than I anticipated - silly me.

Or maybe arrogant me. The sea does not give up its secrets without a fight...I'd put on some boxing gloves but they would be hard to work in, but maybe I can make this work if I hold my tongue in just the right way.

An "Only" Tulip

We have every year in our garden a single tulip that appears among a group of Daffodils. The former owner of our house had planted this section of the garden so I don't know the history behind the "only" tulip but there is something about its yearly appearance that strikes my fancy. It seems unconcerned about its solo life and has a defiantly intense magenta colour that stands

out brilliantly in the crowd of yellow and green around it. I began this painting of it about two years ago and then put it aside when other things were demanding my attention. It began with some lethargy on my part but I saw it behind some other canvases in my storage section and pulled it out last week. I needed a break from the intense concentration I have to find for my figurative works so it has become a sideline entertainment. No pressure to get it "right" or to have it finished by a deadline or thinking about its salable attributes - just fun and play. Yesterday a couple of my art group friends drove up the hour and a half from the Courtenay area to visit and work in my studio. This tulip seemed the perfect piece to work on, allowing me to socialize and

and experiment in an easy balance, and it fit the almost perfect day surrounding us, with sun, a few puffy clouds, soft breeze, and quiet chatter from birds and other wildlife in the nearby woods.

What a magical day we had, and a lingering lunch on the deck, which my hard working husband stopped to join. And there is a connection I didn't suspect at first with this "only" tulip - I am

an "only" child and sometimes have lamented that single state, but I've always managed to surround myself with lovely "daffodils" too, friends who are different and yet so much the same, a family of artists who manage to find each other, and "bloom where they're planted."

Next Painting

After a couple of false starts I began the newest piece. Lyndia is allowing me to paint her

portrait as I see fit. I may end up doing a couple of paintings as I ended up with several ideas

for this. Splitting her image in half was my first idea and I have decided to go with that right now.

The ocean and sky in the background will be minimal but unifying. These canvases can be split apart and hung together so that her image becomes whole. I will be moving on to the sea area

once the sky dries, and then tackle the portrait(s).

As Seen, not on tv, but in The Artists Magazine!

The new issue of The Artists Magazine is on the stands (I understand...haven't seen it yet) and my little ad is in there somewhere! Very little ad...you don't get a very big slot unless you pay big bucks, but already I have heard from someone who saw it, someone I don't know who lives on the other side of the continent. Very cool. I hope lots more people see it and decide to come out

this way, enjoy the incredible scenery of north Vancouver Island, and take my class...I can promise a good experience and tasty, organic food from our own garden!

Signs of Spring

The rains are finally giving way to sunnier days although our temps remain low (which is fine with me as I prefer cool weather). I especially love the

variety and number of rhodos that grow out here. They are amazingly dramatic without being flashy and have some wonderful, subtle variation in their

colours. The Red are almost done but now the pinks

are opening and the intensity of the hues just as they

open from buds is wonderful. And my little cherub is

happier now sitting under the willow and finally getting to enjoy some sun, contemplating what new

flowers will open in the garden. I take a zillion photos every year and file them away thinking I will paint them all but in reality I only do a few florals. My first love is the figure and other subjects distract me, but that is ok too. I am about to get back to silk painting and ordered a new kit of dyes and silks. It has been eight years since I did any silk. I do suffer moments of regret about the moths who die in their

cocoons so that we may have this incredible fabric. The noir silk that is made from allowing the moths to break through their cocoon is not as suitable for painting and not as strong. I offer thanks to the little insects that give their lives for such a wonderful product. Once I begin to silk paint I will post some pics of the process.

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