Some Days are Better Than Others
Imogen had a rough day on Sunday. It was a learning experience for all of us. I hate when she is sad and that is part of the problem. When she is sad, I am sad and I don’t like to be sad either. So what do you do? Give her everything? Spoil her ROTTEN? Say NO and mean it. Yep, it was a hard day.
Lilies
This is a multi media 2.5″x3.5″ original ACEO.
I love lilies. Painting them is a great excuse for buying them. Shhhh…don’t tell my husband.
Wooly Hat
This is a new ACEO I did of my daughter’s best friend. She is wearing the woolen hat that her mother knit her. Too bad you can’t see her matching leg warmers.
Art Right Now
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
Pablo Picasso
When I was a little girl I would do art any chance I could get. I loved to be creative and was always encouraged by my Mum. It was fun. I enjoyed doing it. In fact, there was nothing I liked better. It was never a chore! It was never dull.
So, what happened? When I was a teenager I romanticised about a lot of things: Marriage, children, getting older.Visions of Picasso danced in my head. Like Picasso before me, I saw my future self eating dinner and then taking my fish bones and making a clay relief. I would have a bohemian house with piles of art and reference books on the dining room table. I would paint along side of my toddler. Look at us painting together for hours at a time. I won’t go as far as to say I imagined myself wearing a striped black and white t- shirt and shorts but I will say that I was totally out of touch with reality. First of all, toddlers require constant help when they do art, and their attention span is all of oh, lets say, 15 minutes. If you are lucky. Also, I can’t stand stuff all over the place, let alone my dining room table. I need that table to feed my kids and I don’t want their grubby little fingers all over my good books! Not to mention that I don’t even like fish very much, let alone a whole fish with bones.
I guess as I got older so much stuff got in the way of the pure process of creation. I had a constant dialogue going through my brain. Is it good enough? Who will like this? Is it too commercial or illustrative? or not enough? Is the palette to cold? Too dark? Too muddy? How could I tap into the pureness of what I was doing if the whole time I was doing it my head was questioning whether I should be doing it all. I don’t know who initially put these questions in my head. College, University, people of influence all played a part. Life isn’t the way I imagined it. The fun in art definitely was no longer part of my process. I no longer felt excited to create. It was just so much pressure: to create art that everybody likes is really hard.
Now, it has come full circle and as a Mother I watch my girls create and I am inspired by them. They don’t worry about the outcome. They just enjoy the act of making something. Anything. When it is done, it is done, and they move on to the next thing. They don’t dwell on it. It is about the process not the product. Sure we all want to create art that we like, and that other people like too, but if that is all we focus on it becomes a chore and where is the fun in that? It is so nice not to be in that angst ridden part of my life. At forty, it is so great to be able to reassociate art with fun, and know I can still learn new stuff even if it is stuff I knew at the age of three.
Things To Wear
I don’t get a chance to shop very often. Unless you count grocery shopping, and I do not consider dragging an almost two year old and an almost five year old around the shops, really shopping. Gone are the days when I could try on a dozen items, checking myself out for extended periods of time. Now to think about it, way too much time! Oh, if I had all the wasted time of singleness. But that is a whole other story.
Top 5 ways I shop (or at least feel like I have!):
(Not in any particular order)
The Dash In, Dash Out
Ok, so I have your kids busy in the double stroller. I don’t’ know how, perhaps one is asleep and the other has a newly bought toy or a treat I have withheld until just the right moment. This isn’t about giving you ideas on how to get your kids to be good while your shopping, it is about what you are willing to do to get some done, so figure that part out for yourself.
The dash in, dash out consists of running into the store of choice and quickly scouring the racks, usually the sale racks. Often you admire the clothes that are completely inappropriate for a stay at home Mother. Those beautiful pencil skirts at Club Monaco right now, for instance. Great for the office, not so great for running around the park or looking under furniture on your hands and knees for wayward puzzle pieces. This kind of shopping can result in not very well thought out purchases that hang in your closet, mocking you whenever given the chance. It also does not work very well when shopping for bras or bathing suits, which is, perhaps, why all my bras are a little older than I would like to admit and my bathing suit is celebrating a decade. On second thought, forget about trying anything on. You’ll never get that double stroller in the change room with you anyway! Just buy what you want and get out before anyone gets hurt!
Cover to Cover
Recently, I have discovered the joy of magazine shopping. I don’t mean catalogue shopping. This is more like window shopping while looking through a magazine. You know the magazine: Wish, Lou Lou, Chocolate are just a few. You can analyse each page, filled with the latest and greatest, without risking any compulsive buying and while the kids, at arms length, are splashing around in a bubble bath. This is definitely the cheapest way you’ll ever shop, just the cost of a magazine. Of course, if you are like me, you seriously run the chance of spending way to much on magazines! They are so conveniently displayed at the grocery store check out and remember, this is the shopping that you still do!
Ham, Peas and Panties (Oh, just get your mind out of the gutter!)
As I mentioned earlier, I do get to grocery shop. So what do those smarty pants at Joe do? How unfair, putting all those cute little numbers right next to the produce . How can you help but buy that sassy little blouse or those kick ass shoes? They don’t cost much more than a chicken. And besides, we’ve been eating way too much chicken lately.
Ebay Express
My husband has great luck buying clothes on ebay, but I can never find anything I like enough, or that fulfills the bargain shopper in me. Part of me is never completely convinced that by the time I’ve paid shipping, I couldn’t find a better deal somewhere else. Also there is the fear of losing the bid. When I want it I want it. I really only look at ‘buy it now’ items anyway. This could be part of the problem. Control freak that I am.I know, how did this get on my list if I don’t even like it? I guess, I just wish I could find something because you can do it in the comfort of your own home. . I just need to keep browsing, perhaps tonight with a glass or red. Now that is a relaxing way to shop!
Paint ’em
I really do love clothes. I mean, I love them! I could never, ever, ever get tired of shopping! EVER! It always makes me happy! Are you starting to see my dilemma?
This brings me to the fifth way: my new painting series, Things to Wear. These light hearted paintings allows me to enjoy( or even covet) a new desired trend without having to leave the house or having to spend any money. I may never have a enough money to buy a pair of PRADA shoes but I can paint them. I know, not quite as fulfilling but let’s face it, where am I going to wear a $500 pair of shoes? I have to admit, clothes are fun to paint, with all their different patterns and textures. It also gives me licence to mix styles, colours, and prints, in a way I never would in real life. But, by far the best things about painting this series are never having to look at the price tag, everything fitting perfectly and last and not least, never having to look at your butt in one of those three way mirrors.
Striped Jacket
New Painting of this great striped jacket inspired by Ralph Lauren. I wouldn’t be able to wear it and sit on my living room chair, I’d blend right in! Of course I had to add a yellow belt. I am really into the yellow accessories at the moment!
Argyle Socks
Just finished this painting yesterday. For some reason the image of girl wearing brightly coloured argyle socks popped into my head before I went to sleep the other night. Don’t ask me why but here it is.
Finally…
Well, here I am! It has only taken over five years but I’ve finally got my web page up and running! I am so happy! It is still in the works but with the help of PARADE and Chris I think that I’ll be able to keep this site interesting and current. Of course, having two little ones, time will always be a challenge. I just hope I can continue to find little snippets of time here and there so I can keep creating and even a little blogging.The work in The Current Paintings gallery have all been done since the of end January. For this I can give full credit to Scarlett. She decided that she would not only nap in the house (not in the car) but she would sleep in her own crib at night. All night! OK, OK, there was a little crying out involved but not half as much as I’d expected. These two hour afternoon naps have allowed me the time do art more regularly. Most often with Imogen by my side. As you can see, she is not only my muse (as is Scarlett as seen in “Tea and Oranges”) but she has also become my painting companion. We often play ‘Graphic Art Store’ where we both have deadlines and commissioned art to create. Imogen answers the phone, takes the money, meets with clients and paints so you can see I get off rather easy. All I have to do is paint and play along. It is not exactly the same as losing yourself in your art but I am spending some great quality time with her and really enjoying myself while being creative. I haven’t been able to say that for a really long time!Anyway, thanks for looking at my paintings! I hope that you enjoy them.
