Early birthday gift

This is an early birthday gift from me to me! I am joking.... my birthday is in November, way to early to think about now, but it did take me a very long time (10 years!) to give myself a permission to have a real easel, so it feels like a real gift. Many times I painted something that looked ok to me while on the table, but the moment I put it in a vertical position - it was all wrong. A good example is the angel that's peeking at the top of my easel (and is going to be painted over as soon as I can get to it). 

I purchased the easel through Amazon and couldn't be happier - it came in two days, fully assembled! It is very sturdy, large enough for big canvases, easy to use and takes really a small amount of space. I thought maybe someone else could benefit from the information, so here is the link.

Happy creating!

Trees are flowering. Hello February!

Happy things. Grateful, always.

If I haven't made this silly "blog every day in November" challenge for myself, I probably wouldn't post today, because I didn't even touch a pencil, paint or anything like that. But since I did challenge myself, I'll share some private things that made me extra grateful lately.

So... in 2005, when I started blogging, I posted this photo-collage of our son:

It was for his 19th birthday. I guess that was the time I started wondering how will I feel when he finds a girl he wanted to spend his life with. I had many talks with myself, preparing to be ok with anyone he liked, as long as he was happy. So, needless to say - the day came! A week ago, he proposed to his girlfriend, and she said yes and OMG it is a big deal! And, how do I feel? I couldn't be happier! My heart is content, and has no doubt that they are super good for each other. I am so looking forward to witness their future, and wish them happiness and joy and everything good, as they truly deserve it. Such sweet, good, smart, hard working kids... LOVE THEM!

Today also marks a week of me admitting to myself that I am (finally) a runner! All my life I could barely run from one street corner to the next. My poor husband thought I had a heart problem, as my heart would behave like it was about to explode. My huge dream was to be able to run 3 miles, because there is a lovely 3 mile long path where we live. When I first thought of it, I didn't for a second think that I could really do it. But a little seed of hope was born. It took me 8 full months! And a lot of self-talk. It is mostly in the head.... and my head was telling me (still does) that I couldn't do it. BUT I DID!!!! Last Saturday I ran that path without stopping, fighting not with my breath or tired legs (they were fine), but the voice in my head... fighting it all the way. At the end I took a celebratory "YAY ME!!!" shadow happy dance picture.

This is getting too long, but I need to share two more happy things. Both of these made me tear up, but in a good way. You might know that in September our daughter started college in NYC, far away from San Francisco... After so many years of being every day with her, talking about everything, knowing everything... it hit me pretty hard. Anyway, she sent a birthday card, and just the front of it made me cry. Validation! Don't we all need it? It made me feel like I'm doing ok at this Mom thing... The front page was just the beginning, after I read two full pages of her tiny script and turned into an emotional puddle. So, so grateful.

Last, but absolutely not the least, I am grateful for your birthday wishes! I loved reading both comments and emails and they added to my happy day. Thank you so much! I also received the most original birthday card (book actually) EVER, and almost wanted not to share because it is very special and tactile, and difficult to show without holding it. I decided that snippets will probably show the best the textures, colors and just pure beauty of it. Can you guess who sent it to me? Yes, she did. Feeling very grateful.

It is so much easier for me to post my little paintings, than write like this.... but challenge is a challenge and I'm moving on. Hopefully, tomorrow there will be a bird or a face to greet you. Thank you!

xoxoxo

My Instagram

Of all social media I like Instagram the most. I start most days scrolling through amazing images that people around the world captured and it always brings a smile to my face. It also enables me to have a glimpse of everyday life of people I love. And, I think it opens me to the beauty that surrounds me. I love looking back through my own photos. Like a sketchbook - every picture puts me right back into that moment and I get to relive it again :-) Here are some of my pictures:

-Autumn in my neighborhood-

-Captured feeling of total awe-

-Cool places I saw-

-Good food-

-Cozy moments-

-I can't believe I captured this!-

I am almost sure that before the day is out, I will have more memories in my instagram flow :-)

Are you instagramming?

FLY

- mixed media on 20"x24" canvas-

I finished recording my class for SoulFood workshop, but couldn't stop playing with the technique, so I continued by applying it to a canvas. The photograph you see below is one of my favorites. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw that my little phone was able to capture it. I used it as inspiration for the canvas.

It is pretty tricky to show how it really looks, because there is a combination of metallic colors, matt surfaces, texture...

It changes when looked from different angles and light...

Welcome November!

Hello dear people!

I have been missing in action here on the blog for the most part of October. It was a full month, a good month, and I was keeping busy most of the time. I didn't play much in my art journal, but have kept my digital journal daily. Just glancing at the pictures makes me remember many little details of the previous month that would have been already forgotten. Tons of good food (beet burgers, anyone?), walks in the ever changing nature, dentist visits (ugh), concerts, kids, creatures, art... good stuff.  I somehow managed to be very social (by my own standards) and extremely too much in my head at the same time. I created almost daily, but for some reason didn't find the energy to share. So, I am going to try something different. November is my month, and I want to get back in action and share more. I'm afraid to say that I will post daily, as it may change tomorrow, but that is what I will try. I wrote many blog posts in my head, and would feel better if they would move from there to the blog.

To start - here are my days in October, captured in Noteshelf on my little iPad.

Happy November!

Today I...

Today I went jogging for the first time in a month (after trying to heal a hurting knee). I am not sure that my knee was happy, but I was. I enjoyed the crisp air and always welcome sight of water.

Today I tried my new "phone leash" and loved it!!! I go on daily walks/runs and always have my phone in hand so I can listen to books and music and also to take photos at moment's notice. I don't want to count how many times my hand tired and the phone fell... This simple contraption keeps it safe on my wrist and ready for action :-)

Today I took a picture of my friend the bird. I wish the phone camera was better so that I could capture this guy more clearly. I consider him to be my friend, because I see him often and love his calm energy. Don't think that it is mutual, because although he lets me come close, he usually becomes annoyed with me and flies away...

Today I made THIS lovely soup. It is velvety and rich in flavor and nutrients and just what I wished for. Appropriately called "Luxurious 7-Vegetable and 'Cheese' Soup" (no cheese in it).

Today I painted on a lacy piece of tree bark...

Today I started a new painting....

I was very conscious in recognizing all the good in this day and being grateful. It makes a difference when we really try looking at things expecting to see/feel/experience/share good. 

Happy weekend!

Reconnecting

It's never easy to get back into the flow of blogging after a long pause. I feel like I have been absent for months (although I posted sporadically). I think that the following weeks will be calmer, as I learn how to live in this new role of "Mom of children that are far away". Our girl is happily adjusting to her first days of college in NYC, while I am sorting through the impressions that the big city embedded in me and dealing with separation issues :-). 

After not painting for a while, I couldn't wait to pull out a 24"x36" canvas and attack it with a multitude of colors.  

I didn't have a plan while painting, and wanted to just enjoy colors and movement. And then I stopped when I realized that what I painted was my impression of the energy of NYC. The shapes, movement, action, energy... it might just be in my head, but I decided to stop and call it a NYC cityscape abstraction, because that is what I see in it.

I will be back soon with some news, but until then - I hope that you are doing well and enjoying the cooler days! I'll start visiting blogs again, I am sure that there is a lot of new art to see. Happy weekend!

Digital journaling (my favorite apps)

Happy August!

Some of you may remember that I started using my mini iPad to capture daily snippets way back in January. And would you believe it - I stuck to it, and now have captured memories for each day of this year. I call them "snippets", because that is what they are... little bits of days that weave together the story of our life. I love looking through them and seeing the big and small, good and not so good things that happened.

Since I know that many of you have iPads and might want to do something similar (I received email questions about it), let me share which apps I use. The main one that houses my digital books is called Noteshelf. This is how my "shelf" looks right now. I will start a new book for August this evening. If the stripes on the covers start bothering me, I can change them quickly. For now - they make me smile.

To create super quick collages (like the one below) I use an app appropriately called TurboCollage. I made the heart with Photo Stack (free app) and added it over the collage. 

Can you see the butterfly in my daughter's hair?

Most pictures I take are with my iPhone, so the quality is far from perfect. My favorite app for photo manipulation is PhotoToaster. It can do almost anything! There are many very artsy options, but I use it mostly to crop the pictures and pull out as much detail as I can (the ducks below are a good example of that, as they were not very close to me and were moving quickly).

One of my other favorites is TitleFx for it's amazing lettering capabilities. The example below is not imaginative at all, but I used it simply because I wanted to have this blue picture here, as it was really a happy, amazing day. The photo collage below is done also with TurboCollage, after I cropped the photos and added frames with PhotoToaster.

There are other apps that I use from time to time, but the ones I listed continue to be my favorites. I would love if you add to the list and suggest some of your favorite apps :-)

Cheers! Happy August!

Mostly blue

Blue as the ocean and the sky... not as my mood. I thought a month passed since I posted something, but it has not been that long. I really didn't do too much art, so didn't have much to share. Just getting back to my brushes. It feels like I forgot how to play, but I know I haven't, so I'm staying with it.

Is anyone reading blogs now that google reader has gone?

I'm posting my 'mostly blue' pictures to stay here as a reminder to a perfect day, and I'll be back with some art soon. Happy weekend!