101 BIRDS - Painting #35

 Here is a painting a did more than a month ago and forgot to share. It might be my favorite of all the birds. I had an urge to use the encaustic media and play with textures, so that's what I did.

I embedded real flowers (dry, pressed) in it. Couldn't believe that fragile hydrangea petals would survive the heat, but they did and turned out so lovely!

I added as much texture as I could, while leaving the color palette almost neutral. It was really a lot of fun and I could hardly make myself stop. After I finished, I immediately went to Judy Wise's blog to order her Encaustics Workshop e-book. Watched it, loved it, learned a lot but haven't done anything with it yet. I guess my muse has had enough wax play with this one painting for now.

Hope you'll enjoy the close ups of textures :-)

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!

Purple Bird + video

I couldn't sleep well because a purple bird was persistently floating around my dreams, insisting to be painted. I really couldn't get up at 3 a.m., so I tossed and turned until the morning, and then went right to my studio and picked up the brushes. 

And since I haven't done it in a while, I wanted to see how it looks when I record it, so I fished out my tripod from the depths of the closet, connected the camera and started. I don't think that you can see the embedded video in readers (I never can), so in case you are interested click on the link.

Things happen in mysterious ways sometimes... I painted the bird holding a flower, and when I opened the door in the evening to greet my husband, imagine my surprise when he filled my arms with flowers for no reason at all, except that he felt like it. He might be my purple bird! Feeling very lucky and extremely grateful for it :-)

What nourishes your creative soul?

Did you hear about Soul Food - a mixed media class with 39 instructors that will be pouring their souls into classes? The class will run from December 30th through June 30th, with unlimited access to materials to the end of 2014. 

Here are the faces of all instructors.

Can you see me in one of the little boxes?

And here is a better way to see the teachers, a full list of names:

It will be a fun art experience, but not only that - everyone will share their favorite recipe, so it will be nourishing for the body and soul.

You can read meet the instructors by reading their interviews here, find out more about payment plans here, and learn more about the class HERE. With so many enthusiastic people involved it has to be fun and informative. I hope that you will join us!

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!

Splashing paint again :-)