Riches in Stitches

So bummed about this!
Put my hand through the dining room window yesterday...now I can't paint.
Already two days behind in the Bloom True course, but so anxious to paint.
It got me out of work today, so I'm catching up on other stuff.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll have better grip with my ring and pinky finger.
Have a super day!

Bloom True E-Course Week 2

Totally loving Flora's E-Course!
This is one of my two canvases with 4 layers finished.
This one still needs the black and white layer.
Really had fun with all the mark making and brush playing.
It was hard to just paint without thinking about it at first, but it got easier
 and I found myself letting go and just "messing" around (literally)
and not worrying about what I was doing.
If I didn't like it I could add another layer or two to fix the dislike.

Canvas #2 with the black and white layer added, giving it a graffiti look. I like it!
Can't wait to move on to the next layer.
I'm really having fun "playing" with the paints to see what they do and what
they look like on top and next to other other. I'm even using colors I wouldn't normally use
since I know they will most likely be covered up.

I get up every morning at 4:30 so excited to see the next post in Flora's classroom.
Thank You Flora for sharing your experience and insight!

#4 More Progress

Sometimes the viewfinder of my camera helps
me see what needs to be done in a painting.

"Just move one step in the direction of your soul's longing.
Do not worry about where it leads.
Don't try to imagine the specifics of what you will eventually create; it will come."

-- Ann O'Shaughnessy

A quote from todays Bloom True e-course by Flora Bowley...so fitting!

"We do not remember days,
we remember moments."

-- Cesare Pavese

Fast and Fabulous Dinner

I put this in the slow cooker early yesterday morning and when I walked in the door from work at 5:30 the smell was to-die-for. I just microwaved white rice and dinner was ready in 20 minutes. Delicious!

Slow Cooked Pork with Salsa, Cilantro & Lime  

1 jar salsa (16 oz.)
1 package dry taco seasoning mix or 2 T. homemade mix
½ red onion, diced
1 lime, juiced
3 T.  chopped fresh cilantro
1 ½ cups frozen corn
2 to 3 lb. boneless pork loin roast, sliced into 5 to 6 pieces about 1" thick

Rub pork pieces with taco seasoning. Place the salsa, remaining taco seasoning, and onion into a slow cooker, and stir to combine. Add the pork and stir to coat with the salsa mixture. Cover the cooker, set to High, and cook until the pork is very tender, about 4 hours. If desired, set cooker to Low and cook 6 to 8 hours. Stir in lime juice, cilantro and corn during last hour. Shred pork with 2 forks and serve over white rice. Serves:  6

Note:  The pork broke apart easily with a spoon, no need to shred. You can also use 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of pork.

Work In Progress



Here's the progression of my final assignment for Wyanne's Paint Free Class (named #8 in my 50 Painting Practice Series). I was starting to become way too attached to this concept and became afraid to do anything for fear I would ruin it. So I just stood there, staring at it, not knowing what to do next. I knew it wasn't finished and thought it was looking a little boring. I want my paintings to be interesting, and this just isn't.

So I got brave and just started making marks.

Again, I stood there gazing and staring, baffled at what to do next. I spent more time just standing there than painting.  I decided to just do something, whether it's right or wrong. So I took away the abstractness (which I love) and made it cute (which I'm not so fond of)! Unsure if I ruined it, decided to put it away and come back another day when I'm less judgemental about it and see the possibilities.

So I moved on to #4. The first layer of this collage was a piece I started last spring in Paul Gardner's Mixed Media Workshop. Didn't really like it (big surprise huh?) and it just sat there waiting for me to be brave and just do something with it. So a few weeks ago I painted some designs over the first layer. Being my critical self, didn't like it, so there it sat a while longer.



 So I messed around with it a little more.

Added some statements.

Then added some really watered down paint with drips and swirls to the top. This is on watercolor paper that doesn't lay very flat anymore because of all the collage materials in it, so the watery paint pooled in certain areas where it looks muddy. The brighter circles are where I applied masking fluid and have now removed it. So there's my under painting.

Yesterday I started to play with it adding some trees, flowery pods and color. I'd like it to have a landscapey feeling, but not in the traditional sense. I want it to be more fun and interesting and not really make sense. That's hard for the left brain person I truly am!

Why?

Why can't I get anything finished?

Why do I jump from technique to technique before giving them a chance?

Why can't I just enjoy the process and not be in a hurry?

Why do I think I need to sell a painting before I call myself an artist?

Why can't I like what I paint?

Why can't I paint in a style that I like?

Why does every one's art look better to me than my own?

Why, Why, Why?

While looking through some "draft" posts I had written a while back, I came across this one that caught my attention. I was clearly feeling frustrated with the whole painting process and doubting why I even paint at all. With my never-ending focus on the end result, I second guess every mark and judge the painting before it's finished. With those habits working against me, how do I even stand a chance? So needless-to-say, I too often quit and start something new, creating this cycle of never finishing anything.

That's why I am totally committing myself to the painting process through practice, practice, practice. I need to embrace the process regardless of the final product whether it's good or bad. I do hate the thought of posting a "bad" painting on my blog, but this IS my journey. It wouldn't be real if I only posted the good stuff, now would it?

I think it comes down to fear. Fear of looking amateurish. Fear of looking like a beginner. I want to be a seasoned artist, but I'm not. This is who I am, a student struggling to find her way. Counting the days until Flora's Bloom True E-course for more guidance on the process.

Bloom True E-Course

This is one of my experiments in Flora's style of painting.

I LOVE Flora Bowley's work and have been trying to attend one of her workshops for a few years now. Since I can't seem to make that happen, I just signed up for her brand new e-course "Bloom True." I'm soooo excited...can hardly wait! She also has a book coming out in May...so looking forward to that too!

This course is another step in my quest to focus on the process not the product. Just finishing up my last painting for Wyanne's "Paint Free" e-course. I made the mistake of envisioning the final painting and now it's not unfolding as I envisioned...but I'm going with it and seeing where it ends up. So far I'm liking it!

It's funny, I read an article in CPS Jan/Feb 2012 by Tiffany Teske "The lessons I learned by making art," and she described me perfectly. One of her lessons was to let go of perfection because it's impossible to accomplish. In her teaching experience, students who are perfectionist (that's me) often give up before they have put in enough time and practice to improve. The happy painters are the ones who embrace their mistakes as learning experiences and make a lot of art.

I'm slowly shifting to a non-perfectionist way of thinking and developing an attitude of discovery. It's a very hard shift to paint with an attitude of "freeness" and "fearlessness" but I'm committed to it. So in between working on paintings for Flora's class, I'm going to continue my 50 Painting Series. I have about 7 pieces started so far.

What I Want for 2012

Practice Painting #1

First, without sounding too negative, I want to state what I DON'T want for 2012. I don't want a bunch of expectations of myself that, when not met, leave me feeling like a failure, a loser, a procrastinator, or just plain pathetic.

What I DO want for 2012 is simple...to learn to paint for the process alone, to have fun, to paint what I want, not what will sell, to develop my style through my mistakes, not my masterpieces.  In this post, I asked myself "Why can't I just paint 50 paintings of nothing and not care? I'm not getting ANYTHING done anyway...what harm could it do?"  So now I'm taking the steps to embrace the process simply for the process and starting my 50 Practice Painting Series. I remember reading something from Claudine Hellmuth quite a while ago where she mentioned after about her 50th painting she started to see her style emerge.

So here I go, painting for the sake of painting, to see what unfolds when I'm consumed by the process instead of focused on the product. To see what discoveries I make along the way, hoping to turn frustration into fun! Painting #1 above started as a blind squiggle drawing as suggested in Wyanne's e-course "Paint Free."  These faceless beauties are what emerged from my squiggles. I think they're kinda cute in their own unique way!

New Pizza Mac Recipe

Another Recipe for You!

I talk a lot about the cookbook I made, "Home Cooked Goodness - A Collection of Over 140 Family Favorite Beef, Pork and Poultry Recipes." I created it as a Holiday gifts in 2010 and only printed about 50 copies. The plan at the time was to self-publish it and market it myself, but the effort required to do that just seems so overwhelming. So I figured I would turn it into an ebook and offer it as a download. So the next step was to buy Adobe Distiller to create the interactive PDF file, which is still on my list of things to do. But in the meantime, everytime I create a recipe that didn't make it into the printed version of the cookbook, I offer it on  my blog. So here's the latest and greatest. Enjoy!

Pizza Mac
16 oz. elbow macaroni
1 lb. ground beef
½ onion, diced
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 jar pizza sauce (15 oz.)
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 pkg. pepperoni, sliced (3.5 oz)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook the ground beef, onion, garlic cloves, salt and pepper over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in pizza sauce, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and pepperoni. Add half the cooked macaroni and gently stir; add more macaroni as desired. Serve and top with mozzarella cheese. Serves 6

Love the Layers

Image 1

Image 2

"Release" 16"x24" Acrylic on Canvas

Week four of Wyanne's Paint Free e-course (which I started this summer and can finally say I am half way through...yikes!) was an awesome lesson on layering. The assignment was to write a message then cover part or all of it with paint. We could either sketch in a subject or just paint abstractly. I chose to simply start adding paint to the canvas (I even limited my palette to only 5 colors). After several layers I chose an area I found interesting and used masking fluid in the shape of a heart to save the painting underneath. After adding a little more paint (image 1 above), I saw what looked to me like the shoulders and back of a woman in a low-backed gown gazing at the trees. Even though I have no interest in painting figures, I had to move forward with this vision (image 2 above). I am very pleased with results...I love the FREEdom of painting in this style, no expectations, less frustration, and just FUN!

Holiday Snow Girls

Every year I like to make a homemade gift of some type, especially for the friends or relative I no longer exchange gifts with. I hate to show up empty handed, even if we agreed to it. This year I was inspired by Artist Sue Pelletier's Snowmen and thought they would make adorable gifts. They were a little more time consuming than I had anticipated and quite a messy project. I only had the time and energy to make these nine and didn't even get to make one for myself. I really needed to get the mess cleaned up so I could use my work table for painting. All my painting got put on hold due to the holiday frenzy and I miss it terribly. Paige got an art set for Christmas and has asked to paint everyday since Christmas, so now the Snow Girls are put away and the painting can begin!

I Want To Be Great, But I Can't Get Started!!!

"You don't have to be great to get started,
but you have to get started to be great."

~ Les Brown

Today I'm having trouble getting started. I have what I need to paint...time, a clean work surface, quiet and no distractions. My environment and my heart say "Yes" please paint, but my brain says "NO!" My computer isn't cooperating and I don't feel like cleaning-up the Christmas decorating disaster that has taken over the house and I don't work until 1:00. So what's keeping me from painting?????

FEAR? Yes, it's got to be fear! Fear of frustration, fear of not being able to let go and just paint, just play, just enjoy the process. I'm reading "Trust the Process: An Artist's Guide to Letting Go" by Shaun McNiff. Everything he talks about makes sense and while I've been reading I've been really excited about trying some of the exercises. The only thing is...while I've been reading the book, I haven't painted once. Nope...not one single time. I'm all about getting ready to do NOTHING! I'm always so worried about the end product or making a mistake that I freeze up and can't think of anything to paint. If I approach the painting with no expectations, how can I mess it up...right? Why can't I just LOOSEN UP? My gosh...is it that hard? Why can't I just paint 50 paintings of nothing and not care? I'm not getting ANYTHING done anyway...what harm could it do? I'm kinda getting frustrated with myself...can you tell? Anyhow, I'm just in that kind of mood today...do you ever get that way? Please say "YES."

Random Hearts Find a Home

Paige bit into the center of her bun and left this cute little heart cut-out. She ALWAYS insists that I
take a picture when she discovers a heart, and many times if it's a man-made heart I don't
really want to bother. Thanks to her persistence, I'm ALWAYS glad I did!

Found the above two rock hearts on a trail in Cuyamuca Rancho State Park,
Paseo Picacho Campground in October 2011.

Found this shadow heart on the road after a hike in Julian.
Gotta be quick to catch hearts like this...still waiting for that
cloud heart to make itself known!

My son Scott brought this rock back from Boy Scout Camp
at the Outdoor Education Center where he was a volunteer...
sssshhhh....don't tell!

Makena found this blob of paint one day while her and Paige were painting.
Even the kids friends are on the lookout for hearts. I love this hobby!

Reaching New Heights

I started this painting 3 or 4 months ago hoping to give it to a dear friend for her Birthday. Not liking the outcome too much, I decided to redo only the top half of the painting because I really love how the trees at the bottom turned out...the two trees on top, not so much! 

"Reaching New Heights"
24 x 30 Acrylic, marker, assorted papers on canvas

This is the final piece, finished the day before her birthday. The photo quality is poor...I just couldn't eliminate that darn light reflection. I'm much happier with the two focal trees, but everything turned out a bit darker than I would have liked. It was a fun experiment and I had fun painting it.

Close-up of lower trees.