Heart strength

16 x 20, mixed media acrylic & collage on canvas

I have a number of new paintings in the works - several more in the heart series, which will continue at least until my niece gets her transplant*, and a new series of 4(or 5) for an upcoming local show with a new group of artists that I have joined. I will be providing more info as the date gets closer and when the official logo for our group has been approved.

*FYI, Avery is doing very well with her Berlin heart, eating, drinking, making crafts and even taking trips out to the hospital garden during the day.
I am also on the verge of meeting with one of my co-conspirators in art to discuss some workshops that we would like to offer, so teaching will be back on the table very soon.

I would tell you more, but so many details are still up in the air.

Tomorrow I will share some photos from a weekend luncheon and artist's date that I attended. It was so great to hang with a group of "art girls" for an afternoon.

Art therapy?

As some of you know, my sister Jes and I visited my niece (and sister, and brother in law) in Children's Hospital last weekend. As always, it is soooo good to see Avery when she is awake and alert and on the road to receiving the ultimate gift. Not to mention how good it is to be able to take my sister out for just a little while to give her some much-needed respite from the daily stress of caring for (and worrying about) Cutes.

During the visit, we spent a good deal of time in Avery's room, and I had time to take in all of the wonderful cards, letters and works of art created by her classmates and friends. Her walls and windows are a celebration of hope and color and creativity, and well, in the middle of it all... one big, black sorta scary painting of a shark.

During this visit, I also happened to be reading this book, which is a fictional novel based on the very real shootings by two students at Columbine High School in the 90s. So I look at the shark painting, for probably the fifth time that day, and I say to my sister Jesse, (somewhat jokingly), "they'd better keep an eye on this kid when they get older," and my sister responds, with a smirk "um, that would be YOUR NIECE!"

So, as you can see from this painting, which I was allowed to take with me, and which I now have hanging in my office to intimidate my colleagues, Cutes is definitely expressing her frustrations about having spent the better part of 2009 in a hospital bed.

From her little heart...

From her little heart - 12 x 12 acrylic mixed media collage on deep set canvas.

I've finally returned to my art room after an unplanned hiatus, and this is my first finished piece. To give you an idea of how I create, and the kind of planning that goes into my paintings...I dropped a paintbrush on the floor as I was working on this piece, and saw the watch faces in a box under my table as I bent to pick it up. That's how it ended up as part of this painting. It's very often that simple. It's one of the reasons I like to have art supplies and found objects stored in open containers around me. It looks messy and chaotic, but if they're in my line of sight, and I don't have to break the creative flow to find them, they're more likely to end up in a finished piece.

In other news...
I was interviewed a short time ago by fellow artist and blogger Liz Ness, and the interview has now been published on her blog. Check it out. Liz and I have never met in person, but we've been fans of each other's art and blogs for several years. Take your time when you visit Liz' website and blog (which she maintains with friend and artist Jackie Wood) -- it's full of great artist interviews, digital tutorials, product demos, and a great online store, to name just a few.