I Just Might Be

a repressed greeting card designer. All the paintings in my head are leaning more towards being greeting cards than actual fine art. I guess that's okay by me. I get a kick out of them and it makes them fun to paint. This one is called, "I Give a Flying Shoe."

I decided to quit while I was ahead. The more I fussed with it the more I kept messing it up. After I repainted a face three times I called it good. Can you tell those are wings or am I going to have to fuss a bit more?

After Much Fussing

here is my 2nd painting for Get Your Paint On. It's actually the one I started last week and abandoned. I'm still wondering if I should have left it on the shelf and worked the idea on it's own canvas, but whatever. This painting is the result of two ideas. The first being a line from this song. "Find a lock to open up a key." The second being a quote from Rumi, "You suppose that you are the lock on the door but you are the key that opens it." Obviously, I'm hyperfocused on my word: OPEN. It's all good. And can I just pat myself on the back because I totally nailed that key. I'm so proud of it. The rest, not so much [though I do kind of like the background], but the key... whoohoo!

I'm tossing around the idea of adding words to it. What say you?

Get Your Paint On

is awesome! I am painting! I am so excited about that fact. This is my third attempt at my first painting. I started one. It was an inspired one. The idea for it popped into my head at 3 a.m. I had to grab a pencil and jot it all down before going back to bed. The next morning I was practically giddy to paint. I even worked some collage in there. The bacground was beautiful. Exactly what I was looking for. The terrible thing is that I really have no idea how to paint. Not really. Not with acrylics. WhenI started the more detailed part of the painting I ruined it. When I tried to fix it I ruined it even more. Ready to cry, I e-mailed the teachers [Mati + Lisa] and got some encouragement back. Some much needed encouragement. And a gentle reminder that this assignment was all about shapes and color. I needed to go more basic. That first attempt? On the shelf. I may go back to it and see if it's salvageable. The second? I really, really hated the colors. The third attempt? Here you go: As I was working on the second the idea that the center block on a log cabin quilt is symbolic of the heart of the home was working it's way around my mind along with the thought to keep it simple. I thought it would be fun to start out timidly with barely there color and work outwardly until the colors were bold and full. Completely saturated. Coming out of my shell. That's another Mondo Beyondo dream.

It Has Begun

[the universal conspiracy I mean]. Just yesterday I wrote that I wanted to paint. Honestly, I don't know the first thing about painting. Not really. And that fact has kept me from doing what I knew I wanted to do. But then. Right after I finished my post I ran smack into the middle of an announcement about a class. I know. I've got a bit on my plate right now. Notice my sidebar? I've decided I'm not in a hurry. I'll just sit back and let the universe continue to conspire for me. Have you had the universe conspiring for you recently? I'm going to paint!

2.for.Tuesday

one: this amazing blog. really. amazing. If you like food or, more appropriately, if you like to look at pretty pictures of food you will love this. As an added bonus, she types recipes to her pretty pictures of food so you feel like you're looking at a funky fun recipe book. You'll have to see it to understand. I just didn't do it justice in my sad description.

two: colors. I cleared my obligations plate recently and am really excited about a project I'm working on. but all I can tell you now is that these are the colors that will print true on a self designed fabric from spoonflower. That's all I'm going to say. Except that I'm very excite and far too hyperfocused on this for my own good. Oh, and also that inspiration is hard to contain. I keep having to jot down new ideas that pop into my head as I've been working/dreaming about this one project. It's multiplying. It's fun. It's exciting. I can't wait to share. ps. I think it might be a couple of months before my project is ready. Just so you know. I'm shooting for the 2nd week in November. I probably should have waited to say anything, but I can't help it. It's all I think about.

pss. I was all finished and had even published this post, but I ran across this beautiful and fun card and had to share. Because it shows the color palet in a much more creative and useful way than I did. Head over to the Ginger & George blog and download this beautiful card for free. Yes, that's f.r.e.e.

So, I spent the day painting

and I realized that I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not going to share. I've never used acrylics before and it's going to take some getting used to. Bummer. I was trying to paint this, only better. Because it's always better when you paint it yourself. It didn't work. This is my digital interpretation of what I meant to paint. It's the cover for our family yearbook [this is the view you'd get if the book were laying open on it's pages. that's my dad + mom on the right. they'll be the front cover. all of us kids + grandkids on the back cover. one wire per family. click it to see it bigger]. I was privileged to do that this year. Put it together, I mean.

Enjoy the journey!