The Power of Hello

There is so much in a smile and a hello. It's simple, yet so powerful!

A sister-friend and I sat in my office (Starbuck's) tonight and struck up one conversation after another with those that sat down next to us. I honestly can't take the credit. She opened up the conversation with all of them, and I asked the multitude of questions to keep the conversations going. 

As a result of doing some conversing, I shared this blog and even gained a massage client. I didn't have any of my business cards on me. I know...shame on me. So instead I put my blog information on a napkin. I told Jerry that he may want to keep that napkin because in a few years it is going to be worth a plenty. It rolled off my tongue so easily and I meant it with my whole-heart. He mentioned that artists didn't make it big until they died. I explained that that happens in lots of cases, but there are plenty of artists (including myself) that are deemed successful before death. 

The plenty won't be for me alone, but for the youth that I have such a passion for. I look forward to being able to provide a safe haven for children and young adults to be able to learn about all aspects of the arts. I'm not sure how it will materialize, but I am so sure that it will! 

I finished adding the final touches on the small painting that I was working on. It's hard to see the copper details added, so I added a close up picture. I'm pleased. It's a colorful piece that reminds me a bit of stained glass. 

I was supposed to have some sketches for today for the large piece I am working on. While I don't have any sketches, I am sure of how I want to execute the project. I have the concept and the color scheme to some degree. I won't make any more promises as to when I will have sketches. They will be posted as soon as possible. 

Smiling and saying hello to the average stranger proved to be a good thing today. If others are receptive, then I am open to starting a conversation and allowing things to progress from there!

Corner of Gratitude:

Pleasant conversation

Pearls of Wisdom:

"The last thing I'd learn, well into my career, was how to get on, how to say hello, how to get in with the audience."

~Phyllis Diller

Your Thoughts:

When is the last time you smiled and said hello to a stranger?

Until next time...

Freedom Friday: Paintings For Sale

FREEDOM FRIDAY!!!

Good Day Folks! You may have noticed that I took the time to change things up a bit on Friday (because I can)! Instead of Flashback Friday (we worry about the past too much anyway), from now on Friday's post will be FREEDOM FRIDAY!!! This means that I can post whatever on Friday...new or old. Whatever I fancy!

Last post I made mention that I was going to be making room for new creations. Since I don't have a website yet (I'm working on that), I decided to post what I am selling here. Everything that is posted is 50% off. I don't frame my creations. I like the unframed look a lot better. However, every piece can be framed if you fancy to do so. I will ship these items if you need me to, but please know that shipping and handling costs are not included in the sale price. If you are interested, I will also send you a document on more information about the piece including the size and medium. 

INQUIRIES:

Comment on this post with your information

email: exo31art@gmail.com

I also said in the last post that I would be showing you all the progress on the other two paintings that I have started. And I am sad to say, I won't be able to do so today. Yesterday was more hectic than I planned. Your artsy gal filled out an application, which was very lengthy. More lengthy than I expected. I look forward to the potential opportunity. There will be more to come about that.

So since I didn't get to share that with you all today, it looks like that will be on the docket for Monday's post. It's the weekend, and it looks like it will be a lovely one. Enjoy the time...each moment of it. Choose to smile instead of frown, and look at things with the glass half full instead of half empty!!! Remember...life is always worse for someone else. Enjoy the side of grass that you are on :)

Corner of Gratitude:
Blessings in disguise

Pearls of Wisdom:
"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better."
~Albert Camus

Your Thoughts:
What are you going to enjoy today in your new found freedom? If you aren't free, what steps can you take to get to that place of sweetness?

Until next time...

Making Room

Oh the creative juices are now flowing and as I stated in the last post, I am on the "good foot". I recognize that since I am now on this new "good foot" I have to make room for the new. 

Last year I started this blog in order to catalog my journey for a new chapter in my life. The chapter that is open and honest about the ups and downs of this creative life that I live. I decided to start off blogging about my first solo art show. 

The art show was great! I had lots of people come out and support the vision that I have been given and ultimately what I feel to be part of my purpose and this journey. However, I still have pieces of work left here in the studio that I need to move out in order to make room for the new pieces that I have been so fervently creating. 

That means that it is time to have a BLOWOUT SALE for you all!!!! Yes, that is right, I am selling most of my pieces at half price. I am also going to be doing some giveaways for certain pieces. This is a milestone for me. I feel like a proud mother sending her children off to bigger and better things. I will miss seeing them, but I am super excited for them to have loving homes!

I'm making some headway on the small piece that I posted on Monday called, "The Sun is rising, and I'm Doing the Same". The drying process for this piece is a bit longer than I expected. I am using gloss and acrylic enamel. One is oil based and the other water. As we know oil and water don't mix, but the gloss enamel is working beautifully as a top accent layer. I covered the canvas with pages from a French dictionary, which shows on the outside. I decided to keep that little detail visible. The final touches will be put on this evening and I will be posting the final piece here on Friday. 

I haven't started putting anything on the larger canvas that I started on Monday. That will be started next week. I woke up with a bit of a different concept, and now I am torn between the two. I will be posting some preliminary sketches of some ideas on Friday as well. Perhaps you all could let me know what you would like to see painted first!

So I am making small strides on this journey daily. I like this new found "good foot" and the idea of making room for the new. It's liberating to say the least!

Corner of Gratitude:

Liberation

Pearls of Wisdom:
"A Path seemingly delayed is not delayed at all, but re-routed in the direction GOD intends for it!"
~Me

Your Thoughts:

What do you need to get rid of in order to make room for the new?

Until next time...

The Good Foot

After an amazing week of coming off of the mountain, I have finally been able to slowly crawl out of a funky space. I'm on the upswing...on the good foot. I have been taking the time to get in tune with the Creator and leave what I am unsure of at His feet. I trust that He can and will deal with them accordingly.

So today I started fresh with some new paintings. It's been a long time since I have been in my studio and today was as good of a time as any to get back to basics. I put together a frame a few months ago and yesterday I stretched the canvas and put the first coat of gesso on. Today I put the final coat of gesso on and tomorrow I will start the preliminary strokes of paint. This piece will be a bit over 5 feet tall and a foot and a half wide. I'm super excited for this one!

I also started this small piece that will be completed tomorrow. The inspiration for this piece came from a project that I gave to my students. I was teaching them the difference between tint and shade. I've always been intrigued by color gradation. It comes out in a lot of my abstract pieces and today came out in this one.

I'm creating and stacking at the same time. The pieces that I am creating don't have homes as of yet. And still I create. I have to figure out how to move what I currently have to make room for the new. Until then, I will still create knowing that I am moving in the right direction.

Corner of Gratitude:
Motivation

Pearls of Wisdom:
Diving into deep water can be scary, but the plunge becomes less scary when you know how to swim.

~Me

Your Thoughts:

What steps have you taken to prepare for your dive?

Until next time...

Forward Motion

Forward motion is happening despite its moments of making me uncomfortable, and it's Monday! 

I know....what do the two really have in common? Well for starters, this is the first week that I am implementing the change that I spoke of in the last post. It's Monday, and this Monday starts the routine of blogging on a schedule. Blogging on a schedule is not foreign to me. I do it when I put my mind to it and have some accountability. You...the readers are my accountability, and me putting the schedule out here will help me to stick to it.  

I can be a sort of fly by the seat of my paints type of lady when it comes to my craft. I've finally identified that me flying by my britches could be where my problem lies. Consistency (showing up on a daily basis) is what moves a person from an amateur to a master. So today I take a stand and start fresh. A fresh start to a fresh week! A jam-packed week at that. All of the snow the last few days kept me in painting. There was no excuse for me not to since I'm not big on being out in the cold.

I took the time to build up a collection of paintings that people can choose from when they host a paint party. I will be instructing my first group of people on Saturday evening. I am both excited and a tad nervous. It's funny, I still get nervous about painting or drawing in front of others (although I have done it several times by now). I like to paint in the comfort of my studio, home or even in a place where I am not on display (i.e. my office aka Starbuck's). Perhaps it's a good thing that just allows me to know that none of what I do is because of me. I am just a conduit for the purpose that I have been given to carry out on this Earth. 

Here are a few paintings that I have done so far:

                                        

                                                    

There are a few more that are in the works, and I imagine that I will continue to work on the catalog even after my first party is over. 

I have other things on the docket to get done by the end of this evening, including looking for art competitions that I can enter within the next few months. I may or may not get to accomplish all that I have on the to-do list, but the effort is surely there. 

I have gotten more done in the last week (fine art wise) than I have in the last few months. It's a push, but a good push. No more comfort zone for me on this side of town. I intend to stay outside of the box from now on! 

Your Thoughts:

What routine (already implemented or need to be implemented) is moving you into a forward motion?

Until next time...

A Vow Renewal

Good day folks! I do pray that everyone had an absolutely fabulous Thanksgiving.  We all really have so much to be thankful for!

Black Friday was all but black for me. I know...it's not a dismal term like I previously thought,  but has to do with sales being in the black (a good thing for retailer's). I spent a lot of time in my studio, which (I am embarrassed to say) I haven't done in a long while.

What drove me there was a painting that I was requested to render for a vow renewal on Saturday. I know...it sounds like somebody(me) waited until the last minute to get things accomplished.  And while that is half the truth, the other half of the truth is that I hadn't really gotten a direction in which I needed to go until then. It happens that way often for me. It will be the last minute until the inspiration for a piece comes, although this piece was a bit different.

This go round I was given a vision of what the painting needed to be. You can call it a somewhat commissioned piece. While I had the vision of the person who was asking me to create the painting, I still needed inspiration as to how to execute.

That inspiration came Friday morning, and I was glad to go down into my studio. The execution took longer than I expected. 

I ripped out pieces of bible verses to use as the underlay. I did a thin layer of gesso over top so that the verses could be seen, but in the background. I then created the base of the tree and it's branches. Since folks were  going to be putting their fingerprints on it as the leaves, I decided to blot the branches with fall colors for a foundation for the fingerprints to go over top of. And to add a personal touch, I added a piece of poetry within the roots tailored for the couple speaking of their relationship.

I had a grand time with this piece. I'm blessed to have been asked to create it.  The couple that it was done for is truly spectacular.  They have a marriage that is to modeled by many!

Your Thoughts:

What inspired you today?

Until next time...