Sacred Moments

Finding meaningful moments as we hurry along in life, distracted and focused on a hundred different things is difficult.

It is when we stop to notice the love and beauty all around us, that our perceptions shift and change. Only then, do we become fully present in the moment, alive, and aware of the sacred in our lives.

Today I grabbed my camera and decided to take some photos. I played around with some of my favorite gemstones, crystals, journal, and some fabric.

In the process of arranging these objects, I felt a sense of peace and stillness wrap itself around me. This is the shot I ended up with.

Everyday is full of sacred moments waiting to be experienced.

Sacred Moments (C) 2008
“The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art”. -John Ruskin

The Mask of Gaia

Creating paintings of masks has been a life long passion for me. I also like making masks out of paper mache, plaster, ceramics, etc…

I have a series of mask paintings I have been working on for several months. Below is one that is almost finished.

The Mask Of Gaia (C) 2008

“The hypothesis of Gaia is the idea that we may have discovered a living being bigger, more ancient, and more complex than anything from our wildest dreams. That being, called Gaia, is the earth.” James Lovelock

Lunch Break

I visited Jan Worden’s site this morning and got all fired up about creating a mono print. I can’t wait to get started.

One of my dearest friends Margie, taught me how to make one after we had visited a small gallery featuring some of her mono prints.

I was very impressed with the whole process. She used found objects like coke bottle caps, twine, feathers, anything she thought was interesting.

Margie would use these to create images in the ink or paint, and continue with this process until she was satisfied, then make a print. The whole experience was so magical, I could sit and watch her for hours.

Just finished with lunch and now I have some time to make a mono print. This is going to be so much fun! I have never made one using acrylic paint.

Our Lunch Today Pizza & Salad

Shaylee Update

Worked several hours on the Shaylee painting today. It takes me anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months to finish a painting, depending on the size, detail involved, and time available.

The size of this painting is 11 x 14″. You are viewing only the head and shoulders portion of the painting.

Shaylee (C) 2008

“Happiness… it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort”.

Vincent Van Gogh

Corel Painter IX.5

I use Corel Painter 7 and IX.5 along with a Wacom pressure sensitive tablet when creating my digital paintings. My first Metacreations Painter 6.0 was a Christmas gift from my husband.

He handed me a pretty packaged paint bucket and said Merry Christmas! When I learned it was a digital painting program, I was skeptical that I would actually use it.

I have been hooked ever since. I love it! I can paint to my hearts content, no mess, no cleanup, and no chemicals. Best of all, I have an endless supply of canvases.

The only drawback is a steep learning curve, I finally had to take some classes to be able to really work with it. Other than that it’s been a great journey.

Below is a digital work in progress. First I made a sketch, then scanned it and moved it into Painter. I began developing the fairy woman’s face, hair and the background.

This is a rough first draft of the painting, and I decided to call it Shaylee. A Celtic/Gaelic word meaning fairy princess of the field.

Shaylee (c) 2008

“Gay are the hills with song: earth’s faery children leave,

More dim abodes to roam the primrose – hearted eve.

A. E.