Sometimes I Purr, Sometimes I Growl

"Sometimes I Purr, Sometimes I Growl"

Watercolor

Going through the after art fair blahs. Wonder if I'd paint again without that "art fair" motivation. No fears, I painted two images today, including the one above. I'm feeling a little pissy and though my intentions were to make a nice little purring kitty, a rather "fierce" looking one emerged instead. Or so I think. The eyes I started painting were rather tranquil but then some sudden anger became to flow through me. Keeping that emotion going, I reached for some red and yellow paints and began to scatter and scrub the paint willy nilly all around the body and background.

I didn't think I'd finish the image because then I started feeling depressed and what's the use began to fill my brain. Always painting birds, I muttered. Can't I step out of my comfort box and paint something else. I am bored and on and on my head filled with thoughts. No, this is not a bird, true, but birds were my initial project to paint this morning.

So how did I feel after I painted the kitty above? Kind of empty. I suppose that means I released some emotions. Still, what does the future hold for all my birdies and kitties? I'm pondering again, darn that ego.

art fair and painted a baby peacock

"Baby Peacock"

Watercolor

Hm, don't know why black line is popping up to the right of the image. I'll let it be for now, just wanted to share. It's been awhile since I've posted here. Need to dust off the cobwebs and write a little bit here.

Painted this bird while I was at an art fair yesterday. The tail I concentrated on using little water and more of a drybrush style. Someone commented that it had a peacock tail so voila it became a baby peacock. I felt meditative while painting this yesterday. I wouldn't have painted at all (it was hot!) but for the encouragement of my husband. He "knows" me, for sure. People looked over my shoulder, little kids stood pointing at my various paintings displayed and cackled with delight as they named each animal or bird. Highlight of my day, or one of them. Fun, that was, for sure! And I got a new painting created too. Win, win situation!

Light crowd. Maybe due to limited advertising, that the Taste of Chicago was going on or that the Cubs and White Sox were playing each other. I was okay with this, it was the first time I had participated in this fair, a new adventure. Though there weren't all that many people, it allowed me to strike up some personal conversations with a number of them and answer their questions about how I paint.More people inquired if I teach. I think the Universe is really trying to tell me something here. It was certainly nice to go inside the gallery off and on to cool down. And see more of the artwork hanging inside. Lots of people inside the gallery, so that's where they were!

I'm sunburned today, yet the sun has some good Vitamin D, so I need to look on the bright side. Feels good to write here again today and get some thoughts down.

King Cobra, not so menacing

"King Cobra"
Watercolor

It's been awhile since I've posted anything here on my blog. Almost a month. Hm, how time flies. Perhaps, like this snake above here, I am merely shedding my skin and getting used to the newly formed one that now adorns me. And needed some time away from here to quietly process this. Yet, I feel I am constantly shedding my skin, almost every day (this is not a one-time occurrence) and am surprised by who emerges when I wake up. I do not attempt to paste the discard skin back on myself but let it shrivel and melt away. Letting go, no second thoughts, no regrets.
And like the Kundalini energy that arises within me, like a snake, my inner creative self is constantly awakening, evolving, going from reality to dream state and back again. Cyclic.
Perhaps this is what living in the now is like, having no expectations of what others think. Having no expectations of what the day holds. Allowing whoever I am at each moment to just unfold. Letting my moods honestly come forth. And letting snakes crawl out on my canvas. This is not a scary thing, I feel, but just letting all the dark and light of my inner emotions come out into the world. Not worrying what others might think, but doing my art because it is just me.
I look at the reptiles I've been creating lately and feel their masculine strength, not their menacing presence. Yes, the birdies I create are usually rather soft and cuddly. Feminine. Yet all the paintings, no matter what their emotional feel, reside on my studio walls, together, not separate. In harmony. Once again, it's about balance, for me anyway.