For the love of painting

No matter what I am going through or how I am feeling, for the most part, I can paint. It is such good therapy for me. I lose myself in it and it doesn't matter too much if it turns out all that great as long as I am messing about with my paints.

I organized my art room but after a few days of messing about in there it is getting a little creatively wild but that is ok because I can close the door.

Painting in this posting:

Title: "Time in the Garden"

On Oval canvas

Medium: Original Acrylic

Price: $45.00

This painting is Copyrighted

Early Rising

Lately I have been rising very early. During the spring, summer and early fall it was 5 AM and I thought, oh my that was too early. Then the time change came and my body didn't change with it, so, I was not able to sleep past 4 AM. For a few nights it was 3 AM that my inner alarm clock went off. Now it is consistently 2 AM, so I have taken to crawling between the sheets around 7 PM in order to compensate.

I have been trying to use the time wisely at this early hour to pray, meditate, catch up on emails, do laundry, paint or write etc...etc... and sometimes all at the same time. Actually, there are a great many benefits to being up 6 hours before my husband.

One morning, however, I was a little annoyed as I lay there wondering if I could try to snatch a few more ZZZZZZZZZZ's or if I should just let my feet hit the floor and grope for those sleepers. Oh well, I finally decided I might as well get up. Eventually seated on the couch I turned on the computer and opened up my email. There was one of Robert Genn's bi-weekly news articles entitled, "In Praise of Early Rising." Well, I guess I have a condition but I am in good company because there are many greats that had/have it too, including "Picasso." It is nice to know that I am not alone and so I will just embrace it for now (even if it is just for awhile.) I really do get a lot more done getting up early then if I stayed up late.

Paintings in this Post:

Title: "Knit Together in My Mother's Womb"

Medium: Original Acrylic

Size: 24" X 30"

Price: $540.00

Title: "We Must Fly"

Medium: Original Acrylic

Size: 24" X 30"

Price: $600.00

This paintings are copyrighted

Country Garden

Medium: Original Acrylic

Size: 12X12 on 2" profile canvas
Price: 190.00

Sally

I just love little girls. This is no one in particular. I just thought she looked like a "Sally" to me. I have 2 girls of my own. Even though they are in their 20's they are still my girls and I have found memories of their childhood when I could dress them in cute little pink dresses.
However, I want to do more people and portraits in particular. I have always been fascinated by people and faces. My friends used to get annoyed with me when I would stare at them or look intently at their mouth while they were talking to me. You can tell so much about a person by their face. You can capture their personality or mood in a portrait. One of my goals is to do just that. Capturing who someone is in a portrait or caricature. That sounds like fun to me because I really do enjoy the uniqueness of each individual.

Medium: Original Acrylic
Size: 6" X 61/2"
With little stand.
Price: $50.00 Sold

Some from the "Life of Jesus" Series

It is this time of year when especially think about the baby that was born in a stable where the cattle were kept. What a Precious Gift that was and still is for the world.

As the story goes Mary was a prostitute and she was so moved by Jesus compassion that she washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair then anointed them with expensive perfume. " Kissed by Redemption" depicteds how Jesus feels about each one of us. He loves us enough to not only kiss us with His presence but die for us and thus redeme us from a life of eternal hell.

Medium: Original Pencil Drawings Matted and Framed

Price: Originals "Kissed by Redemption" 1,000.00

"Precious Gift" 1,000.00

Matted Prints: 50.00

These Drawings and Prints are copyrighted

"HARVEST" for Love of the Prairies

I think I have been painting the prairies for years in my mind as I drive along them. I have fallen in love with the beauty of the fields and the ever changing huge skies. We are blessed to have the Rocky Mountains only a couple hours away and so we can see them on the distant horizon. It makes such a lovely view with the prairie fields and the ever changing seasons in the forefront framed by the horizon of majestic peaks of laden snow. I love it and am finally transferring that love onto canvas.

"Harvest" was painted completely from memory. Like I said I have been painting the prairies in my mind for years.

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 24" X 36" on 2" Profile stretched canvas

Price: $960.00 reduced now to $650.00

This painting is copyrighted

Garden Memories

I have been painting a lot of flowers lately with much texture. It just happened one day when I was experimenting with Acrylic paints. I did the background in flat paint by dabbing it with a folded paper towel which is an impressionistic technique. Then I put some gel media or slow-dri medium in my paint. It just wasn't looking right so I keep painting over and over until I got it the way that I liked which made it very textured. Now I have a technique that I been repeating and have gotten some really good responses.

I was pondering why I like to paint flowers so much. As a teen we moved to the beautiful Okanogan Valley from the prairies. I fell in love with the flowers and blossoms that seemed to flourish there. After I got married we moved to the West coast near the Pacific Ocean and I enjoyed even more lush beauty and lovely flowers that seemed to begin blooming near the end of February and last on into the late fall.

When our children were still very young we moved back to the prairies to Alberta. For years I missed the flowers and beauty of British Columbia even though I have fallen in love with the prairies with rocky mountains on the horizon. However, my love for those delicate blooms is still reflected in much of my art as you can see with "Garden Memories."

Country Christmas Art Show at Perrenoud Ranche Art Centre

We had a lot of fun displaying our art at the beautiful Perrenoud Art Centre.
We used every space and between the 2 of us we had a very full show. My husband Dave played live music from his CD "Breaking Free." It was really great to make some new friends as people came in to veiw our creation

Country Christmas Art Show

Come to our

COUNTRY CHRISTMAS

ART SHOW & SALE

At

Perrenoud Ranch Art Centre

November 28th

10AM to 4PM

Self Learning

I was overjoyed to get some frames from Veronica. It was timely with our coming show on Saturday November 7th.
Of course we got chatting about art and somehow onto the subject of self learning. She loves to read and so learns a lot that way. I love to glean from wherever I can, too. Looking at art, reading about artists and what others say about art; searching the internet or even watching a little painting on the TV. I did take art in high school and correspondence courses but most of what I know has been self taught. When we were homeschooling the children one of the experts said it not so important the method you use or if they follow the grade system exactly but to teach them to be life-long self-learners. That is the key to success in any area of our lives. Education does not end at the steps of high school or university. It is only the beginning. Many successful people are self-taught individuals. To always be learning about your craft is one of life’s greatest joys.
One of the things that I did recently was to sign up for Robert Genn’s newsletter; very inspiring and motivating for me.

Christmas Art Show with AIRDRIE 7

Hey, I am enjoying getting ready for another show with "Airdrie 7." It should be so fun hanging out and seeing what's new. I learn something interesting everytime I am with fellow artists. There is a connection that is so different from my other relationships. Learning something from each encounter gets me motivated with my own art.

Come on out...

Saturday

Nov 7, 2009

10am - 4pm

">44 Sprucegrove Crescent SE">

Impacting Creativity

I am realizing that to creatively impact my world has been a goal of mine since I was a teen. Recently, I was asked to join “Airdrie 7” similar to “The Group of 7” which was a famous Canadian group of Artists from the earlier part of the 20th century. They mostly depicted the Canadian landscape in a post-impressionistic style. Rhea Warholik commented, at our first meeting, that there was a Harris in the Group of 7 and we have a Harris of the “Airdrie 7” (which happens to be me).
Lawren Harris describes art with this quote: “a realm of life between our mundane world and the world of the spirit.” I really believe that art connects to our spirit in ways that nothing else can. It is for our whole being to experience. Our eyes take it in as our soul and spirit respond. If the artist has painted from their spirit and what is in their heart then the viewer will sense it. That is my main goal.

The Great Exchange

I traded this painting of mine for one of her's. She choose it because she liked how it was flat paint at the top and more textured at the bottom.

Inspiration and the Great Exchange

I love how I get inspiration from other artists. Veronica Funk and I decided to exchange paintings. She now has one of my paintings and I have her little tea cup painting. It goes so nice in my house. Sometimes I just stop and look at it.

I am Getting Ready for the Nov 7th Show and Sale

Airdire 7 Art Show and Sale.

November 7, 2009

10 AM to 4PM

44 Sprucegrove Crescent SE

Airdrie, Alberta

Airdrie Centennial Art Show

What a beautiful day for the Airdrie Centennial Celebrations. And what a good Art Show we had for some great artists in Airdrie! I was tired by the end but happy that I went. It was fun and great to see some of my friends stop by.

Airdrie Centennial Homecoming Weeekend September 10-13

Airdrie Centennial Homecoming Weekend
Celebrating 100 years of history, Community, and Opportunity. I will be there with Airdrie 7 a local group of artists along with other Artisans on "Present Day" Sunday Sept 13, 11-4

For more info: http://www.airdrie.ca/cent/events.cfm
Location: Nose Creek Park

Come see some of my latest paintings

"Airdrie Garden"

I AM GETTING INTO THE CREATIVE GROOVE

I am getting into the creative groove

or getting groovy creative;

I don't know which

but I am excited about the fall

and what it will bring.

There is going to be a couple of shows.

I just want to paint,

paint

and paint!

My First Sketchcrawl "Find a Moment"

A great cappuccino in hand... now what!

Hummm...what to draw?

...well, maybe I will draw my coffee cup!

Oh, the lady sitting at the table next to us has been sitting very still while she is reading paper. Maybe I could do a cartoon of her leaning on a big coffee cup.

After adding in some palm trees which weren't really there but gave the feeling of rest and relaxation, a huge banana emerged, a french press then a bird.

I replaced the Starbucks logo with 5 BUCK because that is what you usually pay. (I learned that from my friends Dan and Maryanne.)

Starbucks is our little luxury!

A Canadian 5 dollar bill appeared too because after all we are in Canada!

Anyways... when I brought it home my daughter said, "It kind of looks a little like Where's Waldo." So, I snuck in words here and there that depicted "The Coffee Shop Experience." And I called it "Find a Moment" because we all need to find a moment to relax with coffee.

I decided to dedicate this little painting to the gracious manager, Ilja, and her staff at Airdrie Starbucks on Main Street just across from Staples! Thanks so much for making me feel welcome and cared for.

And thanks Cheryl for arranging the Sketchcrawl. It was great to hang out with new friends and art buddies. http://www.sketchcrawl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=3940

I look forward to the next one. Apparently the Sketchcrawl is done about every 3 months.

And Thanks to Kyle,

Karen and all the great staff at Starbucks

in Airdrie at the Dickson Crossings location;

3 Stonegate Drive.

Your thoughtfulness and helpful service has sure made our life easier.

Sunny Day Flowers

This little 5 X 7 Acrylic painting looks really cute in a little frame. It is my little impressionistic painting. I enjoyed painting it. It felt like I was painting a sunny day in the garden. How pleasant that would be, sigh. I guess I am longing for spring and summer!
This painting is copyrighted For more information: heaventouchingearthart@yahoo.ca

Bright Pink Flowers

This seems to be my color of choice these days. I had some put in my hair I want to wear it and I have a new purse with these colors. I think it is a happy color that is full of life. What I wish for myself these days as I ponder turning fifty!
These little diddy was done in Acrylic on a 6 X 8 board.
This painting is Copyrighted and For Sale. For more information: heaventouchingearthart@yahoo.ca

Happy Flowers on an Oval Canvas

This is 2 different views of a little oval acrylic painting that I did one morning. I have always loved flowers and so in comes naturally to paint them. This painting was done entirely from my own imagination. I like that when that happens.

This painting is Sold

Oh Happy, Happy Day!

I felt incredible joy when I painted this peice. I painted it to the voices of "The African Children's Choir." As I pondered their little lives and all that they had been through, yet could sing with such joy, it filled my heart with joy too.

This painting is Sold and is copyrighted.
For more information: heaventouchingearthart@yahoo.ca

ESTHER More Than Just A Pretty Face

Esther... more than just a pretty face. As a woman I am more then just a pretty face even though it is getting harder to keep the outer beauty as the years add up. I want to be caring, inspiring, helpful, thoughtful, loving, truthful, a good friend and so much more.

I also want see other women for who they really are. The treasures shining through for all to see or barried deep inside them for me to dig for; both are so rewarding to discover.


This painting is For Sale and is copyrighted