100 Days of Gratitude/The 100 Day Project

This year The 100 Day Project is playing out differently for me. Instead of working in an art journal as I had the two previous years, I began paintings on canvas and paper and even over old paintings. My theme of gratitude is still essential to this project and in my daily life especially during this pandemic. Here is a capsule of paintings I've been creating. Many of them are still works in progress. 

As I was painting, I found myself being drawn deeper wanting to write about gratitude and how it was manifesting in my life. Where I had previously been happy painting first thing in the morning, I now began to crave writing. So at the beginning of this month I started a gratitude journal. Here I can write, doodle, do whatever my heart needs to express my gratitude and to cultivate even more. This part of my Project is private and kept tucked away. After that I bring out my paint brushes!

The 100 Day Project 2021

 

It's a new year and a new 100 Day Project. What an "interesting" year 2020 was...right? It's been tough, no lie. Everyone has been impacted one way or the other and we are still in the midst of it all. That brings me to my theme this year for The Project of gratitude and acceptance. I need to step up my daily gratitude practice anyway, so this seems like a natural progression.

Backgrounds are important to me both art wise and metaphorically speaking. This week I'm working on painting just backgrounds - slowing down to hear my soul's whispering. 

works in progress

Wherever this moment finds you, I wish for your day to have some bright spots, some moments of beauty and gratitude. 

UAG Goodtime Revival Show - An Artistic Resurrection

So this is fun! I got an email three weeks ago from the Upstate Artists Guild (UAG) saying they were looking to past members for a pop up art exhibit for the month of October. Always a last minute kind of gal, I thought. "Heck yeah". I'm pretty excited to be part of this show. I always found the UAG members to be such an interesting group of artists creating really interesting and often unusual art. And I miss these folks! 

So the UAG is holding The Goodtime Revival Show! held at the Art Associates Gallery, 21 Railroad Avenue, Albany. I dropped these two paintings off yesterday for the show. Both mixed media pieces were created this year and vary quite a bit from what I usually do.

 1) How My Garden Grows  2) Summer Burst 

COVID-19 restrictions are in place for everyone's safety. So there will be a limited number of people (25) n the gallery at any one time, face masks are required and the opening reception will not include food and drink. It will still be a great time because any time you can look at art and be inspired is, IMO a great time. 

The 100 Day Project 2020

This year when #the100dayproject came around in the beginning of April, I was struggling like everyone else trying to learn how to navigate life in the midst of a pandemic. My home state of New York was the epicenter...not an honor one would flaunt. The last thing I felt like was beginning a creative endeavor. However, I also saw this as an opportunity and named my project #100daysofserenity. Absurd I know.

So for 100 days I really tried to create something that felt serene to me. What I learned (again) is that it's the process, the practice that gives us moments of serenity. These are some screen shots from Instagram where I posted my project. It's a great global community I have to say. If you are on Instagram, give it a look. There were so many amazing people posting for this challenge.

#the100dayproject

In the Introduction, Mary Gabriel states wherever there is art, there is hope ...and that our own troubled world is sorely lacking in the nutrients that art provides. She quotes Albert Camus, “In the world of condemnation to death which is ours, artists bear witness to that in man which refuses to die.” 

Written long before we were all dealing with the pandemic but screaming back at me now from these pages, I hear the call. Each of us will answer it differently. Doing whatever we can for each other, being generous and kind, caring hugely so that the majority of us come through this and work together to rebuild our lives. I pray for those suffering, I mourn for those lives already lost (especially dear Diana) and I’m grateful to all those working so continually for the common good. 

My offering to you is art to feed your soul, soothe your aching heart and give you a moment of respite amidst all you are dealing with right now. Even better, I encourage you to make your own art, to create from your inner most place something that helps you deal with the challenges. Something that reminds you of all the love and goodness that exists in the world and how strong the human spirit is. 

Surprise More River Rocks!

Or not so surprised...Just when I thought I'd take a break from painting river rocks, I decided to finish this large one I started quite a while ago. This is the largest river rock painting I've created at 30"x 22" - a full sized sheet of watercolor paper. It was a very meditative kind of painting to work on and I enjoyed it fully. Here is the progression through photographs. 

The final painting awaiting a snappy title. 

A New Year, A New Decade

2020 is here and I welcome the new year! I'm wondering what kind of new adventures await us. My New Year's Day Tarot reading didn't provide any immediate clues this year, but sometimes one just has to sit with a reading and contemplate. All in good time, right? I'm thinking specifically about what direction I want to take with my art this year.

I've been dreaming about mystical landscapes lately and that might be something to explore. I'm not usually a landscape painter, but hey you never know where the muse will lead you. The one thing I know for sure is that my inspiration is still very heavily tied to nature and all the beauty to be seen in our natural world.

May your new year be filled with joy and wonder, new adventures and beauty to discover wherever you wander.

Holiday Gift Market

At the last minute I decided to apply to the annual Gifted 2019 Holiday Market at Albany Barn and am happy to announce that I was selected. I'm looking forward to this event, as it's new to me and I can't wait to meet the other artists and artisans participating. There will be 20 + vendors, live holiday music, drinks and sweets, a holiday photobooth and much more! 

Date: Friday, December  6th

Time: 6-9 PM

Where: 56 Second Street, Albany, NY

Here you can find my art cards, mini journals and pendants and key rings. I will also have some unframed small paintings for sale, too. Stop by, enjoy a local holiday shopping experience!

Daily Practice

The 100 Day Project ended yesterday for me. Today I woke up thinking "What now?" Going into this project I had hoped to jump start daily painting again. I had let too many non-essential, but important, things hijack my painting time. Check! It was also wonderful to connect with other artists and creatives world-wide who were participating in the project. Check!

I created pages of river rocks from my imagination. There is something about rocks that resonates so deeply with me. I thought I would eventually get tired of painting them, but that didn't happen. The other paintings I worked on weren't river rocks though.

This has been a really good journey for me and I will keep to the daily practice of painting in my art journal. Here is the space to explore anything freely without a thought to the final product.

Christine brought cake and ice cream.

My daughter, Christine, (unspeakablevisions.com) is a very gifted writer. Life got in the way of her regular writing practice so she participated in this project, too. We decided to celebrate accomplishing our goals last night at our weekly Goddess Night Dinner with cake. Just ask all the grandkiddos - everything is a celebration when there's cake!

I look forward to participating in next year's #the100dayproject. New goals and a new project awaits.

Daily Practice

Today is Day 45 of #the100dayproject and happily it's well integrated into my daily life. This was the whole point of the project for me. Well, that and participating with a whole global community because I love the idea of that, too!  I look forward to each day's page and the meditation it brings. One might think rocks are an unusual choice, but it's simple really. The shapes, the painting, the designs all just flow organically leaving my mind out of it.