purple for Mary Kate

I have a dear cousin who loves all things purple. I mean she really loves them! I'd been working on this painting on and off for a while but without real inspiration. Then I thought of her and it became really easy to finish this piece. There are times when I'm painting when I just need a little inspiration in the form of where a painting might be headed, what would I like to do with it or where it might hang to help me complete it. For you, Mary Kate...

embracing the new year

Each year I start out enthusiastically embracing new ideas, projects and plans for growth. This year is no exception and here is just a sampling of what I'm setting my intentions on:

living more consciously making steady progress on a greener lifestyle restarting my yoga practice growing my art business and being more daring! (this one borrowed from Christine http://unspeakablevisions.com/)

There is so much I'm looking forward to this year. My daughter, Kate is marrying Joey - losts of festivities. I will be finding a day job and looking forward to whatever that new adventure may turn out to be. I have oodles of new art projects and things to explore. And I'm looking forward to lots of good times with family and friends!

What are your hopes, intentions and dreams for 2010?

happy holidays!

I love this time of year and all the goodness that it brings out in people. Amidst your hustling and bustling, remember to thank and hug the people in your life who enrich you and celebrate life with you, the ones you love and the ones you try to love despite the messiness of being human (or maybe because of it).

Thank you, dear readers, for checking out my blog and making me feel welcome in the online art community. I look forward to sharing a creative and inspiring New Year with you.

Wishing you and your families a very happy holiday season!

blessings,

Susan

new group of artists...

There's a wonderful new group of artists who have come together through Etsy's WMASS (western Massachusetts) Street Team to share ideas, to market, build community and work together called Artisans of Western Mass. I have joined the team and am looking forward to participating in events in the near future. If you have a moment, please check us out.

http://artisansofwmass.com/artisans.html

holiday show ideas...

Last week my car was totalled when someone ran a stop sign and t-boned me, the furnace stopped working (after-hours on Friday night) and all week I had been dreading the surgery that I had this week (which really was a piece of cake, the dreading it was the hard part) and now it's Friday and the dust has settled. I am thrilled to be getting back to painting and art-related business again. So, while last week didn't result in much artmaking, it was pretty good for perculating ideas for the two holiday shows I'm doing in December.

I already have a good collection of watercolors and mixed media paintings to offer, and I'm working to finish up a few smaller pieces as well. I also have some really lovely art cards made from original paintings, but I want to add some more small items to tempt the buyer who isn't shopping for paintings this holiday season (weird I know, but there are a few folks out there in this category - and you know who you are) but who still enjoy original art.

I took out my pile of "banned" paintings that have beautiful parts, but don't really work as a whole. I usually save them to use in collages and mixed media paintings. I have decided to use some beautiful snipets to make holiday ornaments, covers for journals and bookmarks. I will add paint, ink and other bits to them, maybe even add a poem to the bookmarks, and see where the spirit takes me on this project. I'll post a photo of the finished project later. If you are looking for a few small items to add to your own booth this holiday season, maybe you have some paintings that can be recycled, too. Do you have any ideas to share?

loving November...

Despite the trees dropping their leaves, having to wear multiple layers of clothing to keep warm, and the shrinking hours of daylight, I really like November. November can be a pretty gray month here in the Berkshires, but on a day like today with the sun shining and leaves swirling about, it's pretty fantastic. I'm more tuned into hearth and home thinking about holidays, family and friends and long walks in the woods. Plus it's a time to really focus on gratitude with Thanksgiving around the corner. It's a good time to compile or revise one's list of things to be grateful for. I am blessed and want to bring an attitude of gratitude to my days in a more focused way. It's easy to get caught up in life's problems and concerns. I've certainly done my share of that lately, but focusing on gratitude will only make life more joy-filled!

I'm adding to my long list of things I'm grateful for the recent shipment I've just received of new paints and watercolor paper. I just love opening a new tube of paint! Today I'm working on some winter landscapes to be hung at the Inn at Stockbridge, but it's definitely a day to make time for a walk among the dancing leaves this afternoon.

What are you grateful for?

It seems I've come to a little fork in the road. It's not one of those huge life decisions; I'm just trying to determine the next step I want to take artistically. Don't we all have these moments? And over and over again, just when we think we've settled on a path, something sparks inside us that asks us to throw the cards up in the air to see where they land this time. Or at least that's what it's feeling like for me right now. I love painting my mixed media pieces while at the same time I've sold many more watercolor paintings, so maybe I should create a larger body of watercolor work. Add to that the fact that it's getting close to the holidays and I know I could make some cash if I make more cards, holiday related items, and little things like bookmarks from original paintings. So, it's all swirling around in my head... Philosophically it seems sound to just keep painting what I love painting without any detours, but pragmatically it would be nice to make some cash right about now. Is this just a matter of balance or do you feel more driven to keep painting what you love painting? What are your thoughts? Do you struggle with this as well? Blessings on the journey!

I've spoken of illuminating moments in one's life as a real inspirational, motivational force to do something better, in this case it's art and loving - but not necessarily in that order. For me it was a pre-admittance test for a minor surgical procedure that got my attention. Something didn't turn out quite the way it should have on one of the tests and it gave me a moment's pause, OK maybe alarm would be more accurate. But after some reflection, it really is a pause. We have those moments of pause all the time. Usually we are too rushed, busy or distracted to pay much attention. Today it's different though, I'm feeling more loving and grateful for what I've been blessed with than anything else - for those people in my life I love, for the new day's dawn, for all that's left to explore. That transfers to making art, too. I feel a spaciousness, an openness, a no-rules kind of painting day coming on. It really is the journey that counts most, the moment by moment living and loving. Happy Friday!

first hint of autumn...

While there's only a hint of autumn in the air, it's here. The temperature has taken a nose dive, which isn't all that remarkable given the cool, wet summer we've had. However, the golden greens are beginning to replace the lush, deep greens of summer and the first New England patches of reds and oranges can be seen pretty much anywhere you look. Sure maybe it's just a tad here and there....but every day there's a little bit more.

I'm partial to this time of year and September is one of my favorite months. I look forward to the crispness of the season. I love the scent from our apple tree as apples drop to the appreciation of the rabbits, squirrels, woodchucks and deer. I feel better about the rascals eating the fallen apples than all the flowers they consumed this summer. My garden has patches of stems without petals...nice!

Autumn brings great inspiration to painting in the Berkshires. In the following weeks there will be glorious patches of colors mingling with pines. This is my first of several autumn landscapes this year. I will be painting some abstractions to express the beauty of the season here in Berkshire County as well.

love of experimenting...

It's been a super busy summer and I was craving some down time to experiment and create without a goal, but wasn't finding the time to do so. All summer I've been working on pieces promised to different venues and a couple of commissions. I'm not complaining mind you, but I really wanted a little bit of "play time" to recharge. My husband gave me the perfect birthday present of a mixed media workshop with one of my favorite teachers, http://pathogan.com/. Well I had a blast, met some wonderful people and created solidly for two straight days with no goal in site. What a wonderful breather it was. I started a number of workshop projects, none of which I've finished, but the pure fun of the weekend will stay with me for a long time to come. This is a piece I've been working on. I'm not sure it will end up anywhere but in my studio pile o' stuff, but the freedom it represents is pure bliss.