my weekend...

this was my very surreal weekend!

as the plummer came by to fix our clogged bathroom sink i was sorting through and packing up all our valuables into my car, as one firetruck or emergency vehicle after another, with sirens blaring charged up the street next to us to reach the blaze. i've never seen so many cars, so many people in our surrounding neighborhood as i did on saturday. the big lots parking lot by us was brimming with rv's, trailers full of 4 wheelers, and cars packed full with valuables. it was pretty crazy.

(no...those purple boots are not mine!!)

i sent my youngest to the beach on saturday with her youth group for some fresh air and fun, my oldest insisted on staying with me, worried about our animals.

(sterling keeping a watchful eye on my car packing abilities)

except for the terrible air quality all is good for us...not so much for many of my co-workers and so very many of our friends from school as the street two blocks over is now evacuating.

all my prayers are with them, again with these incredibly brave firefighters and with the abundance of animals who have been lost because of this out of control fire.

raging fires

these photos were taken last night at the threshold of the trail i hike up on weekends...it's soooo sad.

as of now it's only 10% contained and coming down our side of the mountain, but moving to the east of us.

we've got our bags and valuables safely packed in case we're evacuated, altho i doubt that will happen.

my valuables are: photos, two plastic tubs filled with a plethora of artwork and such the girls have made throughout the years, a very special pink quartz sphere, our birth certificates, and a pair of bronze baby shoes that were my mothers...not much, but besides the girls and our pets that's what would be dreadfully missed if lost forever. everything else material can be replaced. makes you take stock of what's most precious in life.

my 16 year old, on the other hand doesn't know how she can possibly fit all her clothes in the one small bag that i gave her!!

many many thank yous and prayers go out to the 700 firefighters battling this blaze for us and to all the animals that were caught in the fire or lost their homes to it. my heart goes out to all of you.

chapters 3 & 4

okay...i have to confess that i kinda skimmed chapter 3 as i know i will not be having a showing of my work at my house. but chapter 4 was very informative on showing at nonprofit spaces. which coincidentally i had just been looking into, around my area before i began that chapter... and i did find two potential spaces!

but that sends me right back to getting my promotional package together. which i've been talking about for months here on my blog but haven't achieved as of yet...why am i stalling on it? because it's just not jelling together, that's why not!! or i should say, i haven't found a way to logically connect my graffiti drawings & my face drawings yet...do you see my conundrum?!!

i'm hoping for some divine intervention in my sleep and it will all magically come together!!

until then...

i'll keep plugging away at it little by little until it's brilliant!! and dream about being in an art gallery again!!

ps...i have to tell you about my new obsession...eat pray love! i can't put it down...i'm stealing moments here and there because it's soooo deliciously good i can't stop reading it! i love her sense of humor and i relate to it deeply! so there you go...that's what i've been doing for two days instead of drawing!

another day at the beach, this one in san pedro...it's beautiful rocky shores are amazingly fun to explore...could spend hours doing so but since i was all the way there for a company picnic, had to be social as well...with a game or two of volleyball!

i hate to say that little art has been accomplished lately but it's true...i admit it! hoping this week to get more drawing in as I am soooo close to rounding out my portfolio...20 in all.

but the new soccer season has begun and the start of school is just around the corner, so a lot of activities surrounding my daughters. but serendipitously i found myself at the brewery (not that kind of brewery...altho i do love beer!!) but an artist colony here in LA. saturday night was the closing of a friends art show, which i very much wanted to see it. it was a thought-provoking show and he graciously introduced me to the gallery owner...so i did make some connections as well there that lovely evening. it's such an interesting place, would love to have an exhibition there...never know!!

friday night was a date night for me...number 5 in 5 weeks! it's been such a pleasure getting to know this man, who is sorta in the same boat as me. we have such a fun time together...a glass or two of cabernet, talking endlessly, with a lot of laughter sprinkled in! as i am protective of my heart and that of my daughters, i am taking things extremely slow...with my radar up making sure he has a solid foundation of integrity and honesty because my heart can not take more pain right now, not after i've worked so hard to heal it!

so i hope your weekend was as joyous as mine...and i am anticipating getting a lot of drawing in this week (knock on wood) to show you!!

the magic of a face

Jessica: finished

Silvia: getting there

A face to lose youth for, to occupy age with the dream of, meet death with.

Robert Browning

fan page

okay...this is kinda weird for me...so bear with me. i started a fan page (yikes!) on facebook because i am starting to get a lot of requests to be my "friend". i use to feel so horrible when i turned people down that i didn't know, but i really just wanted to keep tabs on my family and closest friends there. but now am getting more and more requests... soooo, don't worry...my ego is in tact! Just don't like ignoring or turning down people who want to connect on fb...that's all!!!phewww!okay!

so these two crazies above are the reason i joined facebook at all. my brother john wanted to keep tabs on my niece cassie who was just heading off to college for the first time. at first it was like being back at college again, following my nieces antics there in wisconsin, but then i found an old friend from high school, most of my college roommates (7 of us!), and even my first orchestra teacher from high school on it!! it's been such a blast reconnecting, catching up on and sharing emails, threads and photos with all these incredible people i have missed over the years! so, for me fb has been a huge blessing...i'm sooooooo happy my brother forced me to join!!!

i won't force you to join my fb fan page...but if you are so inclined head to the bottom of this page! and thanks...you guys are wonderfully kind for asking!!

sunday meandering

i had such a lovely sunday morning, sitting in bed with my coffee, computer, and three animals planted next to me! read comments from thoughtful viewers who have been kind enough to take the time to write me on both blogger and facebook lately. i am SO appreciative of this connection, can't even begin to tell you!

also read an interesting post on swirlygirls blog about our definitions of success and the people who push our buttons. my button pusher is my ex-boyfriend, and it's my rejection button again. on one hand it feels sooo crappy to be stabbed in the heart over and over again by this man and on the other i am so grateful! yes grateful...that he's brought to light an issue that needs healing in me (or at least another layer of it). i wrote a little bit about it in my last post, but really realizing today just how deep this issue is with me. i wish i had the answer on how to finally heal it, i wonder how other people deal with this issue...especially fellow artists. any suggestions?!

after finishing the last drop of coffee, i took off for a great walk/mini hike up the mountainside behind my home with josie. my teenagers were still snuggled in their beds...at least until noon i suspect!

should be able to finish up jessica this weekend and start my close up of silvia, a dear family friend.

been thinking a lot about rejection lately. i think it's one of my biggest fears and one of my life lessons.

when i glance back on my past i can see rejection has had a major impact on me, from my father to my ex-boyfriend to being an artist. as i am finishing up my artist statement and portfolio and about to enter the world of galleries again i know that rejection is just lurking around the corner.

so what does this tell me? i think it's telling me to strengthen even further my inner core of self worth and confidence as well as learning not to take anything personally. but the fact is, being rejected is painful. when it happens to me i go deep into self pity and blame (it must be my fault). once i can pull myself out of it, forgive myself, as well as the other, i take refuge in don miguels words from the four agreements "nothing others do is because of you. what others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. when you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering."

then i allow all of it to change me.

confidence is the key...you have to be so rock solid confident that no person or thing can shake your inner core. i try to just let it wash over me and know that i am stronger and better off for it.

got a little more done here on jessica. layering skin tones and some work on her hair.

read a short but engaging article the other day in the american artist drawing magazine regarding hair. i think it's true that drawing hair can be a bit over whelming at first, but if you start breaking it down it's not too hard. there are things to take into consideration when drawing hair: structure of the head, tones of the hair, hair strands and light source. it is not one large mass but a combination of shadow, light, highlights, and half tones. and it varies greatly from person to person in texture, volume and style. my trick is not to think of it as "hair" but as negative and positive space. more than half the time i am drawing, my paper is either upside down or sideways.

sorry for the lack of posts last week, was laid up due to menopause! spent my evenings on the couch, gently cradling a microwave heating pad on my stomach. walking was a whole other experience, i resembled either a person with a bad case of osteoporosis or appeared 8 month pregnant...not a pretty week, let me tell you!! it's been very easy sailing for me, up until this last week! well...with the exception of my skin changing...way more wrinkles and sagging, but am attacking that with gusto as i will not take aging lying down! with the help of christiane northrup i now have a facial regiment that i spent a small fortune on and doing facial exercises twice a day (that's really helped, believe it or not).

holly cow!! got off on a tangent there!! onto ART now!!

with managing to feel better over the weekend, i focused on accomplishing more on my drawing of jessica. i had to enlist the help of my cheap mechanical pencil again for jessicas hair...i definitely have to invest in a higher quality one now, so maybe i'll hit up my favorite art store, swains today. (i have a fantasy of being accidentally locked in there over a long holiday weekend and just going crazy creating with all the products in there!)

also took photos of friends and family members for future close up drawings. but need to crop and study my photos of them to see if any will work.

lastly, i just have to encourage you to go see julie & julia with your girlfriends...it's a wonderful movie, the cast is awesome and you'll go away feeling so happy and inspired! i've never seen our local movie theater so jammed pack full of women before!!

ta-da....

hey...didya notice my new and improved banner?! when i was coming up with fresh ideas for drawings i never thought i'd be turning this one into my blog banner, but it worked out perfectly! i have to credit tara frey's book for that, blogging for bliss. i purchased it last week on amazon and since it's such an easy read with delicious photos and a plethora of great advice, it inspired me to get a more appropriate banner. plus if you noticed as well, i also figured out from another site how to make my blog into three columns. once i did that my old banner really needed to go.

started this drawing of jessica over the weekend. she was our house guest last week and she so kindly posed for me. she has this great red hair, but you won't be able to tell in my drawing unfortunately. Also started another dog graffiti piece and figured out ideas for two more. plus...cross your fingers...i may have another commission of cats again. it comes in waves!