Acceptance

Ok, this is not my usual blog post. My art friend Jill Polsby did a recent post regarding the Wordle Website. An interesting website that uses a program to take words you enter & create what is called a wordle. Words used most often are larger & more pronounced. The website offers the ability to adjust things such as font, color, basic design. Very interesting - check it out if you can.

My wordle is a compilation from a poem of mine - what made me think of this old poem I do not know. But it came to mind, I grabbed the words & entered it. Above is the wordle it created from the poem, which I'll post here. This poem was written at a time in my life when I had much change and much stress.

Acceptance (1977)

Perhaps I speak too brashly, for you to just accept,
but my words do flow, from thoughts I hold,
that most of you have kept.

And maybe most my actions speak louder than my words,

for I live my life, as I see right,
in ways you think absurd.

       Please don’t stare at me with wonder,

       as you dwell on the life I’ve lived,

       for it was never thrusted upon my mind,

       but chosen by my head.

I’ll admit to some things you may have heard about me down the line,
since I always say yes, when given a chance,
to experience some span of time.

And maybe the circle of friends I have doesn’t fit with your lifestyle,
but I can’t see, living seclusively,
to ensure a prouder smile.

And if my life depended on my virgin status quo,
I’d hold my breath & welcome death,
before I’d fake a role.

And if an act that I have done, some time in my past,
forms a wall, from which I fall, and shatter down as glass.
I’ll once again climb back up from where I once did come,
to breathe free, and just be me, and not a dream of some.

       So stop staring at me with wonder,

       and don’t dwell on the life I’ve lived,

       you have your own life to take care of,

       before the time you’re dead.

       And no matter what I’ve done before,

       or will do with time ahead,

       nothing is thrusted upon my mind,

       but chosen by my head.

The Cake Top

Previously done in February of 2010 - this wedding cake top was a photo from a friend. I loved the 3 red roses and all the assorted whites surrounding it, not to mention the greens for contrast. I chose to do the blue background to help make the flower top just "pop" - and I think it works very well. I also liked working on the Baby Breath - adding in the delicate white flowers to help anchor the whole arrangement. I think this is one of my favorite flower arrangements to paint.

And don't you just want to run your finger through that frosting & taste it??!

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas sheet

Available through DPW gallery/auction

Done for the DPW challenge this week which is the "Paint It Before You Eat It" challenge. With Valentine's Day this week, the amount of candy that is around almost rivals Halloween. I would have painted the chocolate covered strawberries (one of my fav's), but they were gone before I could paint! But these little sweethearts do not go as quickly and I was able to snap a photo or two. 

A Happy Valentine's Day to all (a day late, I know, sorry about that). 

Sun Flower

Acrylic on 8x8 stretched canvas

1-1/2 inch gallery wrapped sides painted

Can be displayed as is or framed (frame not included)

Available through DPW gallery/auction

This was done for this years Sun Art challenge over on The Artist Challenge website. For those of you not familiar with this challenge - every year in February, the Sun Art challenge occurs. All members of the group are invited to send in their artwork depicting the sun in various designs. The digital images are then sent to the CBS Sunday Morning Show where they are kept in their library. Each Sunday during the show, at the end of each segment, a different sun is chosen to display.

Not all the art in The Artist Challenge group is used, and CBS does not use the suns from The Artist Challenge group exclusively. Here is a link to the 2010 Sun art library, as well as the 2011 library. The art does not have to be paintings exclusively, as you will see a stained glass artist as well as some sculpture and even jewelry.

The deadline is this Sunday, the 19th for submitting and there is a fee (I believe it is only $7.00) to enter in this group. I originally had a much more elaborate design in mind, but due to the surgery I had and my down time for recovery, I had to shelve that idea (maybe next years!). This quick little painting was all that I could muster - I think it looks better in person than in the photo! The original on this is for sale.

The Bicycle on the Piazza

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas sheet

Available through DPW gallery/auction

This month the Virtual Paintout is visiting the isle of Elba, Tuscany, Italy. Beautiful area, just beautiful. I found many places to capture but this piazza was just too irresistible. The colors of the building, the plants & flowers, the walkway and the lone bicycle - I had to paint this one. The Google map location can be seen here. The name of the location is a combination of a variety of places: Piazza Giovanni de Verazzano / Piazza San Gaetano / Via Bellavista / Via Nino Bixio 

Can't you just see yourself walking up these steps, surrounded by flowers - the air full of their scent. The warm sun shining on your face, casting shadows across the sides of the buildings. And the magical sound of the Italian language floating on the air.  Not to mention the wonderful food that is available throughout the region. A little piece of heaven here on earth.

Lombard Street

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas sheet

Available through DPW gallery/auction

Previously done in February of 2010 for the Virtual Paintout excursion to San Francisco, this is Lombard Street - the most crooked street in America. The Google link can be seen here. What is odd is that the view via google is different now than when I first explored the street a year ago; unfortunately I do not have the original screen capture I took back in 2010 that showed all the color. Google must have remapped the area, because now nothing is in bloom - and it was the blooms & assorted colors that caught my eye in the first place.

When VPO selected San Francisco as the location, I was anxious to explore - as I had visited the area more than 20 years ago. What I thought would be easy to remember turned into quite an adventure to roam about. There were numerous hills, and numerous street scenes - but none of them struck me the way that Lombard Street did. I wanted to capture this crooked street but at the same time, show the unique buildings that lined the sides of the hill. I love painting architecture and perspective - this painting has both!

Annie - SOLD

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas sheet
SOLD - prints available through Fine Art America

This was done for this weeks challenge on DPW, the white on white challenge. I love to interpret white with paint, and in this case, I went with the violet hues to indicate the subtle shadows in the fur. Then went with a yellow wash to the background behind the cat. 

The title of this piece, Annie, is for my friends cat. She had a beautiful, pure white cat she named Annie. A beautiful fluff ball of white fur with vivid green eyes, Annie lived to be 18 years old - a very good, long life for a cat. When painting white on white was posted as the challenge I thought to do a white cat against a white background, and Annie immediately came to mind.