"Focused" for Illustration Friday

The topic this week for Illustration Friday is

Focused

Needless to say I have very little of it and I'm discovering through a course I'm taking on line that focus is one element necessary to achieve success. I would have to say focus is my weakest area. "So much going on, so many great ideas, so many things to do, things to paint, things to see, money to earn, clothes to iron" - you get the picture. So this is a visual of my life/my mind. And what it takes for me to get to the point - that tiny dot and paint. And really, all the other stuff really doesn't hold as much meaning as "this" thing called art. Yet all that other stuff can be quite a distraction - a deterrent from the thing in life that is most important.

To the Artists....

TGIF - Flower Friday

Monet said, "I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." And I certainly can say that for myself too. So in celebration of Friday and Monet and flowers and art and, and... you name it, I bought a big bunch of tulips and purple hyacinth and boy do they smell lovely. From this day forward I declare Fridays - Flower day.

TGIFF
Thank God It's Flower Friday.

So glad to see Friday come and there's soooo much I want to do this weekend. SO much.
1. Paint, paint, paint
2. Read read read
3. paint some more.

I have a whole list of things I want to work on. So stay tuned for lots of watercolors!

Mopping vs. Painting

I love to clean. And I think the reason is because I know that if I use cleaner with sponge or brush, it is clean. Be it a floor, a window or a toilet bowl, the end product after all your work is a clean product. Sure there are a few tricks and you must be thorough but generally if you clean, it is clean.

This, is not true with painting. I know what to do, but sometimes it just doesn't turn out like I envision or plan - I guess that's what makes it a craft...

Today I think I was more successful at mopping. When finished I had a very clean floor. But this little practice painting ended up to "satisfying". But for now, I love that I have really, really clean floors . Here's to practice and perseverance ... may we embrace both!!!!

(Click here to visit my Etsy shop and where this painting is for sell.)

Just a picture

I've used all my words for the day, well, almost. I'm wringing out the last few words of my Monday right here. But, I'm never too tired for pictures.

Illustration Friday - The First One - RENEW

So, one of the many things I want to do in 2010 is participate in Illustration Friday. Every week I get an e-mail from this group with a word - a single word and you are supposed to create an illustration for that word. God only knows how long I've been meaning to participate. I get the e-mail every Friday and just put it off. It's hard. Especially if you've never done it. Heck, I'm the kind of artist that usually gets to work on exactly what I want - "don't you tell me what to do!" Well, NO MORE! I'm not going to get anywhere with that attitude and besides this will push me to hopefully become a better artist.

So, the word for the week is "RENEW".

Half Finished

I have no less than 8 paintings going on upstairs in the attic studio that I love to hide in. Tonight I just jumped from one idea to the next and next thing you know there were 4 more half finished paintings and now it's 11 at night. (I try very hard to stick to a bed time because of my day job.) I love inspiration and when things go well like tonight I wish I could paint until dawn. This is a simple watercolor I did for my dad for Christmas - it's a very important tool he uses daily - his Waterman pen.

Putting away Christmas

The last decoration went into its box today. Christmas flew by and now I just want to sleep for a week on a beach somewhere and plot out a great adventure for the coming year.

The last decade was a rough one and I'm glad to see it come to an end. For the first time in many years I felt content, warm, thankful as I watched the ball drop in the Big Apple. This year of course I want great and grand changes, but I would much rather have peace with myself. This is truly a very delicate balance. The rest of this week is thinking about all the things I love and just how I'm going to get to do it all. More to come...