Day in the Life of an Artist: Painting Completed

Happy Monday!After about a month or 2 I finally completed a challenging painting with a bottle and sauce server with a checkered and red cloth! I am pretty happy how it turned out. It being a dreary day in Denver it was a perfect day to paint.

Photo Still Life reference taken and set-up myself 2010

Checkered Still Life Oil on Canvas 18x24 Fall 2010

Doing the reflection alone was challenging by using a closeup of the silver design to work on the reflections. Working on drapery or cloth requires a lot of detail based on how the light hits it in the various spots. Onward to my next project as I keep plugging away.

Book Review: Eat Pray Love

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I loved Eat Pray Love and I decided to read it first before seeing the movie, which I have not seen yet. It's a great read that could be a life changing experience if I wanted it to be. She starts off in Italy to enjoy a carefree time and food. It was helping me to slowly but surely relearn to appreciate food again. She experiences different people in Italy and decides not to get involved with men while there. She describes it as being a diverse penninsula with every city with different characteristics. Then she goes to India for another 4 months at a meditation place where you have to be qualified to come to for intense and devotional meditation. Then to Indonesia for balance and she meet and falls in love with a Brazilian there. While she's in Indonesia she practices meditation with an old medicine man.



The writing and the descriptions of the scenery is just spectacular. It was perfect timing for me to read this going through a divorce myself and trying to find myself again. Even on her travels Liz goes through the emotions and growing pains of her spiritual growth as she naturally brings herself on her travels around the world. I wish I could afford to get away for a year for soul searching but many of us like me can do a lot of this at home too. I recommend it to anyone who would like to learn to live in the moment and quiet the mind which can be a challenge. It's an entertaining read with some humor and the human condition interwoven. Great stuff to think about although not a bible to refer back to by doing what she does since we're all different, but an inspiration.



View all my reviews

Day in the Life of an Artist: Different color tones

Another day of painting and I'm more energetic today, because it's slightly warmer and not rainy like yesterday. I plugged away some more on the checkered cloth and it still needs a little polishing. There are many different tones going on there. Very light, Light, mid, dark, and darker. I mixed various colors like; pink, blues (different shades), purples and yellows. It's because the light hits in various spots throughout the subject and everything you look at. In painting there is hardly anything with a solid color except the background.

I spent another good five hours working more on the checkered cloth and getting started on the red cloth.

The colors I got for the red cloth are the following:

Light: Cadmium red light + Cadmium Orange+ White (adding more white while painting)
Midtone: Cadmium red light+ Sienna+ white
Dark:    Cadmium red deep+ Sienna + Utramarine Blue
The next challenge is the silver gravy pitcher- so coming attractions is what I will mix to make the silver , which is like water making reflections as well as adding more white.

Day in the Life of an Artist: Working on checkered still life

It was a rainy morning and I thought it would be a rainy day but the sun was coming out this afternoon although it was cold. It was a day to start on a new and challenging project. I thought it would be fun to work on a checkered cloth since it's dramatic and could be fun to paint. All I worked on today was the cloth since there was a lot of detail and different colors on the white although it's not plain white. My instructor insisted that we don't use just white on our paintings.

With the detail involved I have to make sure my hand was not shaky as I'm doing detail work. I started at 1:30 and finished about 4:30ish and it was only that portion of the painting. I used the smaller pallette paper since I was only doing that cloth.

I promised myself that I would finish filling in the cloth for now and sharpen it up tomorrow no matter how long it takes.

It still has a very long way to go. I should do hiatus' more often, it's nice painting on my own without an instructor looking over my shoulder while I paint. I will keep posting the progress of this painting as I go along discussing color.

Confessions of a Fast Eater

After being married to a ex-marine who eats fast, I have almost lost my appreciation for food, as much as I enjoy and savor it. Once again I was wolfing down my dinner tonight like there was a big urgency for it to be eaten and be done and over with. I'm now reading Eat Pray Love (a full review will follow), and I just finished the first third when she's in Italy. She describes how she enjoys the food thoroughly taking in the flavors. Before my ex's influence, I ate somewhat slowly because I wanted to enjoy the food and now I have to relearn to eat slower again. The only time I eat slower is if I'm in a conversation with others, and ceasing to fully appreciate the food in front of me. I seem to have taken eating as more out of necessity than pleasure. We all tend to forget about enjoying the simple things with our on the go and rushed lifestyles.

The habit of speed eating was also influenced by my half hour lunches at work and that is a time when you have to eat fast to not spend the whole half hour eating. It may be understandable in the military when they have to run on many things on little time. I remember my best friend growing up saying that "I eat because I have to, not because I like to". She is entitled to her opinion but I was appalled by it because I assumed that just because I enjoy food, I thought everybody else had to too. I was sixteen when she made that statement and I already traveled a few states and been out of the country once and got to sample various foods from other cultures and developed an appreciation for food. I enjoyed helping friends out at dinner parties, not just for the extra dough but to watch and be inspired by other's style of cooking. That's what inspired me to read Gourmet magazine when I was 19-20; I even bought  it too and read through the complicated recipes,in college. I bought copies of it during my year stint at Keystone Resort in Colorado, not only to thumb through recipes , but for appearances, to appear classier than those ski bums I was living among. My cooking magazine of choice these days is Cooking Light, they have easy 20 minute recipes in the back that I've tried but I wolfed them down with urgency even on a relaxing evening at home. It's going to take some time to experiment with various foods again and get myself out of this food and eating rut and enjoy food again. Most of all make that pleasurable and every moment pleasurable, after all we live once.

Day in the Life of an Artist: Part III Shopping for still life props

Me being queen procrastinater I put off painting at Sloan's Lake doing landscapes, being a perfect weather day for it. That's just as well since the leaves on the trees are still mostly green since it's been a very warm start for the fall. I went over to Hobby Lobby and they had a sale on fabrics, so I bought a yard or 2 of some colors which I think will work for still life props.

These were 30% off a yard and added up to $27 plus tax, I will have fun with these.

The best part is going to ARC which is down the street from my apartment and I don't know why I didn't stop in there sooner, but it was a busy store today. Why it was busy it was 50% off colored label merchandise and Brick Brac shopping couldn't be any more fun! Check out all these finds which came together for $20!

They insisted I box them although I told them I was just going up the street.

It's going to be fun to put a scene together and turn them into painting, my creative juices are flowing! I recommend that to any artist!

Last but not least my latest piece of work where I walked you through the process!

Carousel the musical

I remember for my sister's 10th birthday , my mom took a bunch of her friends and I to the Country Dinner Playhouse to see Carousel. The score was beautiful and the carousel itself was only shown at the beginning of the musical. At the time I was only sixteen with the lack of experience with men and relationships and clueless about the moral of this play. The score was beautiful although the storyline was very sad and It sounded like the story of my life.

The story takes place in a New England fishing village.The musical starts off with a young millworker who gets on a carousel with her friend and meets a barker on a carousel, falls in love quickly and marries him. The night she meets him , Julie Jordan and her friend Carrie Pipperidge talk about Mr. Snow who Carrie is seeing, an ambitious fisherman.On the other hand, Billy Bigelow the carousel barker is a drifter who lacks money and ambition and falls for the innocent Julie Jordon. He fits the description of an abusive man, whose a smooth talker, cocky, and charming. It is revealed shortly into the story that he hits her, but she takes it and says that it was his frustration over not being able to find work. She stands by him anyway despite the treatment, but that was the 19th century, but if it was the 21st century she had the option of leaving him. Julie gets pregnant with his child shortly thereafter and they are staying at her cousin Nettie's spa and hardly have a dime to support the both of them. In order to make money to support Julie and the child their expecting he takes the easy way out and gets involved in a robbery that goes wrong and ends tragically. She raises the daughter Louise on her own and the girl becomes troubled herself and Billy takes a day back on earth to redeem himself.Billy talks to his daughter and tries to give her a star that he stole, but she refuses it. Julie steps out, takes the star, and she feels Billy's presence and he sings "If I loved you" to her. She still loved him 15 years after his passing.  He comes back an extra day for her graduation and sings along "You'll Never Walk Alone" with the rest of the company.

I've been with several Billy Bigelows in my life and I can see how they can prey on innocent women. They are very bold and slick in order to get women. They come across as the Alpha males who can be very dominating with their charm to draw women in. Women who come across as vulnerable, pretty, and innocent are easy targets. Even though they may lack education they are smart on picking up the subtle cues. I've done research on abusive men and they are very charming at times and ugly other times and that's the cycle that keep their partners hooked and that's what Julie Jordon was hooked on with Billy. Whenever the men I was with put me down with words I thought that was out of love and caring which the opposite was true. Julie Jordon came into it with lack of experience and no self esteem at the time. I was looking back and reading about this musical as I was thinking about those classic Rogers and Hammerstein musicals that I was exposed to growing up and this was the one I could relate to the most since I been there although I was not physically beaten. Billy Bigelow was an inappropriate man in society who was not a hero to anyone and targeted an innocent girl like Julie Jordon who had a lot of potential and a future ahead of her. If I was to rewrite this play I would have showed Julie moving on remarrying a nice man since she was young enough to do so and have a good life. The musical covered issues like domestic violence which was taboo in the '40's and '50's. In my opinion I would not let young children see this until their older and understand the messages in the musical.

Book Review: The Last Report on the Miracles of Little No Horse

Happy weekend everyone and I'm finally done with this book! This book was givin to me about 8 years ago and I finally had the chance to read it all the way through, determined to finish it. It's written by Louise Erdrich and I was very unfamiliar with her work. It was so well written that I had to actually think through the book being a genuine literary piece.

It takes place on a fictional Ojibwe Indian reservation called Little No Horse. It's about a woman who lives as a priest Father Damian posted at the reservation. At the end of her life after serving there for over half a century (as the priest imposter), she is interviewed by a younger priest in regards to a nun who is being considered for sainthood. She's in a dilema of either revealing her identity and confessing or keeping it a secret.

The book has many twists and turns going back and forth from the past to the present. It's an interesting read although very slow. Some parts were hard to follow and I always had to return to the front of the book to the family tree in order to follow the characters and their relations to whom. It explores the conflicts between Catholicism and the Indian religion. The differences between good and evil. The nun who was being investigated was the polar opposite of the Father Damien character. She was more abusive to people and her actions could not qualify her for sainthood. After being a nun she then becomes a woman called Agnes who lives with a companion, then taken hostage in a bank robbery and shortly thereafter is transformed into Father Damien after a great flood. When she's both nun and Agnes she's passionate about the piano and Chopin. That's where my previous post comes in. There were some humorous parts too with Agnes giving the town children chicken eggs in the nude, the Indian couple Mary and Nanapush having the Moose pull their boat in order to kill him. It was a good read although I recommend taking your time to read it due to lots of background and description of the lead and the people on the reservation. I can't say I loved the book but the story was interesting with all the different stories and characters woven together.

Rachmaninoff plays Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2

Can't do Handstands

It's another beautiful day , I love September, it's not too hot or cold. I finally made it into Yoga today as my practice is improving. I started late May into June doing Core Power Yoga studio in the Highlands area in Denver. I have a regular gym membership that offers Yoga but I found that too intimidating , impersonal and fast. The idea for me was to learn Yoga and be ready to do the classes in the gym but I ended up being hooked and joined Core Power. Doing it at an actual Yoga studio has a better feel than at the gym where you see and hear other people on the machines in the background. They're incredible how they tell us to set our intention for our practice and come by and correct our postures. At the gym the instructors don't seem to care.
Towards the end of class they were having us try to do a handstand even if it was against a wall. I did not even come close, but that's okay I haven't practiced long enough to be able to do that. Some of the other students are good but what I love about it is how I could do this at my own pace and modify if I have to. I'm glad I can find something I was able to stick with I practice about 2-3 times a week, but I always feel like a million dollars when I'm done. I used to think I had to be so good to practice Yoga in a class but not necessarily there are many other beginners in my classes. The studio is a great getaway for me for an hour and the instructors are warm and friendly with a homey atmosphere that makes it the more spiritual.

Day in the Life of an Artist: Part II

After a busy weekend, Mondays are like my Sundays although today was somewhat productive. I'm getting consistent about journaling my artwork as my new project is progressing. I did not walk out of the house except to take the dog out and I will again this evening as it cools down slightly. I did some more on my Calla lilies in the blue vase. I'm pretty far along and I just need to touch up next painting session. The hardest part of the small yet simple painting is the flowers and the vase. Althought to a regular eye the Calla Lilies would be just white with the bright yellow thing in the middle. There are other colors and shadows to capture too. The vase is blue and it's interesting to paint but their's many other colors going on in it. Painting glass is fun although not easy because of with the detail of reflections involved. Plus, I always have the urge to want to hold a paintbrush like a pencil, my instructors always urged me to hold it lightly with my two fingers and thumb, that's something I have to work on still.

This is what I mean about how I spread paint. It's a 12x15 pallette.

I don't know how I did it on a smaller pallette. Whatever paint is left I put wax paper over it and put in the freezer.

I was considering taking my place in the art world further by looking into internships in Galleries to gain connections and get my foot in the door. The problem is I'm not a college student or a college grad. I see with the economy in bad shape, that adults are doing internships for career changes. My mom even did some student teaching in her 40's when she did a career change, so it's not too late.

I realized years later that I was not as passionate about Fashion Marketing than I was about art. Heck, I was not even motivated to get an internship although it was  required to get my degree. I put my eggs in one basket for one position and tried really hard to get it and got rejected anyway which was weird. I know it's not like volunteering where they take you on the spot. I love fashion and the industry still and my motivation at the time was to make money. I was in my 20's and did not really know who I was at the time. I worked it for over 13 years although I was on the retail end of it on the selling floor. I have a few dresses in my closet that I want to paint so that I can incorporate my love for fashion into my future pieces.

 I thought being an artist was a trivial thing and that anything worthwhile is not supposed to be pleasurable. I thought that being an artist would not be as glamorous and being in the fashion industry. On days that I paint, I like the idea that I don't have to get all dressed up to paint and do it in my pajamas if I wanted to. That works for me! I can still dress up for art openings though. In reality, there is no such thing as a glamorous career dressed up or not.

It's a good time for me to produce and learn although the classes and workshops will be continuous as a go through this journey as an artist. I will have plenty of pieces once the economy turns around. I have a friend who's an art agent so that's a start.

Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (May contain spoilers!)

I had to refresh my memory on this one yet I finished this book last spring. It was a book written about the maids in the south in the early 1960's. It takes place in Jackson, Mississippi and the three main characters are; Aibileen Clark an older maid who's been raising white children, her friend Minny Jackson who has such a bad reputation and money problems gets hired by an eccentric women outcast of the town, and the other is Eugenie "Skeeter" Phelan a college graduate who moves back to town. Their stories are told individually then weaved together throughout the book.

Skeeter could possibly stir things up in Jackson by interviewing the maids in order to publish an article about their treatment to land a job in New York. She had to do it secret to avoid being seen with the African-American maids in the still segregated South. Despite the maids working with the families for many years the relationships between the maids and their families were impersonal. It was a different world and stereotypical for the Southern White Women, playing afternoon bridge, and Junior League membership. They would have typically one maid in the household doing everything around their houses including looking after their children. The children grew fond of the maids, especially Skeeter who wandered why her maid disappeared.

It's a great read and page turner exploring all the characters that I sympathized with except for the head of the Junior League who was still set in the old ways and resistant for change. In the point of view of the African American maids, spoken in their dialect throughout the book, the reader can see the lifestyle they lead and how they live. They were religious and involved in their church which kept their spirits up. The relationship between Minny and her employer symbolized 2 outsiders coming together. Her employer was somewhat reclusive, and was never accepted into the white women's clubs, and Minny could not get employment in most households, so they had eachother. Skeeter was a woman coming of age at the time right before the ever changing '60's by being friendly with the Help which was controversial at the time. She risked her friends and social club involvement to talk to those women.  This was a well crafted book for someone like me who never knew what went on in the Southern households or about the servants and their lives. I recommend that book to anyone who's into Southern history. All three of the main characters are good people working hard to make a difference in the human condition and treatment.

Day in the Life of an Artist: Part I

After the image is taken on the camera it's transferred onto Adobe Photoshop to be traced.

Converted the photo into a sketch after converting it to black and white.

The traced image being fitted onto the canvas

I use graphite paper to place facedown on the canvas to transfer the traced sketch.

The Graphite paper is wrapped around the canvas with masking tape securely.

Together is the color chart and the photo reference I will use for my painting.

This technique, I learned in a class I took at the League last winter into Spring called Digital Tools for Artists , it's not as easy as it looks but I've learned to love this technique. I will post the completed painting on a later date.
I'm at the intermediate level now so it made my selection of classes broader so it's hard to decide what to take. Since the school is uncredited I can drop into a class anytime or monitor it for a day to see if that's what I want.

Day at Meininger Art Supply

I just had a somewhat lazy day off and did not get out of the house until 2:30 pm after laboring at my day job on Labor Day weekend. Meininger is having a big art sale through the 26th of this month so I'm taking advantage of it. I picked up a few tubes of paint that could be expensive, most of them were 40 % off. I almost bought a tube of Cadmium Yellow but $54, sheesh! I have little left of that color and I will use up all I can. I may have to check out Hobby Lobby or Michaels if it's any cheaper. I got a pack of 2 more 18x24 canvases although I will use a 12x12 for my next project. I'm pretty well stocked up with smaller canvases but I want to go bigger, so after I get paid next I will pick up more bigger canvases as long as there 50% off.

I also picked up a copy of Southwest Art  magazine as my inspiration, that will go on my Christmas wish list, when I subscribed it was a monthly treat. I have what I need including graphite paper to transfer my trace to the canvas. I will be trying a transparent white for highlights, I bought it in the smaller tube to give it a try. I had to buy bigger pallette paper, 12x15 because the smaller size does not work for me the way I spread paint when I mix it.

I work late tomorrow and it's already Thursday, where has this week gone? I want to try to get Yoga in tomorrow and a few other things done before going to work. I may have to start this on Friday as I'm anxious to pick up that paint brush.

Makeshift Art Studio

I live in a modest 1 bedroom a typical home for a starving artist. My studio is not a particuliar room except for my livingroom with a skylight and a window facing north. Light from the north is an artist's best friend. Although I like to work at night I prefer to paint in the daytime or else the colors are off. If I do paintings at night, I'll have to do them at night to keep the colors consistent.

I use a TV table that I purchased at TJ Maxx for a good price, it's light and it's easy storage next to the TV console. The green tripod like thing you see is my easel that is light and great for painting out in the field Plein Aire. It's easy to fold up and to place in my closet.

This was the painting I completed today! It took over a month. Fruits of Summer 18x24 Oil on Canvas
All I did today was touch up , but I had to have enough paint out for necessary corrections.

Teatime is the project I did the 1st half of the summer. Teatime 18x24 oil on canvas

My set up on my diningroom table, I was inventorying my paints today to see what colors and supplies I needed. This is a canvas rollup for my brushes that is good for travel and my photo reference for the painting is on top.

When I'm done painting I pack up all my supplies in a backpack and place them in my closet. That's my studio in a nutshell and you all see how I do it in a modest apartment and it could be done until the time comes that when I could get a bigger place or rent studio space.
Coming attractions:

• My step-by-step on new project
• Classes
• Going on the field to capture fall colors

I'm calling it a day a great one and look forward to more shares.

Book Review: Jackie Ethel Joan The Women of Camelot

I just finished this book and it was an appropriate time to read this during the anniversary of the death of Ted Kennedy. I was in Miami at the time of his funeral getting ready for a happier occasion by boarding a cruise ship. I got to watch clips of it via You Tube recently.

It's a fast and enjoyable read for an over 400 page book. A complex and strongly political East Coast family, the family has always fascinated me. The fascination started when I did a report on JFK in High School over 20 years ago. At the same time was my fascination with Jackie when she was on the covers of magazines celebrating her 60th birthday, when she did not look a day over 40. Prior to that reading articles about "Ted and Joan's divorce" in a magazine at my grandmother's house in my tweens. I did not know about Ted Kennedy at the time, or about his other brother Bobby.

I read the Kennedy Women years ago when I was in Greece ironically on the kind of boat Jackie would have enjoyed. This is the only book written about the Kennedy's that explores the relationships between the wives. They had 3 very different personalities thrown together with the same family. It made me have some mixed feelings about Ethel(Bobby's wife), she was lovable or hateful at times. She was always blunt and said it as it was and very ambitious. She seemed like a very hard person to be around, yet she was devoted to the whole family and their political ambitions. He described her home Hickory Hill as being a chaotic place and I could believe it. It seemed like Lord of the Flies there with her out of control kids who she left to the servants to watch. Some of them turned out okay though getting into public service work. As far as being lovable Ethel graciously opened her home to both Jackie and Joan when they were going through hard times. Jackie however did not want her kids to be around Ethel's kids too much.

Jackie was a strong one, and I was always a Jackie admirer for years. She had a life for herself despite Jack's behavior. Like me, both her and Joan were not too much into politics. I think Jackie was a stronger political wife than Joan. Her and Joan were close since they would take strolls on the beach while the other Kennedy's played touch football which didn't interest them at all. Although she was stoic during the assassination she cried a lot in private and went through a major depression. She never really got over it. Jackie and Joan head eachother to lean on based on a series of miscarriages, husband's infidelities, and love for art and music. Both Jackie and Ethel tried hard to get Joan to feel included in the clan. Jackie had her tour Europe with JFK's belongings to raise money for the JFK library and Ethel included her in campaigns. They remained friends for years although it was pretty complex. I really felt for Joan, she seemed too sweet and innocent for that family. Although they say the Chappaquiddick episode drove her to drink she may have been an alcoholic all along, since both her parents were. From the book they endured a lot being a Kennedy wife with tragedies and husbands not emotionally and physically available. They had the financial security but not the emotional security that was needed so much. If I can relate to any of the wives it would probably be Joan, since I'm not into politics and that I tend to be sensitive and vulnerable. I think being in her shoes would have been hard for me since I'm not a competitive person in life and that's what the Kennedy's were.

Cookie

I'm so excited that I had to make another entry before winding down and turning in. I write a lot better at night, so you can say I'm nocturnal. I would do almost everything at night when really society wants us to operate during the day time and be relaxed at night.

My inspiration for blogging again was when I saw the movie Julie/Julia last year with my folks and Julie (Amy Adams) wanted to try out all of  Julia Child's recipe's and blog about it. I walked out of the theater and thought I could do this for my painting, make a painting a day and blog it. My thing is a lot different since I'm an oil painter and it can't be the same thing. Sure, I can be inspired by one or many artists but I want to do my own work rather than copy and follow their paintings. I know some artists can complete a painting in a day, which I applaud them. Unlike cooking which is a basic necessity, anyone could pull a meal in a day out of a cookbook but a painting is almost impossible if I want to create masterpieces. Masterpieces that my collectors can put on their walls to beautify their homes.

I'm a single woman now with other responsibilities and interests other than creating a painting. A job to hold to pay the bills, a dog to take care of and a significant other. I promise I won't bore you all about the processes of painting but their's many other things that I look forward to sharing besides my side hobby and future career as an artist. I like to read, practice Yoga, and spend time with my dog and I decided that this blog will be primarily based on those interests to make it exciting to my readers/followers. It's going to be a challenge to journal without revealing a lot about my personal life since it's on the internet and it's more crucial to be more private than ever in this day in age with identity theft and other stuff going on. This blog will not be a tell-all on my day-to-day life although it's not always perfect.

Now about the dog Cookie who carries the name of this blog. God really has a sense of humor. I always wanted a dog of my own, and wanted to hold off until I got a house with a yard. My now ex-husband(I will not disclose his name in respect to his privacy) surprised me with her after a trip to PetSmart. I was overwhelmed and a little upset that he didn't talk to me about it at first, but I fell in love with her the instant she walked through the door. As soon as I saw and first petted her all my doubts and reservations went out the door. Cookie gravitated to me on day one and became my side kick since. Although she's hyper she teaches me a lot about love and living in the moment. She's my best friend who I would do anything for and she's always there for me. She smiles with me and licks the tears off my cheeks whenever I cry. I'm grateful she ended up with me when my husband and I split up, I don't know what I would have done without her. I can say she's the best gift I received from my ex. I was overwhelmed at first when I moved Cookie and I in to the apartment and I have to raise her alone but it's not bad at all she's a great companion and she's so delightful that she brings me joy everyday. My family even fell in love with her too, she's a great addition and I consider myself lucky. It's like having a child and looking at them and loving them. She's having a good life with me with walks around Sloan's Lake, Doggie Daycare (rarely), and a few outings to see my mom and play in her yard. I can definitely relate to the movie Marley and Me, but Marley  makes Cookie look like a mellower dog.

Tulips
Oil on Canvas 12x12
Army picture of my young dad in background

Painting of Cookie Spring 2010
Oil on Canvas 9x12

1st Entry

This is August 28th 2010 and just a year ago today I just went on a cruise with my now ex-husband it has been a trying year but I have gotton through it stoically and had my emotions in private.
The purpose of this blog is to both document my new life as I'm 10 months into it and my day as a budding artist as well as share books that I'm reading. My dirty laundry will not be expressed here only in the privacy of my sponsor in AA.
I wanted to name this blog "Cookie and Me" but it would be forbidden since there was a movie called "Marley and me" named after the guy and his dog so it would have been too cliched. Journalling is a new thing for me and I will try it again and I will do it in a safe manner that it will not break anyone's anonymity except my own.
I have not picked up a paintbrush in a couple weeks and I hope to do this more often and make it profitable in the near future. Friends I look forward to sharing with you the frustrations and triumphs of being an artist, dog owner, and avid reader. I don't have a lot to say today but as time comes in my entries in days to come more will come.