Petals and Thorns : The Bonnie Blog

The Bee Faerie painting... coming along...

2012-01-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

The "Bee Faerie", as I've been calling her, since she still doesn't have a proper title, is coming along. There are a few layers of watercolour happening, and so far, I'm pretty happy with how she's coming along. There's a long way to go yet, until she's finished, but here's a little peek at her progress:

Announcing the Winner of my Life Book + 1 Giveaway!

2012-01-13T05:47:00.001-08:00

Congratulations!

New painting in process (bee faerie)

2012-01-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

A sneak peek at my latest work in process...
The pencil sketch is finished (at last).
I plan to use coloured pencil and watercolour... a limited colour pallet, with lots of honey tones.

It is one of the busiest backgrounds I've done... wish me luck (lol)

Life Book : January : My Goddess Super Powers

2012-01-05T03:48:00.000-08:00

January 2012, wow! It's here... and so far, the world is still turning, hehe. Which means, of course, that the glitter is still flying all over my flat. . . And. . . Life Book has begun !!!

I begin with a project by Tamara Laporte (aka Willowing) : My Goddess Super Powers
It's mixed media, on paper, with a nifty fold-out bit on the side, and is meant to represent ones' inner Goddess awesomeness, complete with a list of ones' Goddess Super Powers.

I opted for a self portrait, and overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it all came out.

It was diffcult to make the list of my possitive qualities, because let's face it, giving oneself due praise is not always an easy task, especially when the gremlins of guilt and self-doubt come creeping in to spoil the party. (Who invited them, anways?!) But in the end, I managed to kick the party-crashing gremlins out for the night, and made my list of nicities without too much suffering afterall. It felt good to allow myself to praise myself, to focus on the parts of Me that are commendable and amazing, and worthy of acknowledgement. Yay for Me! hehe.

Mediums Used: water-soluable crayons, watercolour and acrylic paints, graphite pencil, ink pen, stamping (with ink), paper collage, glitter, and rhinestones.

It was fun to make collage on the fold out panel. I used bits of old dictionary pages and some decorative scrapbooking papers that had antique text and handwriting on them. After collaging all the paper scraps, I added some layers of acrylic and watercolour paints, before going on to add the decorative elements and sentiment.

At the top of the page, I wrote: "The Goddess wakes within me"
and then I picked three words, based on my list of qualities, that I felt encompased my attributes, as a synopsis.

I had to laugh at myself a little bit... I just had to alphabetize my list... oh, librarian's wife, what a nerd you are! haha!

My Goddess Crown of stars is thouroughly glittered
(although difficult to catch the sparkles on camera.)

"I am made of stars "

All of the borders are glittered, too.

"sparkles"

I glittered the text with a glitter gel pen + glue pen and more loose glitter...
just to be sure it was properly über sparkly.

The last little touch to this painting was in the bottom right corner of my list. There was a tiny paint blob that made me think of a leaf, so I added more, and then some delicate branches. Of the entire piece, I think this is my most favourite part of all.

GIVEAWAY! Win a place on Life Book + 1 of Tamara Laporte's other workshops

2012-01-04T03:04:00.000-08:00

Enter my GIVEAWAY to win a place on Life Book
+ 1 of Tamara Laporte's other workshops of your choice!

http://willowing.ning.com/profiles/blogs/giveaway-enter-to-win-a-place-on-life-book-1-other-workshop-by

This contest is open until midnight (GMT) 11 January 2012
Good Luck !

Life Book : check it out !

2011-10-15T00:42:00.000-07:00

I'm one of the 14 guest teachers on Tamara Laporte's Life Book course!
Check out the video for some highlights about the course.

... After I made and uploaded the video, I found out that links in YouTube videos can only link within YouTube (and not to an external website, like I had intended) so if you do click the link inside the video, it will take you to my YouTube channel, where you can find a link to my website. Or, you can simply click here, instead : http://BonnieRoseArtiste.com

Life Book : FAQs

2011-10-02T01:40:00.000-07:00

These are Answers from Tam (Willowing) to the most Frequently Asked Questions about Life Book. If you are still confused, or have other questions, please email her: willowing@gmail.com

FAQs

1. Can I download and keep all the materials?
Yes, you can! You can keep them forever and ever and watch them at your own pace, in your own time.

2. Do I have to participate in the healing exercises?
Not at all, if you don’t want to. :)

3. Do I have to upload my work?
Not at all, if you don’t want to.

4. Will I get DVDs for the extra classes?
No, you will get access to the ‘self-study’ groups where you can download and keep all the materials.

5. How long will the materials remain available after the course ends?
The group will close officially by the end of March 2013.

6. Can other people continue to sign up throughout the year?
Yes, people can continue to sign up through the year, so spread the word! :-)

7. Is it ok to dip in and out of the course, I might be away for a while.
Absolutely: you can be as active or inactive as you want to be!

8. Can I get a refund half way through the year (or at any point) if
I’ve decided I no longer want to take part?
No. Refunds can be given before the course starts (before 31st Dec 2011), but refunds can not be given once you’re on the course.

9. Can I share the course materials with other people?
No. If your neighbour or friend wants to take part in the course, they have to sign up themselves and also pay the course fee themselves.

10. I don’t know how to download the videos, can you help?
A description on how to download videos is given alongside every video posted. If that description is still too confusing, please email Tamara Laport : willowing@gmail.com. Please note however that detailed advice and lessons on how to navigate IT cannot be offered.

Life Book Registration Begins today, the 1st of Oct. !!!

2011-10-01T05:46:00.001-07:00

Are you ready to make a book that is unique and splendiferous ?! A book that is colourful and creative ?! A book that is made with messy mixed media, glitters, heart and soul ?!

Life Book is a year-long online art course, with lessons by Tamara Laport (aka Willowing) and 14 guest teachers (including yours truely... who will be doing 2 months of lessons on this course!) A whole year's worth of new techniques, new friends, and new discoveries!

How are the lessons structured?

Tam will provide 1 mixed media lesson a month (posted on every 1st Monday of the month) and there are 14 contributing mixed media teachers who will each provide a lesson for a month they've been assigned to (these lessons will be posted each 3rd Monday of the month)! In addition there will be extra things happening the other weeks: artist interviews to inspire you, journal prompts to encourage you, extra art exercises, tips and tricks, you name it! This course will be overflowing with lessons, inspiration and stuff to keep you busy the whole year!!

You will become part of a thriving, buzzing, creative community with opportunities to make new connections, learn many new mixed media styles and techniques and make new arty friends!

-- Download all class materials to your machine, keep them forever
-- Learn many new mixed media techniques and styles
-- Grow and develop both personally and artistically
-- Receive extra inspiration, like PDF worksheets, art journal prompts,
free uplifting affirmation jpegs (for you to print and hang up),
give aways, artist interviews etc!
-- Connect with like-minded creative people
-- Make new artistic connections
-- Become part of a buzzing/ thriving art community for a whole year!

Learn from the most inspiring Mixed Media Art Teachers:

Bonnie Rose (me!), Mystele, Wyanne, Gritty Jane, Jane Davenport, Rhomany, Juliette Crane, Effy Wild, Guadalupe Brizuela Cabal, Adriana Almanza, Jodi Ohl, Connie Hozvicka, Samantha Kira, Tam aaaaand, another mystery teacher will be announced over the next 3 months! :D

Let the creative journey begin...
Click here to view more details & to register

It's been a busy summer!

2011-09-22T08:25:00.001-07:00

Summer brought me a bushel of commissions, particularly portraits of/with Tori Amos.
One lead to another, to another, to another... with a few paintings for myself once in a while, in between the requests.

I've been a busy summer bee, and now that I've had 2 weeks away from the paintbox, it's time to pick up the brush and begin anew... Autumn, what fruits will you bear?!

Life Book !

2011-09-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

OMGlitter! Fabulous news:

Yours truely will be a guest teacher on the newest YEAR LONG online art course by Willowing!

Every month, a new lesson, a new adventure, a new creative journey into self.

We'll be making our own art journals, one page/spread every month, and then finally, at the end of year, binding them together with an ancient binding method. We'll also be making new friends along the way, as members of the course will have the oppertunity to share pictures of their pages, discuss their experiences, and interact with other workshop members on willowing.ning.com -- yay!

There are so many awesome guest teachers, and of course, the fabulous Tamara Laport (aka Willowing) who will be sharing, guiding, and inspiring, each offering her own personal touch to this jam-packed workshop! My featured guest lesson is at the end of this book, but I'll also have a few surprise tutorials popping up from time to time, throughout the course.

To find out more about this course, the teachers, and the payment plans, and to purchase a place on this course please go here: Click here to view more details

Get your pens and brushes ready, folks!
I hope to see you on the Life Book course!

Doodling

2011-08-09T04:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I doodled this funny little robot, and it occured to me: I couldn't remember the last time I doodled. I'm not sure when it began, exactly (I suppose since I stopped going to classes,) but I've nearly stopped doodling altogether.

Slightly alarming... I've always been a doodler... how can this be happening?!

I'm always preoccupied with a project, something to be completed, specified and pre-planned. There has been little engery left for doodle time.

Dictionary.com says:

doodle, noun

4.
a design, figure, or the like, made by idle scribbling.

5.
Archaic . a foolish or silly person

Interesting. I've never refered to a person as a "doodle". Seems like a bizare thing to say, to me.

Doodling, idle scribbling... but you know, it's actually quite a healthy thing to do. It's like meditation, free form movement, no planning, the hand becomes the tool, the tool becomes the mark, and the mark becomes itself, with no forethought, no constrictions. It's born of a pure and uninhibited creative process. A doodle is unique amoungst the masterworks and the blueprints, the sketches and the portraits. A doodle is the anarchist nomad of the artworld, a Beat poet, a phantom... a doodle is free to be what it will be.

There is wisdom in a doodle.

SALE + WhimWa on USB !

2011-08-08T12:27:00.001-07:00

S A L E S

Original Paintings

30 - 50% off
Special sales on selected paintings,
from now until 30th September, 2011

And the Whimsical Watercolours Workshop
is now available on USB key!

A super cute surf board styled key
is pre-loaded with the entire course.

Learn how to use watercolour paints to create
whimsical and illustrative works of art,
beginning with basic techniques,
all the way to making mixed media paintings!

6 hours and 20 minutes of videos + pdf lessons

You don't need to download anything,
nor access the internet to take the course this way.
Simply plug the key into a USB port
on your computer, and voila!

http://BonnieRoseArtiste.com

"Hallow's Eve" (new painting!)

2011-06-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

"Hallow's Eve" is a mixed media (graphite, water soluable crayons, and watercolour) painting, inspired by a sacred tome, written by my mother.

The figure in the painting ended up resembling me, on accident. I was using a photo of myself, which I took to help with the sketching stage of the piece; although I had intended to change the features, they came through as very me-like, in the end. Since the figure is supposed to represent Morgana Le Fey, an incarnation of the Lady of the Heavens, I wanted her to have a Celt/Welsh appearance, and I think I've managed that rather well, so mission accomplished!

Overall, I'm really pleased with how it turned out... don't you just love all the little sparkling souls/stars ?

(By the way, in case you were wondering : the "blue stuff" is masking fluid, which was removed in the last phases of painting.)

WhimWa is back!

2011-06-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

The Whimsical Watercolours Workshop is back! This time as a self-study edition.

Learn how to use watercolour paints to create whimsical and illustrative works of art, beginning with basic techniques, all the way to making mixed media paintings!

6 hours and 20 minutes of videos + pdf lessons

All videos and pdf materials can be downloaded, for you to keep. Watch and re-watch them anytime.

This is a self-study course. Watch, learn, and paint at your own pace.

( Personal critiques and live interaction with the instructor are not offered in this edition of
the Whimsical Watercolours Workshop.)

Four awesome weeks of

Learning, Painting, and Fun!

You must be a member of Willowing & Artist Friends to participate in this workshop.

It's a free online community which focuses on mixed media

whimsical, illustrative, journaling, and healing arts.

The Whimsical Watercolours Workshop Costs : 30£ (approx. $47 US dollars)

You can purchase this workshop with PayPal or with a major credit / debit card.

For more information and to join
this workshop, please CLICK HERE

Beene's 100 Days of Musix

2011-06-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

A friend on Facebook set fourth the challenge... after a few months of chicken feathers, I've finally decided to dive in.

Day 1 - your favorite song (this is the hardest one....)

I have 2 favourite songs:

"The Emperor's New Clothes" by Sinead O'Connor
I've loved this song from the first time I heard it. Something in it rocks me to the bones. Almost 20 years later, it hits home harder than ever.

"There's millions of people, who offer adivce, and say how I should be. But they're twisted and they will never be any influence on me... You know how it is, and how a pregnancy can change you. I've seen plenty of clothes that I like, but I won't go anywhere nice for a while. All I want to do is just sit here, and write it all down, and rest for a while... Whatever it may bring, I will live by my own policies, I will sleep with a clear conscience, I will sleep in peace..."

and "Yes, Anastasia" by Tori Amos
The music moves into me, we shapeshift together, curves, hard edges, skipping through timelines like stones on a great sonic ocean...
"We'll see how brave you are" has been a mantra for me through the years. It's been a rock for me through some of the fiercest storms.

"Fast Horse" (Tori Amos cover)

2011-05-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

A cover of Tori Amos' "Fast Horse" (from the Abnormally Attracted to Sin album). I broke the high E string on my guitar a few minutes beofre recording this (oops!) so it's a 5-string version (LOL)

I'm no great guitarist, but I like to play, and when I discovered that I knew most of the chords for the rythum guitar accompaniment for Fast Horse, well, I just had to learn it! Maybe someday I'll do another recording, with all 6 strings in tact. (LOL)

If you're not familiar with this song, it's about a woman's need to get back to her Cherokee roots, her need to turn away from needless materialism and ungreatfulness for the things she has in her life. She's let Bad Medicine into her life, and he's been hurtful, damaging, and a corruptive force in her life. Good Medicine is the wise voice of her ancestors, the fibres of her Native Self even, reminding her and guiding her with helpful and healing advice. He says she needs to find a healer, maybe even a Shaman, to "smoke out" Bad Medicine, and help her to be greatful for her simple gifts, and to remember who she is, from the roots to the core.

There are currents in this song that strike me deeply, and resonate... The first time I heard it, I lit the Sage, invited Good Medicine to come in... I cleansed, and I remembered...

When I sing this song, I feel Spirits come near, and some of them hum and chant softly with me. Some are silent, just listening. When I sing it, I feel the Sage smoldering, and my roots remember.

The latest albino faerie is painted!

2011-05-13T13:10:00.001-07:00

"Équinoxe de l'Automne" is finished with watercolour and graphite pencil.

She and I have had several long conversations over the last few weeks, and it seems she finds my questions impertinent, and always replies with "None of your business." So, that being that, the contents of her little box are still unknown to me. When I inquire, she says: "You don't want to know."

Although certainly not a "bad faerie", she is unlikely to be much of anyone's friend, except perhaps for little white mice and small, fluttering creatures. She's silent, and stealthy, and appears suddenly from under shadow and branch, always accompanied by an gathering of little whispering companions. She may smile at you, and you are wise to smile in return... but do not ask to know what secrets she holds... you would be wiser to be without such wisdom. The most likely time to see her out-and-about is on the Autumn Equinox, particularly at the twylight of the evening, when both the sun and moon are hidden in haze of orange and violet light.

Sumi-e Styled Dragonflies

2011-05-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

I love ancient Chinese and sumi-e styled painting... so graceful, spontaneous, and gorgeous!

Although I don't have proper sumi-e brushes, I thought I'd try some of the techniques as best as I could, using synthetic watercolour brushes. Here are a few of the dragonflies that I painted last week, using transparent watercolour on paper...

I found this kind of painting to be freeing... the subtlety, the mixture of intent and spontaneity... it's focusing, inside... outside.

"30 Random Facts"

2011-03-04T08:46:00.001-08:00

I was tagged on Facebook (hi Jeanne!) to answer 30 random facts about myself...

It was a while ago, several months (omg, where does the time go?!) since I was tagged, and I didn't get to answer it right away. I did think about these 30 random facts quite a bit, so I suppose they are "Random and Pre-Meditated".

It's a fun little game, but it's also an interesting introspective and slightly existential exercersize. I'm a human being, which makes me ridiculously complex, and yet having to come up with 30 facts about myself was a bit daunting at the start. It's like looking in the mirror, really looking, and having to acknowledge and explain what you see. No glancing!

Some of these facts are from the surface, and some are from the depths, but all of them are true:

1. Violet, purple everything ... j'adore.

2. I'm a "double-Libra" (Libra Sun and Rising), I have a Capricorn Moon and a Scorpio Mercury.

3. "The Secret of NIMH" changed my life. It opened my eyes to the atrocities of animal testing.

4. Brian Froud is a personal hero of mine. I am in awe of his work, and his communication with the faerie realm.

5. Vanilla everything ... although chocolate is awesome, it's partly because chocolate has vanilla in it.

6. I drink tea. Black, green, and herbal. No sugar. No milk.

I drink coffee. Black. No sugar. Sometimes soy or hazelnut milk.

7. Two tattos : 1 animal, 1 plant

8. I've been to 29 of the 50 US States. I've lived in 2 of them (Ohio & California.)

9. I'm an EWF, and have been since 1994. I heard "God" and have been in sonic love ever since. I've seen Tori Amos live three times (UTP, FTCGH, and 5 1/2 Weeks). Totally spiritual, walking in with the crowd, pilgrims, unified. The house lights go down, and I cried at every concert.

10. Severe and Chronic Arachnaphobia. I'm getting better... a little bit... but we will always be enemies.

11. I'm a "cat person" but I've only had a cat once in my life, and then, only breifly. It seems my lot in life to live with "not cat people." (But I love the doggies, too!)

12. I don't like birds in cages. Birds inside a home disturb me... a bird in the house is an omen of death... and besides, they can't fly in a cage.

13. I'm a bit like a magpie... oooo shiney things! I'm a sucker for jewelry.

14. Glitter. On everything. In everything. It's totally infested my home... and I couldn't be happier about that!

15. In Chinese astrology, I'm a Yang Metal Monkey - Earth Dog - Dragon

16. I love Italian (sometimes difficult, being vegan,) and Indian cuisine. I put garlic in just about everything. (Never in cake though, don't worry!)

17. I have arthritis, a mashed up knee, and dislocated bones in my spine and ankle. The rain and I are not friends, and I don't do inclines well at all.

18. I'm not very clever with math. I'm even less clever with chemistry. I'm a terrible speller. But I can draw just about anything! (expect mechanical things... that might as well be math and chemistry.)

19. I have regrets... but when I'm feeling remorse and regret, I just remind myself that every action, every choice, everything that has happened in the past has helped to make me who I am today, and has played it's part in setting me on this current path. If I changed even one event, the house of cards would tumble.

20. I'm a diest, and I don't think that "god" is a personality, sitting up in heaven or on the top of a mountain, watching and listening, and taking part in our lives. I think of "god" in terms of the Tao and of Nature. Energy is eternal, but the consciousness of the Universe is much more complex than that of one individual being, or pantheon of beings, for that matter. I think the pantheons describe and manifest qualities of ourselves, of nature, of the Universe, but they are just representations, just characters, and models, to help us understand and explain not only the Universe, but also ourselves. We are a way for the Universe to know itself.

21. I do believe in faeries. If you think that's corny, that's too bad for you. :P

22. I like red wine, rosé, and sweet white wine. I also drink absinthe, and contrary to it's odious reputation, it does not cause madness. Newer studies have shown that it's actually the high levels of alcohol, rather than the miniscule content of the wormwood, that caused mental and physical problems for the absinthe drinkers of yesteryear. It's like any other liquer or grain alcohol : moderation is key.

23. I'm a Trekkie, married to a Trekkie. It's like being shipwrecked on nerd paradise!

24. I'm a natural redhead. It used to be spiral-curly, but a few years ago, it went straight. It's a mystery! (I think maybe it's because of the minerals in the water over here.)

25. I don't have kids. I'm not going to have kids. That's my business, and my right, so will the rest of the world please lay off already?! What, there's a shortage of humans? There's a global need for me to procreate so that humanity doesn't die off? . . . Yeah, I thought not.

26. Carey Grant and Gary Oldman are two of my favourite actors.

27. Neil Gaiman, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Barbara G. Walker are three of my favourite authors.

28. I love a good murder mystery! The best part is figuring out who did it. (fuck you, Agatha Christie!)

29. I've been reading Tarot since I was 14.

30. I make wishes on stars, and clocks that say 11:11, and birthday candles.

And now I've tagged you, dear reader, to post 30 Random Facts about yourself on your blog. (^_^) Get out those mirrors, and start blogging!

Albino Faerie WIP... part 2

2011-03-04T05:19:00.000-08:00

So it seems she's coming along more smoothly now... wow, she can be so temperamental! She started behaiving better after I resketched Mr. Mouse and added a few butterflies and moths; I guess she likes their company (^_^)

I started working on the background and the border, both coming along a bit slowly, but I'm going to add more details into the border, and I feel that once I get started on the pattern, it's going to pick-up the pace.

I wonder what's in the box . . . ? ? ! !

An albino faerie WIP

2011-02-28T05:22:00.000-08:00

Sketching something new... She's temperamental, even argumentative, but the conversation is stimulating. Moths. White Mice. A mystery...

Typically, I sketch figures in the nude, before I add clothing. It's helpul, particularly when adding fold lines and fabric shadows. I'm not certain if she's going to be partially nude, or not... she hasn't made up her mind yet.

She's an albino (as is the little mouse on her shoulder,) which makes her the second painting in the blossoming series of albino faeries. ("Gift" being the first.)

I'm fairly certain that there will be a decorative border in this peice, something with moths in it, but for the moment, that's all I know of it.

*sparkles and shivers*

Blue Moon (new painting)

2011-02-19T08:36:00.001-08:00

"Blue Moon" (mixed media on wood)

The third project from Willowing's M3 course ( http://willowing.ning.com ) :
A mermaid, painted on wood, inspired by the style of Marc Chagall

Surprisingly, I really got into this project!

Although I like Chagall, it's so totally different from my own style, that I was hesitant to even take on the challenge of encorporating his elements and signature style into my own painting... But I took a chance, and wow, I'm so thrilled that I did! I'm relaly happy with my little painting, even moreso than with the previous two (both Mucha and Klimt were well within my comfort zone.)

A 15 x 15 cm wooden block is the base; I used Neocolour II crayons, white acrylic paint, graphite pencil, and just a tiny touch of coloured pencil. When it was done, I glazed the painting with gel medium, to seal in the colour and give it just a hint of gloss.

I love working on wood! This is my 5th painting on it. I'd never used water soluable crayons on wood before, though, so this was an interesting experiment for me. The wood really does absorb a lot of the saturation, but I found that when I wet the surface first, and then applied the crayon, I got a much more saturated and thick application of paint, which was helpful in the areas that I wanted to be more pigmented.

The idea of a dreamscape, which is often suggested in Chagall's work, was really appealing to me. I tried to create a space where it might be in the sea, or it might be in the sky... perhaps it's both places at once. The moon is harmonious with the ocean, and to me, both symbolize feminity, emotions, cycles, change, dreams, intuition, and profound feelings and thoughts.

The mermaid is cradling the moon, perhaps about to kiss her glowing cheek, and both their eyes are closed, with thoughful, quiet expressions... they are shaing thought, feeling the same feeling, two-yet-one, and one-yet-two. The moon is also a pearl, and it is also the mermaid's face, it is of the sky, of the sea, and of the body, embraced, but free.

The two fish are swimming towards each other, choosing different paths, but they share a common goal. I also liked the Piscean aspect of the two fish, as Pisces brings a lot of dreamy, changable, and emotional attributes.

The little dots of white might be stars, they might be bubbles within the water, they might be ripples on the surface of the water... they are all three.

"Une Ange de Compassion" (new painting)

2011-02-15T06:37:00.001-08:00

This was a really fun painting to make... It's the first time that I've painted a large angel, and the first time I've used watersoluable crayons, too (both experiences being quite rewarding!) It is inspired by Week 3 of Willowing's Mythical Making workshop at http://willowing.ning.com. The project was to create a mixed media angel, representing compassion and safety, in the style of Alphonse Mucha.

Mucha is one of my most favourite painters in the whole wide world, and has always been a major influence on my work. It was wonderful to have a conversation with his spirit while sketching for this painting.

Although I deviated from the suggested mediums (I didn't use acrylics, stamping, or leaf,) I did stay with "mixed media" by using water soluable crayons, watercolour (pans and pencils) and coloured pencil.

It's done on 36 x 48 cm watercolour paper (200g/m2)and was worked over 4 days, within a 2 week period. The sketch was one day, most of the painting was done in another, and then I took two days to fine tune the details.

I called it "Une Ange de Compassion" (An Angel of Compassion) and I wanted it to be as if the flowers are pouring from her heart...

details :

Just before finishing the painting, I learned that my grandmother passed away... Coming back to work on the painting, a week later, there was something comforting about it, and I found that the angel's expression started to change a bit... she was telling me, "everything will be ok." <3

As an added point of interest, I asked my husband too look up the astrological chart for this painting (using the time and date of when it was finished) and he said that the asteroid "angel" was almost exactly overhead... I thought that was pretty cool!

Life Book Registration Begins on the 1st of Oct. !!!

2011-01-10T00:15:00.000-08:00

Hooray, hooray! Registration for the Life Book course begins TODAY!

I'm also happy to announce that I will be doing TWO lessons, as a guest teacher: the first, and the last months. I'll also be adding a little secret something as a supliment goodie in the middle. Woot!

Are you ready to create a book that is unique and splendiferous ?! A book that is wonderful and colourful ?! A book that is made with paper, paint, heart, soul... and glitter ?!

Click here to view more details & to register

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-22T04:15:00.000-08:00

Make your own digital greeting card

25 hand-made Christmas cards... and counting!

2010-12-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

Wowza...
This year I decided to make all of my cards by hand. What an undertaking it has been! Involved work, but well worth it, and absolutely enjoyed! Although, I'm not certain I'll do it again next year, LOL!

I managed to get pics of most of them:

They've all been sent on their merry way, mostly across the sea... safe travels little cards! And Happy Holidays to All ! <3

2011 Art Calendars are here !

2010-11-25T04:11:00.001-08:00

Hooray! 2011 Calendars featuring my original art are now on sale!
Order them now to give as holiday gifts (worldwide shipping!)

A Year Full of Whimsy
12 Month Desk Calendar featuring whimsical works of art. Full colour Images, spiral bound, glossy cardstock pages

PLUS! The 1st day of every month has a special message, to begin each month with inspiration, encouragement, and smiles!

2011 : Café Tous les Jours
12 Month Wall Calendar featuring coffee-themed works of art. Full colour Images, spiral bound, glossy paper pages

For more details, and to order calendars visit http://www.BonnieRoseArtiste.com

Halloween : dressing up

2010-10-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

A nod to Death (of the Endless) <3

Pass It Around

2010-10-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

Dali has a recycling/upcycling crafting extravaganza DVD hot off the press!

"Dali's very first crafting DVD! In this dvd you learn how Dali turns trash to treasure, using recycled materials for art and crafting projects. Literally loaded with project ideas you can do yourself, with your children or friends. Frugal, inexpensive, fun projects for all! Be good to the environment and recycle while you create!"

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60333671/do-it-yourself-with-dali?fref=fb_itemlist

Willowing has a free healing art course on her Ning site!

Loads of mixed media and whimsy techniques, as well as heartfelt healing and Non-Violent-Communication goodness! Click this image to go to the course --->

Boogaart

2010-10-30T05:00:00.001-07:00

This is Boogaart...

He wants you to come a little closer...Close enough to nibble on your soul! Muuhaha!

He actually does put out quite an eerrie vibe. When I was placing him on the table, after he'd been carved adn cleaned and was ready to light, Ola (underfoot, as usual) started growling and huffing at him. Now that really gave me the creeps!

I curried the bits that I carved out, and on Monday or Tuesday the rest of him will be transformed into a sweet treat (pie or bread). Mmmm, evil pumpkin head... yuuummmy!

Halloween is almost here....

2010-10-28T15:06:00.001-07:00

The festival of fear is almost here... normally I'd be over-excited about it, but this year, just clearing the cloud of death that's covered my path, I'm not nearly as cheerful about the holiday as I otherwise would be.

However, I did decorate the apartment and I'm planning to carve my Jack O'Lantern tomorrow night. I really hope there'll be trick-or-treaters this year (France is still figuring out that Halloween is an awesome holiday, and that giving treats to begging kids in costumes is actually a fun thing to do!) I'm not planning to dress up much this year, but I do have my go-to witchy hat (and I'm making a matching one for Ola! Oh, she'll be thrilled...)

Dispite all the mourning and sadness that I'm trying to shake myself out of, I've put my mind to it : it will be a fun Halloween!

See you in space, cowboy...

2010-10-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

Jack L. Brizzi, Jr.
25 Oct 1976 - 27 Sept. 2010

Jack was one of the most honourable and loyal people I've ever known. His strength of conviction, his sense of justice, and his generous heart were unshakable, unstopable, and always inspiring. Jack was, above all other things, a gentleman, and the kind of man I was proud to call my friend, my brother-of-the-heart.

Always, he will be missed by those who knew him. Although we mourn his passing from this Earthly form, Jack lives on forever in our memories and in our hearts. I will carry his smile and his kindness with me, where ever I go.

May the Gates of Valhalla stand open wide to receive him, Jack Brizzi, Jr., a man of courageous spirit, who lived his life by a code of honour and respect, and always stood strong for his friends. Give him a seat in the Great Hall, fill his cup to the brim, and let the Hosts of the Sky sing songs of his graces and his valour!

We ask that his spirit have safe and pleasant passage into the next life, wherever his destiny takes him. Someday, we shall meet again, my cosmic brother, my Dragon friend.

Ola's 12th birthday

2010-09-24T00:14:00.001-07:00

Ola's birthday was on the 19th... OMGlitter she's 12!

Ola is a female wire fox terrier, who was adopted from a local shelter in Feb. 2010. She was 11 years old, with several chronic health problems, and in serious need of a bubble bath! Because of her age, she was free (since nobody wanted an old pooch like her.)

Now, she's in wonderful health for her age (still has a sensitive hip, but it's much improved!) she's a healthy weight (almost blubbery) and has regained a playful and energetic joie-de-vivre!

For her 12th birthday, Ola wore a special pink crown (she was surprisingly agreeable about it!) and had a delcious mini birthday cake, smothered in stinky gravy... fit for a princess!

Happy Birthday, Ola ! <3

3 New Collages

2010-09-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a busy day! I did three new artworks, each a collage, using pages from an old English dictionary.

This is the first time I've used dictionary pages in artworks, and I must say, I love it! In the past, I have hand-written word deffinitions into collages, but being able to rip-and-snip right from the book was a fun and fascinating process.

I chose some words that I liked... some are personal to me, and some are just things that I liked the look of, or the sound of. I tried to enorporate a few of the book's illustrations, here and there, too.

"Garden of Knowledge" was the first

Followed by "cof'fee n."

And then "Scorpion" (which was actually created on the 13th, which I think is spiffy!)

Mamut loves spanks (RIP the Queen of Everything!)

2010-09-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Mamut... I miss you already!

2010-09-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

It's ofiicial: Today SUCKS.

First Kira San... and now Mamut, the family cat.

I just heard, my mother-in-law took Mamut to the vet for The Big Sleep...

She was being treated for a severe bite on her neck, and today she was diagnosed with feline AIDS. The infection in her neck bite spread to her liver, and her white blood cell count was almost nil. Poor sweet kitty.

We will miss you Mamut, the Queen of Everything!

I'm going to find a big rock, climb under it, and hide until tomorrow.
Today has just been too fucking sad.

Kira San : Happy Travels and Rest in Peace

2010-09-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

So strange.
I just did his portrait a few days ago...
Yesterday, I posted a blog about it...
This morning, he's gone.

Kira San died quickly and peacefully this morning, under his water bottle. It looked like he got up, had a drink, and then curled up in the corner for a bath and a nap (as he often does after a water sip.) Lucien noticed that he was still, not breathing. When I picked him up, he was still warm, and there were no signs of blood, urine, or struggle. We think Death came quickly, plucked his spirit, and vanished.

Kira San's neck had been crooked for about 2 months. We suspected a stroke, but when I felt his neck this morning, I could feel a little boney bump. It seems he had broken it (probably from jumping off his box or his cube... that little acrobat!) Although his head was tilted, he ate, drank, dug, ran, and fussed around as usual, and didn't seem to be in pain. He adjusted, and his hamstery business went on as it always had.

He had his 2nd birthday in April, so in hamster-years, Kira San was about 88 years old. (His breed, Roborovski dwarf, lives 2 - 3 years.)

Happy Travels across the Universe, and Rest in Peace, funny old man!
You're probably off chasing your sister, Bianca, across the stardust of the Milky Way.
We'll always love you, Kira San, little puff of light.

Whimsical Animals

2010-09-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

This week's lesson of Tamara Laporte's World of Whimsy 2 workshop has been so inspiring! We've been making funny little animals... I had such a great time discovering new ways of making little fuzzy critter people!

"Kira San"
watercolour, acrylic, and graphite on paper
10 x 15 cm

This is a portrait of my white-faced Roborovski dwarf hamster, Kira San (his name is Japanese, and it means Mr. Light)... he's crazy about peanuts, as you can see!

I used some metalic gold acrylic paint that, sadly, didn't want to show up properly in the photos. The actual painting has a golden gossimer shimmer.

"Drummer Bunny"
acrylic, graphite, and collage/ink transfer on wood
15 x 15 cm

"Drummer Bunny" is the first painting I've ever done on wood... although I was intimidated at the start, I really got into it, and now I'm certain I'll be doing more wood-based artworks in the days to come.

This is also the first time I've successfully managed an ink transfer! I used some of the music sheets, which I transfered onto the acrylic paint layers with acrylic gel medium, leaving a few bits of the paper during the rubbing-off phase of the transfer, because I really liked the subtle grunginess it created, giving a slight textural collaged effect to the background.

This painting was inspired by someone I know... it's a sort of imagined and whimsified portrait. I love the way it turned out; it really makes me smile (^_^)

"hello Mr. Zebra"
acrylic paint, watercolour, graphite, coloured pencil, in pen, collage/ink transfer, glitter on paper
10 x 15 cm

I finished this one last night... I'm loving these animals! (^_^)<3

This painting is an illustration of the Tori Amos song, "Mr. Zebra"

The lyric is: "Hello Mr. Zebra, can I have your sweater? 'cause it's cold, cold, cold in my hole, hole, hole..."

I used the sheet music from the song in the background.

Layers upon layers of acrylic paint, watercolours, coloured pencil, acrylic medium ink transfer, collage, and glitter. (Sadly the lavender glitter doesn't show up in the scan, it looks blackish-greyish... the whole painting is shimmering with it, as well as green glitter in her eyes, and iridescent glitter on the "bubbles")

This is the first time I've tried the bubble-wrap technique. I think it worked well. (even better than I had expected!) Overall, I'm really pleased with how the whole piece turned out. It went through a few "disasterous" phases before I got the colours just as I wanted them, so I'm glad I stuck with it!

Artist Interview

2010-08-31T01:18:00.000-07:00

I was the first in the new series of Artist Interviews at Willowing & Artist Friends (http://willowing.ning.com). A great big thanks to Tam and everyone at W&AF *hugs and sparkles* for the love and support!

And now, onto the interview :

1. Who are you and how would you describe your work/ art?

I am Bonnie Rose Bryan, a woman and an artist, made of stardust.

Primarily, I’m a figurative artist; my specialties are the female figure and the “fantasy” genre (particularly faeries.) All of my work contains personal elements, and I often infuse spiritual currents and sacred archetypes into my work. Typically, my mediums of choice are watercolours, acrylics, coloured pencils, and ink pens; I have quite a variety of mediums under my belt, but those four seem to be the ones I reach for the most.

2. Who or what inspires you to create?

In a nutshell: colour, nature, aesthetics, music, spirituality, my moods, and my conversations with the Universe.

With my figurative works, I think the inspiration behind the work can be quite evident (for example, I like coffee and I like purple, so I paint a purple coffee cup.) However, there are some paintings which come to me from the outside-in. I often feel, especially with my faerie portraits, that the images come in a sort of intuitive messages and conversation with the faeries, and with other subjects, the inspiration comes from messages and conversations with the Universe… I don’t always know who’s sending the signal, only that I’m receiving it.

3. What is lying on your art desk today?

At the moment, I have one mixed media work in process, a large portrait of Green Tara, which has been lying on the shelf, untouched for quite sometime, and is next on my list of things to finish.

I don’t actually have an art desk, per se. My studio (more like art storage) space is shared with the office. Much to my dismay, my art-making space is very impermanent, and has to cooperate with meals, my husband, and a rather clingy fox terrier. For small drawings, I’ll often work on the tiny corner of free space next to my keyboard. For small paintings, I usually work on a little wooden folding table, either in the office, or while sitting on sofa in the living room. Larger works are done on the dining table, or I’ll set up the easel in the living room, in front of the windows. When I’m not painting, everything gets packed up and tucked away, where it sleeps, while I go about the non-painting parts of my day-to-day.

4. Out of everything you've ever painted, what is your favourite painting/ creation and why?

Ouch… this is a difficult question to answer!

If I had to choose a favourite from my recent works (within the last 10 years,) it’s a toss-up between “La Tristesse” (an acrylic) and “Sharing Secrets” (a watercolour).

I consider them to be two of my best works, and at the time of their creation, each was a technical accomplishment for me in both of their respective mediums. Both include deep esoteric and emotional undercurrents, which appeals to me. The depth, gossamer glow, and soft rendering in “La Tristesse” always surprises me (Did I really paint this?)

I love the jewel toned colours and all of the decorative details in ”Sharing Secrets”. That painting always makes me feel satisfied, accomplished, and glittery on the inside. (It also features a moth, a symbol that pops up in a few of my works, which has a special significance for me).

5. What is your favourite piece of art by another painter/artist?

Oh, this is equally as difficult as the last question! The works of Brian Froud, Alfonse Mucha, and Vincent Van Gogh have always touched me so deeply, and been such tremendous sources of inspiration throughout my life. Almost anything and everything from those three saints of paint would fall into my “I’m in love, it makes me swoon” category.

6. What is the worst bit of art advice anyone has ever given you?

“You have to make sketches first.” This was an anthem in my university art classes, and I spent countless hours forcing out sketches for pieces that were more than ready to be painted. Lots and lots of sketches… sketches until my eyes could blur shut and my hands could fall off… sketches until I had no will left to paint anything at all. What utter nonsense! When the baby’s coming, you breathe and you push, you don’t say “hang on a while, kid, I gotta make an itinerary and a blueprint first.”

“Have to…” this is art, there is no have to!

I tend to work on things in my head, and when it’s ready to come out, I make it. Sometimes I have no idea what I’m going to make, until I put the brush to the canvas!

From time to time I have done sketches to work out parts that aren’t finished baking in my head, or isn’t coming through clearly from the cosmic conversation, and sometimes I sketch to jot down ideas for artworks that I plan to work on later. But, I can’t make a painting wait, just because it hasn’t been planned and practiced down to the finest detail – to make it wait is counter productive and creatively stifling, and I certainly don’t consider the pre-planning of artwork to be a mandatory and necessary precursory step to the actual making of it.

7. What is the best bit of art advice anyone has ever given you?

Two things: “Paint it however you want.” and “So what if nobody else likes it or understand it.” Following those bits of wisdom has made an enormous impact on my work, and the personal satisfaction I get from the process of making it (as well as enjoying the finished results.) I cannot and will not please everyone, nor do I aim to, but I can strive to be true to myself and my art.

In my opinion, art-making shouldn’t be about rules. It’s not about making work to please other people and fulfil their expectations of how my art should be, either. If I wanted to paint with a set of rigid instructions and inflexible absolutes, and paint it to the specifications of someone else’s ideals, I’d simply and exclusively do paint-by-numbers.

I’m of the opinion that in art making, nothing is mandatory and no technique is absolute. If I want to scrub with my brush until the bristles fall out, or use a “watercolour” brush with acrylic paints, I will! If a faerie says to me, “I’m blue,” well then, she’s blue, and if she changes her mind half way through, she might turn out purple instead… If I want to have a yellow sky and an upside down tree, so be it! I just go with the flow.

Just like the infamous Bob Ross, I regard each piece as a little world, and in my world, I can make it any way I want to. My artistic process is highly intuitive and personal, where “normal” and “traditional” may or may not be invited.

8. Have you ever put your paintbrush in your cup of tea by mistake?

Haha! Oi vey, if only I had a coin for every time I’ve put a paint brush into a cup of tea or a glass of wine, I could buy myself a paint factory.

9. What is the strangest medium/material you've ever worked with?

The strangest mediums: blueberry juice, for painting… strips of textured plastic mesh from potato sacks (which I knit into gold fish, for an assemblage work.) … and a digital scanner, for making auto portraits.

10. What hopes and dreams do you have for your art & future?

I hope, firstly, for the time to continue making it on a daily basis, secondly, for the ability to improve and hone my skills, and thirdly, for the luck and prosperity to sell more of it.

11. If you couldn't be an artist in this life, what other job or hobby would you really want to give a go?

If I were not an artist, I would not be myself… Art is so interwoven into the fabric of me; I’d have to be someone else in order to stop making it.

Being a rock star would fun, of course! Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, stage-fright is the major culprit who holds me back from more seriously pursuing my musical interests, but I do enjoy playing in the privacy of my home. I suppose if I didn’t make art, I would spend more time rehearsing and improving musically, if only for a hobby, not necessarily for a career choice.

While in school, if I had been at all clever with maths, the slightest bit capable of suffering through chemistry lab, and had actually been more practical and studious, rather than spending hours getting dirty with art supplies, it’s likely that I would have pursued a career in either veterinarian medicine or forensic psychology, both of which hold great interest to me.

12. What are your favourite 5 art related websites or blogs?

Of course, I’m quite fond of www.willowing.org ! I’m a frequent visitor to www.worldoffroud.com, where I can keep up to date on Froud goodies, and also discover new faerie artists via the webring. Although it’s not specifically an art site, I spend a lot of time reading and researching about artists and art history on www.wikipedia.com I enjoy reading random blogs and discovering artwork on the 2 Ning groups I belong to: willowing.ning.com and garyreef.ning.com (hugs and sparkles to all the Ning-a-ling artists!)

13. Give a shout out to a fellow artist whose work and/or person & energy you really love!

Without sounding like a total butt-kisser, Tamara Laporte has been one of the most motivating and inspiring artists I know… I always look forward to a new video, blog post, and artwork from Tam. Her energy is so positive and uplifting, and I always feel so at home on her Ning group, where the inspiration, support, and joie de vivre is so amazingly abundant. Thanks for sharing the energy, love, and art, Tam!

14. If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring artists, what would it be?

Make art. Make it as often as you can. If you don’t pick up that brush or that pencil and actually make a mark, you’ll never advance in your artistic journey. Take it one step at a time, but take the step!

I think a lot of people are overwhelmed by the fear of failure, succumbing to the whisperings of the gremlins who say, “you can’t… you won’t… you don’t know how to…” and so, ultimately they do fail, because they never allow themselves the chance to begin.

We all learn and grow by experience, by doing, by trying. Remember, we all begin at the beginning, even the greatest art masters started with scribbles and stick figures (and some of them kept on scribbling, too!) If you feel like you need some guidance in your techniques then take an art course, check out books about art, or watch tutorials online; whatever helps you feel confident, whatever helps to motivate and support you in actually making your art, is a good thing!

To be the artist you want to be, MAKE ART

. . . and make it the way you want to, no matter what anybody says!

Meatless Monday -- curry style!

2010-08-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

This week's Vegan Delight is Apricot Chutney!

Take a few handfuls of apricots, remove the pits, and chop them into pieces. Toss into a small sauce pan, add a generous amount of olive oil, a couple spoons of water, and simmer until it's soft and gooey. Mix in curry powder, salt, and a few pinches of sugar. If you want it smoother (less chunky) then pour it into a processor, and blend to your preferred consistency.

You can serve this chutney over rice, noodles, or taters. It's great with sweet veggies (like beets) on the side.

Food for Thought :

Eating 1 lb of meat produces the same amount of greenhouse gases as driving an SUV 40 miles.

A 2006 United Nations report found that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined. (1)

Greenhouse gases cause global warming, which studies show will increasingly lead to catastrophic disasters—like droughts, floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels, and disease outbreaks—unless we drastically reduce the amounts emitted into the atmosphere.

Raising animals for their flesh, eggs, and milk is one of the world’s leading emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2). But global warming is caused by more than just CO2. Animal agriculture is the leading source of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which—combined with carbon dioxide—causes the vast majority of global warming.

* Methane: The billions of farmed animals crammed into factory farms produce enormous amounts of methane, both during digestion and from the acres of cesspools filled with feces that they excrete. Methane is more than 20 times as powerful as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere.(2)

Statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency show that animal agriculture is the number one source of methane emissions in the U.S.(3)

* Nitrous Oxide: Nitrous oxide is about 300 times more potent as a global warming gas than carbon dioxide. According to the U.N., the meat, egg, and dairy industries account for a staggering 65 percent of worldwide nitrous oxide emissions. (4)

Sources:
1 H. Steinfeld et al., Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, Livestock, Environment and Development (2006).
2 "Global Warming: Methane," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 8 Mar. 2006.
3 "Sources and Emissions: Methane," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2 Jun. 2006.
4 Steinfeld et al.

Eat. Think. Feel. Be well.

<3

Burritos! Meatless Monday ... belated

2010-08-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

This week's Meatless Monday post is a day late, sorry... I was caught up with visiting family yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to post. However, my Tuesday is just as meatless as my Monday, so it's all good!

Food for Thought :

Vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and they have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters.

(sources:
Elizabeth Somer, "Eating Meat: A Little Doesn't Hurt," WebMD, 1999.
Neal Barnard, M.D., The Power of Your Plate, Book Publishing Co.: Summertown, Tenn., 1990, p. 26. )

This week's Vegan Delight is: Burritos!

Made with soy proteins (you might know it as veggie crumble,) onions, tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, herbs & spices, and some giant cherry tomatoes on the side.

I buy my soy proteins dry, rather than pre-cooked and frozen, so I boiled the granules in water (with some oil, salt, and cumin powder,) for about 25 min. to flavour and soften them.

While the proteins were cooking, I sautéed diced onion and yellow bell pepper in a hot skillet with olive oil, then added diced tomatoes, minced garlic, cumin powder, a few dashes of dried basil and sage, black pepper, salt, and a couple pinches of chili powder. Once the veggies were ready, I added the soy proteins, plain tomato sauce, a pinch of sugar, and gave it a good stir.

I spooned the mix (2 Tbs. each) into soft tortillas, and rolled them up, with a little drizzle of olive oil and some dried parsley as a garnish. Yum !

Here's an idea: If you don't have soy protein granules/veggie crumble, just break apart a veggie burger, crumble some tofu, or use beans, instead.

I hope your Meatless Monday was delicious!

Eat. Think. Feel. Be well <3

.

A beautiful day in Vichy

2010-08-06T04:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took a trip to Vichy with the family... had an all-day walk about and a picnic at Parc Naponléon, and a couple stops for coffee at some cute cafés.

Lucien gave me a birthday prezzie early: a kickass Kodax digital camera, with 10 megapixels! <3 (Love you, honey!) I was a picture snappin' fool dall day.

The light was perfect for taking sweet shots of plants in the park...

Lucien got some fun pics of me, too . . .

In the Parc Napoléon, by the "Source des Fées" (spring of the fairies,) one of the many water springs in Vichy.

Good times on the train, going home . . .

You know an outing without an autoportrait isn't possible from me . . .

A few shots of the passing countryside. Bales of hay, rivers, and sunflower fields.

Ola was totally zonked by the end of the trip.

So adorable, in her little travel bag (^_^) Cute, but heavy as hell! She's just a lttle over 10 kilos (22-ish lbs) now, which is significantly more than the 6 and ahalf kilos she weighed when I brought her home, in Feb. Although I'm glad she's a healthy weight now (my brain is glad, my back and shoulders however, are not...) she could use a little diet to shed off half a kilo. Time to cut back on bread nibbles!

Such a beautiful day. *sighs*
Tonight, I'm off to hide in the mountain pines for the weekend!

Ciao, à bientot!

Shushing the Gremlins of Fear

2010-08-04T01:35:00.000-07:00

Art is a journey. Some roads are smoother than others.

I used to struggle with a powerful Fear of Failure... it stopped me from finishing things...

Sometimes I still feel the fear seize me, in mid paint, I think "this is awful, I ruined it, just stop now before it gets any worse!" I used to put enormous pressure on myself to make every single artwork "perfect" from start to finish, perfect the whole way through... and because of that, I finished very little.

But now, even though the Fear of Failure gremlin whispers unsettling things to me, I keep pushing on, and I try my best to see the painting through to the end. If I had listened to those gremlins, and stopped making the paintings, you'd see about half as many works in my gallery.

The best way I found to overcome this artistically debilitating fear is simple :
Finish it. Even if it comes out "ugly" and "wonky" and "all wrong." Finish it

The more you push through the fear barrier, the more things you actually do finish, the more you'll start to see how your work evolves, how your processes look as you go through the stages of work, and over time you'll begin to trust yourself and your process more and more, because experience will have shown you that you CAN make lovely art.

Most artworks go through "wonky" phases, where they look unfinished and weird... but don't despair! It is unfinished, so it looks unfinished... nothing wrong about that. Some artworks are late bloomers, and it may take them a little longer to find there way to "finished," but in the end, most of them make it there.

And so what if you "mess it up" ?! Sometimes art making is about the process, about the journey, about practicing and perfecting your skills, rather than making a "perfect" picture every time and all the time.

This is one reason why we doodle... a doodle doesn't have the expectation of "perfection," it's just free and goes with the flow, and sometimes it comes out looking awesome and sometimes it's just a big loopy mess. But does it matter? Nopes. It's a doodle, and doodles will do, just as they are. Well, import a little of that doddle-spirit into your journal, your sketchbook, and your canvases : and let the images evolve, let them emerge, let them be free, without the fear of "ruining" the page.

And so what if it comes out blotched and askew, and all mucked up... it's not as if you don't have another page that follows, and another, and another... You always have more pages, and more paints, and more images to create. Some of them will be beautiful, and some will be special in an ugly-fugly-messed up sort of way.

And you know what?! It's totally ok.

Coming into focus

2010-08-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, my horoscope knows me oh so well!

From my FaceBook horoscope ap : "Life direction, long-range goals, or career aims come into focus now. You gain clarity or a stronger sense of purpose, which energizes your efforts to get ahead or move toward what you really want. Recognition or support from your superiors or others who are in a position to assist you is likely now, especially if you take some initiative."

This is particularly poignent, as just yesterday, I started editing the videos for my upcoming watercolour course.

Gives me chills! ... the good kind (^_^)

Meatless Monday : Vegan Delight of the Day & Food for Thought (2 August 2010)

2010-08-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

♥ Meatless Monday ♥

This is the first of what will be a weekly post about going meatless on Mondays (a wonderful campaign started by Paul and Stella McCartney.)

You don't have to become a vegetarian. You don't have to become a vegan. You don't have to radically change your life over night to make radical differences in your health, your spirit, and your planet, too...

You can, however, make the choice to not eat meat on Monday, and in doing so, you create a massive positive impact on your body, your planet, and the lives of others.

Now me, I'm a vegan, so everyday is Meatless Monday for me, but I'd like to share a picture of a delicious vegan meal (the Vegan Delight of the Day) and little Food for Thought about vegetarianism, about the impact that the meat industry has on our planet, on your health, my health, everyone's health, and about how it feels really good to eat delicious and compassionate food.

Think. Feel. Eat. Be well.

Vegan Delight of the Week :

Awesome salads!
Artichoke hearts, palm hearts, red cabbage, radishes, giant sweet-&-sour pickle, and gooseberries from the garden on a bed of basmati rice and lamb's lettuce. Drizzled with olive oil, dried herbs and Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

Yum!

Food for Thought: Livestock in the USA produces approx. 30x more excrement than humans. Humans in the USA have sewage systems to collect & treat waste, there are no such systems on feedlots. Most of this waste leeches into water, which means large-scale, massive production & slaughter of animals is not only unethical, but it also causes serious environmental degradation.

Industrial livestock farming is the leading cause of water pollution in the USA.

Even if you don't live in America, you live on Planet Earth, so clearly, this effects you, too.

What can you do? Simple : Don't eat meat today.
One small ripple contributes to the greater wave.

Radiant

2010-07-31T02:58:00.000-07:00

"I don't want to die! I want to stay here in the beautiful sun..."

_Charlotte's Web_ by E.B. White
This book changed my life. ♥

This is a mixed media ATC (2.5" x 3.5") created for the monthly Art Trading group at willowing.ning.com. July's theme was Favourite Children's Book, so of course I was doing this book!

It's titled : "Radiant (Wilbur & Charlotte)" and made with paper collage, ink, graphite, coloured pencils, and acrylic paints on paper and cardstock.

_Charlotte's Web_ is my all-time fav book from my childhood... I made my mom read about a million times, and when I learned to read it myself, I read it a million more! I still have the well-loved and rainwaterstained paperback copy , a childhood treasure.

And yes, it really did change my life...

16 October 1980, my 8th birthday, sitting in a touristy restaurant in Niagara Falls, Canada, it occurred to me that my slice of Canadian bacon used to be a living, breathing, loving animal... it used to be Wilbur. And Wilbur certainly didn't want to die. I sat there starring at it, thinking, "If I eat this pig, that means I murdered it." Honestly folks, that didn't sit well with me at all. From that moment on, I swore off eating pigs, because I could not, in all good conscience, bear the pain and guilt of having murdered Wilbur (or any other pig who might as well have been him.)

That day was the first day of my journey into vegetarianism, and now I can say, in all sincerity and with jubilation: Today, I didn't murder anybody's best friend.

If you don't own it already, go get it! You'll be so glad you did (^_^)

http://www.amazon.com/Charlottes-Web-E-B-White/dp/0064410935/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280569475&sr=8-1

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Ginkgo : portrait of a dryad

2010-07-29T04:36:00.001-07:00

Portrait of a ginkgo tree dryad
watercolour and coloured pencil on paper
July 2010

In Greek mythology, a dryad is a tree nymph/spirit, who not only lives in the tree, but is also part of it. This particular dryad is part of a ginkgo tree, a tree of memory, grace, and tenacity.

I've had the image of this painting in my head for several weeks... she appeared, and she waited, patient, but ever present. The painting first came to my mind while I was walking Ola by the park, where there is a cluster of tall, gorgeous ginkgos. I saw some of the delicate leaves on the pavement, morning sunlight trickling over their veins, and then POW, the painting appeared. I'm happy to say that her portrait came out exactly as I saw her in my mind's eye.

Whimsy

2010-07-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've been trying my hand at a more whimiscal style lately, thanks to the teachings and inspirations of the wonderful Willowing (Tamara Laporte,) and her World of Whimsy 2 art course. Yay!

Here are two of my sketches from the first week of the course:

I'm loving the WOW2 course, everyone's wonderful, sharing lots of artmaking and possitive feedback -- so good for the heart!

I like to experiment with different art styles, which keeps my mind and my work fresh, motivated, and constantly evolving. Simplifying my lines, and focusing on a more childlike/playful way of making art has really lifted my spirits during this rainy, gloomy week, and I've had a really fresh surge of artistic inspiration!

A few of little whimsy-ish things I've done since yesterday:

(Pomme, which means apple, in French)

(Hathor, an Egyptian Goddess)

(heart beats, a tiny portrait of Björk)

Inspired. Motivated. Pleased as punch. (^_^)

Hathor, mixed media painting

2010-07-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

" Hathor "

For this painting, I used :watercolour, coloured pencil, ink, and acrylic paint on medium grain watercolour paper.

(The size is 4" x 6" )

I wanted to add some hieroglyphics, so I did some searching online, and I found how to make the symbol for Hathor's name (which is a hawk (Horus) in a square (temple), with a smaller square (temple hat) to the side, representing the sounds of her name Hat-Hor, which is a compound of Horus in the Temple.

I also managed to find several sites for translating my own name, which was a little tricky, because I had to omit most of the vowels and double letters. I thought adding my own name, as a kind of signature, would be a nice touch. Originally, I intended to add a cartouche around my signature, but it just didn't work well with the composition, so in the end, I left it out.

The hieroglyphics on the left spell:
Goddess Hathor (followed by her Hathor's name symbol), beauty, power.

On the right spell:
Bonnie Rose (followed by the symbol for "woman", which comes at the end of a woman's name)

Although the scanner didn't capture it, I used metallic gold acrylic paint for the golden details on her necklace, hair, and sun disk, as well as on her upper eyelids.

The Egyptian Goddess, Hathor :

Often depicted with a cow's head, she is a Goddess of : the sky, love, beauty, music, alcoholic drinks, joy, and motherhood. She rules the direction West, and holds great power in the Underworld.

Female counterpart and wife of Thoth.

In a complicated relationship Hathor is at times the mother, daughter
and wife of Ra and, like Isis, is at times described as the mother of
Horus, and associated with Bast.

In some myths, she is another incarnation of Isis, as Isis is
decapitated by Horus, and her head is replaced with a cow's head.
Therefore, Hathor is sometimes considered to Isis-in-death. When humans
died, women became a form of Hathor, while men became a form of Osiris.

The Ancient Greeks identified Hathor with the goddess Aphrodite and the Romans as Venus.

a self-made chameleon

2010-07-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

Today, I said to Dax :

I think the multifaceted nature of our human existence, the ability to self-express as a self-made chameleon, can be one of the most wondrous things about our humanity. We are all confined in these bodies, but we go to extraordinary lengths to modify, redress, and recolour them, so that they may better explain to the world "this is how I feel, this is what I think." Awesomeness.

Onset... dealing with Doggie Dementia

2010-07-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

Ola's showing signs of Canine Dementia Syndrome, which is akin to Alzheimer's Disease. She'll be 12 years old in September, so it's not really surprising that she's showing signs of senility, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with.

For four days, she's been experiencing periods of irrational terror, paranoia, possibly hallucinating, wanting to hide in tiny, dark, and secluded places, seemingly lost and confused, not responding to her name or simple commands like "sit" and "come", exhibiting a drastic increase in her OCD, and refusing to accept her favourite treats.

Ola goes through phases of absolute terror (the like of which I've only seen in vet offices, moments before the doc puts a gloved finger up the doggie's bum,) sometimes lasting for 10 hours. And then, just as suddenly as the fear and confusion had come,they're gone-- *poof* she's happy and responsive again. Today, she's doing a lot better, and has been (mostly) her usual happy self, with the exception of 10-ish minutes, when she wanted to hide under Lucien's desk.

We think the heat is a contributing factor... We've been having a heatwave, with temperatures inside reaching 82°F, and humidity of 71%. It seems that when it's hotter, Ola's loopier. Thankfully, the heat is supposed to break today, and mellow out into the high 70's through the rest of the week. I'm hopeful this will give her some relief, and allow happy-sweet Ola to take control of her body again, because petrified-dementia Ola is a very unhappy girl.

We'll see how it goes... for now, I'm happy that she's happy, dreaming her dreamy doggie dreams on the bathroom floor, and I hope when she wakes, she'll know who I am, and she'll know that she's safe in her own home... in her own skin.

One for sorrow

2010-07-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

One for sorrow
(acrylic, graphite, coloured pencil, and ink on canvas)
20 x 20 cm

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told

(Traditional rhyme about the magpie)

I've had magpies on the brain lately, so I'm certain there are more magpie themed paintings to come.

For this particular painting, I had the idea in my head, clear and certain, before I sat down to make it. I'm happy to say that the finished work is remarkably close to the way I pictured it in my mind's eye! It's always nice when that happens. (^_^)

The rhyme, which has origins in the Ireland and the British Isles, is one of many similar versions. I find it intriguing, almost mesmerizing, as it speaks with a slight hint of esoterics, fundamental human truths, and mysteries.

Peacock Painting

2010-07-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

I started this (acrylic) painting in the late afternoon, took a break for dinner, and then picked up the brush again... Overall, I think it took about 4-5 hours. I'm really pleased with the finished work, which is a big surprise! Usually, I'm horribly self-critical when it comes to my art, but every once in a while, one surprises me.

Tomorrow morning, when there's better light, I'll take a good, clear photo for the site gallery (^_^)

There's no official name yet... I'm loathed to call it "peacock" . I'm all for litteralism, but, it tells me that it wants something more imaginative. I'll have to sleep on it.

8 July 2010

Footloose Portrait Challenge (Portrait of Gary)

2010-07-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Fabric Doves

2010-06-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

This past week, I've been making fabric doves, using a template from Spool

To make these birds, I salvaged the material from an old blouse and a clothing storage bag that had a damaged zipper. I strung them with beads that were all recycled from broken necklaces, and hung them in my living room (don't they look smashing with my curtains?!)

Three birds were left with the natural fabric colours, and two were tea-dyed to a slightly darker shade(the second and fouth birds are tea-dyed.)
Here's a slideshow with more photos:

I enjoyed making these so much, I started making a set of bluebirds, to hang in the office.
For these lovelies I used materials from an old skirt and trousers :

* tweet tweet *

Coffee Paintings

2010-06-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Mixed Media Collage : "I Nonni"

2010-06-04T14:01:00.001-07:00

While looking at some of the collages that I did last autumn, I got the itch to make something new... something more personal... something antique...

I started looking though my family photo albums, and I kept coming back to this same deep sepia portrait of my grandfather's parents. I think this was their engagement photo, or taken just after their wedding, circa 1922. I've always loved the "old world" look of this photo, and how they seemed so sweet together -- this was just the thing to use for a collage!

5 layers of paper and a whole mess of paint later, "I Nonni" (The Grandparents) was complete.

I really like the green petina of this little portrait -- there is a bit of golden shimmering paint that, sadly, didn't capture as well on the scanner as it does in person... I just love the gossimer effect... so dreamy.

Now that it's finished, and I'm satisfied, I think I'll look into getting some prints made for the family.

*dreamy sparkles of creative contentment*

Thoughts on abstracts

2010-06-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

This was my response to a blog post by Gary Reef (at garyreef.ning.com)

The topic was:

"...probably why abstract artists get such a wrap across the knuckles from realists because a lot (im not saying all) of abstract artist choose to work in that style because they can't draw. Is abstraction the easy way out for many artists? ... "

Since art is subjective, isn't it a moot point to say that some "can" or "cannot" draw?

It's all in the eye of the beholder... and no matter what, someone somwhere will find something "wrong" with what you draw, no matter how well developed your realistic technique might be.

Of course, it's not fair to say someone can't draw just because s/he makes an abstract painting. It makes as much sense as saying that I can't make a cake, just because I'm serving hummus and beans. When it comes to viewing an artwork, the potentials and skills that one might have in any other style are really quite irrelevant. When you see an abstract, see the abstract... when you see a realistic portrait, see the portrait...

I think it's human nature to be afraid of what we don't know, what we don't understand; our brains are always seeking familiarity, and that's why I think abstract painters have such a difficult time, and must constantly defend their artwork and prove their validity as artists, just because people can't glance at their work and know, instantly, what it means and represents. It's a shame, really, because those people who are afraid of abstract, and therefore thumb their noses at it, are really missing out on a lot of powerful and inspiring artwork. Too bad for them.

Art Quotes that feed my head and speak to my soul

2010-06-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known."
-Oscar Wilde

"Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists."
- Marcel Proust

"A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing."
- William Dobell

"All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness."
- Eckhart Tolle

"I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious."
- Andrew Wyeth

"The emotions are sometimes so strong that I work without knowing it. The strokes come like speech."
- Vincent Van Gogh

"Art is a fruit that grows in man, like a fruit on a plant, or a child in its mother’s womb."
- Jean Arp

"One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself."
- Leonardo da Vinci

"Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment."
- Claude Monet

"Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding."
- Pablo Picasso

Marie & Polka illustrations (Experimentation is awesomeness in action!)

2010-06-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been experimenting with style -- trying new approaches to my illustrative drawings, and discovering new ways of seeing and creating images.
Typically, I'm really hung up on form and I strive for a certain degree of realism in my work (the devil's in the details, always!) But I'm also drawn towards minimalism, and I love the mixture of subtle dimention and flat-pattern that's found in traditional Japanese paintings & woodblock prints...

So, with all that in mind, I decided to try a more minimalistic approach to a few drawings, throwing in a bit of mid-20th century mod, and a dash of contempo flare.
Over at Willowing's Ning, the monthly challenge theme is "girls and bears", so I used that as an inspirational jumping-off point, and here's what happened :

I sketched in graphite, and then finished the drawings with gel ink pens (love, love!).

When I scanned the drawings into my pc, a lot of the inks didn't show up (I think it was an issue with the gel -- maybe it's too reflective?) After several scanning failures, I ended up taking photographs of the sketches, and of course, they all turned out looking dark.
When I started adjusting the colours, light values, etc., some subtle yet interesting textural things started to happen in the areas where I didn't deleate the appearance of the paper's grain... So I left the paper grain in the dresses, I added some solid tones into the backgrounds, and voila!

I'm calling this new series "BonBons"
and I named the characters "Marie & Polka"...

Marie's a French girl, and spends a lot of time living in her immagination, where her bear, Polka, is her best friend in all the world. She tells him all her secrets and dreams, and through her eyes, Polka experiences all the celebrations and wonderments of life.

1 - Je t'aime" (I love you)

2 - Bonne Anniversaire (Happy Birthday)

3 - Je souhaite (I wish)

4 - Une historie d'amour (A love story)

5 - Un jour fleuri (A flowery day)

Right now, I think "Je t'amie", "Je souhaite", and "Bonne Anniversaire" are my favourites. I can't decide on which one I like best of all, from the bunch.

Which one is your favourite?