With Forward Focus...

...I present here

my driving forces for 2014...

exploding like a cosmic blossom from my heart...

colorful, determined, and strong:

Draw,

Leap,

Cherish,

Love,

Inspire,

Give,

Learn,

Be.

That should just about cover it.



A Woven Prayer Basket...

 to gather healing thoughts...peaceful, serene spirits...

positive energies...and love filled wishes

for my dear aunt,

her loving husband, and her beautiful family. 

"God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom

to know the difference.”

~Reinhold Niebuhr

Feathered Brocade...

...a midweek mandala...just to tickle your fancy.

Watercolor first,

then ink straight in...lead free...:)

“Those who tickle themselves may laugh when they please."

~German Proverb”

Needing to Chill...

 ...in a secretive, refreshingly fluid paradise

hidden away from reality...

a place

full of clear light, whimsical thoughts, beautiful patterns and

soft, soothing colors.

This place is worlds away from

frustration,

worrisome issues, and emotional whirlpools.

This place is full of wonder and decorated with magical bubbles,

cushioned in frothy sea foam, 

and fueled by gentle ripples of serendipity.

The life giving energy of this place ebbs and flows with

serenity and zen and wisdom...

 gently buffing away

the jagged edges of troubling thoughts.

This place 

renews and validates the intentions of my spirit

and

 invigorates the peace within my soul.

This place is special and unique...and known only to

my Muse and I.

It gives us life. It helps us grow.

It enables us to hope...and be joyful...and be whole.

This place is my (he)ART.

"It is not down in any map; true places never are."
~Herman Melville

We Are Off and Running!

 A few of my art girlfriends...

actually 21 of us...

unofficially kicked off our first ever Artist Trading Card

summer art project today.

We will each design 20 cards

 this summer and fall

and get back together February 1, 2014 and trade

them with each other.

Knowing this group...I am certain that

ice cream cones,

wine, good eats, and lots of laughs will be involved...

almost every step of the way.

My mandala shown here

is entitled "Circle of Friends"...and was made

quite some time ago...

way before this project was even

in the wind.

I thought it a perfect complement

to the spirit, 

enthusiasm, and positive wide-eyed anticipation

 that bound

our little group together today.

I am delighted and tickled pink that my artistic Muse

has found

so many kindred spirits with which to artfully play...

a "Circle of Friends"...indeed!

"A desire to share creative expression with others

and to find

peace, joy, and perspective

in mining the depths of my internal world …

makes me an artist."

~D.A. Hickman

Happy Earth Day...

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together.

All things connect."

~Chief Seattle, 1855

Aquatic Starbursts...

...found while imagining shapes in the deep blue sea...

...and then magically transforming them with moonbeams.

This piece

started as a small watercolor demo in my mandala class

to show the special effects made by 

drawing with masking fluid...adding deep rich saturated color...

and then heavily sprinkling it all with sea salt.

(Click on images to enlarge.)

I loved the end result...

so much so, that it just begged me to be flipped

in Microsoft Digital Editor

for an additional dash of panache.

 I totally enjoy artistic surprises, don't you?

“The moments of happiness we enjoy

take us by surprise.

It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.”

~Ashley Montagu

A Bit of Greenery...

...serenely on the lookout for springtime.
The Arizona desert is just about ready to burst
with its floral colors...
the desert floor
is already a velvety carpet of green!
Ahhh!

 "Springtime is the land awakening.

The March winds are the morning yawn."

~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard

in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

Be Feathered...

 ...Be Dazzled...Be Tangled...Be Flipped...

 

Bewitched ...Be Bothered...and Bewildered!

I felt all these things as I sorted through my art supplies

and my precious art treasures

this past weekend

in a spring cleaning effort to

Be Organized...Be Focused...and Be Spiffy.

As of this writing,

I successfully have the most organized

piles of things

anyone could ever dream of.

Now, I just need a separate wing of the house

in which to store them!  

:)

“Three Rules of Work:

Out of clutter find simplicity;

From discord find harmony;

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

~Albert Einstein

Some Cactus Zen...

 ...designed in mandala fashion...

just in time for the opening of professional baseball's

Cactus League spring training

here in the desert.

And above...she appears again...

this time

digitally flipped in celebration of the almost full moon

boldly lighting the desert night skies

with a bright cerulean glow.

Does that mean Spring is here???...

Well...just about!

Have a happy Saturday!

"That's the true harbinger of spring,

not crocuses

or swallows returning to Capistrano,

but the sound of a bat

on a ball."

~Bill Veeck, 1976

A Tropical Pinwheel...

...posted from here in the beautiful desert southwest

for all my friends and family

who are

"wishing and hoping and thinking and praying

planning and dreaming

each night..."

 for the first signs of spring 

"Up North."

(Thanks, Dusty Springfield, Burt Bacharach, and Hal David

 for the words...)

"It's spring fever.

That is what the name of it is.

And when you've got it, you want -

oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want,

but it just fairly makes your heart ache,

 you want it so!"

~Mark Twain

Seeking Zen...

...while painting a Persian blue sky portal...
perfect for a cloudy, blustery, cold Arizona day.

"Three things cannot be long hidden:

the sun, the moon,

and

the truth."

~Buddha 

Zen Line Dancing...

My brush and pen

swirl and twirl...spin and spiral...twist and turn...

all about the color wheel...

dipping and lifting in rhymthic syncronicity.

They virtually dance

day in...

and day out...

keeping kaleidoscopic palettes and patterned tangles

boot scootin'

and tangoing throughout the ballroom space

within my head.

Sometimes I get exhausted

by their vigor.

 "Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order."

~Samuel Beckett

An Eye Portal...

...the ultimate accessory for use 

in the search of artistic insight and enlightenment.

Also, it

doubles as another example

to inspire the students in my watercolor mandala

workshop here in Arizona

coming up March 1st.

Watercolor was applied first...patterns and shapes

drawn last...ink straight in...

no lead...:)

(Click on image to enlarge.)

"Inspiration is a message-in-a-bottle

from the distant shore,

a window into the other world,

a tap of the muse's finger,

the grace of the gods.

It comes when you least expect it..."

~Phil Cousineau

My Special "Word" for 2013...

...is

BE!

I want to BE...

healthy...

active...

in the moment...

calm...(seriously)

imaginative...

curious...

inspiring...

and

wise.

This is quite similar to my word of direction

from 2009...

you can check it out here

if you like.

I guess when we feel a need for our hearts

to be directed

along a certain pathway

again and again...

repetition is a healthy and positive thing

and

time doesn't matter

at all.

So...

what word has captured your heartstrings for 2013?

"Do the one thing you think you cannot do.

Fail at it.  Try again.  Do better the second time.

The only people who never tumble

are those

who never mount the high wire.

This is your moment.

Own it."

~Oprah Winfrey

Happy 90th Birthday...

...dearest Harriet, Heddy, "Sam", Mom, Nana...

We Love You...lots!

JW...

Peg and Scott...

Jack, Sharon, Vanessa, Steve, Myles, and Lauren...

Mark, Katie, Chris, Courtney, and Corey...

Susan, Dave, Joya, and Jillian.

xoxoxo

Pssst...Special birthday hugs also today for my dear friend Jan...:)

"Because time itself is like a spiral,

something special happens on your birthday each year:

The same energy

that God invested in you at birth

is present once again."

~Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Joy, Peace, and Love...

...to you and the ones who mean the world to you.

Merry Christmas!

Simplistic Relaxing Fun...

 in the mandala format of "Four Roses"...

and an "Opera Pink Floral" zendala.

I made these to use as examples

for a

"Whimsical Watercolor Mandala" Workshop

which I will be

teaching March 1, 2013...here in Arizona...

at my local art club.

These are NOT made coloring book style.

These are painted with watercolor first...then inked.

The final result is driven by the paint shapes

not the inked lines.

Pencil is used (in a compass) only to draw the original circle...

seriously...not a joke!

These were both

extremely relaxing and great fun to design.

Why not try one yourself?

My Muse giggles

just thinking about the possibility of making some more...:)

“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.”

~Sydney J. Harris

Some "Seeded Zen"...

 ...another new piece from my Waterblossoms "Mandala Collection".

And

here she is...flipped into bedtime mode...

radiating a bit of nocturnal

serenity

for those who incessantly burn the midnight oil.

"Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking."

~Chinese Proverb

A Bit of Thankfulness...

I thank all of you...each and every one of you... 

for coloring my world with love

and

decorating my heart with treasured memories.
 

"On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence."
~William Jennings Bryant