Today is Gray

gray mud, gray puddle, gray reflection

a bit of blue looks good next to the rust of springs

undulating waves of green - pretty contrast to all the gray

all this lush vegetation was behind the migrant camp

a gray (and white) feline resident at the camp

Today is gray as was the rest of the week. Lots of wet, gray skies making it unfeasible to sit outside the store "Whitney's" and work on a portrait. My friend, Dan, is the owner and invited me to set up on the sidewalk outside his door (he is one of my biggest supporters ) and , hopefully, it will benefit both of us. Well, the summer was simply way to hot and humid and now it has rained for the past two weekends. I don't want my paper to take in any of the moisture in the air = not good. But, it was a good day anyway. His son is having a fund raiser for breast cancer research and I'm going to raffle off a commissioned portrait of someone's pet and he set up my very own Face Book page for my business. "Artful Creations." (I still have to edit, add photos, etc, but it's up!)

Then, I helped my friend, Janet, round up a mama cat and her 2 wee kittens at a migrant camp located on John's Island. I think she took me because she knew I could speak Spanish - poco, but way more than she. Two rows of cinder block buildings - less depressing than I had anticipated, but lacking so much in every way.with a dirty gray pallor. The 4 young men playing cards under one of the oak trees were quite helpful = they caught mama cat for us and one spoke enough English to answer my questions. But, I did get to practice my Spanish both in talking to the guys and then writing a note from Janet to the man she met last Wednesday who took care of mama cat (I named her Mamacita). All in all, it was quite an interesting day!

Midnight blue.....

This was actually at 6 in the morning, but 6am blue just doesn't have the same ring as midnight blue. A full moon, resplendent in its shroud of clouds - and I actually got a shot that wasn't horribly blurry, so I wanted to put it out there as opposed to burying it with all my other pics. Nature is awesome, and beautiful, isn't it?

Love is golden....

Ricardo

Love is golden and warm, filling you through and through. I painted Ricardo's portrait for his memorial this past Saturday for a family filled with love for this young man who lost his life way too early during a surgical procedure. I work with his sister, who was so overcome with emotion when I delivered the portrait that she had all of us that were gathered around her in tears. She told me that I had a special gift and when she first laid eyes on his likeness, for just a brief moment, it was as though he had come back and she couldn't thank me enough for that feeling. I have been fortunate enough to have two of my artistic dreams come true: I have hung in two galleries and have sold 3 paintings from there (a tiger, a lion and an elephant). I have no desire to do so again. What inspires me are people like the girl at work. Family members, beloved pets - whether they have passed or yet live - to see the joy in the faces of the recipients of those artistic representations of those they cherish...well, there are no words, but I am filled with a golden, warm glow of love.

A mish-mash of colors

Big ole Calvin!

A mish-mash of colors, all bright and jaggedy because I am sooooo confused when it comes to uploading photos. Here is my first attempt. Unfortunately, there aren't any choices for desk top where all my photo folders are, so now I have something else to try to figure out! I just hope all this new technological learning staves off the advancement of Alzheimer's.... Oh, this is Calvin, by the way - he's a big one, all nice and squishy like a stuffed animal so nice to cuddle,  about 13 yrs old and everyone loves him.

Update!!!!!!!!!! I discovered how to get pics from my folders on desktop. Hip-hip-hooray!!!!!!! So, now it's still a mish-mash of colors but happily exploding like fireworks. Success feels so good! (especially for this older, technologically challenged person)

White is for hope....

I subscribe to the email newsletter from Art Career Experts founded by Theresa Brown and her husband. Real life advice, examples and resources (unlike the art marketing classes offered in school) because they have been there, done that. At one time, Theresa was divorced, lost her job, her house and had to support herself and 4 children - with only her art as income. Like I said, she has been there, done that. One point they make is to work on your art every single day, whether it's actually creating or buying supplies, etc etc etc. So, today I tucked my portfolio under my arm and visited a lady that I met about 3 weeks ago at Rug Decor over by Citadel Mall. She's quite interested in having a portrait of her two dogs done and was thrilled and so appreciative that I made the effort to come over to see her - she made me feel good! So, I'm hoping that she calls me soon with her commission. As my son, Travis, would say = fingers crossed!

here goes nothin'!

LOVE plays on words, hence "palette" instead of "palate." Hell, one can just look at me and tell that I'm not discerning when it comes to food = plop it down in front of me and....yum. No, for some inexplicable reason, I feel drawn to write a blog on my attempts to be a full-time artist (a life-long dream). After some major energy cleansing from a couple of very gifted friends of mine, my 3rd eye is finally open. Which is good, because my regular 2 eyes tend to not see the forest for the trees and I need all the extra intuitive help that I can get. So, I feel that I need to do this,therefore, I'm going to listen. "They" say to keep a journal is good, but I'm not the sort to be a dedicated writer. Perhaps the quicker pace of typing makes the idea a less daunting task, er, journey. Anyhoo, as my son would say, I shall keep track of all my artistic endeavors, complete with photos, along with all the other varied and sundry things that crop up because I do keep busy - too busy sometimes. If for nothing else, this will be a good thing on which to look back to see all the things I've done and accomplished. Perhaps hash out ideas, get perspective, keep myself on the right track. Still have to get that shop up on Etsy. There- I said it in black and white and now I am obligated. See, this thing is working already! I do not have a time table (don't need any extra pressure!) for writing blog entries either since I do work a full-time and a part-time job in addition to the art thing, but will try to post regularly even if it's just a line or two. Oh, almost forgot about today's color on my palette! Hmmm.... this is something brand new - what color is that? Shiny, but that's not a color. How about the color of a brand new shiny penny? that orangey, coppery brightness? Maybe bright, sunshiny yellow with a few splashes of red for excitement?!?!? All new adventures just start out so grand, don't they? hahaha  And, I guess that's it for my virgin entry.