For my dying father

Dad

The tenderness of his hand 

The smooth flesh warm as silk

Grabbing my own, I know you are there

A loving squeeze 

I'm there for you my fatty guts

Loving endearments to the young skinny girl from long ago. 

I'm there for you dad

Grateful for your generosity, your shy, quiet grace. 

As your voice stilled, stolen by disease

your eyes twinkled with joy, with love for the life you courageously embraced. 

May courts and mountains with views far and wide be always with you my dear father. May you charm the angles and souls of a life beyond. Bringing laughter and giggles with your mischievous smile. 

His tender hand squeezed once more.  

I know you are there.  

Christmas Tree Pillow

I hand painted a cover for my outdoor pillow.  With an old sheet sewn together, I painted with acrylics a Christmas tree.  I add graphite details but not sure how that will hold up to the snow and rain.  Time will tell.

Art Journal

Spending some time with my art journal this week 

Landscape, acrylic on canvas 8"x 6"

You never know when you are going to create something!  The painting above came about by cleaning off my brush when painting a commission for my daughter.  The spontaneity of the painting is what brings me joy.  It was an accident.  No thought or pressure; not trying to achieve anything.  Just a quick study that ended up making me very happy!

It seems that a lot of my work lately comes from cleaning my brushes - see post below.

Postcard Swap

Here's a sneak peek Of ihanna's  postcard swap, 2015.  Having so much fun with the little house theme. I began the postcards with a large sheet of chip board that I had been cleaning my brushes on for weeks.  Layer upon layer of color was randomly built up.  I used white acrylic and a stabilo black pencil to create more depth and variation.  From there I collaged painted transparent paper (black circles), painted paper and paper from a French/English dictionary.  The final marks were made with a white signo pen and graphite. A final coat of varnish and then to glue them to clean chip board before mailing them out!