Octopussy VS. Baby Sharkie

Last night I dreamt...

...of a pair of one-eyed dogs, looking up at me.

Another WIP

"Happy" Earth Day

Let's celebrate...

WIP

Serengeti landscape – colored pencil & Photoshop...

Quickie Sketch

I quickly "painted" this portrait in Photoshop this morning for a card that I'm giving to a neighborhood kid...

Anthony, my next door neighbor, sprang into action yesterday afternoon when my newly-adopted dog, Sugar, escaped. I was removing two grocery bags from the car, Sugar and my ole' dog Ayla both in the back seat. All it took was a second for Sugar to jump. We live in a city 'hood where drivers like to hit the gas on our street, using it as a cut-through. It's a scary place for a dog to be running off-leash!

Not only did Anthony jump on his bicycle and follow Sugar down the street, but he corralled the other neighborhood kids, keeping them from getting too excited and scaring Sugar into a faster sprint. The two of us managed to encircle Sugar in a neighbor's yard (which is dangerously close to the busiest street in our neighborhood). Anthony jumped off his bike and used it as a blockade in the driveway while I came 'round the other side and hooked Sugar on her leash. Heart attack! Heart attack! Heart attack! Thank you-thank you-thank you Anthony, and all the other kids who helped me!

I will NOT repeat that mistake, ever again.

Boys in the 'Hood

Remember the character "Stitch" from the Disney movie? When the neighborhood boys band together and run the streets after school, seek shelter!

Neglect IS Abuse!

Sarah Palin's Alaska

Can you believe it? The Discovery Channel (parent company Discovery Communications) will soon be airing a "reality style" show about Alaska titled "Sarah Palin's Alaska".

Yep, Sarah Palin is cashing-in – again, and apparently Discovery Communications is cashing-in on Palin's alleged popularity. I am outraged! Sarah Palin has demonstrated nothing but complete disregard, and even contempt, for wildlife and our environment. How can Sarah Palin be “the star” in a show about Alaska? How can Discovery produce a program about the wild Alaskan environment and its wildlife (most notably, wolves and polar bears) when Sarah Palin championed an aerial wolf-slaughter campaign that is still happening today?! She is also in favor of drilling (“Drill baby drill!”) in critical habitat for polar bears and other arctic species. And she will be a spokesperson for a show celebrating Alaska’s wildlands?!

Discovery must get her face OFF its channel! What a terrible loss for wildlife and the environment if the American public continues to be misled about Palin’s (and other politicians of her ilk) anti-wildlife and anti-environment policies.

I am outraged. If you would like to support a growing effort to make sure this farce of a show never airs, please visit Discovery Communications “viewer relations” page and write an angry letter.

Still Feeding...

The Dreaded BOOK BEAST

Three times a year, I dedicate several days of volunteer work for our local arts center putting together the program book (lay-out, design, etc.) which gets mailed to members and patrons of the local arts scene. Every time, I tell myself, "I'm NOT going to spend as much time on this one as I did the last. I just can't let this thing eat up all of my time!"

Alas, the Book Beast has struck again, voraciously feeding, hour by hour...

The Pressure of the Blog

Last Thursday evening, I was invited by my friend Cheryl Perrault to attend the monthly “Women’s Art Forum” hosted by the Cultural Arts Alliance in Hopkinton. This month’s speaker was Zen teacher Ji Hyang Padma, who gave a talk about spirituality and creativity, as well as meditation and spiritual practice.

One of the themes Ji Hyang touched upon was “fear.” She prepared a group activity that explores this topic using the phrase “If I was not afraid I would…” To my surprise, this exercise became a bit intense for me as I spoke quite nervously and awkwardly about my own fears, not just relating to art practice but to life itself.

After Ji Hyang’s talk, I thought of an exercise to give to myself: to create a visual image representing “fear”. Rather vague, yes, but an exercise to get myself drawing! This is where “the pressure of the blog” comes in to play. Since committing myself to blog every day, I have provided myself a bit of extra motivation to FINISH what I start. And the first weekend since the debut of my blog has proven to be quite a distraction, as I was away (in Maine) visiting family and had no time to myself to work on my image! Lesson learned. Set aside time, every day, no matter what!

So, three days late, here is the sketch. It has gone through many changes since my first ideas and I unfortunately have no idea what it has to do with facing and fighting fear anymore!  But it’s 10 pm and I said I’d put sumthin’ up everyday, so here is “Fear1.0.” Sort-of. (ick, yuck, ick)

And thank you, Cheryl, for inviting me to the talk. It was a good experience and I was happy to meet so many talented and accomplished local artists. I hope to attend many more future events. J

Why not a couple more

A couple of experiments using Flash and Photoshop

No Fooling!

The first image. Perhaps this dude is telling me to get drawing?