Fall Leaf Tutorial

 Head over to Julie's Blog to read the full Fall Leaf Tutorial I have written!

I really enjoyed working on this post and am happy to share it with any readers who seek to capture the magic and beauty of Fall leaves!

 

If you are a newcomer to my blog, welcome! 

It has been and is a work in progress, but I am still proud to call it mine! 

I am a dreamer at heart and hope you stick around to learn more about me, about being creative, about adventure and maybe about yourself.

Thanks again Julie, and enjoy, readers!

sweater weather

traditions

apple picking

giving thanks

 yellow leaves against blue skies

 country drives

pumpkin picking

gathering leaves 

I had a small surgery in mid-October (I had my gallbladder removed)

and while I thought I would be on the internet, reading blogs and finding new things, I did the opposite.

I found myself not touching my laptop for two weeks and it was kind of refreshing!

My recovery was not bad at all after the first week and I am feeling great now. It is nice to know I will never get another gallbladder attack again.

 I did, however, catch a terrible case of Cabin Fever.
But these sort of experiences are good for my life process as an artist.

It is strange how the mind twists and turns when faced with things like loneliness, solitude and recovery.

Going for walks in the Autumn sunshine, going on adventures with my mom and enjoying the season were what helped to keep me happy.

October.

embrace change.

listen to the banjo.

watch the trees outside of your window.

understand that money means nothing, afterall.

and please know that taking time off for yourself to grow and change and breathe is a necessity.

paint again.

September. 

to make & to find wall

I have this awkward little corner in my bedroom that houses (hah) a wall that is too small and inconveniently exists right behind my door. I have thought about putting a mirror here, some shelving maybe, or even go rogue and paint it with chalkboard paint. Granted, any of these option may happen in the future, but for right now, I would like to introduce you to my

to make & to find wall.

 

 

I am constantly gathering items that I find, building on my pile of polaroids and instax photos, and making 'stuff' here and there. So I thought, hey, why not slap it on the wall if I like how it looks? 

And I do! I love it!

I just look over and feel a jolt of inspiration, a sense of calm (in the rest of my sometimes messy room) and though it sounds silly, a sense of pride. People put up their achievements on the wall- family photos, diplomas and awards. So why not celebrate creativity and the joy of finding and showcase things that you love to look at?

I really do think that no matter how small, how detailed or how irrelevant it is,  

something made with your hands is something worthwhile.

The only thing I have to be careful of now, is that this wall doesn't expand TOO much and overtake my whole entire room! It might happen, I can't make promises.

The great thing about a wall like this is that you can mix, match and change what you display as often as you like! There is little commitment to what you are displaying, and since I am using tacks I just have to fill a few tiny holes if I want to rid of the to make & to find wall. If you don't want tacks in your walls, you have other options too! Use a cork board or even use a sticky non-permanent adhesive gummy type thing to stick things onto your wall. Either way, the possibilities of your display wall are plentiful.

As for right now, I am smitten and cannot wait to add more!

summer is for...

summer is for...

reading in the sunshine, painting

 

collecting, exploring

 

 

drive in movies, bonfires

 

thrifting, freezies

 

 visiting, dreaming

cottages, ice cream

beaches, clouds

being consumed, being barefoot

the CNE, baseball games

pebbles, water

breathing, swimming

 forgetting who you are, and remembering in the end.

 

"summer, afterall, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. for those few months, you are not required to be who everyone thinks you are. and that cut-grass smell in the air, and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool, give you the courage you don't have the rest of the year. you can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you. and no past. summer just opens the door, and lets you out."- An Ode to Summer, Kinfolk Mag

summer is for opening your heart and filling it with sunshine.

summer is for adventuring and building memories.

summer is for freedom and creativity.

summer is for cool night breezes. 

summer is for finding your way.

grab every fleeting moment and smile.

words sent and not sent

sometimes you receive an email from an unknown sender, and you are curious as to why these words were sent to you in particular. and if they mean anything or nothing at all.
so you keep reading them. and thinking about them. 
and maybe you'll write them out yourself.

"Rifle thereupon refer to poach on it at mottled moments, and quickly eyepiece muddled at it fairly, twitching her fingers and counting the stitches.    Debauchery was stronger deficient, and her indifferent austere shortage so downstairs relegateed her, that her firmness was as aghast, her squadron of cheerfulness as defenceless, as with complains so loose and so saline, it was double for band to allude. Some whisker to your friends, dotted, might scandal from it - apron would not condemn grand to get hold so much of your equipment."


strange. i always have strange things happening to me, don't i? hahaha
(i did forget a word at the top there, but i decided to let it go and not obsess over it.. err well.. i decided not to completely re-do the piece anyway!)
it felt great to play around with some watercolour. i've really enjoyed working with washes in the last few years and combining it with some illustrative thin black lines. 

i look forward to painting more, and using strange and wonderful findings as jumping off points for my process and my work.