Playing with Paper 53

I've had a bit of fun with Paper 53 this week, just sketching things here and there.  If you like to play with digital paint tools, this is the app for you. 

These are just quick sketches.  Each took less than 10 minutes.

As you can see, I'm quite fond of the watercolor tool and the paint mixer is just way too much fun.

Sketches of my dad and my shoes in recent posts were also created with Paper 53.  It is super easy to use and if you haven't tried it you're in for a treat.  The basic app is free and extra tools and the color mixer are added for a small fee.  Trust me, you definitely want to add the extras.

A computer will never take the place of paint and paper for me but I have to say it's really nice to be able to do a quick study without lugging my paints around.  I did the first two sketches while sitting on the couch as my guys watched a movie.  

***As a side note, I rarely actually watch the movies we watch.  I mostly just listen and ask someone to rewind when everyone laughs really hard at something.  I feel mildly guilty about this and I think I'd be annoyed with me if I were them.  I do try not to ask for rewinds very often.

That tomato in the last sketch was ginormous on the vine.  I finally picked it tonight and served it with dinner.  Pure heaven.  

Is that not gorgeous?  I am ruined for all other tomatoes.

We're expecting temps in the 100's in East Texas this week, so for those of you who experienced the "winter that just wouldn't end" a few months back are officially allowed to gloat.  July is usually brutally hot and dry here, which makes me kinda mean but I try to keep that in check.  As long as the air conditioning unit behaves I'll be okay.

I hope this post finds you comfy and cool (or warm if you're south of the equator) and enjoying your creative life.  

First Step

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Creative Every Day

Thank You, Daddy

I don't attempt portraits often, but I gave it a go yesterday in honor of Father's Day.  This is my steadfast and gentle Father whom I love very much.  I wrote a little something for him this morning and thought I'd share it here. 

For My Dad, Father's Day 2013

Thank you, Daddy for loving us all.  Thank you for early morning jaunts to the beach to cook breakfast on the seawall.  Thank you for being my softball coach and coming to my school programs.  Thank you for going to work every day and working hard.  Thank you for teaching me to notice and appreciate the beauty of nature and the thrill of a really great road trip.  

Thank you for teaching me to work sums in my head and to look at life through kind and gentle eyes.  Thank you for remembering to wave to me every morning as you drove down the driveway and for waking me before everyone else on Saturdays so we could be the first ones at the tennis court or so we could get to the lake in time to catch a few fish at the farm...just and you me.  Those are such sweet memories.  

Thank you for giving me a magical, love-filled childhood.  Thanks you for the sacrifices you made to give us a good life.  

We have had our share of sadness lately but I pray that the coming year is filled with healing and joy for you and Mother.  I hope you get some rest, learn new things and laugh each and every day.  You are one of a kind...a great dad and a true gentleman.  I love you very, very much and I am proud to be your daughter.  

Have a wonderful day today.  We'll be together soon!

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Sunday Sketches

Joining the Feast

Yesterday I was totally blessed by a friend who set out the sweetest little treat for our Wednesday morning coffee on her back porch.  Check out the beautiful silver butter dish.  It's the details that make life beautiful, don't you think?  The blackberries in the bowl are a little dark in the photo but they were so yummy with Susan's homemade biscuits.

Now that we're back from our week at the beach summer is starting to settle into my bones.  I love the quiet mornings and the slower pace but summers in Texas are brutally hot.  Check out the temperature on my front porch at 11:00 this morning:

I don't even want to look at that thermometer again today.  Air conditioning is my best friend!

On Monday I began an on-line course called Journey of the Heart, by Kathryn Costa of True North Arts.  Teaching on-line is a new endeavor for Kathryn and I must say she is off to a great start.  Her topics are spot on if you want to affect real change in any area of your life or just get back to some good habits that you may have let slip.

One of the first questions asked in the course is,"What makes your heart sing?"  It's interesting to me how rarely I stop to ask this question of myself but as I thought about it yesterday I found a clue in the sweet table my friend set for me.  I love a meal served in a beautiful setting.  I mean, I REALLY love that.  I love china and pretty cotton napkins and tablecloths.  I love fresh flowers and drippy candles.  So for the next several weeks I'm going to figuratively "set the table" with things I love and things that help me stay focused on my Journey of the Heart.

Kathryn encourages us to set up a dedicated "sacred space" for the course but since the huz and I are almost empty nesters I feel like most of my house is already my sacred space!  I have little work and study areas set up all over the place so for this course I've decided to gather the essentials and set up my space outside each day.  I'll have to make it early, before the heat sets in!

I suppose because I was thinking about beautiful meals and pretty table settings this morning I remembered the story of a man who prepared a great banquet and invited many people, but no one showed up for the party.  They all had excuses as to why they couldn't make the time to be there.  The tables were already set, the banquet hall was ready to receive whoever came, so the host sent his servants out into the streets to invite whomever they came across.  The intended guests missed out because they were too busy to make the feast a priority.  They lost their opportunity and someone else took their place at the table.

“Blessed is he one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

Luke 14:15

I don't want to miss out.  I don't want to neglect the practices that will feed and nourish my soul as I put less important things higher up on my list of priorities.  I don't want my dreams and goals to become mere wishes or, worse yet, regrets because I'm too busy to be still and listen in this moment.

What feast might you be missing?  What important changes could you make if you accepted the invitation and took a seat at the table?  Maybe it's time to make time.

Beach Attitude

Just a quick post before I start packing for tomorrow's flight home...  

I wanted to be sure to share something for this week's Sunday Sketches at Blue Chair Diary.  It's a sketch inspired by the ukuleles my son and I bought earlier this week.  We started out with a plan to share just one, but after only a few hours we realized that passing it back and forth just wasn't going to work.  We headed right back to the music store and now we can play duets!  (Okay, well, we will be able to play duets once we learn how to play!)

George Harrison was right.  This definitely is "one instrument you can’t play and not laugh."

We've become quite educated about different sizes and qualities of ukuleles.  Mostly, though, we've learned just how relaxing and fun it is to sit and strum these sweet little instruments, even if we only know a few chords.  Instead of the tiny soprano size we ended up with concert and a tenor ukes...still very portable, but offering a bit more room for our fingers in the higher frets.

I think my ukulele will be great in the studio...a nice diversion when I need to take a break or stretch a bit.  I realized during Flora Bowley's intuitive painting course how much I underestimate the power of movement and music as tools in the creative process.  In fact, movement and music make just about everything in life better.

Tonight we had one last evening stroll on the beach and then ran down to the chocolate bar down the street to celebrate the lovely, restful time we had.   

Hopefully as we head home tomorrow we will take with us a bit of beach attitude...

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. 

To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. 

Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. 

Anne Morrow Lindberg, A Gift From the Sea

I hope wherever you are you can cultivate a bit of beach attitude for yourself this week...a little less hurry, a little more rest, and a whopping dose of happy!

Linking up today with:

Sunday Sketches

Pilgrimage

Spending a week on the shore of southern California each summer has become a sort-of a tradition for me and the huz.  For him it's a business trip but for me it is a time of rest and contemplation, a pilgrimage of sorts.  (It's a rough life, I know, but someone has to live it.)

I spend a lot of time walking these gorgeous beaches, searching for (and finding) peace and clarity.

The gardens around our favorite inn are lovely and I revel in their beauty with gratitude.

It is a quiet week...contemplative and healing.

I did a bit of sketching this week and want to post this ink and watercolor Bird of Paradise blooms in honor of my friends from Paint Party Friday.  (Hi, everyone!)

This year's visit is a little different since our youngest is with us.  It's been fun showing him some of our favorite haunts.  We bought ukuleles (yep...ukuleles...more on that in another post).  It's been fun learning something new.

I cherish this time.  My boy is growing up and I try hard not to think about how quickly his last few years at home will pass.  There is sometimes tension in our relationship as he pulls away and we try to strike a balance between mutual respect and his increasing desire for independence.

I want to prepare my heart for the letting go that is just on the horizon but I know it will take me by surprise anyway.

Like this beautiful shoreline one never knows how life will appear from one day, one instant, to the next.  It seems our ability to adjust and appreciate the beauty of the immediate moment determines whether we thrive or merely exist.

Lord, give me the grace to adjust...to celebrate the ebb and flow and find joy in each season of life.  Help me see the beauty in it all.

Linking up today with:

Paint Party Friday