Hello Dear Art Lover
You Can Light The World Up With Your Smile
Well....NOT a sunny day as I write this today. The leaves are blowing off the trees and it's cold, and rainy... BRRR. We had such a nice long stretch of sun and blue skies so I guess we need this. At least that's what I'm trying to convince myself of. However, it's not below zero here yet. My sister in Thunder Bay says she's sending that weather down here.
Thank you to all the folks who responded to last week's letter. 'It's a Wonderful World' evokes emotion for so many. It is one of my favourites too. This week's 'tagline' has been running through my head since Ben commented on one of my Instagram stories. I thought it was an appropriate one for this gloomy day. It's all about attitude isn't it? I've been thinking about my attitude toward the restrictions. Like many, I really don't like them. I'll do it but do I have to like it? How would my experience change if I changed my attitude? Helpful advice is appreciated.
A new series is coming out which I am very excited about. It's called the 'Sisu' Series. Sisu is a Finnish word that is not easily translatable to one word in English. It means determination, courage, and strength of purpose and my Grandma was the embodiment of it to me. I have created a series of Grandma paintings in the past, and this collection has been so much fun to make. I had an 'AHA' moment while painting last week. I was grinding the paintbrush and I mean really pushing the paint onto the wood panel. It felt so pleasurable and reminded me of the time Fox was using a sparkly marker to do the same. He was just loving putting the colour on the paper. It made me think of how art is not about the end result at all. It is about the process. That is so easy to forget when I am trying to make a 'good' painting.
Please take a chance on yourself and just make some squibbles on a piece of paper. Find the crayons and dig right in. There is no right or wrong way.
Another avenue that I'm exploring now is with Nicholas Wilton in his Art2Life Breadcrumbs Challenge on Facebook. It's a FREE one week course about creativity..any discipline, no experience required. It starts on Monday, but he is already putting content in the group. There's always the opportunity to learn something new. The internet is s treasure trove. www.art2life.com
Attached you will find a photo of 'The Way is Clear' hanging on a wall in the studio, and a size guide to help you visualize paintings, which I think is brilliant!
Until next week,
YOUR HOME YOUR STYLE MY ART
Rock on,
Gail
