calm after the storm

The lake is absolutely beautiful and calm this morning.......acting like nothing ever happened. You can't fool me! We tied the boat to the dock thinking we would put it up later in the evening after dinner with friends. A sudden unexpected storm came through with lightening, thunder, crashing waves and high winds, the boat snapped the cleat it was tied to and smashed over and over into the dock. Neither the dock or the nose of the boat fared well. Rick and John tried fearlessly to save the dock and the boat. Finally, the waves calmed and all is well. It's a new day......calm and serene. I know there's an analogy here.....

Studio

"Potential" (20 x 20) This is my 'lofty' piece. The words on the front say...'grow, can your mind come out to play?, potential, love what you do, amazingly powerful, and imagine.'

"Set Free" (20 x 20) Very textured. It has an industrial feel to me.

"New Beginnings" (20 x 20) Layered with a very faint hint of something beginning to grow.

"Happiness" (20 x 20)...on the front it says 'feel it...love it...own it...' I'm loving this free style. That's silver leaf in the corner.

I put on some good music and accomplished so much today in the studio! We made our extra bedroom into an office/studio. When you walk in the door, if you stand on the right side of the room it's the office and then turn around and take one step to the left side of the room it becomes the studio. Works for us!

My discovery.....when trying to change - note to self - you can't fix everything at once. There is only so much you can work on at one time. One step at a time! But it's fun to be excited about it!!

Under One Roof

Mary, my sister's, shop full of her beautiful pottery and paintings. This is an artists' cooperative with 5 other partners. Right on the square in Wimberley.

"Quips" Many layers going on here. I love quotes, phrases, headlines, different fonts...anything that adds meaning. I don't know if the words show up in the picture but to me they add a lot more meaning to the painting. This one is 20 x 20.

"Field of Spring" ...a fun and free piece to create with a little paint and squirt bottle! 16 x 16

"Don't Worry about your Audience" (10 x 10) which is exactly what I'm trying not to do... paint from my heart things that are meaningful to me. This has pages torn from an old Algebra book that layer the background. From the "Angel Girl Series".

Mary, my sister, is really responsible for getting me going. She invited me to put some of my paintings in her shop Under One Roof. Much to my surprise a stranger or two liked them and actually paid real $$ for them!! It motivated me enough to paint more to send. I'm enjoying the creative process so much I want to do more....but HOW?? I'm bursting at the seams to let all this excitement out...hence the blog. These are some of what I have at Mary's right now.

Beginning

I really never thought I would blog but I have gotta write stuff down! .....I feel a CHANGE coming on!

It's me, Barbara, someone who after years of ignoring creative whispers in my head and my heart, has come to a point in my life to be brave and do something about it. I decided it doesn't really matter if I know what I'm doing or not! I thought people in their 40's were supposed to have it all together but have discovered, upon arriving and becoming well settled into the middle, that that is not necessarily true. So...here I go.

This blog is meant to be an extension, not only of myself, but where I am beginning as an artist and my journey through this creative experience.