This Little Light

So, I have been dealing with a little bit of depression lately.  I keep getting to the point where I feel like I can pull myself out, and whenever I do external circumstances pull me back in.  Yesterday the sermon at church was about "de-fencing," which is basically letting your fence down in some areas so that people can see that you are imperfect and vulnerable like the rest of the world, which lets your light shine even brighter.  Of course I am paraphrasing, and I tend to go in and out of consciousness when I am at church or any other meeting that lasts an hour or longer.  So if that was not the message, someone should let me know.  So after church, the old gospel song "This little Light of Mine" popped into my head and it stayed there all day (in fact, it is still swimming in there right now).  Since I like to paint the songs that arrive in my head, I thought it fitting that I painted this one.  I thought about it all day, and decided it would be a painting of an angel holding a candle with flowers for wings.  When I was helping Ana learn to ride her bike, I had decided that I wanted to make the painting monochromatic(using mostly one color tone).  It started out monochromatic, but as I was painting, I decided that the light needed to really "shine," so I added some orange and yellow to the flame, around the angel's hair, in her halo, and I also added some dancing light beams throughout the painting.  I really hadn't thought about using the color blue as being significant until today.  I actually used it, because I happen to like blue, it is one of my favorite colors, but as I think about it, the blue represents my overall mood, and the dancing orange and yellow represent my need to radiate from the inside.  So now, if everyone would just let me be happy, and appreciate that I really am trying, and that I am not God, but only a child of God, and I am completely and utterly imperfect, but am absolutely adorable just the way I am, not the way they want me to be, then my fire might light a little easier.

P.S.  The Angel is no one in particular.  Just a random angel that I felt like painting.

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow



Have you ever had a day when you just felt like you were treated like less than you are by someone that should know better.  Today was one of those days.  Without going into details,  I can just say that my day sucked, perhaps my whole week sucked.  Needless to say, I am looking forward to tomorrow.  I am forever the optimist. 

What Girls Grow On



I know!  I know!  It looks like I channeled the spirit of Oprah Winfrey for this painting, but actually I painted it from a picture of my baby girl when she was 3.  I am not exactly showing off my artistic skills in this painting, I know, but as always, my artwork is about my feelings or my message for the moment, so that is why I am still posting this.  These are simply the things I feel are important for a young person needs to grow up to be happy and feel loved. 

• Patience
• Stability
• Love
• Nurturing
• Encouraging
• Kindness
• Friendship
• Understanding
• Play Time
• Discipline

Recommended dosage:  Every Day.

My Hands are My Own

This painting has a little bit of a story behind it, so bare with me.  I was thinking of a dear friend the other day, a friend who was always full of love, light and happiness.  A true pleasure to be around.  What do you know, but he happened to send me an email that day for the first time in at least 5 years.  He was raising money for the heart association, but regardless of the reason, I was thrilled.  This friend had encouraged me to get the book "Simple Abundance - A Day Book of Comfort and Joy."  It is kind of like a daily devotional type book, only it is not concentrated on any one religion, and it is heavily concentrated on creativity.  Since I have been struggling (only slightly) with depression, I decided to dig it out and start being encouraged again. It is really strange, because the day I started reading it again the message was about down shifting and living in lower gear.  Which is EXACTLY what I had started to do by going to part time hours at work.  It talked about people who had chosen to slow their pace and not compete with their fast paced peers, and devote more time to their creative energy!  This is EXACTLY where I am in life.  So, I thumb through all of the days that I had missed, and picked out a page that discussed tuning in to what God (or your higher spirit) is saying to you and put that into your work.  That is exactly what I did today.  I have felt very troubled over the new immigration laws that have passed in Alabama.  I have been an idiot and have read a lot of the ugly comments that people have written in the comment sections of some of the news articles.  People are very passionate about their side of the debate, so I will try not to dwell on it.  I will just say that since I am the mother of a beautiful Hispanic girl (who is over here legally by the way) it really concerns me.  It occupies my mind a LOT.  Probably more than it should.  So, I sat down today and connected with God, and decided to paint what I thought HIS message would be on the issue.  The lyrics to Jewel's "Hands" came to mind, and this was the result.

Live Love Bee

I painted this one two weeks ago.  I have a goal to paint one painting a week (I missed last week).  My friend Kim had invited Ana and I over to a Chili / Pedicure party, so I knew I had to hurry up and paint something.  I had been saving these letters for a while, so I decided to use them.  I painted the frame and the letters, and glued on some cute little trinkets and them painted the bee.  I think the message is obvious.  LIVE LOVE and BEE!  It is the only way to be.

Pretty Flowers - Pretty Girls - Pretty Flowers

This was painted after the Art on the Mountain at Monte Sano Mountain.  I have no theme behind this other than I wanted to paint and I did not know what.  As I was painting, Ana came in the room and wanted me to paint her and her friend Lorelai, so I did a cartoon image of them standing next to each other.  I like to finish my paintings in 2-4 hours, so I did not add any detail to their faces.  I thought it added to their mystique.