a little bit of art and some exciting plans

I am beginning to get very excited about my annual art retreat when I get to spend time by myself with an opportunity to be away from the typical demands of everyday life. I was very concerned, until a very few days ago, about the retreat. The cottage this normally occurred in had been sold last fall. We went in search of a light housekeeping unit in the same beach area. At first the prospects did not seem promising. Then we did find a place. It is tiny with very little table and counter space. But still it is a space. Still I can have my retreat. Still I can plan to do art, but only when I truly feel like doing art. Maybe for that week my art will be in my dreams and mindfulness. 

In the meantime I continue to sometimes straggle on and sometimes burst forth with energy and creativity beyond imagining. I have remembered how much I love my outdoor times and gardening. I have learned that when I am extremely frustrated, the choice to go cut down numerous small trees growing in our back garden, and pull up unwanted grass, can be a very good choice. Yes, my shoulders get a little sore and my blood sugars tend to do their usual bouncing but still a good choice.

Below are some very small marker portraits in a water colour paper journal from the past days, with water used to spread the colours.

 The following work in progress continues to offer a beginning with which to work. The very obvious misconstruance of the placement of the girl's head gives me pause to wonder, when I even realize how wrong it is. I think I have decided to not change it. I have come to realize I have placed it where it is probably for a reason. I had no perception for the longest time of what I had drawn. Even now, when I come back to it, I have forgotten about the placement of that smaller head. No longer will I forget. I will explain to you next time I post the picture, hopefully in final stages. I will try to describe my thoughts about it. I suspect the picture will raise its own meaning for you.

And finally to reassure* that I am still sometimes in that bright and cheery warm colours mode, here is part of a background I have been working on together with a book from a few years ago which has numerous quotations as well as my happiness for the day recordings. The background is on a map that came with the ledger book I have been altering for an art journal book. It is a phone exchange map for a part of our province. The map is perfect for providing background lines and words.
*my friends like Jeanne

Angel blessings my friends.