sisters of the sun

I feel that I'm painting are imperfect figures. Something is always a little off. Maybe the nose is wrong or the lips are too big or even the body is out of proportion. We're all imperfect and there is no other way I'd want to be.The women that I paint in my journals and my paintings are trying to convey something. I want my women to be strong, fierce, determined, yet still loving and compassionate. They are seeking their own truth just as I do. They are celebrating their power to have faith, to believe, to heal and to hope.
I am calling these women Sisters of the Sun. The sun is an emblem of glory and brilliance and the setting sun is a symbol of hope. We are all celebrating our feminine energy. We are Sisters of the Sun.

fill your heart art

-manon

journal page and video of Otis

journal page

I wasn't very happy with the background of this page at first! What saved it was gesso and sandpaper! Gesso is probably my favorite product. It'll fix most of my problems. I even buy it by the gallon now!


Introducing the world premier video of my boy, Otis, playing big ball!



fill your heart with art

-manon

joy

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise.
- william blake

I would like to thank Nancy at Every Photo Tells a Story for featuring one of my journal pages on her blog! That page happens to be one of my favorites so I was really excited to see it this morning!

fill your heart with art

-manon

i give you my heart

journal page

My true-love hath my heart and I have his,
By just exchange one for the other given:
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss;
There never was a bargain better driven.
His heart in me keeps me and him in one;
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides:
He loves my heart, for once it was his own;
I cherish his because in me it bides.
My true-love hath my heart and I have his

-excerpt from "My True-Love Hath My Heart" by Sir Philip Sydney





All my journals are busting out... lol! They have too much mixed media stuff in them. My new friend Carmen, who's a wonderful artist, just got a new journal that she says is perfect! I'll be looking into that! I usually have two going at once. I'll work in one while I gesso a few pages in another. The Moleskin is 8" x 10" when open and it was great until I started loading up on molding paste and other things. Now think I need something with fewer pages that can handle a lot of abuse.



fill your heart with art

-manon

journal page

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.
- henry van dyke

You know what's great about my journal pages? They may not be the best paintings but they make me so happy that I can let it all out and see what happens! Sometimes I get something that will work for a painting, (I'm actually working on a piece right now that started as a journal page), but that's really not my goal when I journal. Just letting myself be free to paint and say what I feel.... that is the best part for sure!



Otis has a new pillow! Yes... I'm one of those dog people who loves her dog like he's her child....lol! I got this adorable pillow from Melissa Langer who's a terrific artist! Check out her site pugnotes.com! Thanks Melissa!



fill your heart with art

-manon

just me

All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: that I am nobody but myself. ~Ralph Ellison, "Battle Royal"



I turned 40 over a year ago and I'll admit that it was a crappy time. Where did my youth go? Leaving my thirties was much harder than I expected. I felt lost and a little depressed but through all my self pity something happened. The me I was looking for the last forty years showed up at my doorstep to greet me. I'd spent years looking for her and somehow she magically appeared. Ya... I may look older, feel older, even act older, (ok.... I'm still immature), but I've gained something so valuable ......I found me.

fill your heart with art

-manon

thinking of you

9" x 12" mixed media painting on watercolor paper

Somewhere there is someone that dreams of your smile, and finds in your presence that life is worthwhile, so when you are lonely remember it's true, that someone somewhere is thinking of you.
-author unknown



I'm not quite sure how to line these photos up. They look a little funky.





I just thought I'd show you my favorite palettes for acrylics. I use a clipboard that is used for drawing and I clip a sheet of freezer paper to it. Easy, inexpensive and works like a charm!

fill your heart with art

-manon

through my soul

Run your fingers through my soul. For once, just once, feel exactly what I feel, believe what I believe, perceive as I perceive, look, experience, examine, and for once; just once, understand.
author unknown



Lately I been using these cheap brushes from Blick's for my backgrounds. It seems that I really like these Loew - Cornell 1 " and bigger flat nylon brushes. They're very inexpensive and work well with acrylics. I'm so hard on these brushes that I don't feel guilty scrubbing away with them as I would with the more expensive ones.

fill your heart with art

-manon

party animals project

This year I'm again honored to be part of a wonderful cause. Jill Beninato, of Sit Stay Smile Photography is hosting a project called "Party Animals". There are several artists that are donating artwork to be auctioned off. This project is to benefit Bernie Berlin's "A Place to Bark" animal rescue. When all the info about the auction becomes available I'll post it.


17 3/4" x 17 3/4" mixed media painting on birch

I chose to do a mixed media portrait for this project. I started by doing a wood burning of the outline and poem. I then painted it with acrylics and did a little collage for the hat. The pic below shows the the piece right after I finished the wood burning.

Here's the little poem I wrote for the border.....

It's Friday night and I'm out until three
Dancing and hollering and full of glee
I like to hang out with my furry pals
We chew our bones and look at the gals
All the girls think I'm o.k.
Late at night and during the day
A party animal.... yup.... that' just me
I like to have fun as you can see



I am so fortunate to have been presented with three awards recently The first is the Renee award. This award was created by Ces and Bella in honor of Renee who's a terrific inspiration to all! Thank you Linda for the award!! Your work is also amazing!



The Lemonade award was given to me by two wonderful artists, James Parker and Judy Mackey. Thank you both!! You might want to check out the painting that James did of Otis on his last post!! Great stuff!



Last but not least, Liz Holm, another terrific artist, gave me this lovely award! Thanks Liz!



There are so many of you deserving of these awards I don't know where to start! I'm giving them to all my friends in Blogland!

fill your heart with art

-manon

pieces of my past

pieces of my past
10" x 20" mixed media painting

When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness."
-bob hope



I was reading Ces's blog yesterday and was impressed by the preparation she does before she starts a painting. Ces does these amazing exercise paintings where she gets to work on her brush strokes. I don't think I have brush strokes... lol! My work usually starts with a quote or maybe an image in my head and that's about it. I have no plan....... maybe I should have a plan. The work above definitely had no plan. I'm really not sure what happened but I was thinking about my past and this is what came out of it.

BTW..... this is the painting from the transfer I did.

fill your heart with art

-manon

image transfer

Usually when I'm doing a painting I draw the figure in but today I thought I'd go in a different direction. I decided to use a woman from a journal page so I went to Kinko's and enlarged her to an 11" x 17". Instead of gluing her to the canvas I chose to transfer the image.



The next step was to cut her out and decide the placement on the canvas, (Remember that she'll be backwards after the image is transferred). I used Golden's Soft Gel to make the transfer. Paint it right on the laser copy, (I think laser copies are the best). The next step was to quickly place it down before it has a chance to dry and use a brayer to get the air bubbles out.



When the transfer was completely dry I took some water and wet it. I let it soak in for a bit until I could see the image coming through.



Time to start rubbing! Use your fingers! It takes a little while but you can see the image slowly appearing. You will need to keep wetting your fingers and rubbing. If I still have a haze when I'm done I take a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I wet the sponge and rub the image carefully. Be careful! That Magic Eraser will take paint off your real walls if you're not delicate....lol!



Voila! This is the finished transfer. There are a few spots that didn't take but I don't mind because I'll end up painting a good portion of it anyway!!



fill your heart with art

-manon

i'm back

"When the April wind wakes the call for the soil, I hold the plough as my only hold upon
the earth, and, as I follow through the fresh and fragrant furrow, I am planted with every
foot-step, growing, budding, blooming into a spirit of spring."
- Dallas Lore Sharp, 1870-1929

We had a beautiful Spring day in Ohio! I'm back and I'm jet lagged...lol! I made it to the studio for a couple of hours and managed a journal page. I hope to work a full day tomorrow and get back in the swing of things!




I'm so excited! Today I received the portrait of Otis that my friend Rebecca Collins did! I can't say enough about how great Otis looks! Rebecca is a fabulous artist who specializes in pet portraits! Please check out her site! Thanks a bunch Rebecca!

fill your heart with art

-manon