hope

Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.
-emily dickinson

Sorry for my lack of posting but I've been fighting an ear/sinus infection and to top it all off I also had the flu.....yikes. I'm starting to feel better....finally. I hate having to lay around for days but my body needed it. After all this .... I will not be posting for another week because my cousin, Natalie, and I will be spending a few days hanging out together. She lives in Canada and I don't see her often so it will be good to visit with each other.

If you can spare a moment please watch this amazing video of performance sand sculpting. It will blow your mind! This girl is incredible!

fill your heart with art and hope

-manon

i see beauty

7" x 10" mixed media journal page

The eye speaks with an eloquence and truthfulness surpassing speech. It is the window out of which the winged thoughts often fly unwittingly. It is the tiny magic mirror on whose crystal surface the moods of feeling fitfully play, like the sunlight and shadow on a still stream.
- henry theodore tuckerman

This afternoon I will be back in Ohio. I've enjoyed my time in Arizona. It's certainly a visual feast out there. So many beautiful colors and sights to take in. I was able to get a few journal pages and one painting done but mostly I just did nothing.... that was the theme of this vacation... lol! I'll be happy to get back at it.



fill your heart with art

-manon

still in the desert

saguaro cactus
24" x 36" acrylic painting in progress

"Do one thing every day that scares you."
- eleanor roosevelt

You know it's time to leave the desert when....... I get bored, go out and buy a huge canvas and attempt to paint a cactus. What the heck am I thinking? I'm not finished with this but all of a sudden I'm getting the itch to write all over it. I'm going to try and contain myself...lol! I really don't think I'm a plant painter of any kind...... but it was fun trying!!



I got to meet a fellow blogger last week! Deborah is the beautiful, tall blonde!! Geez.... I should of wore heels! We had a great time lunching in Scottsdale! I'm so glad to have met her. She is such a lovely lady and now a new friend!! Check out her blog.



So glad I brought my camera on my walk yesterday morning. Please look closely so you can see the bobcats in the boulders. It's certainly the wild west out here.

fill your heart with art

-manon

light of the moon

“And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon, The moon, The moon. They danced by the light of the moon.”
-edward lear

I love this quote. I want to dance by the light of the moon.... so ..... I will put it on my list.



The sun is setting in AZ as I write this post. Sometimes we forget the beauty that surrounds us. When I spend a lot of time outdoors I notice it more. The sunsets and sunrises here are absolutely breathtaking and the moon.....oh... it warms my heart. When I see her, I thank the heavens for all that has been bestowed upon me. I think she hears me..... I know she does.

fill your heart with art and nature

-manon

i'll just be me

7" x 10" mixed media page

Learn to... be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.
-henri frederic amiel

"Please, please writing gods..... gimme some lovin!"

There are days that wish that I had the gift of writing. Anytime I have to write anything I struggle so bad!! I'm always impressed with posts and comments left by fellow bloggers. The way some of you communicate your ideas so beautifully makes me gush with envy. My comments are pretty much.... " I love your work.... it's awesome!" ha, ha! I've also lost my little post editor to the life of higher education. Now I'm left alone to fend for myself..... grammatical errors and all! Yikes!

But.....I have an idea!! It would be so much fun if we could have the option of leaving a painting instead of a comment. I could totally wrap my head around that. I 'd leave little sketches to you all ..... little " you make me smile" paintings. Ok.... i've lost my mind. Just want you know that my posts and comments are written the way I really speak. It's just me..... plain and simple. So... I'll go with it and admire you gifted writers from afar.



So excited about my new Sennelier Oil Pastels!! They're so pretty housed in their home. I'm sure they won't look like this for long . I actually used them in the above painting and they blend like a dream.

fill your heart with art

-manon

doin nothin

I haven't accomplished much in AZ since I've been here. It usually takes me a day or so to get used to the time change. This is a pic of my morning walk yesterday. It sure is pretty here!



There's alway an art store to be found!! A junkie needs her fix and it didn't take me long...lol! The girl who works there and I bonded over art techniques..... ha, ha, ha!



I'm sure you're all sick and tired of seeing my feet! LOL! This is my idea of a vacation! : ) I will be painting all weekend.... I can only take a few days off before I start missing it.

have a great weekend!

fill your heart with art

-manon

moving forward

7" x 10" mixed media journal page

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
-anais nin

I'll be leaving Ohio on Wednesday for a two week vacation in Arizona. I'm packing my laptop and my journal because I'm going to have a lot of time to journal and blog...lol. Hopefully I'll be hooking up with Deborah, a fellow blogger. She'll be the first blogland friend that I meet. I was thinking the other day that it would be a blast to travel the country and meet every blogger buddy I have. It seems like I could cover a lot of territory in Texas and Colorado. So many of you are from those areas!
I'll see ya'll in the desert!

fill your heart with art

-manon

live and love intensely

7" x 10" mixed media journal page

Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
-author unknown

Yesterday my friend, Ces, left me a lovely comment calling me a modern day impressionist! Wow! I really hadn't thought about having any kind of style before. Obviously... I'm not a realistic painter or even an abstract painter. Some may say that my work is primitive...lol! I've never really been sure where I fit in.... kind of reminds me of my life... lol! Thanks Ces! I really appreciate your compliment...... i'll take it!

I'm going to tell you that I'm infatuated with paynes grey. I use this color in almost every single painting I do. You can probably tell by all that blueish hair that you see in these works. Ok... there's another color that has my heart.... quinacridone nickel azo gold.....mmmmm..... makes me shudder. This color is also used in pretty much all my pieces. They are my favorites....oh wait.... there's another....lol!

fill your heart with art

-manon