i believe

i believe
9" x 12" mixed media on watercolor paper

When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark
And have a little faith in me
And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try
And have a little faith in me
-john hiatt (excerpt from Have A Little Faith In Me)

You may recognize this girl because I painted her in my journal awhile back. Thought I'd use her in a larger painting. She's a little bigger now so that was much easier to work on.



Besides eating way too much the last few days, I've been organizing my home studio. Wow! It looks so organized but make no mistake ...... it will be a mess in a week...lol! I even reorganized all my files. I know that you're all thinking how clean this looks but when I paint my table is covered with stuff. I'm like a little tornado...... when the storm hits the paint flies. ; )



And the Heart winners are.....
Hellenne Vermillion and Mary Jane Laemmermann!! Yay!! Congrats to you both!!

fill your heart with art

-manon

2 ♥'s giveaway and a painting

come as you are
9" x 12" mixed media painting

At this point in my life
I'd like to live as if only love mattered
As if redemption was in sight
As if the search to live honestly
Is all that anyone needs
No matter if you find it

You see when I've touched the sky
The earth's gravity has pulled me down
But now I've reconciled that in this world
Birds and angels get the wings to fly
If you can believe in this heart of mine
If you can give it a try
Then I'll reach inside and find and give you
All the sweetness that I have
At this point in my life
-tracy chapman ( excerpt from At This Point In My Life)

Although I'm working on a small project and two other works I was drawn to fix another painting. Yikes!! The old pieces are calling me and I keep answering the call.

Not one but two giveaways!!

With Thanksgiving in a few days I thought I'd say *thank you* to all my friends and followers by giving away two of my hearts.
Being an artist can be a pretty lonely profession. I find myself spending huge chunks of time alone. When I started blogging it opened up a whole new world for me. I've met so many like-minded people that I can share my life and my passion with. I want to thank all of you for being supportive and letting me ramble on most of the time! : )

Leave a comment, Twitter or email me and I'll put you in the draw. I'll probably pic two names next Sunday!!


heart #3
6" x 6" on gessoboard


love peace light
6" x 6" on gessoboard

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

fill your heart with art

-manon

harvest moon

harvest moon
9" x 12" mixed media on watercolor paper

Come a little bit closer
Hear what I have to say
Just like children sleepin’
We could dream this night away.

But there’s a full moon risin’
Let’s go dancin’ in the light
We know where the music’s playin’
Let’s go out and feel the night.
-neil young (excerpt from "Harvest Moon")

Recently, I read that Neil Young included the moon in many of his songs. Looking at my work I can relate. I seem to be adding the moon, the sun and most importantly my heart to most of my paintings. I'm not really sure why but I suspect that all three mean something to me. : )

You may recognize bits and pieces of the painting above. The girl is from my journal and the video of the image transfer I did a few months ago. I also used her in the texture video. I decided to rework her and give her a whole new background. Next time I do this I'll photograph all my steps for you.

I want to thank Glen Hartjes for spending a little time teaching me some nuances of photography. The most important thing I took away from our conversation is that I need a shrink not a camera...lol. Seriously.... Glen gave me lots of valuable info. Please check out his blog. His photography is absolutely beautiful.

fill your heart with art

-manon

mother moon

mother moon
9" x 12" mixed media painting on watercolor paper

You've got the sun, you've got the moon, and you've got the Rolling Stones.
- keith richards : )

The painting above is actually an old painting that I no longer liked so I kept the face and gessoed the rest. I then added a coat of molding paste, gessoed again and got to painting. I actually changed a lot of details in the face. I'm soooo glad that many of my old paintings are under glass because I'm sure I would fix them all if I could get my hands on them! lol



Saturday was finger painting day for me. I love using them and getting myself all dirty!! It's so good to just let loose!!

I wanted to thank everyone for the great photo tips. Late in the week I hightailed it down to my local Apple store to ask a few questions about my Mac. I was fortunate enough to be paired with a photography professor from Columbus Art and Design. The nice man gave me so much info my head was spinning. I've ordered the lights and the camera is next!

My business cards may be a little late getting to ya'll because I put the wrong postage on the envelopes.... my bad!! Many of them came back to me and I corrected my mistake!! Sorry.... I may have had an *artistic moment*!!

fill your heart with art

-manon

roots of love

Roots of Love
9" x 12" mixed media on watercolor paper

Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery,
teach me how to trust
my heart,
my mind,
my intuition,
my inner knowing,
the senses of my body,
the blessings of my spirit.
Teach me to trust these things
so that I may enter my Sacred Space
and love beyond my fear,
and thus Walk in Balance
with the passing of each glorious Sun.
-Lakota Prayer
( I absolutely love this prayer)

I had a breakdown yesterday after trying to photograph this. This painting looks so much better up close and personal.... so do most of the other paintings. I realize I've complained about this before but now I know I need to do something to prevent future meltdowns. I need lights.... ya... and a new camera! I'm gonna do it and I may even take a photography course..... eventually...lol!



I'm a lucky girl!! I received the painting of my feet last week from Judy Mackey! It's residing on my Buddha right now! They look fabulous together!! Thank you Judy!!

fill your ♥ with art

-manon

feel

7" x 10" mixed media journal page

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
-maya angelou

Sitting outside yesterday I realized that winter was knocking on the door. Even though the day had warmed up nicely I could almost smell the cold days getting closer. In the past two years I've taken on a whole new attitude about these long months ahead. I know, I know.... why doesn't a Canadian girl just love the cold? I used to complain about it all the time and couldn't wait to get to Spring. I've now adopted the "Embracing Winter" outlook....lol! Last year it worked for the most part with the help of all my cute hats and my marshmallow coat..... yes.... I looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy but it kept me warm and toasty. I've realized I need to enjoy and feel each moment even if it's grey for weeks and totally freezing out!



Thank you for the overwhelming response to my business cards! Wow! I'll try to get them all in the mail tomorrow!!

fill your heart with art

-manon

shine your light

“My wife was afraid of the dark... then she saw me naked and now she's afraid of the light.”
-rodney dangerfield

I cracked up when I read the quote above. My favorite thing is to laugh and I love anyone who can make me bust out!! One of the most important things in my life is not to take myself too seriously. I don't like too much seriousness..... I like a whole bunch of laughter!! Love, light, peace and laughter... yup.... that's what it's all about!!



I got my new business cards with my new website name printed on them. My only problem is that I have a ton of my old ones above left over. They all have a different painting on each card and they're very cute. If anyone is interested in a few just email me your address and I'll be happy to send you some.

manondoyle@me.com

Pop by to see my friend Diana Evans! She is a wonderful illustrator and author! She is having weekly giveaways right now!!! Check her out!!

fill your ♥ with art and laughter

-manon

sunday funday

7" x 10" mixed media journal page

And if every window pane should shatter
If every wall should fall apart
Well it might hurt a bit
But would it matter
This diamond in my heart
There's no need to nail it to the ground
There's no need to smother it with sense
Just listen to the rhythm of your heart
That pounds and trust it all to chance
'cause we're standing face to face
With the Angel of grace
And don't it just taste so pure

Mercy me, I'm falling free
Since you opened up the door

-david gray (excerpt from Falling Free)

I was lucky enough to catch David Gray perform this past Thursday evening. What a talent! As I sat listening to his words I was struck by how much emotion it brought out in me. I love the lyrics above... I didn't post the whole song but it is beautiful. I was going to talk about these words but they speak for themselves.

I just wanted to thank everyone that left a comment on my last post. I'm extremely grateful for all the support and the great people I have met in this community. Merci!! My mom wanted to leave a comment and throw her name into the draw. Seriously! I told her that she needed to read the fine print.... "no family members allowed".... especially those who have a ton of their daughter's artwork!

And the winner is.......
Melissa Langer! Yay! Melissa was one of the first people I met on Blogger. Besides being very talented she is also extremely giving. Check out the Mother Bear Project she's involved with!! Congrats girlfriend!!



Last night's spectacular sunset!

fill your heart with art

-manon