Shake, Rattle and Roll!

YIKES!

Earthquake here in the L.A. area!

Thank God, as of 4:35 pm, all is basically well.

Maybe all of you in other areas could say a little prayer for us that it stays that way!

Steadily yours,

Carol B.

Hopes, Dreams, and Fears

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I have posted!

I told myself I wasn't going to do that.  

There are several blogs that I look at everyday and when an artist takes a long time before they come back to post it drives me crazy.  I think, Where are you?  I really love to look at new paintings and what they have to write, so I really miss them when they are gone for a while.  So I told myself I wasn't going to do that, and yet, here I am, doing just that.

But I have been going through a weird phase.

I had been looking for a print shop to make prints of my work so that I can finally open an Etsy shop and start selling.  I am thinking about investing in a nice printer so that I can do the job myself, but it is so expensive that I got a little scared and I thought, well, let's see if, in the meantime, I can find a print shop and they can at least get the ball rolling for me.  Miracles of miracles, last week I actually found one, and close by.  

At first I didn't think they wanted to do it.  They mostly do printing for businesses.  But they said they would try it and I could check it out and they would see if they could adjust the colors and stuff to my liking.

At first I didn't think it was going to work out, but after two or three days, they did a perfect job.  I was thrilled!  I thought, oh, boy, now I can open an Etsy shop and really start my dream come true of starting to sell and make my living as an artist.  I even got a couple of offers to buy some of my paintings.

And then I stopped.

I thought, do I really want to do this?

Can I really do this?

Who am I kidding?

I have given up so much just to give myself this chance, and yet, right when things are starting to come alive, I want to abandon my dream.

I freaked out.

I was thinking, maybe I should just stop and do something else.

But I have done this before.

Right when I am finally doing something I have always wanted to do and success is around the corner, I quit.

Talk about self-sabotage.

What a horrible thing.

Has anyone else had this problem?

How did you solve it?

Why do we do this?

But, thank goodness for other artists who have shared their stories of falling down and getting back up again.  Three steps forward, and two steps back, then getting up and three steps forward again.

It is early in the morning but I decided to open up my laptop and get back here again.

Here is a painting I did about wishing on a star and the hopes and dreams of the heart.

Shaking off the fear, getting up, and stepping forward towards that life you have waited so long for.

That we deserve.

So let's get up and go!

Frida Kahlo Exhibit

I love all the traditional pictures of Frida Kahlo, but I really love this one.  It looks very different from the norm.

And if you happen to be anywhere near the Los Angeles area, you really need to get down to the Chimaya gallery.  They are having a great Frida exhibit, in honor of her birthday.  There are many different paintings of Frida by many talented artists, including an artist that I had nominated the other day for a Brilliant Blog Award, none other than Ms. Cathy Ashworth of the Cat Box Art Studio.  She has painted many different, beautiful versions of Frida.  

Chimaya is a great place with all kinds of beautiful treasures, including some knockout jewelry. I forgot to get the address before I started writing this post, but you can always google it, or, better yet, go to the Cat Box Art Studio.  Kathy has a flyer posted, as well as a link to Chimaya. 

You can also stop by and say hi to Cathy as you check out her gorgeous work.

Speaking of work, gotta get back to work myself.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carol B.   

Make It Work!

Oh, brother.  This is the second time I have tried to upload a picture from Photobucket to display a picture of Project Runway and I still couldn't make it work.  This is after my daughter showed me how and I thought I got it for sure.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.  Or maybe I should just paint my own picture...idea..:):)

Anyway, it's already Sunday and I didn't even comment on one of my favorite programs, Project Runway. I was reminded by Jenn of Noodle and Lou Studio who wrote me a comment and said how she also loves this program.  I was so excited to see the program start its 5th season, but yes, as Jenn mentioned, all the tablecloth outfits were a little boring.  But the winning outfit was really cool and innovative.  

The designers had 30 minutes to grab stuff from a market with which to make an outfit.  Too many designers picked tablecloths, which made it safe and boring, but the winning designer made a full skirt out of vacuum cleaner bags and dyed them with these drip designs.  I thought, omg, is she kidding?  But it turned out great.  The top of the dress was made by putting two coffee filters with the same drip design over the model's chest.  Sounds crazy, but it worked.  It was a design you could actually see someone wearing.

I have to say, I sure wish I looked like those models, but, at the same time, I wouldn't like knowing that my boobs fit into a couple of coffee filters!

I guess it shows there truly are things about ourselves we should appreciate and love!:):)

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Hugs! 

Carol B.      

Look how pretty!

This is my latest painting that I just finished today.  Isn't she pretty?  I really like her.  It's called "Love is in the Air."

I am still working on how to get a good picture.  Sometimes the photo doesn't come out as clear and beautiful as I would like it to.  I would like to show you how beautiful the painting is. 

I have been working hard to be faster in my painting, as well as learning how to do things on my blog.  I still have a lot to learn and a lot of things to add to this site.  What I am really looking forward to is getting prints of my paintings so that I can finally put up my Esty Store.  I am still debating on whether to have my work printed up in a print shop or whether to invest in my own printer.  Investing in the kind of printer that would do high quality prints and its upkeep is very expensive, but some people have been telling me that it would still be worth it. What do you think?  If you have done one of the two, what is your experience? 

Have a beautiful, peaceful weekend!

Carol B.

Yippeee!

Hey, everybody, I was nominated for a Weblog Award by Annette from Annette's Art!  What a sweetheart to help me as I enter the blogging world.  She has been such an encouraging friend to me.  By the way, you just have to check out her work.  This is one talented artist!

I have nominated seven other wonderful artists' blogs for this award.  They are:

The Crafty Chica

All Norah's Art

Thrifty Collage Artist

chaos in a CATbox

Pimp My Spleen

Judy Wise

Catherine Holman Folk Art

When nominated for this award:

1. Put Logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

This is the first time I have added links, so I hope I did it correctly!  

I do have to tell you that if you want to see some great work, link on to these talented artists.

Thank you again to Annette and to all the other great artists who have inspired me!

Love and Gratitude,

Carol B. 

Me and My Family

I used to be a teacher, so I know saying "Me and My Family" is not proper, but since I am no longer a teacher, I can say it however I want!

Anyway, here is that "group" picture I told you about on my last post that I took of my family when we were out enjoying the day on Saturday.  It includes my mother, father, daughter, son, my son's girlfriend, and my husband and myself.  

Can you guess which one is mine? 

And no, it's not the one with the hairy leg!  (I always shave).

Til later!

Carol B. 

It's My Birthday!

Yup, today is my B-Day!  Not that I'm going to tell you how old I am.  In cyberland, you can be as young as you want to be!

Even though my birthday is today, on

 Friday I made sure to let my family know that, since everyone is previously engaged on weekdays, I was going to make the entire weekend my Birthday Weekend.  And I have to tell you I had a wonderful time!

On Friday night, my son made a great dinner (he likes to cook!).  My daughter came over to spend the weekend, which was a great treat.  

On Saturday, my hubby, kids, and I had 

a great lunch at an extra fancy Marie Callendar's

 in L.A. It's on the Miracle Mile in what I think is called the Wilshire District (I'm bad with locations and directions).  Anyway, it's on Wilshire Blvd., sorta close to UCLA.

Afterwards, we went to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  They were having a wonderful, historic presentation of a portion of Cheech Marin's collection of Chicano art.  I have been waiting forever to see this show, so I was really thrilled.  We were joined there by my parents, which was a surprise, so that was another thrill.  

Afterwards, we went to the Farmer's Market and the Grove on Fairfax where my daughter treated us all to my first taste of Pinkberry's, so now I am officially up to date on what is "in" :)

Altogether, I had a most wonderful time that day, as well as yesterday.  The best thing was that I got to have a great time with my family all together.  

I wish I knew how to put the photos I am posting in order with captions, but I have not learned how to do that yet.  I tried, but messed everything up, so had to start all over again.  I have to explain that the second picture, with all the lampposts, is a wild installation in front of the museum.  Only in my beloved L.A.!  The last picture I was posting was going to be what my daughter has ensured me is the new cool thing to do, and that is putting the foot of everyone who is in your group together for a "group" photo, except when I tried to post the picture, it was taking forever to post.  I tried for the longest time, but it would not.  I don't know what I am doing wrong.  I was thinking maybe there is a limit, but I know there is not because I have seen other people post many pictures.  If you know what I am doing wrong or can direct me to where I can find that answer, please do!  I wish I did not have to post it later because it is my favorite, but I guess I will have to.

Anyway, as for that kind of "group" photo,  I have seen photos like this on other people's blogs. I never quite got the meaning of it, but, doing it with my own family on a most wonderful day like the day I had turned out to have a lot of meaning for me after all.

I will end with saying that, of any gifts I might receive today, having my family all together with me and the day they gave me on Saturday is truly the most blessed gift I could ever receive.

I am truly blessed.

Carol B. 

Margie Magic Fingers!

I am dedicating this painting to Margie, my hairdresser, who I call Margie Magic Fingers because she performs such magic on me!  

I go in with yucky hair, desperately in need of a professional's touch.  As I sit in her chair I imagine what I will look like when she is finished.  Do I dare hope, dream, believe I will be transformed?  

And when she is done, trumpets blare, as, once again, Margie works her magic and I come out looking like a princess!

Yay! (Clap, clap).

Now, if only I could take her home so she could do my hair every morning!  I still can't roll that big round brush while I blow dry my hair to make it look like she does.

May we all look in the mirror and see ourselves as the princess we are anyway!

Have a great day!

Carol B.

  

Back to Painting!

It's been several days since I've painted and boy, do I miss it!  As nice as it is to take a break and enjoy family it's great to get back to work.

Here is a painting that I'm dedicating to those looking forward to new adventures.  There are a lot of new college graduates out there, looking to get out into the world.  There are also those who have been around, but are preparing to venture into new goals.  

To all, I wish you a great Monday and a successful week.  

Hope you enjoy the painting!

Carol B. 

Happy 4th of July!

To everyone, I wish you a happy and safe 4th of July!  

I wish I could put up a cool picture, but since I am still figuring it out, you will have to pretend you see a picture of the flag waving mightily on a beautiful starlit night.

If you are having a BBQ or are away for the weekend, have fun!  As for me and my hubby, we are off to my mom's house for a BBQ.

In gratitude for the country we live in,

Carol B.

Thank You!

I just wanted to say to "bigk", thank you for commenting!  You are my first comment ever!  I don't even know how you found me, as I just started.  But thank you for sharing, and thank you for your kind comment about my painting.  I do hope to get on a roll and keep painting and keep posting.

As for commenting about the post I did called "Identity" and how a mother might react to a child's death, I do have to say that the mother involved in this particular incident has had a much more difficult time.  I don't blame her.  But I do know that this particular father was really close to his son.  I know that all fathers love their children, but this person was much closer to his son than I have seen a lot of fathers be.  From what I understand, they were really close and did everything together, like best friends.  And this man is not a macho guy.  He is very kind and sensitive.  I am a mother myself, so I could be prejudice in saying a mother might feel more, but who knows what people feel in the very deepest part of their heart?  

The only thing I can say for sure is what I was saying for myself, and that is I know I have gone through some pretty devastating things that I had allowed to create a negative identity for myself.  That got me nowhere.  It has taken a long time to get out of it, but it is possible to create a new identity as a strong, creative Woman of Worth, and it is creating that identity that is helping me to live a new life.  

Here is to all of us standing up, "bigk", and shouting that we will be the Best We Can Be, and letting nothing stop us!

Carol B.

It's Back!

OMG!  I just found out yesterday that the new season of Project Runway is starting in two weeks! I could have sworn it started later in the year.  I guess I was thinking of something else. 

I love this program.  The characters are great to watch and watching them work is amazing. One of the things I love best about it is the "make it work" ethic.  It makes me realize that there are no excuses to doing what you want to do.  Even if it's not what you want at the moment you need to just get in there and make it work, and most of the time it comes out better than you would have even imagined.

I wanted to make sure not to let too many days lapse in writing this blog, but my hubby is home and we're painting the kitchen (I'm lying; he's the one that's painting) and I've been off my schedule. I'm trying to get back in the swing of things, including getting back to my painting.  I haven't been and it's driving me crazy!  Hope to show some new work soon!

Meanwhile, "make it work"!

Carol B.   

P.S. Speaking of making it work, I just noticed the photo I wanted to post above for Project Runway did not come out.  How do I make that work?? Oh well.  Keep trying. :)