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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2008
WHAT'S HAPPENED TO MY ART?
In the midst of my busy schedule, I have to find time for my art. But believe me there are times when I'm scrambling for something inspiring to paint or write about. So, today I tweaked my art gallery opening page a bit and I like it. But as I was updating content, I realized I really need to devote some time to my poetry. My first book of poetry was written some time ago and I promised my readers a second volume was soon forthcoming. But other things got me away and of course the opening of "Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet" and my first dieting book took most of my time. So the poetry took a backseat. Too bad I don't have 10 arms huh? I'd probably have each one doing something all the time. Most of my friends know how much I like to be doing something. Idleness bores me to tears.

So back to the poetry right? Ok...my goal is to try to write a poem each day, nothing long or fancy, just whatever I'm feeling that day. Some of my writings may not even rhyme - I'm not sure yet - but I am inspired my own day-to-day activities, so why not write about that? In fact, I was taught to write what I know since that's makes the job not a job but fun and fulfilling. What I'll do is share a poem probably once a month on the gallery and alert you here! In the meantime, what do you think of this painting. Does it make you want to go here and relax?

"A day out on the River"

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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2008
MY NEW EXHIBIT IS LIVE!
I'm so excited! I decided that to cap off my year, I wanted to create 2 exhibits with 7 paintings completing each collection. Well...my first one is done entitled, "Something Pretty to Look At." To read more...go to my art gallery here and click "latest exhibitions". You can even view the slideshow and read my thoughts on each piece. Now, I'm off to work on my 2nd exhibit in a couple of weeks. I believe I'm entitling it, "Down the Road". Not sure yet...But I know what my mind is thinking, so we'll see if I change the name. In the meantime, I was working on this piece because I just love waterlillies. It went through so many metamorphsis before I settled for watercolor. I painted the entire painting in Photoshop. I normally use Painter too, but I wanted to challenge myself this time and see what I'd end up with. I'm not too disappointed. What I do like is the reflection of the water, it's probably my favorite part and even though it is not the centerpiece, nevertheless my eye is drawn to it. Have you ever seen something that had an obviously focal point, but your eye just wouldn't zero in on it? I guess as artists, we all do this. We grab our inspiration from all kinds of sights, sounds and smells. That's what is so incredible about art. It speaks to us in all different kind of ways and no one interpretation is the only interpretation. Every painting we see tells a story in our own lives. Every painting has its own beauty.

"Waterlillies"

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2008
MADE IT THROUGH FAY
The last three days have been nerve wracking since Tropical Storm Fay came. Normally I can stand tropical storms living in Florida, but because this storm moved so slowly through my area, it brought a lot of rain not to mention damage to my city and the entire state. Power was out awhile and our drain is stopped up with all the water and flooding, we're not out of the woods just yet according to the weather channel. But, we are ok and thank God that no trees fell on our house or car and we still have our lives. My mom always told me growing up, count your blessings because things can always be worse. She is right. I laid in bed most of the day yesterday since the power was out and I couldn't work. I just dreamed I was on the beach and it was a beautiful sunny day with a little breeze. I walked in the water barefoot as the coolness of the day seem to rejuvenate my insides. Being at the beach oftentimes makes my mind wander and I feel at my most creativeness there. It's where I think of poetry to write, paintings to create or log entries for my blog. Even recipes.

Speaking of recipes, I'm working on my new project, Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet. It's a recipe blog I'm developing featuring mine and many of my friends' recipes to share with you. I'm 85% done typing them all up. I've been cooking since I was 12 and collecting recipes since then too. I still love to experiment in the kitchen and because my husband and I are older, we have to look to better ways of eating good but also healthy too. Hopefully by the end of next month, I'll be able to launch it. And in the meantime, I'll feature new recipes here.

Now, in terms of painting, I created this piece and I guess my mind was thinking of traveling to a distant land. I still have so much more to add to my new art collection so keep your fingers crossed that I can get back to that! Enjoy this until next time...

"The Countryside"

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COMMENTS

From: Heather (8/28/08 05:42:06) You're so right, Kim. Everyday is a gift. Even if you have a bad day, it's an opportunity to learn. A wise old woman once said "If the mountain was smooth, you wouldn't be able to climb it." When I feel down, I always listen to the U2 song "It's a Beautiful Day" and it perks me right up. Keep on creating - you definitely have a gift.

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2008
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!
Weeping may endureth for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. This is so true. Yesterday can look like a bust, but today has hope. I'm trying to learn that yesterday is gone and today is a new day filled with all kinds of possibilities. When God wakes us up each day, we should look at it as another day to do more good things than the day before. I am grateful for the trials since they make me stronger. Sounds weird, but how do you know you can win the race if you never enter? We don't always know our full potential and sometimes we don't use all our gifts. Someone reminded me of that. God gives gifts to everyone and it's up to us to use them properly. Sometimes I've wondered why my gifts all are creative, but then I think about how much I love to make things look pretty, how I love to paint on my computer, how I love to design even a flyer. It all comes down to one word—creation. I am creating something wonderful. If it's a poem, I'm creating words that can be read long after I'm gone. If it's a painting, I'm creating inspiration. If it's a flyer, I'm creating a marketing piece that sends a message. Every part of my gift creates something that will live on and have a positive effect (my desire) on those who see my work.

This painting below, "Living Out in the Country", I painted completely in a 3D program. No brushstrokes involved, no bringing it into Photoshop for touchups or transformations. Most of my paintings start in one program and take shape in another, but not this one. And yet, everytime I look at it, I want to be there on that bench listening to the birds, watching the horses. I think of this place as a cozy, quiet place that makes you forget all your troubles and you can get lost in the surroundings.

Anytime, I feel sad, I look at something I've created. And, then I know my purpose. The reason I am here. And, I know that I must create more. Not to take my gifts or talents for granted. I need to embrace all that God has given me and share it with the world.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2008
what do you do?
Yesterday was not a good day all around when it started. I woke up ok but then realized that we have so many needs and with the economy the way it is, I felt hopeless and lost. I prayed and read scriptures but nothing seemed to help me come out of my "funk". What do you do when you turn around and see despair? Do you try talking to friends when you know they have their own problems? What kind of support do I have I thought? It didn't seem like there's anyone that I could get advice from. Then friends of my husband and mine from church came over with bags of groceries to fill up our cupboards and freezer. I knew that God was watching over us. Hubby and I are working so hard and it's just a matter of WHEN not IF we get the monies due us from our work. I guess when all seems gloomy, I must just keep fighting and believing, help is around the corner.

I painted the above image in Bryce 3D because I was thinking of serenity. A place I could get lost in when my troubles seems to engulf me. When I look at this painting I think of a place of quiet, solitude, hope. It's a place you can walk barefoot through and listen to the ocean and birds flying over. The wind blowing through my hair and it's the perfect place to lie down and take a nap. Wouldn't that be good right now? - take a nap!

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COMMENTS

From: Lena (06/28/08 13:42:27) "Nice new look! I'll be reading more!"

From: LaShonda (7/8/08 10:27:41) First of all the painting was breath taking. You really have a God given gift. God gives everyone gifts, it's up to us to use them...I will pray that everything with work out and please don't stop letting God inspire you with his beauty.

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FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2008
A NEW LOOK
I've got a new look to my blog! You like it? Tell me so in my guestbook. I was just looking at different templates on the internet because with my lack of time these days, sometimes I need a jump start. I saw a template on freecsstemplates.org and found one called "artistic". I liked it and knew it had the "bones" that I was looking for. So, with a few little edits from "yours truly", this is what I came up with. Now...my next job...figuring out how to archive my entries. I'm thinking by year because I'm not a frequent "blogger". I'll have to fix that next. But for right now...my schedule has been busy to put it plainly. I got hired to do a ton of work for several major clients and I was so happy. We didn't just need the money, but I needed the work. My job with the ad agency didn't last long because of their budget. But, I'm still able to work for them as a freelancer. I have to admit that losing that full-time position really hurt me and it took a long time and a lot of praying and love from friends to get passed this disappointment. It had been about 8 years since I worked for a company. I enjoy having my own business and leaving it to go back to the corporate world wasn't appealing to me. But, the economy changes and I found myself needing a job—and fast! This environment was also different for me because it was a creative job. Though my position was mainly administrative, I was given some design stuff to do and I was surprised how quickly I loved it. After two months, they could no longer afford to keep me aboard and there you have it. But God has been good to me and my husband in spite of this. You always come out stronger after going through a trial. I await to see what God had in store for me now!

With the addition of my new client and the website projects I'm doing, I've got my hands full! Also, my husband is running our sales division and a LOT of the work requires web design, web administration, creating web graphics, you name it! I do enjoy web work even though it can be frustrating. Coding sometimes won't do what you want. And I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to fix every problem. I'm hoping to have time to paint because I started a new collection but only have done two pieces so far. My book is on hold too...why don't I have four arms? Cause it would just be too plain weird, right?

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FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2008
I CAN'T KEEP A REGULAR DIARY!
Sometimes I wonder why I never have been able to faithfully write everyday in my journals. Even as a little girl, I always kept a diary and though my days were not without adventure, I’d still forget to record the day’s happenings. Well, now I am an adult, and nothing has changed. I have a blog and forget to write in it. Oh well…hopefully I don’t disappoint you too much if you come here often. Today, when I got up I was going to cook 2 courses for Easter dinner at my church tomorrow, but my back went out. So I cooked 1 course. I started to just give up on the day and sit around feeling sorry for myself. That’s when I decided to write. So, though I feel the pain in my back, my spirits are still high as I am working on my new art collection.

Last week, I was contemplating some new paintings in the gallery and I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I wanted something both new and exciting. My husband had taken some pictures he was going to submit to photo agencies, these pictures were just every thing kind of stuff like keyholes and calculators. I kept those photos though my husband never did anything with them. One of my pet peeves is waste. I can’t stand to waste anything. So I’m using these photos as my canvases for the collection I’m entitling “Modern & Contemporary”.

I’m not sure of what method of technique I’ll use for each piece, but I’m leaning toward oil pastels in Painter. It is one of my favorite art forms. The other is watercolor. But I may dabble with other techniques depending on what the photo tells me. As in golf, I have heard Tiger say many times, “the way you play the course depends on what it gives you.” I think that way regarding my artwork. Because I use photos a lot as my template, I study them first to see what it tells me. There can be certain elements of a photo that when I look at it, make me think of a certain time in my life and I wonder what brushstroke would bring that element out into the open. I completed 2 pieces, one of a regular recordable CD. I used a futuristic art form because I thought Sci-Fi mixed with our present way of technology, but I also added a flair that makes it look like a modern day comic book. My brother and I grew up reading Marvel and DC comics. We loved the artwork and so I had to add that to the painting too.

I’m working on adding a new piece each week and putting into the collection on the art gallery. If you want to take a look at it, visit it here. I’ll try to share my thoughts about each piece here in the blog, so you must come back! Between this blog and my cooking blog I am quite busy!!!

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THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008
wHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?
Boy, I checked my blog last night and realized that 4 months had passed by! What happened? The time seems to go faster when you get older. I hadn't even painted anything new until today. So where do I begin to get you all caught up? Well, I should start off by saying that December was I think by far my worst month ever. I lost all my client work, a total of $3,000 a month income. It was shocking because it happened two weeks before Christmas. So our holiday was not as nice as I would have liked it. But, God got us through it. We lived off the charity of our families and friends. They helped us stay encouraged and we fought back to get our finances back on track. Two months later, hubby and I both were out of work and 2 months behind on every bill including rent. I thought we might lose the apartment, but God's favor was once again with us. I landed a job and started work February 11th. Hubby was able to secure some freelance contract and is trying to hold his own. His situation is a little more tricky than mine. I want to thank the Lord for sustaining us through these terrible months. I never knew how hard life is when you can't pay your bills and you're doing your very best but nothing happens.

I like my job very much. I work 4 days a week and am home at about 3:30 p.m. every afternoon. This allows me to freelance on the side and control my schedule so much better. I really love the control I've been given. Fridays are my day off, but I usually end up working from home. There's always something I can do, blog, tweak my website, paint a painting, crochet, cook, the list goes on. I would like to sleep though! I might do that tomorrow.

Now...onto the website changes. My art gallery has a new front page look. I wanted it to be more artsy, and I worked about 5 hours to get it that way but it was hard. Then, came the blog. Too many links I thought going down the side and I had to figure out what I want the blog to do. Well, for the most part, I'll share a painting and write about my emotions about it. But, since I hadn't written in a few months, I thought I'd record this entry with no images and just catch up. You might notice my guestbook has no entries, I had to reinstall it. Somehow the database was deleted, so unfortunately I'll have to ask all of you to re-sign my guestbook, sorry bout that!

Well...my life is surely exciting for the most part and I can't promise I'll blog tomorrow and the next day, but I sure will make an effort to blog more regularly. That's it for now! So long!

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