February Love...Valentine's Day

I don't want to use the word "love" lightly, because I truly really love mostly people in my life, but since I am a passionate person, I guess I do "love" many things.  This month all my posts have been about people or things I love.  Since it's Valentine's Day, of course, I'm going to share a few more things I LOVE and that really give me joy.

 My sweet daughter and my funny husband...This is our past Christmas card (well one version).  We take a picture every year and I thought we needed to spice it up a bit and be a little funny.  Shane is actually wearing my mom's Christmas sweater--no he doesn't typically wear lady's clothes.  Most recipients loved it except one couple who seemed very offended...oh well...this is us most of the time, so we thought it is more fitting than just sitting there smiling nicely for the camera.

Oh, yes, I guess, that cute little lapdog Mazie I love too...most of the time!  She is high-maintenance to tell you the truth, but she has brought lots of joy to all our lives.

Aside from these two loves of my life, I have the sweetest little niece that I'm completely enamoured with---which brings me to another love--BABIES.  I am drawn to their big, smiling eyes, their chubby cheeks, chunky legs and their pure joy.  I am still sad that I could only have one baby of my own, but my little niece gets lots of love and attention by me.  How could she not?  Look at her!

In addition to these lovable people in my life, I'd like to share one more thing that brings me great joy...

PAINTING of course.  Here are a few of my favorites that I guess I do "love" either because of the intent behind them or just the feeling I get from how they turned out.

 

© Jill's Dream Artwork (this one is still for sale in my shop too!)

© Jill's Dream Artwork

Above, I really loved the process of making it because of the colors, the inspiring and motivational quote AND the leaves and flowers are actual pieces from a journal page I created, so there's a lot of "me" in it.  It is truly one of my favorites--it sold at a boutique I have things in and I wish I could've met the person who bought it because I like to meet the people who buy my creations.

I'm also taking an online painting class called True Free Spirit given by the wonderful Mindy Lacefield.  It's pretty much out of the zone of what I typically paint and I'm loving this class--it's whimsical, funky and teaching me to be free and child-like!  Here's a sample of a few things I've created or am still in the process of creating in this fun class.  No they aren't perfect...but I'm really having fun learning new techniques, using new supplies and expanding my horizons.

I hope you have tons of people, events, hobbies and "things" in your life that bring you joy and love.  Happy Valentine's Day!

February LOVE...Art Books

All my life I've been a reader...I started with the sweet Disney books that had a little record player reading the book to me and "dinging" every time I had to read the page.  My mom still has my big box of all those stories...I love looking at them.  I then worked my way up to bigger books that had no "ding" to signal the turn of the page.  Three of my favorites as a grade-schooler were The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, A Wrinkle in Time and Charlotte's Web.  As I got older I read every one of my mom's Danielle Steele books and yes, even her Jackie Collins--she could NOT have known how inappropriate the Collins' books were.  Yikes.

A few years ago I found another kind to add to my love of "regular" books...ART Books!  They're beautiful, interesting, and inspirational.  I have quite a collection growing and I love re-reading them, looking at their amazing pictures and seeing the parts I've highlighted to encourage me over and over.

Some of my favorites are...

• Daring Adventures in Paint by Mati Rose McDonough...she seems to be drawn to vibrant colors, just like me!  

• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron...this is probably one of the original books that really made me realize that I NEED to create.  I have reread this book so many times.  It truly is motivating and really affirms how important honoring my creative self is.  

• Art Saves by Jenny Doh...I was instantly intrigued by the title because I truly believe that I have been saved (emotionally and physically) when I starting committing myself to living a more creative life and taking risks by putting myself out in the world artistically like applying to juried art shows, opening an online shop and submitting my work to be licensed with some companies.  The book is great because it features many different artists and what they do to share their art with the world and how it healed them or how they help to heal others through their creations.

Now I know I said I have quite a collection growing, and I do, but I'm just going to share these three with you today.  I'm wondering, what is your favorite art book?  Maybe I already have it, and if not maybe I "need" to add it to my inspirational collection.  Thanks for visiting today.  I'm looking forward to hearing about some of your favorites.

February Love...Giraffes

Not sure what it is about them, but giraffes are my favorite animal and I hope to travel to Africa someday to be close to them in person.  There is a resort called Giraffe Manor where the giraffes roam the property and according to the website, they even poke their heads in the building to say hello.

above photos:  Giraffe Manor website

I'll be honest, I do worry that it will be hard to accomplish financially, but I truly think it will be an amazing experience connecting with these beautiful and peaceful creatures.  Maybe this needs to be a "formal" goal in which I make a serious plan to get there by a certain date instead of assuming it won't happen!

© Jill's Dream Artwork

I've also used giraffes as a few of my painting subjects and one is actually licensed with the company Oopsy Daisy Art for Kids which is a huge honor.  Her name is "Bright Eyes" and the original is hanging in the bedroom of a sweet girl named Haley who also adores giraffes.

Lastly I have to share this goofy-looking little baby giraffe that puts a smile on my face anytime I see her.

photo source:  http://www.omgsocute.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Baby-Giraffeased.jpg

Isn't she sweet?  What would you name her if you could?

February Love...Water

My intention to share things I love this month will help me stay grateful and positive through the rest of cold and dark February (I hope).  Today I'm sharing my love of the water, the sound, the feel of swimming in it.  I am drawn to it, especially that crystal clear water of the Caribbean Sea in Jamaica.  Which is actually very funny because growing up I was deathly afraid of drowning.  I still can only hold my breath for a few seconds without panicking.

Somehow as I got older and visited Mexico and Jamaica I became magnetized by it.  When we booked our trips I told the travel agent "it has to have that really clear water."  I know there are other people out there who feel that same pull of the water, a lake, an ocean, maybe even just a soothing soak in the tub.  My fountain in the backyard relaxes me and brings sweet birdies in to take a sip or a quick bath.

A warm summer afternoon captured last year on Instagram with my babbling fountain.

One of my original paintings with water, for a sweet girl; I love to include water in my paintings because it is so soothing and dreamy to me.

Lunch during Spring Break last year in Lake Havasu, Arizona.  Sitting by the water with the breeze blowing, enjoying a cocktail was heaven.  Life is just more carefree by the water.

Enjoying the feel of the water on my feet on Okauchee Lake while sitting on a friend's pier.

Our family trip to Mexico with my in-laws about five years ago...I love this shot of Shane and Bella enjoying the shore.

One of my favorite shots I took while on a glass-bottom boat ride in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

The amazing, amazing view from our balcony in Jamaica--wow.  Seriously wow.

One more peek between some trees on the shore of the Caribbean Sea.  Can you guess why I am so entranced by the water?

I'll admit one of my deepest dreams is to live on the water someday.  I tell my husband I want to retire in a little cottage by the sea in Jamaica with a hammock swinging between two palm trees.  It's got to happen someday, right?  It has to.

I hope these pictures brought some peace, beauty and calm to you as it did for me reliving their memories.

February Love...Flowers

This month's blogging theme for me is "love."  I know it's cliche, but it fits and I always need a pick-me-up in February, the time of year that sort of drags for me--less sun, cold, you know, yucky Wisconsin weather.  Hopefully some of the things I love will cheer you up just by reading about them or seeing photos of them too!

Today, something I don't see much of this time of year are fresh flowers.  I love growing them, cutting them for vases and photographing them.  When I found Instagram and got my iphone last year I was in heaven!

Here are a few, well quite a few, of the flowers I took pics of last spring and summer.  I hope they bring some color and sunshine to your day!

Sweet tulip, one of my favorite flowers.

 Cheerful yellow dahlias.

I love how these pink dahlias turned out with the sun at their backs.  

Another pink dahlia--I love this close up of the back--typically wouldn't think to take a picture of the back of a flower, but I love this shot so much.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a burst of color and cheer with these sweet flowers.  

Love Can Make You Fly

My last post talked about re-joining the Artist Trading Card group that I have been absent from for a while.  I finished my four sweet cards that day and I really really love them, so I thought I'd share the final pieces.  Not sure how well you can see the quote, but it says:  "Love is how you earn your wings" by Karen Goldman.  I love the image of this because to me it means that once you truly love, you feel like you can fly, like you can do anything--whether it's the love of a spouse or a child.

Painting whimsical and cute birds along with words and quotes are a few of my favorite things to create.  I am personally inspired by words and phrases so I love to include them on my art--hopefully inspiring those around me as well when they see my creations.

Because I so enjoyed painting these, I also think it will be fitting to make all of my February blogposts about things I love, whether they are books, people, events or activities.  So stop by next week to read about all the things I love.  The dark, cold days of winter typically get me down, so I figure how can I be in a funk when I'm writing about things that are special to me, right?  

Love is in the Air...ATCs

I know it's still January, but I'm home recovering from the stomach flu and decided I could work a bit on my February ATCs in which the theme is love (of course, right?).  I haven't painted in a few days since I've been feeling miserable, but little doses today may speed the recovery, right?  Since the cards are tiny, I can work in tiny increments.

Here's a shot of the cards I did last year...

I've actually dropped by the wayside in participating in my ATC group for the past few months...November and December were busy so I sort of pushed this group aside.  Well, I feel a bit better after the holidays and I'm participating again in February, the month of love.  Since there is really no pressure to create to sell these little cards, they really are fun to make, especially since they are for my sweet and encouraging creative friends.  I see these as a little gift to them and the ones I get from them, I see as a gift to me.  A win-win situation, right:  creating a heartfelt gift and receiving a heartfelt gift!

This month I decided to use the quote "Love is how you earn your wings" by Karen Goldman on each of my trading cards.  I've only got the background painted so far, but I'm planning on painting a sweet little birdie on each one. Here's a little peek so far.

 I think it's a fitting quote because we met through a course that showed us how to use our wings to make "our creative businesses soar."   I must say, starting up again with this is really making me happy...I need to remember how much fun these really are to create!

What Do You Love to Do?

One of my favorite writers, Patti Digh, recently published the book What I Wish for You and its advice has such a powerful impact on me.  It's a collection of short pieces from other women giving advice to Patti's daughter who's going off to college, but it's advice all of us women can learn from.  I must say I wish I had this great wisdom given to me as a teenager, but it's just as relevant now as a 39-year-old still trying to find my way.

One of the contributors, Lisa Evans, discusses the dreaded question of people asking, "What do you do?"  She states that instead of that question, we should ask people, "What do you LOVE to do?"  I like this one much better.  This question can fill us up with joy just thinking of the things we love to do.

I love to...

* take early morning walks all by myself when the sun is just creeping up and no noise is around except the birds singing and the crickets chirping

* go out to dinner with my best girlfriends in the whole world and laugh too loud and probably annoy everyone around us

* close my eyes while we're on our boat and just feel the breeze

* arrange flowers from my garden into vases around the house

* watch hilarious movies like Dumb and Dumber and Something about Mary over and over

* read a super good book in my sunroom with all the windows open



Taken on my morning walk today--the sun peeking through the trees.

Those are just a few of the things I love to do.  What about you?  What do you really love to do?  I'd love to hear about it!

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Periwinkle Sky - What do YOU Think?

I just finished this painting called "Periwinkle Sky."  I've sold a few paintings with trees and hearts with the words I Love You "engraved" in the trunk.  This time I just decided to put a heart by itself.  I'm wondering what you think of it?  Is this something that someone would consider for their home or just for a child's room?  When I do art shows it seems that people just see my work as paintings for girls' rooms.  I want to branch out from that label and wonder if this just fits for little kids.  Hmmmm....any comments?

I'd love some feedback--it always helps to get another opinion!  Thanks!



Love, Love, Love

Happy Valentine's Day!  May you receive hugs, kisses and sweet moments with those you love.

Happy Valentine's Day

My husband I have been together since the end of our senior year of high school, so we have been through a lot--good, bad and many Valentine's Days.  Though we definitely have our fights, we also have a lot of fun together.  And...he has been wonderful through many tough physical/health times I've had and I really feel so grateful for that. 

Love is what you've been through with somebody. 

~James Thurber, quoted in Life magazine, 1960

Yes, I'd love it if everything was hugs, kisses and romance, but I've learned that's not life, sometimes unfortunately.  But I think those tough times has made us stronger and gives us a stronger history.  Having a daughter has also put a spin on the way we spend Valentine's Day now but I'm okay with that because she's our love too.  She's made our lives so much richer and full of LOVE. 

So, Happy Valentine's Day to you.  May you spend it with someone you love.

You Have my Heart

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching--tomorrow is already February!  I just finished this painting and titled it "You Have my Heart" which I think is a great message to the love in your life.  After I finished this painting, I now picture it in a girl's bedroom probably because I have a daughter.  I also think it's important to let our loved ones know how much they mean to us, so a daily reminder through a painting is a great way to do that I think.

I hope this sweet painting finds its way to a little girl's room or in someone's home and displayed where the family can see this loving message.

New Painting - Sweet Sunshine

I just finished this painting and I'm pretty pleased with it.  "You are my Sunshine" is one of those songs I remember as a kid.  My friend Amy's mom used to sing it when we went on long car trips.  When I went to father-daughter Lions dinners with my dad, all the men sang it (which was pretty funny).  Then when I had Isabella I sang it to her when she was younger.  I just think it's a sweet reminder to someone of your powerful feelings for them, how much they can brighten your day, especially a child.