... sunshine ....

do you have people that are like sunshine to you? that you can count on to light you up? make you happy? fill you with joy just by seeing them?

i do ... i have lots actually .... my kids definitely ... and my husband ... and usually my dog ... but not when i get that why haven't you walked me in so long look ....

i also have some pals that maybe don't know ... or maybe they do ... that just seeing them makes me happy that they are like sunshine... some friends more than others ... some people just spread good karma and happy feelings ... do you have friends like that? the one you call when your skies are cloudy ... or the one that you see regularly ... or the one that you miss when you haven't seen her in too long?

this is a wee collage on wood .. i think it is about six inches tall and three inches wide ... are two by fours three inches? i don't think so? maybe this was a one by three and i just got a snip off the end ... i wonder what the rest of the board is going to be? a table, a fence, a shelf, a house wall? jesse at lowe's has been collecting srap bits for me ... love that ...

winnie the pooh ....

christopher robin said to pooh bear: you are braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think ....

thank you a.a.milne .....

i called out to little.e.beck.artist in target today cause i didn't see her ... and she walked up to me kind of exasperated ... probably annoyed i'd lost track of her when she was just right there browsing and shopping .... she said WHAT do you need ... i really didn't need anything and i said, i just need you to love me forever .... and she said ok , no problem, i will love you forever ... and went back to her shopping ...

no problem, she'll love me forever ... i wish everyone remembered to say nice things more often ... like christopher robin ...

... perfect ....

another collage in my series on reclaimed wood scraps .... rather than going to the landfill, here it is .... all arted up ....

the size is about 8 by 12 i'm guessing .... bigger than a dictionary page, anyway ....

you are perfect at being you .... don't we all wish we could hear that though?  .. knowing it is one thing ... hearing it is another thing entirely ... and i suppose if we heard it more we might start knowing it and believing it ....

... surprise them ....

this is another in my series on wood ... i think it is about 8 inches square ... the map is from a fat book of metro atlanta road maps .... the sentiment is just a wee bit of encouragement .... you can do it!

... keep looking

... i've begun a series of collages on wood .... this one is about 8 inches square ... on a thin plywood that i got jesse at lowe's to slice up for me ... into manageable pieces ...

keep looking you will find it ... what are you looking for? at the moment i'm looking for time .... more moments to do things i want to do rather than the moments that are squashed together FULL of the things i have to do ...

... amazing ...

.... ok .. i'm trying .... i've been squeezing in painting time ... but not yet squeezing in blogging time ....

but i'm trying ... and you are amazing for sticking with my sporadic blogging .. i dedicate this collage to you, faithful reader .... and if you aren't a faithful reader and have just stumbled upon this post, that's ok, i'm sure you have amazing qualities that i just don't know about yet ...

so ... i've been trying to work on wood lately ... reclaimed wood .. scraps .. recycled stuff ... so, though there is no wood showing in this pic, i promise it is there, behind these collage papers ....

birds ... and feelings ... and allusions .....

this is a 12 inch square canvas .... dictionary pages in the back ground ... some letter stamping for extra texture and illusion of hidden secrets .... allusion of hidden secrets ... i believe i mean allusion ... but the allusion could be an illusion as well, huh?

this painting has a much different feeling to me than most of my paintings .... what feelings does it call up for you?

eleven

summer in my life has ended even though labor day isn't here yet ... my kids have been in school for two weeks as of today ..... the twins started high school, little.e.beck.artist started fifth grade ..... life rushes ahead full tilt ... how did they get so grown up so quickly? i never stepped foot in a wading pool this summer ...played in no sprinklers .... blew no bubbles ...created no sidewalk chalk masterpieces ... we did do fabulous things ... but they are more grown up things .... alas ....

but .. with the summer closing out, my family is returning to routines ... i had set aside painting for the summer ... and now i've taken it back up ... now if only i can make it part of my routine again ... i'm hoping! ..... i have a shop expecting a fresh batch of paintings ... and i have a wee show in october that it would be nice to have some fresh work for .... for me it always help to paint with a purpose ..... now i just have to carve out some regular time for it ...

at the top of the this post is "eleven birds" ..... a 12 by 12 canvas with old decrepit dictionary pages made fresh and blue ..... i started it last week when painting with my best pal al ... and finished it yesterday when she was painting with me in my studio (or in my catastrophically messy basement that i call my studio ... but that's a different post ) ..... my intention is to move back to more blogging to mirror the more painting ..... let's just cross our fingers on that one ....

how did your summer go? were you artful ... or art full? will you start something anew with labor day upon us and ending our summer fun?

.... this and that ....

i have updated my book list for 2011 ... i am well into the 60s .... i'll surely make 100 by the end of the year ...

i have actually been in my art room multiple times in the past few weeks ... in.the.art.room..... must mean summer is drawing to a close ... my big kids started having school obligations so my little.e.beck.artist and i spent some time on some crafts ... and some tidying ... now i really need to get organized if i'm going to get serious about some art time ....

i have a deadline, august 29th, for the fifth year anniversary of the deadline painting group on flickr ....

allison and i are painting together this week ....

i'm doing a tiny show in october ... so i need to get some pieces finished DESPERATELY ...

not to mention, the shop that's carrying my work locally, reinspiration, is moving from a good location (near forsyth fabric and ikea for y'all in the ATL) to a great location (virginia highlands area) .... so i need some fresh work for there as well ... and i have a pal opening a bakery and she want some cards ... like birthday cards to go with the cake or cupcake you are buying ....

summer time ....

i've taken the summer off from art endeavors ... i've been hanging with my kids and traveling a bit ... i'm almost done with my galapagos blog .... and i've just updated my reading list for 2011 ....i think i'm on track to read 100 books this year.... and ... more importantly, my kids start school in two and a half weeks ... so my plan is to have art to show you in three and a half weeks ... so, before the end of august i'll be back to my painting self .....

e.beck.galapagos ...

hello dear kind art blog readers ....
i am taking a small hiatus from this blog, to blog elsewhere ....
i have started a blog called e.beck.galapagos.... i'm thinking you can guess why ...
i'm trying to be all organized about it and have a new post drop in every morning at 8am for a month... 30 days ....
i'm not technologically savvy enough to know for sure that it'll happen quite like that .... and though i think i'll be writing it for 30 days, my trip is just a fraction of that time ... i just think it's gonna take about 30 posts to tell the story ....
so ...
if you miss me here,
see me there ....
happy trails ... 
back in a flash .... as fast as a giant galapagos turtle can cram a rolly suitcase into the overhead bin on its air galapagos flight......

book blog

hi ... i've just updated my blog page that lists the books i've read ... i've not done well keeping up on a book to book basis .. but i just updated a huge stack that's been sitting on my bedside table ..... so, we are up to the minute now on my book reading ... i've just read book 41 of the year ....