Why is change so hard for me to accept? I feel that the unknown is filled with bad news, and that I'm alone in the world like I'm opening a "Pandora's Box."

 That I will now fall victim to poverty and disease, and how much more can I loose of my material possessions? Waking up to yet another miserable day - unable to pull myself out of bed.

 Finally a day comes when I realize that I must look inside to find and understand the person I am today. And know that no one can take from me what isn't freely offered. I have love for myself that I share fully and freely. It has taken me a long time to forgive myself, and to learn to love myself

 When sinking - in the quicksand of pain - suffocating and dying - I thought I would never know love and joy again. I was wrong. What I learned from it all was that I was giving birth to my new woman self. And I could be and do what ever I wanted.

 I discovered the fine artist with in, and what a gift that is! The freedom and joy of riding my bike. These simple pleasures have and more, have no price yet are priceless.

Peace and Blessings,
Teresa

 I have a beautiful, dear friend who is going through some serious changes in her life. Change for some is very fearful, only because the familiar can be so comforting because of it's familiarity, even if it isn't good. It's familiar. So does that mean we are opening like a Pandora's box, so to speak - with all the change having a negative effect? Or is it a change like a caterpillar cocooning and transforming into a butterfly? Is change accepted and embraced and a matter of perception?

And why is it that when we are living in fear we feel the most alone.

And what happened to my perspective?

Peace and Blessings

 I'm taking a drawing class with Ken Ottinger at YC. I want to fine tune fore shortening and three dimensional perspective. So we 'll be getting a few drawings on here as well.

 I havent worked on a full size sheet of watercolor paper in some time, it is such a pleasure to work BIG. I started out working in Indigo only, I got a little board and wanted to add some color so I introduced an unknown red, and now I'm worried that the piece isn't relating. I thought about turning it over but then decided to work through the painting.

 I left my glasses there so you could get an idea of the size of paper I'm working on.

  I have been experimenting with various substrates, trying to find a canvas that I can paint on using watercolors and totally avoid the framing. So I came across this little gem the other day and ordered a few. What I learned with this piece is that I need to wet the canvas before painting. There seems to be a gesso on it, a gesso that was formulated for water based paints - it still needed to be wet before applying pigment. It was a lot of fun to do and I will continue working on it tomorrow, and hopefully it will be even better - so I can send it out for Thursdays Newsletter.

Happy Painting,

Montezuma Castle is a National Monument located near Camp Verde, AZ. A well preserved cliff dwelling built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people around 700 AD. Several Hopi Clans are able to trace their roots to immigrants from the Montezuma Castle. When European Americans discovered the Castle in the 1860's they named them for the Aztec emperor Montezuma II, due to mistaken to the mistaken belief that the emperor had been connected to it's construction.

I received a large shipment of various colors of matt board from Cheap Joes yesterday. Soooo today I was matting and framing paintings when I came across this little gem. I did this in the spring when I was painting the trees here in bloom.

I hope you enjoy ;)

 While in Nebraska I visited the Sturges Museum. The grounds were expansive with a large pond and lots of ducks and geese. The pond was quite large, in one area there was a foot bridge.

 The pond had several banks of Water Lilies - one of my favorite subjects to paint. There was one area that was quiet, inviting and meditative. I believe I have captured that stillness in the painting.

Happy Painting

  A fun little piece, I used Winsor Violet mixed with a little Q.Rose to achieve this beautiful purple. the background is a Phthalo Turq. mixed with very little Phthalo Blue. This is a sweet little piece!

Man & Woman
Diptych
24 x 18
Oil on Panel