a little inspiration in the form of an elf

sweetie took a photo of our granddaughter on christmas morning that inspired me enough that I jumped at it and pulled out one of my new gift canvasses and got to sketching;

my sweet elf inspiration

and the start of my sketch;

there is more to do before I'm totally happy with it, but that will come with paint and time.  the impish grin isn't quite yet there, and the eyes are wonky, but I'm satisfied enough that if it looks close to this when complete I'll be good.  I'm thrilled that my muse came from California this year.  THATS where she was hiding!

right now my sweetie is cleaning up all the decorations and I will be bringing up my easel and paints to work with in warmth until the spring thaw.

edit;

we've been really busy with my sons family visiting.  we took the twins and one of our boys (not their dad) to the Boston science museum yesterday...

 ...and on New Years day we will be having folks over for a game day.  tradition to have a low-key movie marathon with hubby and myself on New Years day came out of my depression because we didn't have our kids around.  they then started coming to watch the movies with us.  with the California crew coming, though, it seemed wrong to be watching a screen all day instead of visiting.  since we always gift the whole family a game or two for christmas we decided to do a game day with them last year when they were over.  it will be tradition to do so when the out-of-towners are here, with a movie marathon if they are not in town that year.  a good compromise.

as soon as things settle down and my class starts up I know I will be getting my creative juices flowing again.  I just needed a little elf (and some great kids all giving me a push with canvasses under the tree) to get up and going again.

until later,

Jenny

goodbye 2017!

it's been a while with me in the trenches of an over the top, major depression, and i'm slowly making my way out.  i could have a few more battles to go before i am ok, but at least i feel safe again.

for my oldest sons birthday in november, we did our annual decorating of his spot;

i forced out a few mini paintings for people this year to go on their tree;

i love how they each have their own personalities

and for my mother in law i painted her chihuahua pup;

we had a nice christmas with all the kids and our 10 year old grand twins from far away.  they were able to go sledding this year and it was a hit!

the very first gift to be opened (and then put out of the way) was an extra huge surprise from one of our adult kiddos!  that canvas is gonna take a lot of paint!  i've been looking thru the reference photos i've been collecting for such an occasion and i think i have a subject.  this will hopefully help the mood a bit.

after the houseful of people left for other parties early christmas afternoon, mark and i opened up stockings we stuffed for each other, in a new tradition i hope to continue as it was nice to have some sweet alone opening time with my main man.  

my three online art classes have ended for the year, and i'm feeling sad and lost without my weekly lessons from some of my favorite artist/teachers.  so this morning i raided my savings account to buy the class i most wanted this year, from kara bullock.  i will be taking lets face it 2018 which will be a year of lessons, focused on different art movements and masters from those periods.  kara has many other classes at different price levels.  (the other classes i want to take are lifebook 2018 with tam laporte and paint your heart and soul 2018 with olga furman.  the pocketbook will only allow one class right now).

i've downloaded and printed out "my magical 2018 yearbook" a free download by jen morris, hoping to get my head around some goals and start to make habits to help me achieve those goals.  i also just ordered a day planner from commit30.  these planners help plan each day with your future goals in mind, asking for a commitment of just 30 days per habit.  

i think (hope) with all the new art supplies i was gifted, the weekly classes to look forward to and to work with, and my goal planning help, i should be off to creating the life i want to live.

and on that note,

wishes for a safe, colorful, and prosperous 2018 to you and yours.

until later,
jenny

end of the year 2015!

happy christmas to you and yours, from me and my crew!

we recreated a photo of our family taken about 22 years before.  this one is without my son, winter-orion, but includes my grandtwin hearts.

my life has been busy with painting my mini ornaments as gifts and for purchase, shopping for the loved ones and falling ill with a strange tummy and chest bug right before christmas.

a few months ago I signed up for Life Book 2016 with Tam Laporte, and it is coming closer to the day when this year long class starts.  so exciting!  i happened to look up from my life and realized I had joined a couple of free classes that are many days long as well.  i’m very excited to have some sense of schedule to my life, and i’m sure these classes will force me to do daily work just to stay organized and on track with my plans for the year.  but if i am to be honest with you, i am feeling a strange resistance from the free classes.  like they are a chore my mother wants me to do, or some homework.  i am procrastinating watching the classes, and the one class i tried to watch i had a hard time following the speaker before she got into the art portion.  part of my A.D.D., i suppose, and nothing to do with the class!  i know these two classes will not be available to me for much longer, so i must get my shit together and do what i can to stay focused.  i know they will help my life in the long run, as they are more of a journaling your years' goals type class.

in preparation for Life Book, i have been organizing my studio space as much as i can.  finding spots for my new supplies and tools.  one of my sons gave me a heat gun for christmas, so a big yay for less drying time!  my daughter gave me a gift card to michaels, and i loaded up on decorative papers and washi tapes in yummy colors.  i’ve been labeling my storage spaces and trying to find convenient spots for things i think i may go to the most.  the photo below is during my time going thru my ephemera, organizing the old letters and book pages into different drawers and separating tiny pieces from big papers.

 hurricane jenny strikes the studio!

i’m excited to concentrate on my art and business this year and can tell things are getting pretty fluid in my life.  my art is coming along nicely, i'm finding my own style; the blog is plugging away and i know i will be getting more confident in the how-tos’ of blogging; my learning will greatly increase in all areas of my life; my society6 shop will grow and i will get sales from my new heavenspirit creations facebook page which will be another project in the near future; my finances will increase and i will be able to get what i need when i need or want it.  the upcoming year will be one for the books, for sure!

a gift from son #2, i know this book will help me in the coming year!

until later,

jenny