Labor Day 2016. Friends, painting is not labor. The fun and enjoyment derived from the hours I have in my studio can’t be measured in time or money. Truly, we all know the phrase ‘starving artist’ – well…yes. But I am full in many other ways – and one of those blessings is being able to share my work with you. Let me know what you think of this new style I am working on…it is from my Foxy Lady line.
Some good-byes in life are easier than others are. When my husband threw away his cigarettes twenty plus years ago I did a dance of joy at the farewell party. Other partings are much more difficult. Like saying goodbye to my friend, Jan Plasterer, when for seven months in 1996, we were aware that breast cancer had written her exit scene. What amazes me the most is that as we hurtle toward fall 2016, we will not just be bidding adieu to another summer but one that was an awesome gift from God. As summer passes most people send it off with a super duper farewell scene called “The Last Rites Of Summer”, which happens over the Labor Day weekend. Whatever you do over 2016 Labor Day, enjoy the weekend and be safe. Sharing with you some of the doodles I did over the summer. I tend to doodle with brush, paint and pen and ink…enjoy!
This painting is of a wandering cat; originally a barn cat, who has adopted a beautiful family. They named him Yellow Cat. He has been coming and going from their backyard for a long time. He is somewhat tame with the female of the household but still a bit shy and wary towards other people. When I began painting Yellow Cat I thought about his life and how he has managed to thrive and be loved again. I hope you enjoy the painting and this story, written for cats, but applicable to all of us. How to THRIVE – from the Sweeney Cat Handbook In rapidly changing economic times your family lost their home and moved away leaving you to fend for yourself. World news continues to worsen, you’ve lost your home, your warm bed, and your loved ones. What can you do? TH – THINK Lick your cold paws, put on an air of dignity, and think – do NOT panic. You live in interesting times. Take Advantage of it! Just think and map …
We are avenues of love to others who come and go in our direction. And like a country lane, over time we change. For example in the springtime of youth, when we are colorfully fresh with bright rosy cheeks, we are teeming with new growth. As we mature our outward physical growth appears to stop as we, like the lane, bask in the splendor of abundance. In the summer of life, we give back to others like the trees of the lane give a home to birds and wildlife. Soon there is a chilling wind that changes the leaves from green to glorious colors and they begin to drop away in a transformation that only God can do. At the end of our life-cycle summer we begin to transform and to realize the importance of life as we cling to our “leaves” of hair, teeth, bones, friends, money….. And when winter hits the country lane is white with snow while the trees stand quietly waiting. When our winter comes, we too turn white of hair …
Some memories are happy; some memories are sad. Some are good and some are bad. When it comes to memories of our canine friends all of these remembrances are tossed into one wonderful bundle of fur. Memories are why I love to paint my friends dogs; especially the happy memory it creates for me, knowing the person smiled when they viewed my “interpretation” of their furry friend. Over the last few months I have painted 12 pooch portraits which I am sharing with you today. Please take a moment and VOTE for your favorite. Scroll down to see all 12. How to choose? Maybe one makes you smile, perhaps you like the colors I used or maybe there is a resemblance to a doggie friend …….just make a choice. The winner will be featured on a greeting card which will raise funds for animal shelters in three states. Texas, Montana and Florida. How to vote? Two ways: Leave a comment here on the blog site or email sweeneyartcenter2@yahoo.com and type in the name printed below …
There is nothing like your favorite old chair, or in my case chairs (plural). You see, for many years I had a chair obsession. I would fall in love with a soft comfy chair or a tall ladder-back chair, a bent-wood rocker type chair, an antique chair – you name it! I would buy chairs like most women buy shoes. I would drag them home or have them sent. Until, one day we looked around our house and realized we could hold the next town meeting with seating to spare. I was asked to stop buying chairs! Perhaps in your hectic life there are things you love right in your home or yard or neighborhood, that you never took the time to sit back and enjoy. Why not take a “Staycation” and do just that….sit back, relax and enjoy that which is all around you. I offer you my old, red Adirondack chair …….
Do you ever dream of faraway places that you would love to visit? Africa’s Serengeti is on my bucket list. Sometimes I Google Map it and enjoy a few minutes of incredible pictures without the ad cookies or travel companies calling me later. If you can’t make it all the way to Africa but still want to see beasts in the wild; I suggest booking a trip to San Diego Wild Animal Park. Operated by the San Diego Zoo, it offers 3500 animals on 1800 acres resembling their normal habitat. It is located about 30 minutes northeast of San Diego CA; which is a fun destination point all on its own. The Wild Animal Park is an animal and plant preserve that was originally a breeding facility for endangered species for the San Diego Zoo. Recently, it was renamed San Diego Zoo Safari Park; but you can locate it with either name. You can also check out the blog called Roam Wild And Free to read about safaris in Montana where you will see Bison, …
When my husband and I purchased our home of 27 years in the bay area of Northern California we noticed a hole at the very bottom of the fence in the back yard. We then noticed another small hole in the front lawn fencing. Subsequently, we learned that the neighborhood wild animals, such as skunks, raccoons, possums and the like, were using the holes to get from a distant field to an even more fertile area near a park in our neighborhood. Late at night we would watch the animals make the trek and use our yard as the major though fare. They actually wore a path in the soil and lawn. We appropriately named the path “The Chisholm Trail”. We never shut it down, it was there before we were. Years later, here we are in Texas, right on the real Chisholm Trail route. Who knew? Please enjoy my interpretation of “The Old Chisholm Trail” – Americana, the good old days.
How many of us have sat on the front porch, perhaps on a swing, a chair or bench? It just seems that at some point in our lives we should do some front porch sitt’n; because that is where memories are made and neighbors are met. Back home in Montana our front porch was screened in and had a piano where my mother would play fun things like Tiger Rag. She’d sing “hold that tiger” and then run her fingers down the entire length of the key board. We kids just went nuts over this song and demanded she play it faster and faster. We also counted the cars that drove by our place on the Hiway between nowhere and somewhere else. The game was to guess if the next car would be a Chevy or a Ford. Now that’s iconic America.
Thankful for the peace of coming home. Coming Home by Kathy Sweeney Watercolor and Ink 11/2014
Sweeney Art Center 