“Gratitude and Peace”  

In November we celebrate Thanksgiving in the USA.
It’s a time to celebrate with family and friends.  A time to recall all we’re thankful for in our lives.
A time to reflect on those who came before us and those we might of lost recently. Those lives were not in vain but part of the greater whole that exists in our world and universe.  

I’ve felt privileged to be a part of a group helping military family’s find some peace by offering memorial portraits of their “fallen soldier“.
The group’s leader Darla Dixon, a pencil portrait artist, formed this special group with 15 artist.  

I recently finished my second soldier portrait for a family. It’s always an amazing experience to connect with the family member and then work on the special memorial portrait of their soldier.  There is a lot of  gratitude that is exchanged between each of us.  I’m very thankful that I can provide some peace for a family  by  creating  a portrait for them.  

Peace and gratitude to all  

“Soldier Portrait “,
Watercolour pencils  

       E. Family:
“Thank you for the beautiful portrait ….  its great.”
“...its hanging above the fireplace, Thank you so much …”

“Turning a new Leaf”  

 Ah yes, September is here.  September is a month of endings and new beginnings.  

The Summer is over. The girls had a great time this summer learning to swim and enjoying the warm days of summer. But as the seasons change so does our routine.  

Schools are opening once again for the school year.  Our oldest daughter, Emily,is now in the 1st grade.  She likes her teacher this year (Mrs. McDonald) and is enjoying school.  Our youngest daughter, Amanda, will start her second year of preschool this coming Monday.  She’s looking forward to going to “her” school as she calls it .  She loves playing and learning.  

Days change with the seasons.  There are beginnings and endings yet the circle of life is continous.
We recently experienced that more so than usual.
From Fall to Spring our girls go to dance classes at this local dance studio.  The studio has a “community/family feeling” to it.  Well the oldest daughter of the owner of the studio developed ovarian cancer 3 years ago at age 17.  After a 3 yr. fight with cancer she passed away last Friday.  The out pouring of love was monumental.  We cried and comforted each other.  This young woman touched, taught and inspired many through her love of Dancing.
I saw her first dancing on stage when my niece was first involved in this dance studio years ago.  When she danced on stage she shined.  Everyone around her could feel the love she expressed through her dance.  She was an inspiration to watch.  Through the ups and downs of life she showed others how to “dance” through it all.
I can’t imagine the pain the family has had and pray that they find peace.  I can only imagine her dancing in heaven now.  

The cycle of life is an amazing journey.  We can do our best to take in each step of the way: Learning, Teaching and Inspiring each other.  

To find out more about Ovarian cancer you can visit, www.ovarian.org  

Works-in –progress:  

I promised to show my progress in creating images from our trips to the zoo.  

I created some first drawings from some of the photos I took on our trips to the local Zoos.
Drawings: Zoo

“E is for Elephant”

We are members of the local Roger Williams Zoo  and take some time to visit the zoo when we can.  They have a wonderful assortment of animals to see.

Our daughter Emily’s favorite animal is the elephants, because their name begins with “E”.    

When we first got to the elephants they were outside and sort of far away in a fenced in area.  The zoo is going through some reconstruction.  They’re expanding the elephant and giraffe (who live next door) exhibit spaces.  They’ll have a lot more room to roam and a bigger pond to enjoy.  

The zoo has an indoor pavilion.  Inside we saw the giraffes, which I’ve gotten to like.  The giraffes had a couple of babies this year, which we got to see on our last visit.  The baby giraffes have since moved to a zoo in Chicago.  The adult giraffes enjoyed the cooler space in the pavilion.  

In the elephants area I couldn’t help notice one of the walls.  It has paint strokes on it.  Apparently they give the elephants some painting time.  One way they keep them active.  One sign described each elephant’s individual paint strokes.  Imagine,  they each painted (if you care to call it painting) in their own way.  I thought that was neat.
It reminded me of a site I saw in a message where an elephant learned to paint.  Apparently it gives the elephants something interesting to do besides the usual routine.   Interesting for sure.

Here is a link to an elephant that  paints. http://www.elephantart.com/

Later on during our visit to the zoo , we stopped by the pavilion again.  The elephants were in having “lunch”.  The girls loved them.  One can’t help but marvel at their size.  They’re the biggest land animal living on our planet.
Their trunk is amazing too.  They can not only breath through it, but can spray water into their mouth or on themselves .  They can use their trunk to lift heavy logs or branches.  The end of the trunk has a finger like muscle.  It can delicately pick up a piece of hay or grass.  Just incredible really.  Nature holds many wonders and the elephant is sure one of them.

I naturally got some pictures to add to my collection of photos.  I’ll have to take some time to create some of my own art images of them from the photos.

“Warming up to changes”

I’ve been able to sit outside and watch the kids enjoying their new swing set (thanks to family), and  the warmer weather.  The purple and white irises in our garden have now bloomed and the large tree in our yard gives us ample shade since the leaves have opened.  

I’ve taken on a few new things too in my business.  

I bought an entrepreneurial book, “The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur”, and signed up with the coaching group to help me brainstorm, and get clear on the things in my business that need clarification and feedback.  

I recently revamped my site too.  I changed what I wasn’t happy with and what didn’t seem to be working and placed what I wanted to focus on more to the forefront.  

Now that I’ve done that work, I would love to have you explore my updated site and tell me what you think.  

Please feel free to email at: lisa@lisasart.com.

“Gifts Shared”

Mother’s Day is Sunday.  

I’m reminded how time passes and our roles change as our lives move.

I’m not just a person, but am  a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin, a woman, a wife, an aunt and a Mom.  

The memories in time never completely fade and new experiences are always on the horizon.

My art has always been a part of my “time”, my life.

When I was in my teens, I took some oil painting lessons.  I’ve always love creating art. I also enjoyed sharing it.  One Mother’s day I  presented my mom with an oil painting of daisies in a vase.  She loved it.  Today the daisies are still there on the wall above the desk in their bedroom.

When I and my hubby were getting a little more serious in dating and  our relationship, He gave me an idea for a painting.  He had this rug from Italy with two lions on it.  As a gift to him, I did my own painting of the painting on the rug with some slight variation. Once we were married the painting was placed in our bedroom.

When I was pregnant with our first girl and  moved into our new house, I planned out a special mural for the child’(s) room. I painted a Noah’s ark theme, which included the animals, a huge boat and a rainbow.  Our first daughter was born midst the time of this creation.  I remember putting her down for a nap and going to paint.  Since that time she’s enjoyed looking at it from time to time.
““:http://www.lisasart.com/

This past April my oldest daughter turned 6.  One of her birthday gifts was an art easel.  She likes to paint.  I make sure to place her art on the wall to enjoy too.

There’s a powerful love that comes from sharing with family thru the years.

Happy Mother’s Day

Lisa G.