One of my biggest strength is the ability to jump into action, get things done. That however could be a double edged sword. In some cases, jumping into action may not be a good thing. Sometimes it pays to pause. Take a deep breathe, pause …and think. I have been working on this and it seems to get better with age.

Practice the Pause. 

Sketch with Hb graphite and charcoal pencil.

Another figure drawing and frabic drawing practice. Sketched this inflight. I love her expression, eyes closed, so sweet and peaceful. 

This quote was thought provoking to me. Usually we fall in love first with our eyes. But eyes can be deceiving. What if we fell in love with our eyes closed? Would that be more truthful? 

I wonder…

I liked this pose. A sexy, confident pose. It was a nice challenge to draw and paint. I kept it simple and restrained from adding too many colors to it. Believe me, it was a BIG self restraint:)

When I was looking for a quote to go with this painting, I came across this and thought, this is it! “I love and accept my body as it is and work to make it better”. In today’s world where many women struggle with insecurities about their bodies, I think this is a powerful quote.It strikes the balance of loving and accepting your body as is AND working to make it better. 
Something I am working on. 💃💃💃 

Here are some work in progress shots. 

Lately, I have been fascinated with painting flowers. Today I decided to combine my love for painting faces with my latest obsession with painting flowers…. And Frida appeared! With her quote “I paint flowers so they will not die”. Love the quote! This time, I painted her unibrow .., had to resist erasing it. Looks weird to me but it is her signature look… So I had to leave it there. 

I used watercolor for this.

My favorite colors on this page. Bright cheerful and fun. 

Practicing figure painting and painting animals. Wanted to push out of my comfort zone. It was challenging but I enjoyed it. 

Watercolor. 

A dark cloud has been lifted from my life and I am feeling light and joyful. Sketched this in celebration of that. Also practicing how to draw teeth. Reference pic on Pinterest. Teeth is tough but nothing beats a big hearty laugh with lots of teeth showing😉💃💃💃

So laugh more my friends….

Sunday am is my favorite time/day of the week. The house is quiet, my angels are still sleeping, a cup of tea at my art desk. So peaceful… At this moment, I am always filled with gratitude, for all the blessings in my life. I am thankful.

This morning, I decided to treat myself and took out my arches watercolor paper block. As usual, I drew a face. But this time, I did something different. Instead of rushing to paint her, I took my time. 

As I lay the watercolor on the paper, I watch it spread slowly on the page…. Feathering out, looking for a damp spot on the paper..  It was magical. “I should slow down and enjoy the process more often. This is so much fun!” I tell myself. 

Too often I rush into it, anxious to see the end result. By taking the time, I was able to truly enjoy the true splendor of watercolor, the joys of painting.

I loved the painting at this stage and thought I could just stop here. Why not?… But I couldn’t… It kept calling me to add more color to her. So I did. Slowly… Enjoying how the colors interact with each other, with the water and how different colors look next to each other. I did restrain myself and left some white space (that is usually my problem)😉

She is done and I titled her “Give yourself the permission to be a beautiful mess”. Yes,.. And that I am, a beautiful mess💖

I painted this at an art meet up this pm. Honestly, I struggled with her. Was not feeling it. Her hair went through many colors.. Turquoise, yellow, orange, red.. And eventually the fall colors emerge. Guess fall was on my mind😉 When I came home, I was still not happy with her but could not stop working until this.., I am finally happy with her. I think the blue background really made a difference. Glad I did not give up on her. 

I love this quote “if the words you spoke were on your skin, would you still be beautiful?”. Very thought provoking. Sometimes, we pay so much attention to how we look, but beauty is more than that. It’s how we behave, what we say, how we treat each other,… Beauty is so much more. 

Painted this inflight from east coast to west coast, while on a business trip. Finished it at home with glitter and salt for the background texture. 

I love her so much. Makes me happy just looks at her with all her glitter💃💃💃 this is why I make art… Art makes me happy. 

Sketched this during a business trip waiting at John Wayne airport. Very relaxing after being in meetings all day. Saw this reference in Pinterest and loved the theme of a warrior princess.

Had a tough time drawing the sword. It is still a little wonky but this will have to do. Good practice on hands too. 

I chose the quote “sometimes it’s the princess who kills the dragon and saves the prince.” Yes! Why not? We need to have more fairy tales that positions female in positions of strength instead of always being the one who is saved. 

Yes!