CREATIVE DREAM IS FOREVER

"Dreams do not have an expiration date." From a 41 year old mother

IN JOY AND IN SORROW Real life as we know it is not always like a Disney fairy tale. Real life is more like a journey full of detours and sometimes dead ends along the way. Below is a photo of myself and Cely (a close cousin) during one joyful times in our backyard. She bought this oil painting "Reflections By The Lakeside" from me about a year and a half ago. I am sure this peaceful painting calmed her during difficult times. Last November I featured her on my blog because she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then she went through weeks of chemotherapy with no energy. The story of her survival and recovery is a very inspiring story.
IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH We continued to connect despite of her illness. Last week, I mentioned on my blog that Cely's comment was the best so far. Let me share again her comment and e-mail. "Dreams do not have an expiration date," said the 41 year old mother who just recently qualified for Olympic team for swimming. She won over the girls half her age." I would say that inspiration does not have an expiration date either. If I start dreaming, I get inspired, then I am able to create something. That is why life is never boring.
E-MAIL FROM CELY "Having worked as a chef for years, one of my jobs every morning was to check the expiration dates of all the foods in the kitchen. I was really impressed when that swimmer said that dreams do not have expiration date. In spite of all the things that have happened to me I have not stopped dreaming, creating and being inspired. This summer I have spend so many hours outside in the garden, meditating and always in awe to find new sprouts everyday. As Dave (my husband) would say "No weed is safe in my sight." I have taken so many pictures of all the flowers, birds and butterflies. To some people this might be boring. I do not do this just to pass time.....this is part of my healing. It reassures me over and over that God cares for me. Thanks for including my comment in your blog. I hope that people will continually be inspired"

SUMMER ARTISTIC SCENE

"You see things and you say 'Why?' but I dream things that never were, and I say 'why not?' -George Bernard Shaw

ME,CREATIVE? The eloquent statement above applies to everyone. We all have the capacity to dream, and to create. It is commonly held that there is such thing as "the creative spark." But in my perspective the "creative spark" is not the exclusive property of few rare individuals, but rather part of the every day mental activity of everyone, even the most ordinary.
A SUMMER OIL PAINTING Summer this year is like a passing breeze. It's going too fast. It's hard to believe that we are already in mid-summer. The long summer days seem not enough to do and paint everything I wanted. I am posting a painting I did one summer ago. The painting above is inspired by our past summer trip to Calgary, Canada. After my husband attended a conference there, we drove to Lake Louise. The scenarios are lovely along the way. This is one of them. Changing our routine and taking a relaxing trip will surely improve our creativity.
INSPIRATION. Oh , yes, there is a substitute for hard work-inspiration. Anyone with imagination and inspiration has the power to think creatively. I also learned that creativity comes when I am not sweating it out. This painting is my accomplishment for taking it easy.

BEST COMMENT ON THIS POST The comment below is from a cousin (Cely Suley) that I featured on my blog last November. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through a difficult surgery. Then weeks of radiation. Her recovery & survival is an inspiring story. Here's her comment today: "Dreams do not have an expiration date"......said the 41 yrs. old mother who just recently qualified for the olympic team for swimming. She won over the girls half her age. I would say that inspiration does not have an expiration date either. If I start dreaming, I get so inspired, then I am able to create somthing. This is why life is never boring.

ART OF GARDENING

"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a home grown tomato"- Lewis Grizzard

HOME GROWN TOMATO My husband is the hard working vegetable gardener at home. For him gardening is a great stress reliever after a long day at work. He told me it's cheaper and healthier to garden than go to see a psychologist. It's true! I have never seen him smiling so handsomely as when he hold and tasted the first fruits of his harvest. The photos below were taken last year. Although he planted 10 new organic tomato plants this summer, our new photos are not yet ready. So I am sharing photos from last year.

MY HUSBAND Tasting the fruit of his labor. This year he planted many yellow tomatoes but they are not as lovely as the previous year. There is nothing as satisfactory or thrilling than gathering and eating the vegetables one had grown.
BIG YELLOW AND DELICIOUS TOMATOES FROM OUR GARDEN#1
YELLOW TOMATOES#2

YELLOW TOMATOES#3

MY GRAND DAUGHTER AUDREY WITH YELLOW FRESH TOMATOES
ME AND HANDFUL OF YELLOW TOMATOES Yes, I love these organic toms. Very sweet and satisfying. Everyday, we eat salad and put lots of fresh tomatoes on it. Gardening and cooking are complementary creative pastimes.

ART OF SOLITUDE

"If women were convinced that a day off or an hour of solitude was a reasonable ambition, they would find a way of attaining it. As it is, they feel so unjustified in their demand that they rarely make the attempt. "- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

WHY WE NEED SOLITUDE? I truly believe that it's essential for busy women, by which I mean all of us, to pause a moment- to reconsider the subject of solitude. Many of us approach time like it were frivolous and expendable luxury rather than a creative necessity. Why? We don't realize that certain doors or windows are tapped only when we are alone. We need to be alone to feed our souls.
"WOMEN FROM THE SOUTHWEST" Many years ago I painted this group of Indian women from Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is one of my figure studies in oil. It took me a while to do this small oil painting about 12" x 20" because human subjects are difficult to paint. This group of women fascinated me, so I gave it a try. They were busy working women. Here they proudly displayed their beautiful potteries. They loved company and probably crafted their potteries together. The above painting was the result of my labor,patience and solitude. I love this painting so much that, I still own it.
As an the artist I know I must be alone to create- the painter, to paint her/his masterpiece and the writer, to work out his thought. I need solitude in order to find inspiration and be more productive. To still the soul in the midst of too many demanding activities. I am a solitaire. Honestly I paint better when I am alone than in the company of many artists. I am less exhausted because I don't spend my energy talking when painting. While others work with CD's on and talking on the phone, I prefer to do things my way. I love to paint in solitude.

TID-BITS ABOUT FAMOUS ARTISTS I just finished reading a novel "The Last Van Gogh." He was a great impressionist artist, who many considered a genius. He and Paul Gauguin (another famous impressionist artist) were good friends and roommates. Despite of being good friends they always argued about their artistic styles and techniques. Although they enjoyed each other's company, I was surprised to know they never painted together. Even men craved solitude. Vincent said "But I prefer to paint alone. Even when I lived with Gauguin, we rarely painted at the same spot. My creative work is better suited for solitude." Vincent always wanted solitude and painted well when alone. And I think his desire for solitude helped him greatly to create his extraordinary masterpieces. No one have ever surpass his paintings.

WINDOW ART

" A house is who you are, not who you ought to be."- Jill Robinson

HOME PERSONALITY Whether we like it or not the personalities of our homes are accurate barometer that reflect, through our surroundings - where we have been, whats's going on in our lives, and who we are. While having lots of money certainly helps us express ourselves through our surroundings, creating a warm, imaginative and artistic home that reflects our own personality doesn't have to begin by hiring a decorator or pulling out our credit cards or checkbook. Today, no matter where you live, look upon your home with creative eyes and inventive minds. Decorating with a simple but well done painting will do the trick. Walk through your window and offer thanks for the lovely view, garden, roof that safely enclose you and yours. Be grateful for the home you have even if you don't own an original paintings by Vincent Van Gogh or Georgia O'Keeffe.

"VIEW FROM A BATHROOM WINDOW" This oil painting is 16" x 20" and painted on canvas. This is one of my early realistic oil paintings which I painted in the 90's. The colors are muted, a diversion from my vibrant colors. As always, I love to decorate our small cottage home with my own paintings. This painting is about a bathroom window looking out into a lovely view of the garden with cascading water fountain. It's lovely to look at and the one who has this kind of view is lucky indeed. Many years ago, I gave this painting to a lovely bride. I am her god-mother. This painting was my wedding gift for her and the groom. I am sure it had added personality to their first home together.

FROM THE ARTIST BACKYARD #2

"In solitude, we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us." - Virginia Woolf

SUNSET FROM THE BACKYARD It is very necessary for me to nurture my creativity daily. Whenever I am home, at the end of the day I go to our backyard, to reclaim my solitude. I stop whatever I am doing and give passionate attention to my inner life. I take time to notice the details around me. Simply gazing at the sunset is calming and encourages my creativity. This is one of the sunset views that I captured from our backyard. If you look closely at this photo, the electric post below the sunset looks like the Golden Gate Bridge silhouette. The sky cape with dark violet and orange is very inspiring.

SUNSET FADING INTO HORIZON Mother nature's palette is a rich source of inspiration. Just looking at the sunset is sure to ignite me and be ready for tomorrow with all the painting challenges before me. I rarely grow tired of where I live. Taking a few steps toward our backyard is not a herculean effort. Nothing seems to refresh me quite so much as seeing the beautiful sunset. Change is an excellent remedy for tired feeling. By change I do not mean taking a trip by car to far away places. We can transform and refresh our outlook just by enjoying the sunset with its many changing colors. A free show without spending a fortune on gallons of gasoline. This is a simple pleasure that sometimes we forget and take for granted.

FROM THE ARTIST BACKYARD #1

"Why do we love certain houses, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in our surroundings." -
T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings

HOME SWEET HOME The minute my husband and I walked into our present home, we knew it had warmth. There's coziness that attracted us. The warm resonance of a charming cottage look beckoned us to sink into comfort to our hearts content. Simple beauty. Inviting home and surrounding with serene and panoramic landscape. It's a small house with only 1,400 square feet but very efficient. Two bedrooms with bathrooms and a loft with its own bathroom too. I imagined right away this would be my future studio. We fall in love with this house and was willing to downsize. We sold many furnishings that wouldn't fit here. We bought many new furnishings that fit and look good in our small cottage home. After ten years, we are still living here and didn't expect to have a lasting infatuation with this home.
PANORAMIC PERSPECTIVE I think our backyard is the best part of our home. There is a vast open space before us. We don't have any neighbors from the back that could obstruct our view. Here is one of the spectacular shows that entertains and inspires me daily from our kitchen window. This is a daily scene unless it's raining or the weather is gloomy. Every day, the scene is surprising. The sky scape has different colors and moods. When God paints His masterpieces in Nature it's truly awesome. Is there someone who doesn't long to live in such a home with magnificent surrounding? The reflections from nature is always heartwarming. Someday it's not easy to be easy to leave this home.
MANY MOTHER'S DAY SPENT IN THIS HOME This second photo is only slightly different from the first but I am posting it too. I have many happy Mother's Day memories in this home. My children are all grown up now. They often visit me and my husband. I enjoy having our grand kids around too. They often vacationed here and I make sure our home nurtures and inspires them. I did many beautiful paintings here although I have not painted the above scene. I believe it's not the huge space or size of a home that's important. Sometimes the huge size could deplete our energy and resources. Our home should be a place for inspiration and renewal. It's good to have found a home like this. I hope to live and celebrate more Mother's Day in this home for many more years to come.