Simba's crossing

In case you're wondering why it's been such a tough week for me, well, for one thing my Simba is leaving us. He's been in the process of shutting down all week but still is hanging on by a thread. He was diagnosed with Kidney disease about 1 1/2 years ago and has been fine mostly but now it's time. I sitting here with him as he fades in and out but always responds to the touch of my hand. I keep touching his face letting him know Mommy's right here, and sending him healing energy. (healing can come in the form of dying too)  He had one day of being violently sick and I seriously gave thought to putting him to sleep; something I never ever wanted to have to do- but now I can see why one would do it. It was torture to watch him suffer. Luckily, the next day he stopped being sick and I'm just hoping that now he'll find his own way to cross over peacefully. He's always been very slow at making decisions and this seems to be no different for him. It's been days since I thought he'd go but he's still here. I keep looking at the little yellow fleece blanket on him to see if it's still rising and falling. I've gotten the message SEVERAL times this week from my angels/guides to 'be patient, everything comes in it's perfect timing' and that, this is HIS crossing, not mine so I need to stop wanting him to do it quickly for my own selfish reasons of ME not wanting to suffer this emotional heartache.  

 Isn't death strange? On one hand, it's a beautiful crossing into another dimension,  just a transformation of energy, like a caterpillar into a butterfly, but on the other hand, there can be such suffering, not only for the person/animal itself, but for those around them that love them.  I keep trying to see the beauty in it, and not get lost in the emotional sorrow but it's been really tough. I know it won't be long now.

About an hour later......Simba just crossed over. He had his head in my hand and it was peaceful. In fact it couldn't have been any better a crossing. Thank you Simmy.  About a minute before he died, I saw a vision of him floating over us, so I knew it was going to be soon. He looked happy, whole and content. It was his message to me that he's fine. I know he is. A sense of relief has come over me- like I know he is finally free. (of course, I'm bawling my eyes out as I write all this!)

Sparkles on everything!

This past week has been a week of highs and lows. I don't know if that has anything to do with the fact that I've been on a creative streak or not, but I've been having a ball branching out and working with all kinds of different things.

As you can see, I'm getting in the mood for Christmas because I broke out the glitter. I just felt like I needed  to see some sparkles. Maybe it's because I wasn't feeling too sparkly.  

I went crazy one day and pretty much sparkled everything in my path. It was fun! You can see some of my items on Ebay right now: http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I not only added glitter, but I added yarn as another element to my work. Once in a while I just have to break out of my rut and let loose! I love to do more crafty things around Christmas. I wish I had more time to indulge, but.....

Blessing Boxes



3.5"x3.5"x2" wooden box



I have been painting like crazy- on canvases, and even on boxes! Here are a couple of my recent works and a link to where you can find them.



http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/84014579/hand-painted-wooden-blessing-box-with

These little boxes come with a 'Pocket Angel' (rock) already in them . I made them with my own personal  Blessing Box in mind. I keep pieces of paper in mine with names of people who need blessings and or healings of some sort. It's a container of hope, possibilities and light!

Cape Cod Collage/map

Here's another Cape Cod "map" for my latest series. This one is a collage over a painting. It's kind of whimsical and fun.

The leaves are starting to fall, but we haven't really had a fall. Does that make any sense?  Have a happy day!

Cape Cod Map Painting

Here's my latest 'map'. Scroll down to see how it came about.



It went from this........



                                                                            To this!

Seeing that I have to have about 8 completed 'maps' for an upcoming show in about 2 weeks and it takes about a month to complete ONE, I had to improvise a little. I added a map onto one of my paintings! It's actually not as bold as it looks in this photo- it's a little softer and really blends in with the painting so you can barely see it. It's kind of a neat effect I think and I'm pleased about how it turned out.

Cape Cod Houses

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I just finished these 3 miniature paintings; listed on Ebay right now. (2.5"x3.5") When I look at them I realize that Cape Cod does have beautiful quaint, rose covered cottages and architecture that other parts of the world just don't have. Even though my house doesn't look like this, I feel so fortunate to be able to see this beauty every day.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Scenes like these are so common around here that sometimes even I tend to take them for granted. When that happens all I need to do is get off the Cape and then I realize just how lucky I am.

It seems like almost everywhere you go you can look beyond rooftops or over white pickett fences and get a peak of the water- whether it may be the Cape Cod Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, Nantucket Sound or various other waterways and marshes along our beautiful coast.
I can't even imagine what it would be like living somewhere that I couldn't see the water every day.

Large Antique Map Collage of Massachusetts

24"x36"

Here is another 'map' of Massachusetts that I just finished. It's actually a collage. I took a real antique map that was in disrepair, mounted it on a canvas then embellished it with paint and other antique elements.
Just a little something different.

Cape Cod Topographical (kind of) Map

Here is my finished painting. Scroll down and see how I did it in stages.





Stage #1 laying down the base painting





Stage #2

 After I laid the ground work I proceeded to take a permanent marker to make lines in the land and in the ocean- loosely symbolizing some topography. (of course, this is not to scale or exact in any way- it's an artistic interpretation). When putting permanent marker on a painting it will always bleed through the paint- this was the desired effect.

Finished painting 20"x24" wrap around canvas, painted on all sides

Then to take it a step further, I added dimension to the lines by doing some shading. I really like how it came out. I especially like the colors of the water.

This map will be shown at the Cape Cod Package Store- in the wine tasting room/gallery for the month of November (2011). Keep an eye on my blog for more maps that are going in this show.

October Angels

Here are 2 new angel paintings to start off October.  This one is an 8x10 and it looks even better in person. The camera just doesn't seem to pick up all the 'glowy' colors I use. Anyway...It's on Ebay right now. http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist



http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist



This is a little one (ACEO- 2.5"x3.5"). She has glitter on her wings and in real life it looks really pretty. Again, the camera doesn't photograph glitter very well. Lately I have been feeling like glittering the wings of the angels. I feel like some of them really just want to sparkle and shine.

baby grapes

It looks like fall is really here on the Cape. The roads aren't as crowded and people aren't on the beaches like they used to be (except to walk them). I'm loving all that but of course the weather is starting to change too. I can't believe it's already October!

Pretty soon all the boats will be out of the Bay and the cold winds will blow. I don't even want to think about that yet though. The other day while taking a motorcycle ride I rode down Scudder Lane and snapped off these photo's. What a perfect day it was.

 Those two guys were rowing out to a boat that was pretty far out there, but I'm sure it was well worth it just to take a sail on this day. You can see the dunes of Sandy Neck Beach in the background.

I was fascinated by the patterns the trees made against the afternoon sunlight so I pulled over and took this picture.

Brielle didn't come home this weekend. Sienna and I (and the cats) miss her. :(