I have never just let things be in my paintings, either. Just today I picked off some debris which had apparently been picked up by my brush. Maybe I, too, need to let that go a little better.

Yes, my son and I are very similar in that way. He is very, very dear and I am lucky to have such a 19 year old son.

Oh gee, I did not mean to cause you to wake in the night, Marianne, however I am glad it is with creative urges. I will be so excited to see what comes of these dreams you are experiencing. The other thing about these creative dreams is sometimes I do not recognize them as such until I have done a painting…then I realize it looks kind of like something I have seen before and wonder if it was a dream…colors and patterns. It is interesting to contemplate. My husband would say we need a team of researchers to figure us out.

Sweet (yes, creative) dreams, Mariane!

You know I love ice images, too. Oh, and when the sun comes out after an ice storm it is like a wonderland. The greatest thing about ice is you have to stay in (so in my opinion only the fools try to go out on ice…how is that for being ugly?).

I like this idea of yours seeing things “beyond the ruin”. It is true, though, there is a lot of beauty beyond many ruins…man-made devastation is another thing all together. You are right, too, there is a great deal of beauty in what is beyond.

Well, Dianne isn’t talking about baboons today, but her post is very interesting. I think the baboon story is one of the funniest I have read in a long time…well, that and the story of your boyfriend.

Oh dear, have I set myself up? I honestly just ramble here. The cool thing is when I ramble, I also learn a lot from you guys!

You are a real keeper, Babs! Thanks!

Heading over to her place now, and also to see what Dianne is up to today,,,see if maybe it’s more baboons!

Interesting post Kim,,,be warned: we’ve come to expect them now!

I can hardly believe you have come here to post! While you are constantly in my thoughts these days, I fully expected you to be consumed with your brother and son. I have to say, I have missed you terribly and am quite honored to have you comment here, though.

I am glad you like the photo and the little story. I keep thinking how I might make this into some kind of painting. It is floating in my head and I do have some other images of these leaf imprints. So we will see. I take this as a tremendous compliment from the woman I consider one of the best nature photographers I know.

Suki, you have touched my heart in so many ways and you life with and now without your mother’s physical presence continues to fill my heart with tremendous emotion. I can hardly express to you what I am feeling. You are a tremendous and generous person I am honored to call my friend.

I am sure you will have the time to go through Dianne’s blog in the future and she will be delighted in your comments which are always so thoughtful.

As you know I am not near perfect, but I have a lot to learn about letting go sometimes.

Sweet Suki, take good care of yourself and know you will have lots of people by you tomorrow as you move through the day.

Hugs!

I really hate it when I write a long comment then loose it. Sometimes I do remember to copy it so I can paste it down if something goes wrong, though…sometimes I do not remember, too.

Well, Andrea, I do get going sometimes and don’t know when to keep my mouth shut I had not thought how the arm jostling or the metro car shaking would be your leaf falling. Now, how delightful is that? I suppose the way to say it is a true artist can take what appears to be a blunder and make it intentional, right?

You will enjoy Dianne and her blog. She is a true delight to get to know.

Enjoy Andrea!

Thank you for your words about Mom.

I have read many of the posts on Dianne’s blog, just recently and love how thought provoking and art focused they are, though I havent had a chance to comment much on the ones that especially moved me.

My paintings often have debris in or on them, esp oil as they have such a long drying time. Of this might be paint brush hairs though. I pretty much have given up being perfectly smooth and clean on my surface as it is too hard for me. Nature always has her way.

Thanks for this post, it’s so interesting, your musings about art and the way you directly connect it to people! The falling leaf on your canvas outside is for me the man who hits my arm when he passes by to get himself an unoccupied metro seat, or the constant rattling of the metro which sometimes blurs the straight lines:)

I’ll go and discover Dianne’s Blog,
have a wonderful day
Andrea