it's been a long LONG while...

 

So it's been over a year since my last blog post.  Guess I've been a bit busy! :)  Our newest member, Kenai (pronounced KEEN-eye) is now a year old and walking around and playing with toys and driving us crazy with his screams and giving us lots of love, hugs and laughs!  It's tough being a mom to three and trying to find time to make art and homeschool and do housework and cook and clean (ok, cleaning pretty much falls off the list of priorities!) but now that the little one is a bit bigger, I've been finding more time to do the things that recharge my soul.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a mom and I LOVE my babies to the max, but it sure does feel good to paint uninterrupted and have complete thoughts that don't revolve around diapers, breaking up fights, and managing homework. :)

I've been painting lately.  Big, juicy backgrounds full of color.  Lots of experimenting.  Trying to find my voice.  Having a LOT of fun.  I like to take photos of the paintings in their various stages.  It's fun to see how they transform and evolve over time.  The above photo shows the first layer.  Below is what it looks like now after some more layers.

The color pallet was inspired by my daughter's outfit.  I loved the mix of purple, lavender, red violet, red and turquoise!

Proof that you can find inspiration just about anywhere! 

 Another painting in progress...This one started out kind of "ugly" and then it transformed into something I'm really liking.  Not sure where to go from here.  We will see what happens in time.  I'm really into the color combo of midnight blue, turquoise, red and neon pink!  I even started a pinterest board just for those colors alone.

Colors just make me super happy!  What can I say?  I am taking an e-course with Mati Rose right now called "Daring Adventures in Paint" and it has been the perfect thing to re-start my ART!  I find myself sneaking over to the studio throughout the day to add bits of paint or collage to the several canvases I have spread out on the floor.  The canvas above is completely different now.  I will have to post some before and after shots!

A lot has happened in the last year since I've last blogged.  Our oldest daughter, Brielle, graduated high school and is now in the Army!  She just graduated boot camp this winter and is now in training.  We couldn't be more proud!  Our oldest son, Zach, is also in the Army and stationed in South Korea.  We haven't seen him in over a year.  He has yet to meet his youngest sibling in person.  It's hard having a member of your family in the military--especially a child!  But they are hardly "children" anymore--they are both growing into such beautiful and amazing adults!  Thank goodness for letters, phone calls and Skype!  I can't wait to hug both of them in person, though.  And Raul's dream (and mine) is to have all five kids together at once.  Some day! :)

So that's it for now.  Hoping to post at least a few times a week.  My goal is to get into some kind of regular art-making schedule.  And post the updates here on the blog.