More Characters, an anniversary!

Paint Party Friday

Show Your Face Friday

Danielle Mack 30 day Paint Challenge

 Daisy Yellow Icad Challenge

Day 25 The Inventor #icad 55

Partnered with someone twenty five years is a long time. Married 

for twenty three years in a less than satisfying relationship is

 hard work.  To have little eyes observing the dysfunction is 

even worse! Providing substantially, as a team, and biting
your lip to maintain peace is not enough! Especially when 
daily nuances of disdain and frustration trickle in, eating 
away at your soul! Eventually it may not be
  healthy or worth all the heartache!

Fashionista Day 28 #icad 58

  I always worried I was teaching my daughter 

how to live in an toxic marriage. The thought of

observing her in a similar relationship to mine

kept me up nights! Wondering daily how long I could 
tolerate my situation. The logistics always gave me
 pause as I worried life would be worse on my own!

 Day 23The Acrobat #53

Which it was at times. Some friends envied my 
freedom. I reminded them everything was a trade off.
The first few years were unforeseen and  so difficult! 
 Eventually the situation mellowed, life became more
 peaceful! Still there were many hardships but we 
made do! 

Day 24 Yoga Instructor #icad 54

Having such a lovely network of friends

and an empathetic brother,

got me through the worst of times!

  Even at ten with all the turmoil she

suffered Cupcake knew not to repeat my

mistakes!  

Thankfully history would not repeat with
her relationship! Instead she found a kind,
talented jack of all trades with the same
good nature as my father, the grandpa
she never knew! 

Love this photo of Cupcake and Beardo at the Martin Short, Steve Martin show!

They are able to dance through life enjoying
each other as best friends! Supporting each
 other through tough situations, and holding
 each other up with kindness! 

 

Ballerina day 22 Icad 52

Sunday July 31st   will be the twenty year

anniversary of one of the worst days of my life,

that lead to hundreds of the best days of my life!

The Banker day 26 #icad 56

Have you ever had to make a trade off that 

turned out better or worse than expected?

Day 27 Treasure Hunter  #icad 57

Since that ugly day two decades ago 

I have found my ability to create art

in ways I never thought possible!

Purchased and hung onto a very

nice comfy home for eighteen years.

Day 30 The Artist Icad 60

Best of all I raised a kind, loving, humanitarian!

A gifted strong woman who I can trust and  laugh with!

Cupcake  sent me this photo of shoes she saw  at Winners

I apologize if anyone likes these dolce and gabbana shoes. 

I find them hideously clumpy with the crocheted gold tips 

and gramma old timey jewelry! That's not the worst part!

 On sale they are almost a thousand dollars with tax....INSANE!!

Who would pay regular price of  almost fourteen hundred dollars!! 

 You could buy a couch on sale for that!!

We both laughed so hard. They may be comfortable and 

sturdy, and the colour  is okay...but my goodness 

these are a show stopper ugly for sure!!

 

  seen at Nordstoms

Also a thousand dollars a pair....Cupcake was pretty sure there

were a few pairs of these lovely shoes in our Halloween box

in the back of the closet. Shoes I wore back in the day!

 Of course they don't share the same label or price!! 

For now I'll stick with my wedgies!!

What's the most you ever spent on a pair

 of shoes or boots?

Character of Characters!

   Paint Party Friday
Show Your Face Friday

Danielle Mack 30 day Paint Challenge

  Daisy Yellow Icad Challenge

Day 8 Bird Lady

Trying to make a point at the expense of 

an older relative set in their ways can be fruitless.

Especially when you know that person is 

 pretty narrow minded!!I It's 

 pointless to waste energy trying.

 Day 13 The Gardner

 Opened minded types with good character
are often a lot easier to reason with!
  Even when they have strong convictions
they seem to be more likely to embrace a
new idea! It's the stubborn mid aged 

 know-it-all  that scares me the most! 
Those void of compassion, understanding, 
 kindness and  rich life experience!

Day 10 The Singer

 When a young woman wears  semi
 casual pants to a prestigious wedding  
several elderly family members are attending, it

 says a lot about her character! Especially when
she's known to dress up for other less 
important occasions! 

Day 9 Wall Flower

 We all express our-self in unique ways!

In the end it's  not a single act or circumstance

that pinpoints who we are! It's our 
over all character that truly defines us!

 It's the ordinary everyday situations and 
interactions that  prove who we are!

  Attitude, perspective, and circumstances can 
change over the years as we experience 
new things! It's our intentions and 
character that we carry with us daily
no matter what! 

Being  defiant for the right cause can be commendable.

It can be honorable to stay true to your convictions 
even when it's unpopular, as long as no one gets
hurt.  In the end it always boils down to 

character! What does your character say 

about you?

Are you a wallflower  who sits around looking
pretty but  prefers  not to be seen or heard.
 One who never helps while all the others
do the work around you?

Day 14 The Baker

Are you the baker who never goes anywhere empty handed?
Quietly helping others behind the scenes but rarely
 recognized for his good deeds.

Are you the Bird Lady who is always flapping her 
wings, flying around frantically so busy with no
 time for intimacy? Laying a few  eggs along the
way wondering why she's so tired and
unfulfilled.

Are you the Gardner planting new seeds,
nurturing her creative garden? Spending time
admiring the fruits of her labour, sharing her
harvest with others. Plugging along at
natures pace thinking of new things to grow. 

Day 12 The Librarian

Are you the librarian with an insatiable need to
cull information to share with the world? Needing more
quiet time than most to absorb as much knowledge
as she can in one sitting? Hoping one day to 
convey the best parts of what she's learned
by writing a book!

Day 11 Flower Girl

 Are you the Flower girl born beautiful and privileged, yet 
always so full of disappointment? Finding the worst in every
 situation, never feeling satisfied?

Are you a colourful wallflower who looks
more interesting than she actually is?
Living in the past, not up on current events,
slightly narrow minded with gossip  and
complaints  her only form of conversation?

Are you the Singer in  search of adoration? 
Worshiping money, constantly capturing selfies! 
Waiting for others to fail so she can feel better
about herself !

   Or the Singer who sings from her soul
 whether others are listening or not?
  Enjoying every aspect of other  musicians, 

learning and cherishing each special encounter! 
Savoring  her gift with
 gratitude and appreciation!

Homeless in the City

Are you a caregiver? Kind to all, especially
the elderly and less fortunate? Listening with
compassion to boring old stories without   
 a wince of angst. Absorbing the lessons
of the ages? 

When something questionable is said that I'm not

quite sure how to take. I always revert back to a persons

character. If I know them to be kind and loving with

good intentions I always make what they say a positive!

What does your character say about you?

A few new characters!

   Paint Party Friday
Show Your Face Friday

Danielle Mack 30 day Paint Challenge

Day 4# Moon Princess

I've been working on Danielle Macks Paint challenge 
this month. It's  taken me down a different path  combining  
Acrylics, inktense pencils, gesso and charcoal. I love 
nighttime and the moon..so this short, quirky, 
 little moon princess  is one I quite like! 

Day #1 Deep Sea Mermaid

It's rare for me to sketch a character with pencil before 
painting. As an intuitive artist I tend to look for characters
in the paint! Not this time though! I'm not a huge fan
of mermaids  so this was a stretch for me!
Cupcake  was never into them either.She despised
 "The little mermaid" movie because of the scary witch!

I even love her in all the colour changes...a blue moon anyone?

 I must admit I got a bit ahead of myself  sketching several  
at a time.Then returning to paint them!
Each character with it's own personality, 
there are definitely some I like better than others!

Day#2  the annoyed "Tree Fairy" done with inktense pencils

  My little tree fairy seems very annoyed!! I am a huge 
tree lover and there was a time my back yard tree was removed 
without my knowledge. I grieved for several years and it took a
 few tries before another tree finally took  in it's place!! 

Maple tree in my back yard!

This little maple still doesn't provide the lovely shade  
once enjoyed! However it does fill in the space and provide
 some beauty!  It shall be raining for the next ten days and as you
can see the  greenery is very happy about that!

 This rain is a blessing as there was a huge out of control bog 
 fire on Sunday! Fifteen minute drive away. Cupcake
took the photo below catching a picture of the smoke! 

Burns bog fire July 3, 2016 ash rained down on cars  15 minutes away!

Burns Bog is habitat to  300 plant and animal species, and 175 bird
 species. Beardo and his brothers frequented there with their bikes
  as children! His little nephews were there only a few 
weeks back! It was extremely  disconcerting for all, as 
the fire jumped a highway threatening a large 
business sector!...We're all extremely  relieved by this
summer rain!

Day #3 Butterfly princess

Butterflies  seem to symbolize fruition in my life! 
They seem to show up during a perfect moment.
just before  a big life change!

Day #6 Ice Queen 

I could easily be known as the Ice Queen in more of

a literal sense than the normal context of this cold Queen. 

I love icy drinks! For well over two decades I had a

built in ice maker in my fridge. I whizzed up frozen drinks

all summer long for my daughter and her friends! 

A few with alcohol for my friends too! Then for a decade 

 and a half I didn't. In fact I was lucky  when my fridge freezer

 froze regular ice cubes!  Now for the 

first summer in eighteen years we have a steady flow

of ice once again!! I am one happy ice Queen!!

 Day #5  Tribal Warrior mixed media

I was once a bit of a warrior against injustice. I often
went to bat for those less fortunate. However
at my age I haven't much fight left!
I feel the circumstances of today are  nudging the 
youth to take a powerful stance against injustice!
It scares me, yet I know we all stood up to 
make big changes. Sadly there is so much more 
to be done!  

Day #7 Masked Fighter

I was never much of a masked fighter more of 
a stand up and speak with passion! My whole
life I was for the underdog.  Some how I always
managed to float just above that. However things
can quickly change and we can all be in 
the underdog position without much notice!!
I have been there too!
 
I always did the best with what I had!
Finding joy in any and every nook and cranny
possible! Now my daughter does the same
I really believe it's one of the 
components to  happiness!!

Oh and wouldn't life be rich if we could 

just wear rose coloured glasses and change

the moon to pink on a whim?

How about you do you have any of these 
characters residing with in?

Check out this very quick  video  of an 
awesome artist   collaboration
with her toddler.  Amazing!!
 For more from this artist go here!!