A recent series of studies suggest that dogs recognize kindness and give trust in return; that they experience emotions like love and attachment, like humans. We don't have to look too far to see that our dogs love us unconditionally. That's what makes them such special companions and often we choose them above the human kind. Yes, sometimes we love our dogs more than people. What makes them different is that they don't bear a grudge and don't judge us. They also wait at the door when they know you’re coming home. They dance for you with excitement when they see you, deliriously ecstatic. Who else does this? Dogs can be characterized by their specific breed, that may be true for dog lovers too. We are a breed all to ourselves. Raise your paw if you are 'one of us' - you know just what I mean. As long as your dog is happy, you are happy.

My happy dog is Roxy, a Shiba Inu of Japanese origin and one of the few ancient dog breeds that remain. She is typical of her kind, being independent, aloof and cat-like and tends toward dominance with other dogs. All this and the fact that her obedience to recall is non existent makes her a really quirky little thing that needs much understanding. She has a fox-like appearance, and oh my goodness - the softest, thickest coat, especially during winter months. I so wish she could just take the coat off and hang it in the cupboard 'till next year like I do with mine, but she prefers to undress like a teenager, leaving bits of clothing half hanging off her butt or lying in bundles on the floor. And just like I did with them, I pick it up, kiss her cheeks and still love her dearly. Unlike them she loves playing 'fetch' and is always up for a 'w', 'a', 'l', 'k'. You can't even say 'cork', 'fork' or 'talk' (with a South African accent like mine) because she'll twist her head with recognition and think she's going on one of 'those things'!

 
My daily routine is governed by her needs and how long I stay out on errands or how we take vacations depends on her. She keeps me grounded in three ways: 
- she gives me a good understanding of what's important in life
- she limits (or dictates) my movements!
- she literally gets me onto the ground. I often lie on the floor next to her for a cuddle, or I'll be on my hands and knees with my nose under the couch trying to retrieve the squeaky ball.

That she became a subject for me to paint then is no surprise. Like her, each of the dogs I have painted have their own character, expressions and personality. Not to mention colouring and fur texture! Burnt Sienna flowing and swirling over Raw Sienna washes and Payne's Grey noses shining wetly with Manganese blue highlights. It's a watercolorist's dream. I feel like I know them intimately after I've had to study each little detail of their eyes and faces for hours. I know exactly where every spot is and where each whisker falls. It's such a joy to me when the owners recognize the painting as the dog they know and love so well. I could wag my tail.

You CAN Multitask... Paint & Listen
I love a good story but don’t have the time and patience to sit and read. So while I paint I will often listen to audiobooks. One of my favourite has to be Garth Stein’s “The Art of Racing in the Rain”. I laughed and I cried, (I painted wet-in wet that day) and if you’re ‘one of us’ its a must read! Even though you already think they’re human it will forever change the way you think of your dog.

Also, an easy-listening series I am lapping up is by David Rosenfelt. Andy Carpenter is an irreverent defense attorney, also a dog lover and owner of a rescued golden retriever. The cases are clever and the writing is so witty. More laughs than tears here - I think I'm on book #8 in the series now. Who thought I'd become such a dog-loving bookworm! (not 'heartworm' - that would be bad.)

On the Easel
I'm busy working on two new pieces for the upcoming Art Show, "Five" hosted by the Winkler Arts & Culture. Yes, there is a dog involved here, but between all that flying fur will be two indulgences in another of my favorite subjects. To see what that is come along to the opening evening on Friday, May 1st at 7 pm, Winkler City Hall. There will be live music, great art and wine. My kind of evening!

'Till next time,

You may not be a middle-aged female whose kids have just left home leaving you with a new set of circumstances, but read on all the same, you may be just as lucky!

My dear friend Monica is currently lamenting her third and youngest child, moving out of the house to pursue studies in the bright, bustling, opportunity filled city! My deepest empathy is with her as I too have been afflicted with the ‘empty nest’ diagnosis. INDIGNATION! Granted, I begrudgingly fell into this category a handful of years ago, and those feelings of uselessness and teetering on the cusp of despair, scratched hard enough to leave little grooves I can easily flow into again. What can be sadder than an empty nest, especially one so lovingly and perfectly feathered?

‘Domesticated’ female birds like chickens (even cockatiels and parrots) kept well fed in a warm, well lit environment that simulates ideal natural breeding conditions, will lay eggs. When those eggs are removed, what do they do? They lay more eggs. Fertilized or not, the nest continues to be filled. You see an analogy emerging. I realize, unfortunately, there’s a potential for a picture springing up in your mind of a lonely, misguided hen frantically laying un-hatchable eggs. (Pathetic clucker doesn’t even stand a chance of being a single parent!)

But, please stop there and adjust that image. I can tell you now that my picture is in a different light. Let me start out by stating emphatically that my two children (now fabulous young adults) are and always have been my life, my focus, my purpose, and being a mother has and always will unashamedly define me. It has been 6 years that they moved to the city to study and live their lives and they even refer to returning to Winnipeg as going ‘home’ (!). Yes, I have 'the look’ on my face. However, something emerged simultaneous to that event and it was no coincidence. I have been watercolour painting for 6 years...
A lot has hatched since that day. This very tentative egg offering is dated April 14th 2009. It is the first painting I remember in this watercolour binge, so Happy Painting Anniversary to me! My intent at the time was simply to interpret a white object, but O my ... now it seems sort of symbolic. That's crazy.

So that ‘empty nest’ thing is for the birds! As hens are want to do, and perhaps are compelled to do, I kept laying those eggs, and fertilized with a little creativity and incubated with patience and tenacity, I now have a hatchling that looks more like a baby dinosaur (did someone do a switcheroo?!) and it has a voracious appetite. I could never have raised the human chicks and this monster in the same nest without a casualty like that which we observed one spring while watching a nest of baby sparrows invaded by the chick of a cowbird. It wasn’t pretty for the wee sparrows... The following year, I must confess, I asked my husband to throw out the big white egg that appeared one day among the blue ones. He probably would have done the same with my 'dinosaur egg' had it showed up when our kids were small!

I quite understand we each have our own journey and mourning our own losses is imperative, but in an attempt to soothe her I told Monica, “just think of all the cats you can swing in that empty nest”. Literally. When my brood comes ‘home’ to the country for a weekend they each bring their cat! The baby dinosaur gets stuffed into the closet and we swing with those cats all weekend, and I am happy! Cat swinging is under-rated.

I think the only thing worse than that empty nest is one that is too full. And perhaps that’s my point. Any creative venture needs room. It will not be squeezed in. If you’re feeling conflicted or frustrated in your artistic efforts it may well be that it needs  a bigger slice of your ‘life’ pie. Maybe it's just me, but my best results come when my headspace isn’t being filled with other issues, and my inspirations can be nurtured without the jabber of external noise. It’s a sublime and luxurious place to be, though even for me in my so-called empty nest, it’s an effort to achieve. I think that chasing it is useless as it’s something that just quietly appears once the other gobblers have burped and left the table. I’m not saying you should all go kick out your kids, since you may not actually have any, but we all have many worry-balls bouncing around our heads, taking more room than they deserve! Kick some of them out if you can, or give them due diligence and wait it out. They will pass. When we deliberately  provide enough space and optimal conditions like the right light and warm temperature, the creative eggs will hatch. And timing is everything.

I'm Celebrating
Another perk to an empty perch is that Momma bird gets to play her choice of music any time! I claim my Watercolour Anniversary as a worthy excuse to treat myself to some fabulous new music to paint to, relax to, dream to... and ah, just indulge in. Mark Knopfler's talent and genius is so inspiring! "Tracker" is his latest jewel. The track "Wherever I Am" is a duet with Ruth Moody (solo artist and one of the Wailin' Jenny's), another one of my musical darlings. Click the pic to sample the goods and hear a beautiful, intimate interview on Mark's approach to his own art.  Do yourself a favour (give yourself a gift)  and watch the whole video... 

So, perhaps with some lovely background music, you will be able to clear some headspace in which to grow your creativity until it becomes something you are compelled to do. 

Cluck,

Some people are writers, some are musicians and some are speakers and thinkers. Yet others are carpenters or architects, or are born helpers. We all have a unique force that drives us, with our own way of channeling our expression.
I am a painter. How do I know that? It's not as simple as it sounds with an answer like "because that's what you do, silly." I would hate to think that we can be defined simply by what we do. The actual painting is just the evidence that we have painted, not that we are painters. But the way we see things and the desire to express ourselves in a certain way can be more of a clue. I think it's because it's the first thing I want to do when I see something cast in a beautiful light, glowing in a certain way, or a fascinating shape with interesting colours. What immediately comes into my head is "I want to paint that!" It could be something in nature, a flower in a vase, a spoon, a face, or even my food! Light and shadow can make anything extraordinary. Sometimes I'm watching a movie and I want to press pause and paint that scene! (the ending is secondary!) There's that desire to process the vision by taking it apart in my mind and putting it together again on paper - in my case, using watercolour paint. Kehinde Wiley, New York artist, recently explained in an interview that looking for his next subject is like being in a state of heightened awareness, literally walking through the street and 'hunting for beauty'. He walks through the world seeing it through a rubric of how to recapture it and re-tell it. Many times for me too, this is a deliberate search, like putting on my painter's goggles and seeing what inspires me. But the best, and more telling moments are when it happens by surprise. It's when the state of heightened awareness has become normal, and when faced with that lovely thing, I am imagining right away how I am going to paint it. 

Here's a little quiz to help find out what drives YOU!
You are walking in a mall and the display in a shop window (Godiva) lit with a spotlight is a shiny silver pedestal tray with a plump, blushing strawberry dipped in chocolate making a perfect reflection on the metallic surface. Your first thought is:

A) I want to buy that for someone special
B) I want to eat that
C) There's dust on that tray, and is that a worm I see in the strawberry?
D) I want to paint that

I know what I would choose! That's how I can call myself a painter. What are you?

'Till next time,