September 14, 2012

Paint.

Painting days are just the best.

Intense, losing yourself, putting your whole heart and soul into it.

Emotions, feelings, ideas, thoughts.

Pouring out of fingertips…

Painting 3

Paint drips down the painting door.

I have easels – but I opt for my door.

I stand, I sit, I dab.

Drip drip dripping paint.

And somehow, it makes it onto the floor too.

Painting 1

Cakes stop by for tea…

Painting 6

Ballerinas fly through the air…

Painting 5

Feathers adorn hats…

Painting 2

And before you know it, you need an afternoon break.

The thing about painting (or making of any type), and doing it as your full time job – for me at least – is that you need to find a balance.

Because after you paint a detailed painting, you are left feeling drained.

Not in a bad way.

But, more in an out of body sort of way.

And you have to refuel.

Painting for hours and hours is intense.

It’s another world.

No matter what you are painting.

Emotions pour out.

Energy pours out.

You have to go out and water plants, or play dress up.

Tidy your room.

Loosen up.

Go for walk.

Just something else.

For a little while.

For me the summer has been filled with a lot of sorting through 17 years of stuff from my other house.

17 years, wow.

Recently I came across these vintage shoes I bought in 1992, at an antique store.

I am not sure why they had these shoes, as they didn’t carry much clothing at all.

I was a junior in high-school.

I wore them out to the discotheques all the time.

They cost 25 cents.

Yes.

25 cents.

A quarter.

They weigh a ton.

Solid wood stumps.

I put them on this week.

It takes a little while to get used to each crazy heavy step.

They are so sturdy, and made so well it’s incredible.

Painting 8

Saying they are heavy is an understatement.

No wonder my legs were so toned back in the day.

Dancing in chunks of wood.

Yes, that’s the ticket.

I should just leave them on all day, really.

Painting 9

I got to wondering what other things I have purchased for 25cents in my life.

Cheap books.

Art even.

And, some little Bambi’s too.

Souvenirs of Oklahoma, they say.

Painting 7

Lovee also got me a huge plastic yellow heart love ring once.

When we were first dating.

It was 25 cents too.

Painting 10

I love that plastic ring.

And, I also love people who keep a few things as memorabilia.

Do you?

I love seeing people’s tchotchkes and trinkets.

They tell stories.

They are interesting bits and bobs of life.

Even just a little tin, filled with tiny things, is sweet.

A little fortune from your first date dinner with your beloved.

A flower he or she gave you after a stroll on the night you fell in love.

Sappy one 🙂

I have one of those though, in my diary, from Lovee.

Cheesewhiz, but awesome too.

I love that I have it.

Would it matter if I didn’t?

Not really, but having it sparks my heart.

A plastic ring.

The first Valentine you ever bought for yourself.

Yes.

See.

A perfect way to get away from the paint, refuel, and then go back all excited and refreshed to create again.

Little distractions.

Love them.

What is your favorite distraction?

Some little thing you do at break, that you look forward to?

I love busy packaging order days, where I tidy up my office first.

Then put on some music or a show in the background.

Then I just work away, with the fan swirling.

I also love hearing the mail truck pull up.

Matty running out to bark.

Miles runs out behind him, but picks up a huge log to run with.

I put on my long linen painting blouse over my clothes, and my big straw hat.

I can’t go outside without my hat.

It’s a perfect break.

Checking the mail.

I love mail.

Okay, enough babble from me.

Back to work I go.

See you soooon!

 

Love, V

Sparkly heart

 

ps:

Random tale about a song.

Barber violin concerto op 14

Last week I was mowing weeds, big fat huge juicy 3 ft. tall spiney weeds.

When, I started sneezing like crazy, eyes swollen.

You know, a typical allergy attack, if you get those?

I don’t get them often at all, but they are the reason I was given 4 allergy shots twice a week my whole childhood to 19 years old (fun), so I wouldn’t suffer my whole life.

Both parental units have mass allergies.

Great for me 🙂

The shots really worked.

Yay!

But every so often, ripe huge weeds will get me if I work in them, you?

Anyhow, point is.

I had to go shower, take an allergy pill, and crawl into bed to sneeze all day.

Finally in the evening, when the sneezing let up, I started to doze off.

I was exhausted and sort of out of it, from a whole day of allergy head.

I put a movie on.

That is when I heard a tune I have been listening to for years on record, actually coming out of the television.

I was floored.

One of my favorite records I picked up who knows where or when?

I couldn’t believe I was hearing “that” song.

It tugged at my heart strings.

I shared it in this video I made a couple years ago.

 

The movie was The Deep Blue Sea.

The music is, Barber Violin Concerto, Op. 14

(2nd movement)

It’s a beautiful piece of music.

The movie was terribly sad, in case you were wondering.

Have you seen it?

  1. I received my gift with the morning mail today! Thanks! I can’t wait to discover reasons to send out the lovely postcards, and to find surprise spots to slap on a sticker.
    Inspired by your gypsy wagon and bath, I made a little nest for our anniversary this weekend. It is soooooo romantic. But alas, we can’t sleep outside on account of the raging wildfires in the hills around us. It’s so smokey thick, we’ve been warned to stay indoors. So now I’ll have to make another nest inside.
    Memorabilia…my cousin recently gave me some very old penguin saltshakers from my great aunt’s diner. I have beautiful memories of that lunch spot and she doesn’t because she’s younger and never ate there. I thought it was so kind and unselfish that she’d give them to me.
    Thanks for your posts which I anticipate reading so eagerly that I have to check your site each day.

  2. This is funny…the other Teresa just posted too!
    Okay…I love your ‘paint’ door and floor. It reminds me of ‘Bubble Gum Alley’ in San Luis Obispo where there is a pedestrian walkway/alley that is plastered with years and years accumulation of gum people have taken out of their mouth and stuck on the wall…as high as they can reach and as low as they can reach…there must be thousands of pieces of every color of the rainbow chewing gum! I do have a regular photo of it but not a digital one. I need to take some with my digital camera the next time I am there which is about every six months or so.
    Oooo! I can hardly wait to see the rest of what you have been painting. (My son is still not well, he is out of the hospital but not feeling any better. We are praying a lot as that is about all we can do).
    XXOO
    Miss Teresa

  3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV3SHBFyDZM
    This is my favorite Barber piece-“Adagio for Strings”

  4. Ooo, Laura, I have it on my Ipod, I listen to it all the time whilst
    painting. It is a gut wrencher beauty for sure. Was it used in the
    movie Platoon or something like that???

  5. Miss Linda says:

    I love this post Miss Vanessa…Looking for things from the past. It’s the little things, a paper napkin that he brought over with a gumball inside and the tiny toy, and later on he bought me a ring from a gumball machine. Later that year I bought him a gum machine…we laughed.
    I love your art room. So many years of paint on things. Splats of paint everywhere…Such memories.
    memories…ahhhhhh yes!

  6. Melanie says:

    I never saw Platoon, or any other war movie, as I am fearful of what my reaction would be to the overwhelming senselessness of war. Actually, I watched The Pianist and was devastated. Adagio for Strings was also in The Elephant Man, which after having watched it, I was DEVASTATED. I’m hopelessly too sensitive!

  7. Oh Melanie, I totally agree with you. I think my dad was watching
    Platoon once, and I heard it in the background. i have neever sat and
    watched it myseld. I am still not recovered from watching Schindlers list
    when it first came out. Sigh….. I sob and sob at those sad
    movies.

  8. Oh Miss Linda, the Gumball love story!!! Love it 😉 Just love
    it.
    Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
    Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
    In a message dated 9/14/2012 6:08:24 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,

  9. Nathalie Gagnon says:

    Good morning sunshine!! Seeing new paintings gets me so twitterpated! Can’t wait to see…peacock feathers on hats….oh my!

  10. Kelly says:

    Love those shoes Vanessa, you rock them! You definitely got a bargain!!!!
    I have kept a lot of tchotchkes and stuff that I probably should have given away!
    I have always had a fondness for jewelry and so I have kept some old pieces of childhood jewelry. For instance, my first watch, a Barbie design, I received from my Grandparents and I believe it can still keep time. Also, in my possession, my mother put together for me a scrapbook of cards, ones that I received as a baby to about age 5? I treasure this and I will always enjoy looking at it.
    So, with all the kaleidoscope of paint dripping in your in MAGICAL creative room space, I wonder what you will show us soon. <3

  11. Renee says:

    Your paint door is so colorful. I love to listen to classical music but I have no idea what I am listening to. I was happy when I went to see The Nutcracker with my BFF last year and I recognized so much of the music. It was magical being in that old elegant theater.
    Little things kept through the years, oh yes, I have those. My hubby was in the Army when we met so I have every letter. I have cards, cards and more cards. I have a scrapbook with some dried flowers he sent me in a letter. (We will soon be married 43 years so a lot of years of memories).
    I guess I’ve always been the memory keeper in my family, I have things that were my parents that I cannot part with.

  12. Annalee says:

    I haven’t seen the movie… but it looks good. ^-^
    The only thing with sad movies and me is that sometimes the mood tends to stick for a few days… meh.
    Anywho. I love saving trinkets and memorabilia from things! I have a little tin box that has notes and sketches and all sorts of things in it that my sweety has given me over the past nine years… I need a bigger box… I’ve made her a couple of boxes as well, and they’re jam-packed, full to bursting with love notes & doodles & such from me to her. ^-^
    Those shoes are quite something! XD
    And yes, no wonder you had such toned legs!!!
    As for distractions… I’m easily distracted. o_O
    One of my favorite places to go, especially at work when things are gloomy, is here. I love to see all the wonderful things you’re creating or doing. ^-^
    The bright colors and furry critters and plant pictures always make me smile, no matter what. =D
    Other places I like to get distracted are in books or in some sort of crafting project. ^-^
    Hope you & all your boys are doing well!
    XOXO

  13. I totally agree about the painting, Vanessa, dear…totally! I wish I could continue the “high” of painting and creating ~ (I know that doesn’t sound the best, but I don’t know how else to describe it ~ 🖤)…forever! You are so right, though…you paint, and paint…and then you have to do something else; something SO opposite ~ cleaning, or sorting, or something outdoors…to sort of balance it ~ is that what I’m trying to say? You can’t just keep on constantly with the creative process…don’t you just wonder why?? Do you think we would just completely go up in smoke if we did??
    Hugs,
    Anne & the Kitties…

  14. Also, you have inspired me to do yet another post about “stuff”…the detrius of a creative life…I have so much of it!
    Hugs,
    Anne

  15. Lovely Anne, totally totally totally in agreement with you, you get exactly
    what I mean 😉
    Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
    Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
    In a message dated 9/17/2012 7:06:42 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,

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