Scattered Thoughts . . .

I was sitting on the couch in the living room yesterday evening before starting on cooking dinner and picked up my notebook.  I write thoughts and ideas in this notebook everyday (I now have a whole library of notebooks tucked in all sorts of places around the house) and, quite often, add some sketches of some of my ideas or thoughts.  Yesterday, I was thinking about Christmas and the lake house. Every year of my life, in the few months preceding Christmas, my mind always drifts to spending Christmas in an Adirondack lodge-type of home or lake house setting.  I have not had the opportunity to do this just yet but I do plan to do this at least once before I have no Christmases left.   The closest I have come to living this annual dream of spending Christmas in an Adirondack-type lodge or lake house has been a few Christmases spent on various air bases.  Back in my earlier years of my Air Force career, the Airman's Club was typically the hub of social life on every base.  For variou

I've been exhausted and in significant pain (relentless bone pain and spinal pain) since arriving back home from our Christmas trip but I have a few projects which have been nagging at me. One such project is to create a rendering of Monticello. Actually, I'd like to complete a series of renderings related to this historic property but I need to start with one piece.  I decided to do some drawing and sketching this morning to put some ideas on paper (in my usual notebook where all my thoughts go) but I also created some digital files of my artwork. Below, is one piece of my ideas for this series... I'm still not sure about how I want to put together a Monticello series but this rendering is a start to this series!

I've been trying to hone my skills with my digital pen and graphics tablet over the past couple of days. I have to say, this is not helping me get any rest though! Last night I started on what I thought would be a little test project. It is something I've always wanted to draw and paint... an old rural gas station... some dramatic lighting. By 3am, I knew I bit off more than I could chew for a "little test project". My intention was to just sketch out some ideas. The sketches developed quickly and then I was adding background and foreground (although, for me, the foreground could use something more)... and filling with color. Before long, I was having difficulty keeping my eyes open! The problem with a project like this is that I've learned that once I get my creativity flowing, I really need to allow that flow to continue for as long as possible. Coming back to an art project later rarely works well for me.  The next time I sit down and try to start that

I've managed to get out of the house for a few short periods in the past few days... and that was really nice... today, however, I'm back indoors and I'm not so sure I'll be wandering outside today. I'm really worn out today... exhausted... and my spinal injuries are really bothering me. The pain started yesterday after overdoing my physical therapy the previous day. I knew I had overdone it while I was still doing my physical therapy! By nightfall, I was in considerable pain throughout my spine as well as having bone pain in my legs. Yesterday was a bit brutal so the only thing I accomplished was preparing and cooking baked ziti with garlic bread for the kids. Needless to say, sleeping is not going all that well. Last night, my sleeping problems due to spinal and bone pain were compounded by being cold all night long. Although the room probably was slightly chillier last night than usual (I removed the air conditioner from one of two windows in the room so we h

I've been busy the last few days working on some sketches again.  This time, however, I've been sketching the new World Trade Center which is not completely built yet.  I'm not even completely sure of the design.  Of course, because the buildings do not exist just yet, trying to get the scale right was a bit difficult.  Being the perfectionist that I am, naturally, I am still not completely happy with some of the angles and proportions but I think it might be close enough. Regardless of whether I am happy with this sketch or not, I wanted to post a small copy here before the skyline is actually completed in real life.  It will be interesting to see just how close I am with this little project.   Funny thing is, the more I worked the sketches and the more I researched what is actually being built, the less I like this design.  I am left feeling as though this was a poor choice for the design of this high profile project.  Artistically speaking, I'm not sure what they w

The arts can be an amazing therapeutic tool for those of us living with chronic illness and/or permanent disability.  The arts such as music, drawing, painting, sketching, crafts can provide a much needed pathway for expression when even the simplest of everyday tasks seem overwhelmingly daunting. For the most part, my health has been quite lousy for the past few months.  This sort of health affects every aspect of my everyday life, and unfortunately, this is especially true when it comes to my ability to express my creative, artistic side.  Expressing myself in art is difficult when my thoughts, as well as my emotions, tend to be shrouded in darkness. I have struggled with this sort of thing my entire life.  For many, performing music or being creative in art lightens moods, entices relaxation and rejuvenates one's soul.  On the other hand, there are those people such as myself who just cannot find a single creative nor artistic fiber in my being when I am not completely relax