The daily Art- I am free

'I am Free'

Heavy Body Acrylics

A Finger painting done by me in 2007

18" x 24"

(sold)

Quote for the day:

***

I've noticed that a lot of people consider 'finding yourself' to be a really frivolous and unproductive study. I'm not sure why. Everything important in life really seems to get down-played so children can be encouraged to join the rat race and make as much money as possible, instead of being told that they should be happy first.

~Sanjay Singh

***

Happy day everyone.

I have a busy day ahead...tons of coaching clients booked...and a new work on the easel. My two boys...I swear, I don't know if it's just that they are so close in age or if it's just that stage in their lives, but they can not go more than ten minutes at any given time without fighting about something...or in their case...nothing at all.

O.M.G!

I want to knock their heads together most of the time these days.

Boys!

I shaved the dog this weekend...I don't have the money for a groomer for Mr. Wiggles...so I thought... what the heck... I could do it.

Two hours and 17 pounds of hair...later...

my dog is now so embarrassed he won't go for his walks and keeps looking at himself in the mirror asking us if his ass really looks that big, and is this what having mange looks like?

What a baby.

In three weeks that haircut will be perfect.

The cat won't stop laughing at him.

Well, it's that wonderful time in the morning when we wake the shaved apes (my boys) and strong arm them into clothes that are clean, feed them, pack their lunches and keep them from beating each other up till I can send them to school...

I am off to face the day.

I do have new art to share, and will do that tomorow. It's just been one of those weeks when I a feel like I am running up a going down escalator.

Aiiiee!

Grace and Grit.

Raw and Radiant.

Have a good one all,

Heather

http://www.badkittyartstudio.com/

If you keep doing things like you've always done them, what you'll get is what you've already got.

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quote for today:

There is a glorious pattern for every man's life, an individual, perfect patter. No two people are alike . . . No two leaves are alike-no two snowstorms-no two sets of fingerprints. No two lives are alike, yet each life holds a divine pattern of unfoldment, a great and holy destiny, rich in achievement and honor. As you live true to the pattern of yourself, that deep, inner self, you will unfold as perfect, as joyous, as naturally beautiful as the tree will reach its full measure of fulfillment. No one can keep you from reaching your highest destiny if you will follow your own true pattern of life. No one can live your life for you, for only you hold the key to your own pattern of sublime, glorious, complete fulfillment. Such is the destiny written in the soul of every man and woman who comes to earth. None are without it, that completely individual highway of full expression and glorious achievement.

~Analee Skarin

I am so busy today...

So just have a good one.

Heather

http://www.badkittyartstudio.com/

The will to do, the soul to dare. ~Sir Walter Scott

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quotes for the day

***

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

~Theodore Roosevelt

***

Hope is a state of mind, not of the world . . . Either we have hope or we don't; it is a dimension of the soul, and it's not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, and orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons ... Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather and ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more propitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper the hope is. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

~Vaclav Havel

***

I am the master in my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

~W.E. Henley

***

I have not been feeling the call of my blog of late. Life isn't always full of stories to tell and I have been tired a lot of late. I think I am taking a break from the blog for right now...I need to concentrate on my work and myself for a bit...so I may not post as often for a little while. The computer is not getting my work done or meeting my emotional needs at the moment...so I step back and let life happen...enjoy the ride as much as possible and take it as it comes.

These are the quotes that I will be working with today in studio, inspiration for the journey ahead.

I hope that you enjoy them too.

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. ~ Dali Lama

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quote(s) for the day:

***

Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is...The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.

~Dan Millman

***

Our knowledge of our own existence is intuitive. As for our own existence, we perceive it so plainly and so certainly, that it neither needs nor is capable of any proof. . . . I think, I reason, I feel pleasure and pain: can any of these be more evident to me than my own existence? . . . For if I know I feel pain, it is evident I have as certain perception of my own existence, as of the existence of the pain I feel: or if I know I doubt, I have as certain perception of the existence of the thing doubting, as of that thought which I call doubt. Experience then convinces us, that we have an intuitive knowledge of our own existence, and an internal infallible perception that we are. In every act of sensation, reasoning, or thinking, we are conscious to ourselves of our own being; and, in this matter, come not short of the highest degree of certainty.

~John Locke

***

I am working in office all day...running down a dream.

Have a good day one and all,

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

Nothing external to you has any power over you ~ Emerson

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

(above) 'The Story'

20" X 16" - oils

Quote for the day:

***

I desire only to know the truth, and to live as well as I can...And, to the utmost of my power, I exhort all other men to do the same...I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.

~Socrates (469 - 399 BC)

***

Nothing external has power over you...I find that intriguing. I most definitely have not conquered this force myself fully yet. I have been thinking too much of late...thinking so much that I have to stop myself and consider what I am thinking about. Editing the stinking thinking...so that I may proceed with my push forward. I want to see some results this year from my efforts...and as I have mentioned here before...I am a most impatient person. There is nothing to be done about it now...I just must press forward with my plans and goals and see where the road will take me.

I just hope that when I reach the end of the road....that there will room at the Inn for me and mine.

What the hell am I talking about today? Living well. Living with the feeling of true freedom from my past...and without fear for my future.

I want to accomplish something with my work. Resonance. I want to connect with other human beings in a simple..."HEY! I know you!" kind of way. I don't care really if my work is understood, just that it connects with people...and it does not have to be the message or point of exploration for myself...people can connect with my work in their own special way, with their own meaning and that makes me just as happy...and usually very curious.

I have been doing a lot of writing and thinking and organizing of my work to present myself to galleries and juried events. It's hard to make myself write the check for the juried events...because my back brain says..."You are paying someone to most likely reject you!" I know this...it's the fact that has kept me from doing it on a large scale at all. The gallery thing I have gotten used to...rejection is my middle name. It's not like I am special or anything...tons of great and wonderful artists get rejected every single day. It's the way it works. I don't fear or avoid rejection...not anymore. So, I write the checks, I mail the slides, I type out the artist statement. I just keep doing it, and something will stick at some point. I trust my inner vision. I trust myself to continue to push myself. Courage is being afraid...and then doing something anyway. I got courage...the personal power to not let it get to me...that's what I am working on.

Nothing external can affect me.

OK, I can deal with that.

So...I have another busy ass day...and a work that needs to be finished on the easel. I also have ready two juried event envelopes, and 5 gallery submission packages. Faith and works...that's what makes the world go round.

I better go get to it.

Onward HO!

Have a good one,

Heather

http://www.badkittyartstudio.com/

I have some magic keys...

Click on Images to Enlarge

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

***

Above work in progress...it's coming along. I still have lots of ideas about where this is going, and that's fine and fun for now. I am remaining unattached to the end result and letting go of my resistance to my own eternal flow.

Name of this work: (play on the word History)

' Her-story: It was written all over her face'

24" X 30"

Gallery wrapped

Quote for today:

In order to move our self image higher on the spectrum of performance, we must specifically attack our self-talking and our self-thinking.

By using constructive imagination - the eye of faith - we can change our self image.

Constructive imagination consists of three parts.

Verbal: The words we say to ourselves and about ourselves.

Visual: What we see ourselves doing.

Emotional: What we feel about ourselves.

Specifically, what must we do?

We define the role we want to change, exactly how we want to change,

and then we have a written affirmation describing the change.

By repeating the affirmation we will find our constructive imagination . . .

our eye of faith . . . changing.

And, we are changing.

~Hyrum W. Smith

***

Do what needs to be done today.

Be brave enough to say No to the Rest

so you can be able to say Yes

to the Best.

Success ( in any form) comes from being able to survive failure...

and self-doubt...again, and again, and again....

and then being able to look at the next obstacle

in your path...

with a shit eating grin.

Give the world your best today...

just do it.

Heather

http://www.badkittyartstudio.com/

Blindly going where no man has gone before

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

***

Quote for today...

"A blind man inched his way along the busy street during the rush hour until he felt the curb with his foot. He paused until he sensed a person standing next to him, then he said: "May I accompany you across the street?" "Yes, certainly" came the reply from an elderly woman as she took his arm. The two persons walked safely across the street as cars and pedestrians whirled about them. When they came to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, the blind man turned to thank his escort, but before he could phrase his appreciation she said, "Thanks for the safe crossing. Being blind is made bearable because of people's kindness."

~ Unknown

***

Have a good day,

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

Non Stop Action...yeah right.

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quote and track for the work Day...

***

We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, or the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or adrift. We decide what is important and what is trivial in life. We decide that what makes us significant is either what we do or what we refuse to do. But no matter how indifferent the universe may be to our choices and decisions, these choices and decisions are ours to make. We decide. We choose. And as we decide and choose, so are our lives formed. In the end, forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.

~Joseph Epstein

***

Well yesterday I made it to the top of the mountain of housework. I did not spend anytime in the studio all day, trying to get my home in a reasonable order and well...it just about killed me. I hate housework with a purple passion, although I hate even more living in a mess, so I do it.

Today will be spent finishing the two large works that needed to dry before going to the show...Big Red Tree and Mist Fairy. They are both finally dry, so even though it'll be work that isn't really creative, I have a good excuse to spend time in my favorite place...the studio.

I do have an idea for a new painting that has nothing to do with the upcoming show and I hope to squeeze out enough spare time before the boys come home from school to at least start on it...it's been sitting in my brain pan for a week and needs to get out soon or I might explode...really.

The boys are looking forward to spring break...I am too I guess, with the show now behind me, I think it'll be fun to have them around and asking for my time. I am planning some outings for hikes with them, and maybe a trip downtown to look at the art museum...that'll bore the paints off of Oldest in the house and thrill the Youngest...can't please them all. We will just have to see...they would be happy to just play with their friends all day and have the dreaded sleep overs...BAH!

Today is also a marketing day...I am supposed to have the willpower to not create art and concentrate on the business side of art making...trying to make connections for shows, sales and advertising...I am not sure if I wanna do that at all today, but my inner task master will probably take over at some point and talk all stern to my inner artist that just wants to have fun...and make her act all work ethic like...aaaiiieee. It's important to keep an eye on the goal though, and if I actually want to keep doing this career full time and eat...and buy supplies to continue, I really do need a sale soon...like yesterday. I have a list of galleries to contact and some other options too, I just need to get busy on getting a hold of people and making introductions...and prepare for the rejection that comes from this exercise. It happens, I am not afraid of it...for every no, there is a yes somewhere waiting to be found, it's just one of those less than joy filled chores. I do really hope that the show in April brings some sales, or that I make some sales on my own soon...it's starting to be the longest stretch without sales that I have had and it's making my nerves raw and jagged.

So, I better get busy on my day here...it'll be a slower relaxed pace and I look forward to that. I may even have some time to visit and read some of my favorite blogs and check in with people today.

Have a good one all,

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

Moving forward while standing still

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quote and music that moves me this morning...

***

A story is told that Whistler once painted a tiny picture of a spray of roses. The artistry involved in the picture was magnificent. Never before, it seemed, had the art of man been able to execute quite so deftly a reproduction of the art of nature. The picture was the envy of the artists who saw it, the despair of the collectors who yearned to buy it. But Whistler refused steadfastly to sell it. "For," he said, "whenever I feel that my hand has lost its cunning, whenever I doubt my ability, I look at the little picture of the spray of roses, and say to myself, 'Whistler, you painted that. Your hand drew it. Your imagination conceived the colors. Your skill put the roses on the canvas.'

Then, said he,

"I know that what I have done, I can do again"

***

Here's to the adventure of

"do it again"!

Hope your day is

filled with

treasure hunting.

I am back at work in the studio...another long day ahead

and I am happy to have it.

Living large and in the moment...

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

Quote for the day

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quote for the day

***

Two amateur artists were asked to paint something depicting "peace."

On the appointed day, both artists brought their paintings to be shown.

One picture was of a quiet, rippleless lake.

Here indeed was peace as seen by an artist.

The other painting showed a gnarled tree standing on the precipice in a rugged canyon.

Nearby was a thundering waterfall, and the river dashed on, angrily below.

In the tree, near her nest, a bird was perched, singing above the clamor of the torrent of the water below.

A sudden change in the wind could bring disaster to the frail limb upon which the bird and her nest were located.

But instinctively she knew that if that happened, she and her young ones could use their wings and mount to the sky.

Yes, the two artists had fulfilled what they had been asked to do.

One painted a scene depicting the quiet beauty of peace.

The other had seen the majestic splendor that accompanies inner peace.

~Unknown

***

I started the new work...and have no idea where it is going.

I don't have clue one as to what I am trying to say with it.

I have no notion as to what it will end up being.

I started it with no direction.

I have no story to tell, it's just a

relaxing jaunt through my colorful but tired mind.

I have no plan.

I don't know where it will end.

I don't know if it will even be any good when I am done.

I don't care if it's good or if it stinks.

I am lost.

Isn't that exciting?

I am off to discover,

what I mean to say.

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

Tuesday and the kids go back to school...Yippee for Art Mom's everywhere!

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quote for my day...and a little more.

***

"To me it seems basic to the getting rid of fear to know that our trials,

of whatever nature, are not motiveless.

In our present stage of development we could hardly do without them.

So often looking . . . ugly . . . they are in reality the branches by we which we catch on and climb.

They are not obstacles to happiness. . . . Every call of duty has its place in this ideal;

every irksome job,

every wearisome responsibility.

The fact that we are not always aware of it

in no way annuls the other fact that it is so. . . ."

~Basil King

***

Today the boys go back to school and I have some quite time to finish the new canvas...I am going to post a picture of it later today when the sun gets higher and the light better for taking pictures. A new work in progress and I am happy that things are moving with the muse again. Yippee for school, is all I can say.

I did get some good work done yesterday, between the snacks, and every kid in the hood wanting to ring the doorbell and play with the boys...so I am really looking forward to a free to paint day.

I hope all is well in your world, and that the universe is a wonderful place for you to dwell in today.

I plan to start another new painting, with no planning at all...I don't even know what I will be doing at all... no clue yet, but because I am working with limited paint colours (still hoping for a sale so I can re-invest in supplies) it should be fun none the less. I can't let lack of funds stop my progress as the days and weeks before the show are still passing by. It'll just have to be an opportunity instead of an obstacle. Challenge is good for the creative soul...I hope. *grins*

Oh yeah, you might have noticed the new quote pictures I have been doing, they are from my collection of vintage ephemera and also the source for the new fairy's! I am thinking about putting a collection of these images together for sale on CD, would anyone be interested in buying them though?

That's the question of the day...would any of my artist friends out there have a need/want for something like that? I am always looking for images to use in my work (to use in my mixed media paintings, like fairy world, and for models for my paintings), at this point I have a huge gathered collection of images for my own use...and I thought maybe some of you might like that too...as far as cost...I was thinking like maybe $10.00 + shipping, each for a collection of say 150 images all jpeg and high resolution...and royalty free. So, some feedback on that would be great...before I embark on another project that is.

Have a good one all, come back later for the pictures of the new Fairy World work in progress...it's a full moon scene...and let me know what you think.

Share your love,

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

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Quote for the day

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Quote for today...

***

A Few Rules for Life

� Stay in Tune with the Spirit.

� Take the Power.

� Act with Courage.

� Lean Into It.

� Anticipate and Plan.

� Act Successful . . . Be Successful.

� See the Broad Perspective.

� Take 100% Responsibility.

� Seek No Ego-Satisfaction.

� Keep Every Commitment.

� Be Always A Gentleman/Gentlewoman.

� Have The Majesty of Calmness.

� Forgive, Forget and Let It Roll Off.

� Radiate Happiness.

� Don't Wobble.

~ C. Smith Sumner

***

I am so busy for the day today...and it all started at dawn.

I will post more later...for now, it's a quick good morning to all.

These are my working quotes for the day,

to inspire and transform

the feelings of Aaiiiieeee, to Ahaaaaaa.

Love to all,

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

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Friday...and it's only just begun.

BAD! Kitty Art Studio

Thoughts for the day ahead...

***

"Factors necessary to develop us into real eminence in any field:

Whatever may be the nature of our work, or the character of our own vocational activity, eminence always involves the following:

[And then he named four factors, and I want you to mark them.]

1. You must have the determination to excel.

2. You must have the willingness [And I want you to mark this.] to pay the price, to study, to live through disappointments with optimism, and to accept the sacrifices necessary to succeed. [Now, do you get the significance of that?]

3. You must have the steadfast pursuit of purpose, doing the work day after day, week after week, yes, year after year, whether you feel like doing it or not.

4. You must have pride and faith in the virtue of your calling. [That is to say, spiritual motivation.]

~James F. Oates,

Address before the YMCA at Los Angeles,

California, April 15, 1960.
***

This is the working quote I am using to push myself through this day.

I hope you all have a great day, a happy Friday, and a wonderful weekend!

Now back to the regularly scheduled work day....

this has been a test of your local

BAD! Kitty Emergency broadcast station...

it was only a test.

If it had been an actual emergency, this message would

have been followed by

bitching, over eating, and possible random acts of

BAD! kitty violence.

But, thank the universe...

This was only a test.

Beeep!

The kids are out of school for four damn days

and I still have to work and clean the house

around their constant snacking

(or grazing as we call it here)

and snarking, and snarling at each other.

Send help!

Love to all,

Heather

www.badkittyartstudio.com

Support Living Artists

Buy some Art Today!