a work in progress

Still painting away on clothing for the Eureka Springs Sunday Market, which kicks off May 7th with the First Sunday Artist Bazaar. I have a few more pieces of clothing to paint, pants, mostly. I won’t do many pants as they are harder to fit, but I will be taking custom orders for paintings on jeans and pants.I am also working on some more origami crane earrings for a few orders and for EurekanArt Gallery. I have a couple of paintings still in progress, but they’re on hold for now. I’m finally turning a bit of attention to the house and yard. Calling it quits on the year round holiday tree and packing it up since I won’t time or inclination to decorate for the Fourth of July. We finally had a big rain and I could get out without being coated in pollen, so I moved some leaves and earth around and planted one small section of the front bed with flower seeds. Tonight, I’ll be addressing postcards to folks on my mailing list to give them the schedule for the Sunday Market and Outdoor Cinema. If you want one emailed to you and you are not on my list, you can email me or subscribe to this list.

I’ve been busy getting ready for the Eureka Springs Sunday Market Artist Bazaar, which begins may 7th. Charlotte and Elaine, who organize and run the market and lots of other fun events in our town, came by last week and I showed them all my paintings. Charlotte liked the girls best and said that’s totally hot, in like, Seattle, where she came here from, but that she wasn’t so sure if we had the scene to support it. They saw the painted pants I had done for Robin and began pulling pictures of painted clothing from the Nieman Marcus catalog for me. Nothing much of interest to me in the styles we saw there! We looked at the Peepeyes and Elaine recommended using the pull tabs from cans as hangers on the backs of them. Charlotte played with the little peepeyed critters and said they’d be great as finger puppets. Elaine loved the great blue heron chair. We had a very quick visit and they were off, Charlotte exclaiming that I had enough for a store. Well, that’s the idea with the Sunday Market coming up so fast. I’ve been painting shirts. The ones in the photo above are kids tees. My godson really likes the one with the tree and the bubbles and water as well as the sparkly dragon. I’ve been working on a second batch which will include tees for big people. One day soon, I’ll get back to the painting of the lake. In the meantime, I’m going to write a pack list for the market and wind down for bed.

I have had a very positive response to the Happiness painting and had such an interesting experience painting it that I have decided to continue in this vein. I am working on some ideas for a show which will combine these big eyed girls in their far away/internal worlds with large cloud paintings. This is the second painting in the series. I’ll write more about her and the other girls later.

Happiness. Staring you in the face. Yours for the taking.
I was at an art show and a friend I hadn’t seen in a while came by and told me I looked unhappy. I said I was doing okay. He said I wasn’t smiling all the time and I told him I hadn’t been as happy but that I felt okay and that life was moving alone just fine for me. It didn’t seem to be good enough for him. I was annoyed that he could not accept my being less than chipper as okay for me. Sometimes I feel like there is a happiness mafia in this tiny town that throws a parade nearly every weekend of the summer. Then I turn on the tv and remember it is not just this town, it is our country. Take a pill and those annoying periods of unhappiness will go away. Take a pill and you’ll be able to focus. Take a pill and you’ll be able to make friends. Take a pill and you’ll have amazing long lasting erections. Jeez! Okay, I confess, I want the pill that makes you feel like you’re in a large tub on the top of a mountain at sunset, not sure what it cures, but I saw the commercial and I must have that condition, doc. Anyway, that’s a different rant of mine.

When I moved to this town from Texas, I did not like the winter and saw the fall as the decline into darkness. I listened to others talk about being able to see the lay of the land and enjoying the falling of the leaves. I did not get it. I was so happy back then, centered, smiling, eager, helpful, open, all that good stuff. I felt lucky everyday just to be me and therefore had boundless energy to share with others. I volunteered and met new people every day and had a grand old time. My problems were there but I felt they were the perfect problems for me to have and knew I would handle them gracefully. People really liked me then.

Things have changed and I have gotten a bit darker, less social. I’m feeling like I do alright. I’m after contentment at this point in my life and remembering that excitement does not equal happiness. Happiness is quieter.  It’s just winter. The leaves have fallen and I can see the skeltons more clearly now. It’s a more introspective period and a necessary part of my happiness. Summer is coming. I’m going to swim naked in the lake. I will dance in the streets, play with the kids, smile everyday and make my dreams come true. Right now, I’m just looking at it coming and figuring out how to joyfully live the next chapter with all that I learned this winter.

My favorite book about happiness is by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and if a dozen people buy it through this link to Amazon.com, I’ll get a gift certicate from them so I can buy the book. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)

If you want to go to a week long group therapy type thing led by people who choose to be happy, visit option.org and schedule a session at the Option Institute. It’s a gorgeous place and a fun environment and they help a lot of people overcome debilitating beliefs. I went to a week long session about 7 years ago thanks to a scholarship from them, a good friend, and my little plastic card that deducts from my future. It was cool, I came home invigorated. The founders originally developed Son-Rise, a program based on acceptance, for working with their son when he developed autism. It is an incredible program and I heartily recommend this program to families of children with disabilities of all types. Here’s my Amazon link for Books by Barry Neil Kaufman.

This painting is big- 30″ x 40″ on a gallery wrap canvas. The painting continues around the edges and it is ready to hang. I placed my initials on one edge and it is signed, titled and dated on the back. I have had a great response to this painting and I had such an interesting time painting it that I plan to continue painting big eyed girls in their worlds.