I Will Persist by Og Mandino

I Will Persist by Og Mandino

I will persist until I succeed.

In the Orient young bulls are tested for the fight arena in a certain manner. Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then rated with care according to the number of times he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite of the sting of the blade. Henceforth will I recognize that each day I am tested by life in like manner. If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed. 

I will persist until I succeed.

I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny. 

I will persist until I succeed.

The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to me to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach my goal. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner.

Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. 

I will persist until I succeed.

Henceforth, I will consider each day's effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today.

I will be liken to the rain drop which washes away the mountain; the ant who devours a tiger; the star which brightens the earth; the slave who builds a pyramid. I will build my castle one brick at a time for I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking. 

I will persist until I succeed.

I will never consider defeat and I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless and retreat; for they are the words of fools. I will avoid despair but if this disease of the mind should infect me then I will work on in despair. I will toil and I will endure. I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep mine eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows. 

I will persist until I succeed.

I will remember the ancient law of averages and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with knowledge that each failure to sell will increase my chance for success at the next attempt. Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet only prepares me for the smile to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow's good luck. I must have the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once. 

I will persist until I succeed.

I will try, and try, and try again. Each obstacle I will consider as a mere detour to my goal and a challenge to my profession. I will persist and develop my skills as the mariner develops his, by learning to ride out the wrath of each storm.

I will persist until I succeed. 

Henceforth, I will learn and apply another secret of those who excel in my work. When each day is ended, not regarding whether it has been a success or failure, I will attempt to achieve one more sale. When my thoughts beckon my tired body homeward I will resist the temptation to depart. I will try again. I will make one more attempt to close with victory, and if that fails I will make another. Never will I allow any day to end in failure. Thus will I plant the seed of tomorrow's success and gain an insurmountable advantage over those who cease their labor at a prescribed time. When others cease their struggle, then mine will begin, and my harvest will be full. 

I will persist until I succeed.

Nor will I allow yesterday's success to lull me into today's complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.

So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.

I will persist. 

I will win.

Have you visited me here?
N S Davis Art Website
Nathalie Davis web site

First iPad sketch

I just got an iPad. One of the primary reasons I wanted one was to use it as a sketchbook. Well, that and I really like technology... Also I can carry several Bible versions with me, and it's much easier to read than on my iPhone...

So this is the first real sketch I've done. I saw this adorable little girl in the
Nordstom catalog. It was done in the free version of the Sketchbook app... I liked the app a lot and will probably buy the full version but before I do I have several other apps to try.

Do or Do Not. There is No Try

OK so I admit to being a bit of a geek. If there is anyone reading this who isn't familiar with  "Do or do not. There is no try."  it is a very famous and often used quote from the great Jedi Master Yoda in the movie Star Wars, Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back.

Everyone loves Yoda. In the movie he is full of wisdom, mild mannered, gentle yet formidable. You just know you do not want to cross this gentle creature as he could probably vaporize you on the spot - you respect Yoda! You listen to Yoda.

I have no problem with Yoda. He is a wonderful fictional character in an extremely entertaining movie.

However, I do have a problem with this quote.

I hear it quite often, as apparently I am prone to say "I will try" this or that. That statement seems to be completely unacceptable to many people, who perceive it as being negative thinking. Those who ascribe to this quote - which seems like almost everybody in my circle of acquaintances all feel the necessity to correct me and quote Yoda when I say I will try something. It is just too negative for them.

Really? Negative?

I have a whole different take on this.

The word "try" is filled with positivity and potential - it holds forth opportunity to experiment, to goof around, to get into things I haven't done or - Should I say it? things I haven't tried before. The word itself is strong and full of energy. It means persistence and perseverance and commitment. At least to me it means those things...and more.

When I say I will try something it is coming from a place of hope, faith and belief. Try as I might to comply and conform I simply cannot bring myself to buy into thinking that "I'll try" is negative thinking.

For example I have a 1 year old grandson who is learning to walk. He gets up, he falls down, he gets up again and he falls down again. What is he doing? he is TRYING!  If I said to him - "Do or do not. There is no try" what would the outcome be? He would get up, fall down and STAY there - because he "did not," and after all there is no "try" - so no point in getting up again. The process would be repeated when it came time to learn to ride a bike, learn to read, play a sport, or anything else. (Of course that would all be rendered moot since he would never have learned to walk or do anything else in the first place if following this line of thinking) He would be trapped in failure  - with no hope of ever succeeding because - there is no "try."

Here is another example to prove that trying is based in hope, faith and/or belief. If someone told me I would not get hurt if I jumped off a tall building I would have to weigh my options before I made the decision to "Do or not do." I would choose 'Not do" of course  (as any sane person would) - because I have absolutely no hope, no faith and no belief that it is possible or true. In this case it would be "There is no try" and for good reason. However let's say it's a tree I was invited to jump from with out getting hurt - that would change the decision making process. I DO have hope, faith and belief that indeed I could possibly do it without getting hurt. There is risk of course, I could sprain an ankle, or break a leg or injure myself some other way but the risk may be worth the try. There IS a "try" - Yoda is wrong! (Oh my goodness - this is a blasphemous statement to a Star Wars fan!)

I can't help but think of Thomas Edison. Would we still be burning oil lamps if he ascribed to this quote? Here is a man who believed in trying - and continuing to try! He was a man of faith, perseverance and determination!

It has been reported that Edison failed (or might we say tried?) over 6,000 times before perfecting the first electric light bulb.


Perseverance pays. Trying and continuing to try is positive, faith and hope in action.

There is only "no try" without hope, faith and/or belief in the possibility of success. And repeated tries often lead to success. To keep trying is to persevere, to persist.

When I sin (miss the mark) do I sit down and give up, as a failure? Because there is "no try"? Absolutely not! Because I have faith, belief and hope that if I repent, ask for His help  and continue to practice (i.e try). I can and will get it right. I have hope, faith and belief that like the  Loving Parent that He is, YVHV my Father is once again picking me up, brushing me off and cheering me on.  I have hope, faith and belief that I can improve, I can get it right, I can succeed - IF i continue to try.

Sorry Yoda and all my Star Wars fans, I am not buying into this ultimately defeating and discouraging statement, I'll go with this  quote:  "Tis a lesson you should heed, Try, try again. If at first you don't succeed, Try, try again".
[1840 T. H. Palmer Teacher's Manual 223]

And so I will go back into my studio and try once again to create a new, interesting and meaningful painting. Whether I "do or do not", whether I succeed or fail, I will continue to try.


"Let us not become weary in doing good: for in due season we will reap, if we don't faint." (Galatians 6:9)




Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

Yet Another Video

It's been a while since I posted and I am not too happy about that - but once my life ( i.e. routine) gets disrupted I have the hardest time getting back on track. It is coming though - I am looking forward to daily painting and posting once again starting in September. (or nearly daily posting, for sure daily painting).

My two daughters and grandson are leaving me - round two of the empty nest syndrome! The youngest is back in Ohio already to go to graduate school and  start a career change. The other daughter is moving to Oklahoma with my (only) grandson and her Marine officer husband - and then who knows where after that. I can only hope they will come back to Camp Pendelton and be near me once again.

I will miss them tremendously - but their departure will afford me the opportunity to focus completely on my art again - with few distractions. That is a good and bad thing - I love my "distractions"  and enjoy being with them, but I also love my art-making and enjoy doing that too.

I bumped into this video - found it on another blog called The Abundant Artist - and it just gave me chills. I hope you enjoy it too. It is the poem "Farewell" put to music.  Enjoy!


Blair puts Emily Dickinson's "Farewell" to Music at Detroit's Institute of Arts from Erik Proulx on Vimeo.

As always for those of you getting my blog by email CLICK HERE and watch










Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

A Must See Video

Well - time flies doesn't it?!

I posted this TED talk video on Facebook several weeks ago and a friend just re-posted it. I enjoyed this so much I thought I needed to put it on my blog and share it with you too.  I never tire of watching this guy - he amazes me! What a talented creative and obviously hardworking guy.

So as usual this may not show up in email - so be sure to go to the link and watch this on line - I just know you will enjoy this artst.



Or here is the link
http://www.ted.com/talks/shea_hembrey_how_i_became_100_artists.html

Enjoy!


Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

Swerve and a Life Altering Crash!

Here is another untitled painting from my recent work. It’s acrylic and 24” x 48”

I consider it nearly done – not quite!

Sometimes there is just no explaining life. So I have had a big swerve in my art work and now a sudden life altering crash in my life – which I am certain will ultimately cause another different kind of swerve in my artwork again. I expect all of this to be incredibly good news and good stuff. In a nutshell, I ended up having emergency surgery, spent several days and nights in the hospital, and am home now doing fine, thank you.

I may ramble on a bit here – so fair warning – you might want to hit your delete button right now, but this has been one amazing journey. Don’t worry – I am not going into all the gory details. Talking about “meds” and “procedures” and medical stuff just makes me want to find a gun and shoot one of us in the head! However, I am  astounded nearly daily at the revelations I have been getting, and they bear recording I think. So here comes a bit of personal journaling.

Things I understand now that I didn’t fully understand before:

1) A new appreciation for pain and what it can do to you. I am no stranger to pain, and I have a high tolerance for it. I have been scalded with boiling water, set on fire, in a number of motorcycle and car wrecks, have had numerous concussions, have debilitating migraines, broken a few bones, and have had babies.  I have never experienced any pain like this.

2) Why hospitals don’t leave surgical tools laying around. Had I been able to gain access  I would l have started trying to cut my own pain out.

3) How someone could be driven to chew their own limb off. I get it now.

4) How creative people can easily get hooked on drugs. I’m not much of an “altered consciousness” fan. Not much of a drinker, dislike drugs, I like life straight and clear. Besides, my body doesn’t react in typical or normal ways to stuff. They had a very difficult time finding the right concoction of pain meds for me in the hospital. There was a period of time where it seemed like every 10-15 minutes they were pumping me full of morphine and something that sounds like “diluted”  and other chemicals that I have no clue what was – but it created a window of time – a creative encounter of sorts -  where I personally solved all the creative problems of the Universe! I did! It was genius! It was delightful and fun and I felt like I was completely clearheaded! I could not wait to get to my sketchbook to record all of these incredible ideas and paintings and sculptures - and there was something about floating through the sky in a rowboat that was awesome! And no, I don’t remember a thing about all of it now – and that is sad. Very sad, for me and the world – as I really did have genius ideas, concepts and solutions. I now have a little bit of a desire to recreate that experience – so I can see where chemistry and artistry may want to encounter each other…and how creative people may partake in that encounter.

Like I said - I have no interest in or tolerance for medical stuff, illnesses, medicines and am not a lovey-dovey, touchy-feely, nurturing, compassionate person. While my family knows without a doubt that I love them and would do absolutely anything for them – they would without hesitation agree with the above statement. If you need comfort and compassion – go to Dad. If you need raw truth and a kick in the a** – call Mom. Just the way it is. While I HOPE that this recent experience will soften me around the edges, and that I will become a more compassionate person, I’m not holding my breath. But I do understand a few things a little better now.

More revelations next time.

The Big Swerve Begins

Currently Untitled

24” x 48”

Acrylic

So the other artists in my mentor group suggested I get angry – and I did! Angry at myself, and began going places that have been barricaded for decades, and this is what is coming out.

I don’t think I will say too much about them just yet.

This is supposed to be an acrylic under painting – to be finished in oils, however at my reception last Saturday I got so much positive feedback that I am reconsidering. I may just leave this as is and do another in oil. Once again – it’s an iPhone pic.

More to come…

a little catch up

Untitled
24” x 24”
Oil on canvas
I’ve just been taking iPhone pics and this is another one. I will have to take a day and do a photo shoot in order to catch up and get some decent photos.
This is the last painting I did before I began my big swerve into another lane. I’ll start posting some pics of those later today or tomorrow.

Maybe Unfinished -

Here is the latest painting. It is a iPhone photo and a really bad one at that. Again in the 18” x 24” range. It is currently untitled and I am not sure it is finished. I had words in the background which got lost and I may put them back in. Not sure. This one may have to simmer for a bit.

Today is going to be sort of a day off for me – I am exhausted, for no good reason, I can feel that virus trying to come back, I have some follow-up doctor appointments from my E.R. trip the other morning, still need to find a plumber for the kitchen, Rick and I had a little tiff and he really hurt my feelings (that NEVER happens) – and I can feel stress in general trying to bash my door in. Years ago I had a doctor suggest that I may have fibro-myalgia. I completely rejected that idea, I didn’t even believe that was a real thing. Now I am beginning to wonder…nah. Well…?

I just completed reading a blog written by a friend HERE where she wrote about her entire life – one year at a time, starting at zero. It was fascinating to me. She seems to have had such a wonderful, wholesome, balanced, healthy NORMAL life. She has fun, good, warm and loving memories from almost every year of her life. Even her trials seem so – manageable and well, normal. Can this be real? Do people really have lives like this?

I have toyed with writing my memories – or an autobiography many times, but I wouldn’t do it until everybody I knew was dead, so I will probably be dead then too. That won’t work. Maybe writing under a pen name… Maybe writing as she did would be a good exercise. It would be a good exercise to try to find at least one fun or warm or “normal” memory for each year – there are many I am sure, but that would be a really big challenge for a lot of years.  Hmmmm….

Yesterday’s Painting

I think the title will be “Church”

It’s about 18” x 24” I think – I forgot to measure. I am totally in love with this painting!!

Three New Paintings

Really?

11” x 14”

oil on canvas

Moth and Rust

24” x 36”

oil on canvas

Hold Dear

18” x 24”

oil on canvas

 

I have a couple more laid out on canvasses, and a bunch in the sketching, planning stages. I am eager to get going on them if my body will just cooperate. Seems like it is fighting me every step of the way lately.

The Most Aggressive Defense Of Teachers You'll Hear This Year

I haven't posted for a while. But I thought this was definitely worth sharing in the meantime -



The Most Aggressive Defense Of Teachers You


go here if the link doesn't show up or work - http://front.moveon.org/the-most-aggressive-defense-of-teachers-youll-hear-this-year/?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d8738978cc569c4%2C8

Have you visited me here?N S Davis Art WebsiteNathalie Davis web site

Winner of Business of the Year

Well, I am so proud to say that Rick’s company – Arbor Scientia – won the Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year award last night – in the medium sized business category. Actually it was a tie with another company – but they announced Arbor first and I was so excited for him I didn’t pay attention to the other one.

Yay Rick – I am very proud of you!

Lessons from my studio walls

Toward the end of January I bought a roll of paper and started a timeline for my art. I have a studio space at home and also a studio I rent in Escondido – so I have one of these in each studio – and they are both different, but similar. They are each close to 6 feet long with about 1 foot per month – so they run through June.

I usually have goals, and they usually get lost and/or forgotten  Not these, and I am learning a lot from doing this. In January, I wrote down  lofty goals and plans – and I mean lofty! How I would like things to go in a perfect world. I needed a place to start, and while they were really big goals, “You gotta start somewhere” and “if you don’t shoot for the stars you won’t even hit the moon” – you know, stuff like that.

Well, I did not meet my goals for January. None of them. I told my mentors I would complete 7 finished still life paintings and also 7 “my choice” paintings – total of 14 paintings. I knew it was a lot when I said it, but….I really thought I could do it. I didn’t.

I have been SO bothered by this it is – (was) - bordering on crazy. I talked to my husband about it and neither of us could remember a time that I did not do what I said I would do. It is an integrity issue for me. Say what you mean, mean what you say - and if your say you are going to do something – then do it! No excuses. I have been running through shame and embarrassment and anger and disappointment – you name it!

But I have reframed it and worked through it – mostly. I still have my moments.

So here is what I am learning from my studio walls:

This would not have been a problem if I were doing my little daily paintings. It’s a big problem doing bigger painting. They take longer – duh! Didn’t think of that. I learned I really do want to work larger – and I need to calculate my time differently now.

Yes, I could have cranked out 14 paintings in spite of all of the various set backs I had this month – but they would be mediocre at best. I learned that quality really is more important to me than quantity. More important than fulfilling a commitment even.

This mentorship program ultimately is centered on LEARNING – and that is what I am doing. I learned a few limitations and how to handle things differently, better.

I learned I need to factor in “ramp up” time. I used up a lot of my time looking for materials and trying to get the lighting right, etc. I finally kind of gave up because I had to get to producing some work – I will continue working on learning the technical aspects – like lighting and looking for props.

I learned it is good to have my goals posted in front of me – no matter how ridiculous they seem – it is easy to cross stuff off and correct them as I go and that somehow feels really good. It feels alive and flexible – like it’s not necessarily cast in concrete – more like clay.

I learned that I need to do a better job taking care of myself physically. Pushing myself to go to the studio and try to create when my body is screaming to go lay down is not only is a bad idea – but it actually set me back about 3 days work. I messed up everything I touched, had a miserable time, and then had the task of trying to correct it all.

I am reminded that I am an eternal being – I am not in a hurry. Relax, it’s not a race. Breathe. Be kind to myself. I forget that stuff.

Most importantly - I learned to “not let my mouth write checks that my a** can’t cash”

Yep – it’s all about learnin’ isn’t it?

An Indie Short

I just viewed a lovely little short video that is actually nominated for an award. It’s based on a children's story – The Lost Thing

To view it go here:

http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/news/the-lost-thing-022111

 

I think you will enjoy it – I sure did.

This is a first!

We went car shopping today. Rick just touched the latch on the back window of this Honda Pilot and the window absolutely exploded! Rick got a few little glass slivers in his hand – but he was uninjured. We were just shocked and it scared us a bit – it sounded quite loud – just like an explosion would.

Never have seen this happen before – it was a shocker – that’s for sure.

Pretty good day

Today I played with the portrait I started yesterday. It went from this:

To this:

And ended like this:

Not sure it is finished, but I kind of like it so far.

An end and a beginning

Here is the end…another just finished painting – I am glad this one is over. For some reason this one just did not go smoothly.

And here is the beginning – just barely a beginning. A nice break from the still life paintings -

On the easel

This is very nearly done. Either it's drying unevenly or needs some fixing in the background. I should know tomorrow. Good day in the studio today.

Finished

This is the finished grisaille portrait if Zara

Mobile blogging

The Grisaille of Zara in progress  posted but not the text-
I am trying to learn how to blog from my phone. I think I have finally gotten it- if this shows up then I will know for sure. 

1

Sent from my iPhone

Learning mobile blogger

Cutie Pie

Another Still Life

 

Another untitled painting on the easel. About 18" x 22" again

. I think this one is actually finished - again this is an iPhone pic and there is quite a bit of glare - especially in the upper left corner, which is actually quite dark.

Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

My Tale of Woe

Learning – I love learning things, but is it really learning when you can’t remember what it is that you’ve learned? Hmmm –  Pardon me while I whine and whimper just a little, and tell my tale of woe.
First – I didn’t even check the date yesterday and totally missed my brothers birthday! My wonderful big brother whom I love and admire and I can’t even remember his birthday? – bad sister! Bad! Oh, I have alerts set everywhere for these things – but it’s like living next to a railroad track – after a while you don’t even hear the trains go by – I don’t even notice the alerts. And I often don’t pay attention to little things like dates and the time…and the phone…and…that’s beside the point.
I had such high hopes for this month, but so far a lot has not been going so well – and I mean a lot. Let me unload about my most recent fiasco.
In addition to fighting migraines daily for the past week or two, I’ve tweaked my back and wrenched my knee. I am a mess, a big hurting mess.  So last night I asked Rick if he had any icy-hot to rub on my knee. No, but he found this:

OK – that’ll work. So I started rubbing it on my knee. It felt good to massage my knee but I couldn’t feel anything happening – it’s probably old and lost it “power” – so I rubbed more on. Still nothing, so I rubbed even more on. Now I just want to go to bed- I’ll get some new stuff at the store tomorrow. I washed my hands real good like the instructions said, crawled in bed and dozed off. But woke right up with my knee and leg really hot. Oh good, I think – this stuff does still work a bit, it’ll probably feel better in the morning. Good. Back to sleep – only to awake with the bed on FIRE!! Oh My Gosh!!! – not just my knee and leg- but my face, my eyes, and a number of spots on my arms and neck. Everywhere I touched my skin  - it lit up like an inferno. This was a surprise! And a VERY painful one – Like a hot iron on my skin - I’ll take the sore wrenched knee over this burning fire any day! Where the heck is Smokey the Bear when you need him? Am I turning into Pyro?? I washed my hands! What the heck? So I washed my hands again, took some Advil (which did seem to dull the pain a little) did my best to ignore it and repeated it all night long – doze a little, awake burning, doze a little, burn, repeat. By morning it was a bit better – but I had still rubbed my eyes and they weren’t happy with me, as well as touched my face and neck a lot, yikes.
Great, crappy night, but at least it was over. I jumped in the shower and Oh My Gosh! FIRE!! Apparently mixing water and Capsaicin is like throwing water on a grease fire. The whole thing started all over again!
Doing my best to ignore this crazy burning pain, I began getting ready to head to the studio. I needed a little tool I use on occasion – it’s only about 1-2 inches big, and I don’t use it often – but I wanted it today to help me check the colors in my painting. It’s a helpful little thing, but it is small and easily misplaced and overlooked. I can’t find it. Since I have moved stuff around and moved my studios – I can’t find a lot of things. So, tears are running down my face from my eyes burning – various parts of my body are on fire – my head is starting to get the best of me, my knee and back still hurt, I am frustrated as all get out when I run across this:

Yep. Three empty Coke cans that I brought back from Cairo a year or so ago. Who lugs garbage home from Egypt? I just started laughing, remembering Rick’s dismay at my packing them to bring home. I thought the Arabic on them was interesting and I know a woman who does recycled art. She might like them. Souvenirs for the kids or family? not so much – But I just gotta bring that trash home for an artist acquaintance. I had forgotten all about these.
My laughter took my mind off all of my pain and discomfort for a minute. In my laughter – and a moment of clarity - it began to dawn on me – Oh yeah, among all of the oddities and “-isms” I have – I totally forgot about my having “hypersensitivity syndrome.” It kind of comes and goes, and is usually worse when I am under stress.  Like when I am facing deadlines and things aren’t going smoothly and I feel like I am running out of money and time – you know, stuff like that. That is when my skin gets super sensitive and I have to wear my socks and underwear inside out because the seams irritate my skin so bad, and I can’t sleep if the sheets have wrinkles because the wrinkles hurt my skin…Oh yeah. That.
So what have I learned- if anything?
I learned a little about poetic justice. That fire and my brother kind of go together – my shirt caught on fire as a young girl and he put me out. So is there some poetic justice in the fact that I forgot his birthday and then “burned” all night? I kind of think so….
I learned that a little tiny bit of Capsaicin cream might be wiser than half a tube – or maybe none at all would be good, especially when I tend to have very sensitive skin. And I ought to think first – before I slather fire inducing ointment on my hypersensitive skin.
I learned that I rub my eyes in my sleep and touch my face and neck a lot too.
I learned that I forget a lot of important stuff – so did I ever really learn it? Really?
And now back to hunting for my little tool…and taking the Cairo coke cans to see if I can even find the person  I brought them back for (whom I don’t even know well – only met a time or two), then to the studio to see if I can paint through these burning, blurry, teary eyes.
And yes – it is OK to laugh at me – I am still laughing myself -

Sneak Peek: What’s in the Works

Untitled as of yet

18” x 22” oil on canvas

Not such a good iphone pic today – but it’s what I am working on. I like it. Needs a few tweaks .yet – but it’s almost finished

What’s on the Easel

Zara – oil on canvas – about 12” x 24”
February is off to a raggedy start. It is the 2nd and I am already behind schedule! I set my goals high for this month – Oh heck. I set my goals high all the time – only this time I may have gone over board! I wanted to have 15 paintings finished this month – and not little 6” x 6” ones this time. So far my back is acting up and hurting like crazy, I am not sleeping, my allergies are about as bad as they ever get and I have been fighting a migraine for about 3 days. I’ve been trying to set up a still life and light it in my studio and I can’t find the props I want, nor can I get the light right! Aarrrghhh!!!!
On the brighter side, I stopped by a camera store and got some advice, which saved myself some money. and the best part? It can only get better from here! I dropped in to Studio 2nd Street and started this portrait of Zara in Vanessa’s class. Wow, that felt so good – I haven’t seen Vanessa for probably a year! I can’t believe it’s been that long. Felt good to be back there. So, I hope to get this portrait finished this week. Tomorrow I am heading up to Laguna Beach with my daughter to see a show called “Painterly Painters” – with paintings by Linda Christensen at Sue Greenwood Fine Art.  Linda Christensen is my favorite artist ever! That should be a nice break, I am excited about seeing this show!
And now I am headed off to see if I can get some sleep – I am exhausted!

Work in Progress

I just love my studio. I love going there and being there and painting there. It is wonderful! I still have a lot of moving in to do. I have a brand new easel in the garage that needs to be assembled. Rick bought it for me from ASW – that is a story that is still developing. It doesn’t have any assembly instructions and it came kind of beat up and shop worn looking. So far they haven’t returned any of his phone calls to their customer service number and haven’t responded to his emails either. I am eager to use the easel – the little light weight aluminum one I am using is OK, but it hops around a bit. Anyway - I toned a bunch of canvasses – so I am ready to go!

I started this today – it’s about 16 x 20 I think. A work in progress about listening to lies, part of the Spiritual Warfare series -

Here’s a bit of a detail  - well as much detail as an iPhone will give me. It still has quite a ways to go and who knows how it will evolve.

I did it again!

Regarding yesterdays post "BUMP" - I forgot that the videos don't show up in email  - and forgot to give you links to see what I was talking about. So sorry. Go to my blog -or to get to it you can just click  HERE

Does anyone know how to fix it so the video post will go out in the email subscriptions?

There are 3 You Tube videos there - enjoy!


Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

BUMP!

 I BUMPED into Joanna Newsome on the internet - just a random encounter - and my goodness. Strange, unique, maybe just a little creepy, odd and lovely - wow. I hope you enjoy these too!

You can read about her here

So there is a little taste for you - search Joanna Newsome on You Tube to see more of her.





Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site

A Delightful Day

I finally got to work in my new studio!

Here is a view from the hall way getting ready to walk in. And this is from the other end looking out. It’s about 9’ x 17’ – sort of long and narrow, but I have a window and good light – and you’d think that I have a closet. I do, sort of. It is only about 10” deep and houses circuit breakers and stuff. I am on the hunt for a narrow set of shelves to put in there, and I can stack some of my canvasses in there. Today I worked on a black and white value study for my painting class (still in progress – I will maybe finish it tomorrow) – then did a an invented color head – just for fun. After about 4 hours I had to go move my car – I walked out of my studio into the most beautiful day – and the Farmers Market! How delightful and wonderful it was to stroll thru the market, get a tasty beef kabob for lunch and a bag of grapefruit for breakfast. What a delightfully wonderful day!

These are iPhone pics again – but it give you the idea. They are in the 18” x 24” size range. I can’t wait to get back to the studio tomorrow!

Falling Angel

Falling Angel

11” x 14”

Acrylic on Canvas

Another iPhone pic. I guess I don’t have much to say today. I am feeling very tired. I have not slept very well for the past few nights, and don’t feel like I had a very successsful week in the studio this week at all. Lots of thinking. I leave tomorrow to go to a NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programing) workshop for the weekend and I think just knowing that I have this event coming up has sucked the energy out of me.  The good thing is that this will pass – it is just a part of the process. I’m going to go take a nap now :-)

Current Work

I have been a bit slow in posting these days, so it's time to catch up a bit. I have been working and here is a bit of the fruit of my labor. Most are still in progress. I am not sure if I can call any of them finished yet, I'll have to sit with them for a while longer.  I think I have mentioned that I am in this mentoring group. I have been fortunate enough to be selected to be a part of this group of  8 amazing people and artists, it lasts for about 6 months.( And yes - I am one of the 8  -I too am amazing and an artist, I learned that in my group discussion today [huge grin])

The mentors are April Game, head and founder of the mentor program as well as San Diego Fine Art Society, and Alex Salazar of Alexander Salazar Fine Art, gallery and auction house.  April and Alex visited my studio Dec 18, 2010 and on their initial visit gave me some "homework." that consisted of clearing my studio of everything and starting with all new fresh canvases. Then I was to do two large, 36" x 36" paintings of myself as a warrior angel and one of the skies, a celestial piece. I thought my deadline was Jan 8th, turns out I have until the end of the month. Oh well, that is fine. I worked hard and got them done. In the process I have also been working on other pieces, and "Ta Dah" - here they are now. All of these photos were taken with my iPhone. I  love my iPhone- these pics are surprisingly accurate , but certainly not professional or of the quality I usually post. Keep that in mind - nor do I have the exact sizes yet.

I have shown this here before but I am showing it again just for the sake of consistency...or something like that. This is the first one I did to start the warrior angel series. It is a full sheet of watercolor paper - something like 22" x 30" - so this is where I began to think and plan for the larger painting. It is pretty much in the same pose as the little figurine that was in my studio that sparked this whole thing.

  

I

Here is the finished 36" x 36" Self Portrait as Warrior Angel...complete with  glasses to aid in my vision hehehheh. I wanted this to be rather earth bound, thus the brown wings and the "dirt" on my sword. I wanted it to be direct, confrontational and have a resolute expression on my face.I think I was pretty successful in that.

The cloud or sky assignment developed quite differently than I expected or initially planned. I had originally thought big fluffy white clouds in a pristine blue spans, a nice Texas type sky. Then when we were flying back from Ohio over the holidays, I looked out the plane window and we were flying between these two layers of rather ominous looking clouds. It felt so right! So I grabbed my trusty iPhone and started snapping pics. This is 36" x 36"

So yay, my homework was done, my assignments fulfilled and yet I wasn't happy. (geesh - am I ever?) - plus I now found out I have more time before they are actually "due" - time to make more of them! The warrior thing felt so static, as well as very video game like - sort of like World of Warcraft, or maybe a new comic book character; "Mommy - Part-Time-Warrior-Princess". Fun, just not where I want to go. It just wasn't any where near what I want to say about angels. So I began to think about spirits and conflict, somehow making the invisible visible without being cheesy or too  literal and - hey, what about color? I need color! This is what developed next - full sheet of watercolor paper - still unfinished - still static - still not saying what I want to say but giving me more ideas and more understanding of some sort. The sort that is inside and can't be put into words yet - even though I sure do try. Eventually, on a trip out through the garage to let the dogs outside I spied this old painting I had started. It was of this character that shows up  lurking about in some of my images, and I grabbed that on my way back upstairs.

This guy shows up now and then and is  usually walking away and looking back over his shoulder at me. That is how this started out and how it was intended to be. He was supposed to be looking back at me over the wing - but as it happens he got turned around and - well, he isn't finished yet either. I dont know what will happen to him. Still too static - still not what I want  - still making me think - but I kind of like the sort of phosphorescent greenish glow about him. Just what kind of angel is this character?

Now - I feel like I might be getting somewhere. I did most of these with my hands - no brushes  - or at least not much - I may have used a brush in the initial washes. Oh, and I used a paper towel. These are starting to speak to me. These are getting exciting. I will be doing more of these. Both of these are full watercolor sheets.All of them are in acrylic - I'm working too fast for oils right now.
All of the above paintings are valid and important. They are a part of the path to discovery.  I don't plan on destroying any of them - I may work on them more and well, you know what happens when I do that sometimes...but my intention is to keep and finish them. However, it's always possible that they may fall by the wayside as I am way more excited and interested in pursuing more work like these last two.

Summary:
So since Dec 18th - Concerning my art (and not including a week in Ohio and other holiday obligations) - I've cleared my studio out, piled up the garage more,  rented a studio in Escondido and started moving my oil paints and stuff over there, bought a new easel for the studio which just arrived and needs assembly, hired my daughter as an administrative assistant, completed 2 large paintings and have what- maybe 5? paintings in the works. (actually 7 - there are two on my wall that I haven't shown you - they are too early in the beginning stages - not much more than washes on paper).

Not too bad, I am OK with this. In fact I am pretty happy with it - so I guess the answer to the earlier question "Geesh, am I ever happy?" is yes. Yes I am.


















Have you visited me here?
N S Davis Art Website
Nathalie Davis web site

Check this guy out -

I am putting some video on my blog and I know that for many of you video does not come through on email subscriptions, so be sure to go to my blog - click here - or cut and paste http://nsdavisart.blogspot.com

The first time I bumped into this guys video I thought "Oh sure - this is B.S." - then I decided it was a gimmick - then I listened and looked more closely. I am not saying I agree with his philosophy or theology - but I believe he is sincere and the paintings are actually very cool. Check out Dr Jon Tsoi - Chinese (and a little bit hard to understand at times) acupuncturist and herbalist ... and of course artist!

This is the first video I came across, and then discovered that he has a TON of videos on You Tube. You can also visit his website here:  http://www.loseweightherbs.com/lose_weight_herbs/Art_Medicine_Gallery.html - be sure to scroll down to see the paintings - if you double click on one of the images a slide show option will come up making it easier to view them. (It seems to have larger images if you do it that way rather than using the slide show view button)

This concept has grabbed me and isn't letting go. I love the idea of the intuitive mind-spirit connection to create vs. the more mechanical eye-mind -hand creating. I think I want to know more about his thoughts and ideas. I will be searching for and watching more of his videos. I hope this stuff interests and challenges you also.

BTW - I AM painting and creating but have been so busy and fragmented in everything that I haven't had time to post. I will be doing so very soon. I rented a studio in Escondido and am moving into it. Getting oriented with the mentoring program, and will be going to an NLP workshop next weekend. Not so sure how I feel about this - we will see and you will hear about it!

Thanks for hanging in here with me - I will be back on track soon.




Have you visited me here? N S Davis Art Website Nathalie Davis web site