Art Plunge

        Sukha in front of my painting she collected  My friend James posted this photo of Sukha in front of my painting and I loved everything about it. I also loved the little arrow that pointed at my heart and pinged it softly...the ping pang's of missing painting. I'm currently in "commission" mode and doing stuff for other people while doing a part time job and trying to stay on top of bass lessons. My inner self is in turmoil a bit and I'm trying to navigate everything. I would love to work on a painting so will try to make some ideas come alive soon on that front. This blog isn't really about anything but wanting more time for art. It's hard when you have so many interests and obligations to others to get on the stick sometimes. In the meantime we can admire the lovely Sukha who makes time for art appreciation. 🐈🐾  

  Yesterday started off well enough. I woke up alive. So far so good. Got up and walked to the bathroom. All systems fine. Walked into kitchen to make coffee. I had no sooner reached the counter when ZAAAAAPPPPP! A LIGHTNING BOLT OF WHATHEFUCKNESS hit my spine and caused the whole middle/upper portion of my back to seize up. This is what we call "throwing out your back" and it's a super power you achieve if you're blessed with a bad back/injury/pissed off a god somewhere, etc. What follows is a stream of expletives, a scan of any recent things you may done to piss off a god, a brief suspicion of which god you pissed off and an acceptance that whatever plans you had for the day just got shot to hell. I felt glad it was upper middle Earth that got bolted and not lower back. Lower back means you can't walk or stand up straight and you are now Igor so go lay down. Middle upper means you can still walk like a robot leaving a car wreck and don't even think about tur...

My little Ashdown has been quiet for years. It's VU meter sitting dim through the ages. Yesterday I lit it up and it was the warm yellow glow of every teenage late night bedroom, when your ears are new and the song popping and crackling on your record player is exciting fire. I had my first bass lesson with Joe Lally yesterday. If you know, then you know. He's kind of a big deal to me. I think I've been listening to him for over half my life. Wait, rewind that part...when his bass kicks in and you have the volume cranked to "Vibrate My Bones" level. What is he doing there? Wow! Rewind again. It was and is like that. So I was super thrilled I got the opportunity to engage in lessons with him. I know my weaknesses and what needs work. I know all the bad habits I developed with my DIY FUCK IT AND JUST PLAY style. Which, by the way...is a great way to be. But I'm at a point in my life where I want to learn, learn, learn and grow. I want to know all about what I...

I've been lucky to be up and about early most mornings and able to see the sky change it's wardrobe from inky blues to glorious pinks and oranges. I'm going to try to catch more sunsets just as a personal goal as well.  I feel like it's the dawning of a new era as I work to free myself from things that don't serve me anymore. I decided yesterday to cut ties with a lot of things that profit off my labor, ideas, struggle and work and just try to make a go of these things on my own. It's eye opening to see how little I make off print on demand stuff like Society 6 and some other third party entities and how much they take in...off my own supporters and fans I cultivated.  So done with that! Look for a new and improved relaunch of everything this year as I work to put the product you love into my own Shopify and fully reap the rewards of my labor. I'm getting all my creative licenses back from stuff that's not serving me anymore.  It's a lot of work but ...

  A picture speaks a thousand words... Since my little Covid crisis I've been on a mission to connect with life, joy and the things that make me complete. So it was back to playing my bass which I used to do over ten years ago. I used to play in bands and gig and all that fun stuff. Some people only knew me as that girl. I stopped playing when my Dad passed away and I picked up painting again- which is what I went to school for. So other people only know me as THAT girl. But in truth I am both girls and am trying to embrace and find balance with both arts. Music is as much my soul as painting. So I was pretty excited to find out one of my biggest bass heroes was offering online lessons and decided that even though I do not have a lot of money- it is worth investing in myself for such an experience. It's a no brainer. When do you get direct wisdom from the sensei? I'm over the moon! So without name dropping...yeah I'm about to do that. Super psyched to get my skills up a...

  This week was the return to work after two glorious weeks of holiday. It was welcome as I've missed the routine a little. I actually like my job and I haven't had occasion to say that a lot in life. If you are an old friend of mine you know I suffered greatly for many years at the hands of dingdong bosses, verbal and emotional abuse and being treated like a child with no sense of what to do.  It wasn't until I leaped from that burning plane of dead end jobs into the great unknown of freelancing that I came alive at last. So here I am, alive at last.. Learning, growing skills, enjoying what I do and not mad about returning to work and making a little money during a pandemic. I remind myself every day I AM LUCKY!  My job is a little part timey job so there's still hustling to be done on the other days. Like Saturdays...are not weekends. It's another day to work.  Today I'm doing signage for a client, contacting two friends who reached out about album art and a p...

  First blog of the new year... Today I return to work after a 2 week break. I'm actually ready to hit a routine and schedule again. This was the first year, in a really long stretch of years, that I did not kill myself over everyone's commissions over the holidays. It was SO NICE! I enjoyed a break like everyone else! Granted I did squeeze in a little job here and there but it was for the most part a relaxing winter break. It's a new year and I'm in a weird state of flux right now about some things. I do have a new piece up at a new gallery called Cold Soda. My first Bearded Dragon to kick off the new year. All pieces in the group show are $200 and split between venue and artist - so it's a great way to collect and support the local art scene affordably. Just a quick update today because I've missed expressing myself in words. Facebook took away my NOTES feature and I feel a little stranded. Maybe brain dumping to a real journal will be just as therapeutic? I d...