First leg

road trip

We left on our trip to Alberta this evening at 6pm. The Peanut had had a long afternoon nap so any hopes of her sleeping in the car were dashed. The excitement of heading over the top of the mountains to Grandma's house was enough to keep her happy in the backseat for about four hours when we stopped for gas and a potty break followed by another hour to the motel we are staying in over night.

Wild life spotted: one deer eating by the road almost missed it nice to see, one late deer on the side of the road not so nice to see, one hawk riding the thermals.

I had anticipated meltdowns and at least one bout of motion sickness. The gravol did the trick with any tummy mishaps and we (and when I say we, I mean Peanut) managed to keep her diaper dry until the first pit stop. Our one and only meltdown happened just as we got the card to our room. Before we leave in the morning I'll take advantage of the motel wireless and post some more picks from our first leg.

Driving music

Once upon a time when I was young and impetuous I left the dance club with a good friend (also a boy whom I had a huge crush on at the time but he was also a friend first so that's not really the point) at 2 in the morning and drove from Red Deer to the Edmonton Airport to pick up some luggage for a hotel guest. My friend was working as a hotel bell boy at the time and had promised to get the luggage for the guests in hopes of a big tip. Only problem was he didn't drive and didn't have a car. Enter me with both car and license.

My friend was great conversationalist and had the same taste in music as I did (we were both big Depeche Mode fans) and the 1.5 hour trip was pleasant as was the two hours spent in the temporary parking lot waiting for the airline desk to open. One of the discussions we had while driving on the moonlit highway was what songs were good for driving to. I happened to have Martin Gore's Solo EP in the car at the time which kicked the conversation off as we agreed that the whole EP was an excellent soundtrack for a road trip; it has a kind of dreamy quality to it that seems to go well with the broken lines of the highway flashing past as you move forward.

Over the years my road trip music has varied a little but there are always a few good standards that we always end up playing. It's been a few years since we've been in a car for any length of time but we'll be bringing the I pod and car adapter for our listening pleasure. With the Peanut on board we'll have to include some of her favourites; Weezer's Pork and Beans and Depeche Mode's Wrong as well as a good sprinkling of Joy Division and Talking Heads are on her play list.

What's your favourite driving song?

Getting there without losing my mind

When we decided to drive to Alberta instead of flying, my first thought after getting a car sick kit together was how to keep the peanut entertained during the insanely long car trip.

I started to do the research and visited parenting forums to see what others had suggested or tried. Almost everyone who answered the forum posts I found answered the same. I'm not sure but I think it's fairly common knowledge that a portable DVD player is an essential tool in travel with kids. If not, one visit to parenting forums would surely drive the point home.

Yes, we have a portable DVD player. It was the first thing on my list of things to keep our Peanut occupied but it wasn't and isn't the only thing I want to take with us.

Growing up, I have memories of watching the landscape drift by as we traveled the TransCanada through the Rockies. We didn't have the luxury of portable DVD players, MP3's and game players (well I did have a Nintendo Gameboy; you know, the one that came with tetris when I was 18 or 19). I want a family road trip to include some of the same things I remember as a child, not least of which is watching out the window for a glimpse of a mountain goat or a bear.

When I was kid, road trip entertainment was a box of crayons in the back window of the Firebird (which usually caused the crayons to melt in hot weather), whatever book I was reading at the time and invisible ink activity books and for some reason legos. Of course there were also games of "Mom, she's on my side of the car!" and "Dad! she touched me" but no one likes those games too much or for too long. My sister and I would sometimes play Old Maid or Go Fish. Sometimes we'd play travel bingo. Other times my parents would make goofy jokes that depending on how old we were, either made us laugh or groan.

One joke my father would always tell at a specific point on the highway, "put your hand on the window" he'd say at the beginning of a large curve in the highway. Then at the apex of the curve where a large hydro building was located he'd turn with a smirk and say "Did you feel the pane? Get it?" Typical, punny Dad joke and it never failed to catch us as we'd always forget the punchline from the last time we made the trip. Once we were old enough to recall it we'd request it. I can still remember the coldness of the glass on my palm and the small part of me ready to quickly pull my hand away in case it might hurt.

Our trip starts Friday night. I'm hoping the Peanut falls asleep on the road and we can quietly transfer her to bed in the motel in Kamloops. I'll be documenting our trip and posting off and on while we're gone. Because we'll be on the road, I'm putting further 5 questions on hold. In the meantime I'm getting all things packed, cleaned and organized.

PCGS: bloop bloop went the little cement fish

This is my favourite piece on our street and my daughters as well. I like it because it's so unobtrusive and simple. He sits placidly at the entrance of the short driveway and watches the world swim by.

On a walk to the library last week I hit another mother load of PCGS one of my new finds surpasses all those I've seen so far. The statuary in this house is, well if you compared a paint by numbers painting with a van Gogh; that would be an accurate comparison. I'll be photographing the street behind ours once we return from our upcoming road trip vacation.

In the meantime I've been included in a stunning butterfly treasury please go and have a gander, you won't be disappointed.

5 questions: Painted Pink

A few weeks ago I suggested one of my favourite Etsy Shops to Mod3rn Art's Featured Artist Contest. She chose my suggestion and I was fortunate enough to receive one of her recent featured artist's prints. The wonderful thing about winning this contest is that not only was I able to share one of my favorite Etsy artists but I gained one in return. Last week I posted about winning Shay Dodson's print and it looks so lush and juicy in person that I can only imagine how delectable the original painting is.

Whether it's a subtle play of monotone colours or a dizzying dance of pigments; the paintings in Shay's Etsy shop are sublime. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art with a concentration in painting and her mastery of the paintbrush is a testament to her education. in her Artist Statement, Shay refers to a life-long love affair of color and she uses it intuitively allowing the viewer a little insight into her subjects thoughts and emotions. Shay goes on to say "color always has an emotion to express." and she expresses these emotions so beautifully and energetically through the medium of paint that I can almost see her paint each stroke as I look at her work.

I really enjoyed Shay's replies to my questions, she has a wonderful way of explaining herself that is almost as painterly as her art. You can see more of Shay's work online at the Saatchi Gallery. As with all of my five question features please click on any of the images to learn more.

Can you describe the palette you use to create with, what colours do you always reach for?

First and foremost: pink. It has cultural and socio-political connotations and I believe it to be the perfect neutral. I appreciate the fact that in the West it is a color primarily associated with little girls, romantic and relaxing, where as in other cultures, it has a strong masculine presence. Pink is controversial, gender-bending, and looks like luscious candy on canvas.
Second: white. I rarely use many darks or true neutrals. Third: light blue-green and a bit of pure cadmium red, my favorite colors to decorate with. These colors have a strong presence in my home and usually show up in anything I paint.

What has surprised you most about selling your creations online?

The thing that has surprised me most is how much publicity I’ve been offered through artists’ blogs like this one! It’s been a wonderful experience. I’ve met many amazing artists and crafters through Etsy. Everyone has been so supportive!



Do you listen to music when you create? If yes, what's on your play list right now and why?

I definitely prefer to have music playing when I am painting or drawing. There are a few mixes I’ve made especially for this purpose, including songs by Tori Amos, Portishead, Muse, Sneaker Pimps, Jem, Uh Huh Her, Garbage, lamb, The Cardigans, and Iron & Wine. I like a mix of energetic, electronic, and really mellow music when I’m painting, because that’s how I work. ‘Sudden chaos, then quiet passivity’.




What life or art lesson have you learned that has shaped your work?

Like my paintings, I always consider myself a work in progress; never finished. An influential professor and mentor of mine, Nancy Morrow, has always encouraged my intuitive use of color and has told me to let my work be what it is, as I used to struggle to make my work look like someone else’s or be something that it is not. I’ve only had success with the paintings and drawings which were driven by intuition, where I wasn’t consciously aware of each decision I was making, or worrying anxiously that I wasn’t obeying conventional rules of painting. Nancy encouraged me to be completely myself, and that is something I strive for personally and artistically, each day.




If you were an animal what animal would you be?

I think I would like to be a sparrow. I’ve always loved the idea of having wings to fly. Birds are not my favorite animals, but I enjoy the symbolism behind the tattooed image of sparrows and swallows. In addition to travelling the world then returning home, they are symbols of loyalty and fidelity; these birds mate for life and carry messages of hope.

Speaking of Momentum

A few weeks ago I posted about the challenge of keeping up momentum. I've been actively working towards this, trying to overcome lulls and create momentum for myself as well as grasping opportunity wherever it rears it's elusive head.

Having said that, I'm once more heading into a situation where the temptation to drop the ball is going to be high. We're going on Vacation next week and I'm a little worried about whether I'll be able to keep up with the Blog, Tweeting and TMCPhoto and PeanutButterPie.

With the worrying has also come the drive to keep things going. I'll be posting while we're gone (thank all Gods for Laptops) and I may even add a new photograph or two onto TMCPhoto while we're there. We'll be at my Mom's, the location of my Borealis Photo-shoot as well as the Electric Series. I'm hoping that I'll have the opportunity to take some new and fresh shots while I'm there. Since I'll have the laptop with me I'll also have access to my Creative Suite programs.

It's been over two years since I've been back to Alberta and I'm pretty excited about seeing my family. With the exception of my older sister and my two nephews who came in March for a Hockey Tournament; I haven't seen any family except on Facebook in all that time. I'll either be so homesick to stay at the end of the trip or ready to get out of Dodge and not want to come back until a suitable time period has passed. I suppose any posts I do while there will give clues as to how I'm feeling.

Speaking of momentum and grabbing on to opportunities; I was lucky enough to get in on the recent Etsy Treasury window. In honour of our upcoming road trip I've put together a selection of items that are just making me yearn to get on the road.