Jack and the Ghost

Happy Halloween everyone!

Click below to hear my latest podcast episode, "Jack and the Ghost."  Also available on iTunes.

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Autumn on the Canal

Autumn on the Canal

Oil on Canvas

10" x 8"

This painting depicts the Broad Ripple Canal just west of the Illinois Street Bridge in Indianapolis. 

I love my new city!

 

Hypnos God of Sleep

Hypnos God of Sleep

Acrylic on Paper Unframed

12" x 9"

Original $125.

Hypnos was the Greek God of sleep.  He was often depicted with wings on the side of his face.  Although he is said to have dwelt in a cave, here he is under the light of the harvest moon ready to hypnotize you.

As a side note, Hypnos' twin brother was Thanatos, God of Death.
So... sleep=death?
I certainly feel more alive after I sleep, but da Vinci and others loathed sleep. 
Ben Franklin wrote, "There will be sleeping enough in the grave."

Purchase the original:

Or buy a reprint through Fine Art America.


"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast."

~William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Celebrate the Day of the Dead at the Indianapolis Art Center

Addie in front of her Altar to honor her grandfather, Lonie Rudd

at the Indianapolis Art Center.

This Saturday, October 29th the Indianapolis Art Center will be hosting a Day of the Dead Celebration.  Celebrate the lives of our loved ones by participating in the workshops, hearing music and viewing the altar exhibit.  I will be sharing stories at 2:30pm.

New Podcast featuring Monsters and Mayhem

Are you in the mood to be scared?

This month I am featuring various "scary" stories on my new Fantastic Fables podcast.

Click below to listen:

Episode 2, Hercules and the Strife Monster

The White River from Holliday Park

The White River from Holliday Park

Acrylic on Canvas Stretched over Frame

10" x 8"

Original $125.

I keep visiting Holliday Park to paint the White River.  It is always so amazing how many different colors and moods come from the place at different times of day.

"Beauty is the oracle that speaks to us all." -Luis Barragan

The Ghost that said, "Boo!"

Yesterday my daughter, Em and I wrote a story about a little ghost.  He tries to scare people but can't.

Em wanted to document the story herself.  Here is the first paragraph:

"Onse upon a tim ther was a gost. He live in a hauntend tas ad it in a tost.  On halwen it sim w not on the dor.  The gos wet daw the sars.  Te ont the boooooooo."

I do have to wonder why so many of our words are not spelled the way we say them.  funny.

The White River in October

The White River in October

Acrylic on Paper Unframed

11" x 14"

Original $150.

It is a challenge to depict sun shining on water! 

The ripples and constantly changing colors are fascinating.  We think of water as simply blue- but when you start really looking at it so many other colors come out.

I have been visiting Holliday Park in Indianapolis to paint.  It is a beautiful place!

New Fantastic Fables Podcast!

I have just created my first podcast to share inspirations and stories! 

In this first episode I tell the "Faceless Nun" an Indiana ghost story.

http://fantasticfables.podbean.com/

My Daughter's Wonderland

My five year old daughter, Emmaline, drew this picture. 

When I asked her about it she said,

"It is Wonderland where the fairy tales happen and everything comes true."

Indeed.  :)

Sun on the White River

Sun on the White River

Acrylic on Paper Unframed

11" x 14"

Original $150.

Is there anything more beautiful than the sun filtering through the autumn leaves?

These few days when the leaves are at their peak are the best.

I am ready to eat pumpkin pie!

Define "Scary"

I have been sharing a lot of "scary" stories lately. 

Most teachers who book me for a storytelling performance in October say that they want scary stories, but not TOO scary.   

One of my favorites is the Belly Button Beastie, a Japanese folktale about a boy who has his belly button stolen by a monster that turns out to be friendly.

When my daughter Emmaline was four I read the story of the Gingerbread Man to her.  After the horrible demise of our hero, I asked Em if this story was scary.  She rolled her eyes (just like a teenager!) and said, "Mom, he is a cookie."

I want to be sensative... where is the line?

The Sun and the Circle

The Sun and the Circle

Acrylic on Canvas Stretched over Frame

8" x 10"

How many colors radiate from this sun?  Is it an infinate spectrum?

 

Latte Art

My college buddy, Kent Kingrey, created these images in cups of latte coffee! 
Isn't it amazing? 

This is making the ordinary extraordinary.  This is Art with a capital A.

Is it Fall yet?

Autumn Leaves

Oil on Canvas
12" x 16"

I love this time of year when a couple of crisp days shock the trees into gold.  It is a challenge to portray trees and I just love the way this painting turned out.

Art vs. Art... is it WRONG?

My friends went to an Art vs. Art competition last Friday night. 

In one of these competitions artists submit paintings that are then voted on by a crowd of people.  The winning paintings are bought.  The losers are submitted to the "wheel of death" which determines how they will be destroyed.  Death by saw was the crowd's favorite.

Is this wrong I ask you?

My gut says yes, this is so counterproductive.  Why create something when a mob could have it chopped to bits?  (And isn't this saw business in front of a bunch of people dangerous? The mom in me can't help but think this is a bad idea.)

But then... I used to wax philosophical that art is about the process not the product. 

Apparently it was a fun event. 

Tree Climbing

 

Tree Climbing

Acrylic on Paper, Framed

25" x 17"

$750.

This Painting is going to be included in the Day of the Dead Show at the Indianapolis Art Center to honor the life of my Grandfather, Lonie Rudd.  I imagined him as a boy in Kentucky surrounded by nature on the farm where he grew up.  As an old man he planted many trees. 

May the children in your life be surrounded by such beauty!