Pink Loose Abstract Watercolor Flower – 9×12
Painting Pink Senses
See the beauty in nature and people
Listen with hearfelt intention
Touch lives in a positive way
Smell the fragrance of life
Taste joy in simple pleasures
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Empty Nest
Today you stretch your wings
and show us how we taught you to fly.
Today you pack up all the things you have and need
to make your own life and home.
Today you say good-bye and I love you when you walk away,
but you don’t come back to stay.
Today you take my love with you
and know it will always be here.
Today you leave the nest.
and memories are sneaking out of my eyes and rolling down my cheeks.
Today and always, I am so very happy for you… so very proud…
but I can’t help feeling a little emptiness in the very core of my soul.
Today you begin creating your own nest
but please don’t forget you will always be a part of mine.
Wishing you the best… today and always
from my full momma’s heart..
and empty nest.
Cheers & Hugs NCM ❤
Love,
Mom
29 Years Ago…
I learned the true meaning of unconditional love the moment I held you in my arms.
348 Months Ago…
my life’s purpose was discovered and fulfilled all at once.
18,096 Weeks Ago…
I knew there was nothing you could ever do that would make me stop loving you.
126,672 Days Ago…
my heart doubled in size when two became three – our little family.
3,040,128 Hours Ago…
the sun grew brighter, the grass greener, the sky bluer, the clouds puffier, the air sweeter.
182,407,680 Minutes Ago…
I became your #1 fan, and for a couple thousand minutes… I was yours.
10,944,460,800 Seconds Ago…
was the first second of the best moments of my life.
Happy Birthday JRM ❤
Love you,
Mom
Prussian Blue, Cobalt Teal Blue, Quin Gold Watercolor Whale 8×10
After all the pink love last week, I had the pleasure of creating something blue and nautical for a sweet little boy we are preparing to welcome.
Prussian Blue, Cobalt Teal Blue, Quin Gold Watercolor Nautical Anchor 8×10
How lucky am I that one of my BFF’s had a grandson about six months ago and another BFF is having one within weeks of our granddaughter’s due date. Seems it will be one of the greatest joys in life to share motherhood and then grandmotherhood with life-long friends.
So yesterday was the “Ahoy It’s a Boy” shower, and I made a couple of watercolor paintings for this little guys’s nautical themed nursery.
I matted the 8×10 paintings with navy blue matting and framed them with white 11×14 frames.
It’s hard to take photos of paintings under glass without reflection and in good light, so these photos are a bit off in color, but I thought they turned out really cute, and I hope they will go well in this sweet little guys’s new room.
I thought it would be fun to make them into greeting cards too.
Can’t wait to meet you Baby Boy Griffith!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Showers of love
in pastel shades
of pink and ribbons
and braids.
Dreaming of cherubic
rosy red cheeks
and plump, chubby thighs
to pinch and kiss and squeeze.
Preparing for sweetness
for sugar and spice…
showers of love
my heart’s delight.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Happy October Watercolor – Coffee Table Pumpkin Centerpiece – 6×9
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Once upon a time… (isn’t that how all fairy tales begin?)
there was a young woman
whose dreams came true
when she was blessed with the gift
of two sweet boys
two years apart.
The young mom lived next
to another young mom
who had a boy and two girls
a few years older.
The one little girl
came to visit quite often.
She loved the other mom’s babies,
and the mom loved the little girl.
Her name was Stefanie,
but the boys could not say that,
so she became “Bunny”
forever and always.
Time and distance
have a way of dividing
people and lives
even those that are special.
But time and distance
can also be overcome
like it was this past weekend
for that mom and sweet “Bunny”
when the news of another
baby brought them together.
Some special relationships
are simply meant to be
like the mom who will now
soon be a grandmother
and the little girl who now
is the best momma to her own
two sweet boys
two years apart.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
This post is dedicated and written in love to a very special young lady and mom, Stefanie (“Bunny”). Thank you for reaching out. Thank you for sharing your time and your heart and your little loves. You are my hero, sweet Momma. Keep doing it right! ❤
Autumn Tree Watercolor 5 x 7 140lb Fabriano Artistico
For the past few days,
I’ve so wanted to create an Autumn landscape scene…
The colors… the leaves… the trees… the beauty.
But,
each time I “TRIED” too hard,
I ended up scrapping what I created.
Then, the other night,
I just decided to do a single tree,
and I kinda like how it turned out.
10 minutes…
of relaxation
and joy
and contentment.
Sometime I have to step back and quit trying so hard to create the next “masterpiece” and simply enjoy the process.
It seems that is when the magic happens.
It’s similar to how I used to hate Fall –
mainly because it meant kids were going back to school…. summer was over… winter was coming..
and I completely missed the real beauty and pleasure Fall itself has to offer.
Enjoy the “present!”
Cherish the moments.
All the little moments…
of life
in
between.
Happy Autumn…
Happy Fall
Happy Autumnal Equinox!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Percy the Panda Watercolor 9 x11 on 140lb Fabriano Artistico
My recent imaginary watercolor safari adventure took a detour to cruise across the Indian ocean to the bamboo forests of China to visit the beautiful endangered giant pandas. After all, only about 1,600 live in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (with another hundred or so living in zoos around the world.) Definitely worth the 8,000+ mile trip – wouldn’t you say?
Today, I present Percy the Panda.
Percy LOVES bamboo. In fact, he munches on it about 12 hours a day. As much as he loves bamboo, however, it is sadly low in nutrients, so he also feasts on protein-rich rodents, fish, insects and birds.
Percy, like most giant pandas, is a loner. Apparently, giant pandas dislike being around other pandas so much, they have a heightened sense of smell that lets them know when another panda is nearby so it can be avoided. And, if another panda gets too close, the two will end up swatting and growling or biting each other. The only time pandas seek each other out is during mating season.
On average, a giant panda’s territory is about 1.9 square miles (5 square kilometers). To mark their territory, giant pandas secrete a waxy scent marker. Other giant pandas are able to discern the sex, age, reproductive condition, and social status from this scent marker. Must be some smell!
I was itching to play with some tubes of Daniel Smith Primatek pigments I acquired a while back that are made from natural minerals and semi-precious gemstones, and have amazing granulating effects. Percy is made from genuine Hematite, Mayan Blue, Jadeite, and a touch of Quinacridone Rose.
I really enjoyed “visiting” with Percy and learning more about him and his friends.
Where will this adventure lead next? Your guess is as good as mine!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Giant Panda facts from: http://www.livescience.com/27335-giant-pandas.html
sunny-sunflower-watercolor-11×14-artistico-ex-wh-300lb-soft
“As an artist, I’d choose the thing that’s beautiful more than the one that’s true.”
–Laurie Anderson, Composer, Singer, and Performance Artist
Sunflowers are happy flowers – aren’t they?
They are sunny and bright and cheerful.
I painted this version of a sunflower – that may not really look like a sunflower to you – but I fell in love with. And I rarely say that about my own art, so it is super exciting for me.
It is 11×14 and painted on the most glorious Fabriano Artistico 300lb “Soft” paper that is so cottony soft and buttery, I love to just feel it!
When I came upon this quote by Laurie Anderson, it so resonated with my feelings about art. I would choose beautiful over true too.
I choose to paint what I love and feel is beautiful over an exact likeness. I can take a photo if I want an exact likeness. (And I do so admire artists who can create exact likeness with paint and brushes – don’t get me wrong – it’s just not where I find my joy – at least right now.) But to create a feeling of beauty, that is what I choose to love about painting.
Happy Day!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 