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techniques.</category><category>demonstration</category><category>demontrations</category><category>desert</category><category>desert color</category><category>desert paintings</category><category>desert wash</category><category>development</category><category>diner</category><category>diners. eating a meal</category><category>direction</category><category>dirt road</category><category>dog portrait.</category><category>donating art</category><category>downtown</category><category>draw</category><category>drawing people</category><category>drive</category><category>dry method</category><category>dry mount</category><category>duck</category><category>endurance</category><category>enduring</category><category>enthusiasm</category><category>etiquette</category><category>evening</category><category>exhibit</category><category>exhibition</category><category>existence</category><category>expectations</category><category>expenses</category><category>exploring new creative tools</category><category>face mask</category><category>failure</category><category>fallen easel</category><category>falling</category><category>family memories</category><category>famous</category><category>farming</category><category>farms</category><category>favorite pastel brands</category><category>fear</category><category>feeds</category><category>feelings</category><category>fence</category><category>figurative painting</category><category>filing for artists</category><category>finding humor</category><category>finding time to paint</category><category>finishing a painting. vineyard</category><category>fish</category><category>floors</category><category>flower paintings</category><category>flute recital.</category><category>focal point</category><category>focus</category><category>forest</category><category>forward</category><category>fragrant</category><category>francesca&#39;s</category><category>funny</category><category>gallery</category><category>getting noticed</category><category>getting results with your art</category><category>gettingbackup</category><category>giclee&#39;</category><category>giggling</category><category>giving</category><category>giving permission</category><category>glass ball jars</category><category>goal list</category><category>goal setting</category><category>gold leaf</category><category>gorge</category><category>graphite renderings</category><category>gratefulness</category><category>grey</category><category>group lessons in art</category><category>hand rolled pastels</category><category>handmade pastels</category><category>having perspective</category><category>here</category><category>hesitation</category><category>hillside</category><category>holiday sale</category><category>hope</category><category>horizon</category><category>how to paint water</category><category>human nature</category><category>humor</category><category>ideas</category><category>immediacy</category><category>individual control</category><category>insight</category><category>interior views</category><category>intersection</category><category>introspection</category><category>inventory</category><category>invitationals</category><category>iridescence</category><category>jackpot</category><category>jelly jars</category><category>jet lag</category><category>joker</category><category>journalists</category><category>joyful</category><category>juggling family</category><category>juggling time</category><category>keeping it light</category><category>keeping track of artwork</category><category>koi</category><category>koi pond</category><category>lakes</category><category>lane</category><category>lasting</category><category>laugh</category><category>lavender farm.</category><category>learning pastel</category><category>learning pastel painting</category><category>leaves</category><category>lessons from the easel</category><category>letting go</category><category>life changes</category><category>life imitates art</category><category>life in general</category><category>lifeguard tower</category><category>lifesatrip</category><category>lifespan</category><category>light</category><category>lights</category><category>lily</category><category>lily pond</category><category>limited palette</category><category>limited strokes</category><category>lines</category><category>liquid</category><category>literacy</category><category>love seat</category><category>lpapa18th</category><category>luck</category><category>making a mark</category><category>manners</category><category>marshland.</category><category>melancholy</category><category>members&#39; choice</category><category>memory</category><category>mentoring artist</category><category>mindfulness</category><category>miniature art</category><category>mixing pastel chips</category><category>mixing pigment</category><category>modifications to a plein air box</category><category>mood</category><category>motivation</category><category>natural species</category><category>nature</category><category>nautilus</category><category>negative space</category><category>neon refleftions</category><category>non gallery works</category><category>nostalgia</category><category>now</category><category>nude</category><category>oak tree</category><category>oak trees</category><category>oasis</category><category>observation</category><category>oil painting with palette knife</category><category>oil painting workshop</category><category>old pastels</category><category>on being an artist</category><category>one word</category><category>online art instruction</category><category>online classes</category><category>online teaching</category><category>opinions</category><category>optimism</category><category>organizing pastels</category><category>outdoor studio</category><category>overpass</category><category>packing art gear</category><category>paint</category><category>paintbrush</category><category>painting a theme</category><category>painting at the beach</category><category>painting basics</category><category>painting challenges</category><category>painting demonstration</category><category>painting elephant</category><category>painting friends</category><category>painting from live model</category><category>painting from memory</category><category>painting green</category><category>painting in dangerous places</category><category>painting in the snow</category><category>painting invitational</category><category>painting journey</category><category>painting lessons</category><category>painting locations</category><category>painting on the California coast</category><category>painting outdoors</category><category>painting over old paintings</category><category>painting pastels en plein air</category><category>painting process</category><category>painting sunrise</category><category>painting the ocean</category><category>painting to music</category><category>painting workshop</category><category>paintings of city. Cityscenes</category><category>paintings of ducks</category><category>paintings of fruit</category><category>paintings of people dining</category><category>paintings of trees</category><category>paintings with red</category><category>palette knife</category><category>palette knife painting</category><category>palm tree</category><category>palm trees</category><category>passport</category><category>pastel art</category><category>pastel chips</category><category>pastel classes</category><category>pastel demos</category><category>pastel dust</category><category>pastel exercises</category><category>pastel painting. Portland Galleries</category><category>pastel paintings</category><category>pastel paper</category><category>pastel teacher</category><category>pastel techniques</category><category>pastel video.</category><category>pastel woes</category><category>pastel wrappers</category><category>pastel.</category><category>pastelbox</category><category>pastels and condensation</category><category>pastels en plein air</category><category>pastelsandpleinair</category><category>path</category><category>patio painting</category><category>pearl</category><category>pedestrian</category><category>pencil sharpener</category><category>perceptions on art</category><category>personal challenges</category><category>personal opinion</category><category>personal time</category><category>pet portrait</category><category>pets and art</category><category>pigment</category><category>pigments</category><category>pink</category><category>plein air adaptations</category><category>plein air boxes for pastels</category><category>plein air challenges. extrême plein air painting. railroad tracks.</category><category>plein air competitions</category><category>plein air painter</category><category>plein air tips</category><category>plein air workshop</category><category>plein air. Painting the beach</category><category>plien air painting</category><category>plien-air</category><category>pochade box adaptations</category><category>point of view</category><category>portrait painting</category><category>positive</category><category>positivity</category><category>poverty</category><category>precarious places</category><category>presence</category><category>present</category><category>primary colors</category><category>print</category><category>promoting art</category><category>public musings</category><category>public opinion</category><category>rain</category><category>re-sett</category><category>rearranging a studio</category><category>reasons to paint</category><category>reclining</category><category>recovery</category><category>recycling artwork</category><category>red head model</category><category>red stop light</category><category>reference color chart</category><category>reflecting</category><category>reproductions</category><category>resolve</category><category>restaurant</category><category>results with painting</category><category>review</category><category>road less traveled</category><category>roadmap for a better successful painting</category><category>roads</category><category>rolling hills</category><category>rolling pastels</category><category>rolls</category><category>rural art</category><category>rural landscape</category><category>rural scene</category><category>rustic</category><category>sale</category><category>scumbling</category><category>seagulls</category><category>self portrait</category><category>self-evaluation</category><category>setting goals</category><category>sewing</category><category>shells</category><category>shiny floor</category><category>shoppers</category><category>sidewalks</category><category>silly</category><category>silo</category><category>simple painting tips</category><category>sitting room</category><category>situation</category><category>situations</category><category>sizing up a painting</category><category>sketch before painting</category><category>skyscrapers</category><category>slopes</category><category>slowing down</category><category>slump</category><category>small 6x6</category><category>small town scenes</category><category>soap opera</category><category>solitude</category><category>spinning plates</category><category>spoon</category><category>starving artist</category><category>stigmas</category><category>stipple</category><category>stippling</category><category>streams</category><category>street paintings</category><category>street scene</category><category>streets</category><category>stroke of color</category><category>struggle</category><category>struggling to move forward</category><category>studies</category><category>studio easel and stool</category><category>studio help</category><category>studio work</category><category>study</category><category>suburbs</category><category>sun</category><category>suspend</category><category>table setting</category><category>talent</category><category>taxes for artists</category><category>teaching</category><category>teaching art</category><category>teaching pastels</category><category>telephone poles</category><category>textured surfaces</category><category>the beauty of life</category><category>the plein air circuit</category><category>thoughts on change</category><category>thoughts on painting</category><category>thread</category><category>thrilled</category><category>time at the easel</category><category>time lapse art</category><category>time out</category><category>tired feet</category><category>title</category><category>titling artwork</category><category>top 10 questions artists get.</category><category>traffic lights</category><category>train station</category><category>train tracks</category><category>transition field</category><category>transition fields</category><category>transparent palette.</category><category>traveling with pastels</category><category>triadic color study</category><category>tulip field</category><category>tulips</category><category>tumble</category><category>twilight</category><category>umbrella&#39;s</category><category>under painting</category><category>under painting with pastel</category><category>under painting with turpenoid</category><category>under-painting</category><category>under-paintings</category><category>underpainting</category><category>understanding</category><category>unforeseen solutions</category><category>unsung pleasures</category><category>urban landscapes</category><category>urbanart</category><category>urbanpaintings</category><category>urbanscapes</category><category>values in painting</category><category>variety of stroke</category><category>verdant valley</category><category>vernacular</category><category>viewing art</category><category>visual energy</category><category>walking path</category><category>warm and cool colors</category><category>watercolor underpainting</category><category>watergarden</category><category>waterlilies</category><category>wet</category><category>what do you do?</category><category>what is your why? relevance</category><category>what would you change?</category><category>whoop my butt</category><category>wild art</category><category>wildlife</category><category>window</category><category>windows</category><category>winter painting</category><category>winter paintings</category><category>working large</category><category>year-end</category><category>yearly lists</category><category>yearly review</category><category>your why</category><title>             Dusty Fingers</title><description>An artist&#39;s perspective through Pastels and Oils</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>486</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-6558658124223786301</guid><pubDate>Mon, 04 Mar 2024 00:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2024-03-03T16:29:17.331-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">agreement</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art studio</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">artist studio</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">artist thoughts</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">goals</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">ideas</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">oil painting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">opinions</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">re-sett</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Reviewing goals</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">thoughts on painting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">tired feet</category><title>The BIG re-set . . .</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon; font-family: lucida sans unicode, lucida grande, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 20px;&quot;&gt;The BIG re-set . . .&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;6527864&quot; height=&quot;443&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/8b4e0521-726f-8169-6d96-33efcd929313.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 443px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; width: 576px;&quot; width=&quot;576&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Chillaxin&#39; &amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;9x12&quot; oil on linen panel&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;We&#39;re rollin&#39;&amp;nbsp;into March and I&#39;m wondering what is on your mind!&amp;nbsp; It seems&amp;nbsp;we are over the&amp;nbsp;Covid-19 epidemic and signs of Spring are starting to pop. &amp;nbsp;Soon we will be warming up to&amp;nbsp;Summer... and then... Fall. &amp;nbsp;Honestly, I&#39;m doing my best to accept&amp;nbsp;whatever happens this Fall. Now, I want to be&amp;nbsp;a duck and&amp;nbsp;let the stress roll off my back. &amp;nbsp;No matter how much we all might complain or disagree about &quot;this or that&quot;, we still live on the same planet and need to eat, breathe, and sleep. &amp;nbsp;Perhaps add a bit of &quot;exercise&quot; and the world is just right. &amp;nbsp;Or, perhaps a little bit of dark chocolate might help too...but I digress.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;How do you wash away your stress? &amp;nbsp;For me, I go to my studio to&amp;nbsp;create art and&amp;nbsp;experiment with ideas. &amp;nbsp;I have discovered&amp;nbsp;that either a flow or flop day at the easel is still a good day. &amp;nbsp;Most of the time at the easel is spent standing on my tired feet&amp;nbsp;alongside my palette, applying&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;mixed piles of&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;pigment onto a vertical surface.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Somedays might result in a&amp;nbsp;destroyed idea, while other days birds deliver golden eggs.&amp;nbsp;Even if a piece is nearly finished, it can still take an abrupt direction resulting in a&amp;nbsp;fried mess. &amp;nbsp;Regardless, e&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;very day&#39;s a good day when I paint!&amp;nbsp;Sounds&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;familiar? &amp;nbsp;Y e a h.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Rest brings another day, the sun will continue to rise and set, and we are all on this earth together. &amp;nbsp;Skip&amp;nbsp;polar opinions&amp;nbsp;and apply the practice of asking and listening to the&amp;nbsp;&quot;why&quot;. &amp;nbsp;Understand one another by listening carefully. &amp;nbsp;We may never agree with everyone... or anyone for that matter, but we are all orbiting around the same sun together. &amp;nbsp;Perhaps we all could use&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;an interstellar trip&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;...and we&#39;re not too far from that&amp;nbsp;happening either! &amp;nbsp;What&#39;s on your mind? &amp;nbsp;How do you &quot;re-set&quot;?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br class=&quot;Apple-interchange-newline&quot; /&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-big-re-set.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-5948161007713438617</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jan 2024 04:25:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2024-02-01T18:52:56.345-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">choices</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">contemplation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">direction</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">forward</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">insight</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">nature</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">observation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">path</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">perspective</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quiet</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">solitude</category><title>Moving Forward...</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/portfolio-viewer?collection=47206#lg=1&amp;amp;artworkId=5459282&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;6515108&quot; height=&quot;476&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/44554e79-3d4e-66f4-4e6a-9c2b027e8116.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 476px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration: none; width: 380px;&quot; width=&quot;380&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&quot;&lt;strong&gt;A Different Direction&lt;/strong&gt;&quot; &amp;nbsp;60x48x1.5&quot; &amp;nbsp;(in process)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Happy New Year!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;If you were to walk across an unsteady bridge, head towards an undiscovered direction, or stay in our world&amp;nbsp;of the familiar, your comfort level matches&amp;nbsp;that of the path. &amp;nbsp;If you are one to make new resolutions or personal goals, then you know how daunting a small commitment can be...or not. &amp;nbsp;One thing is certain;&amp;nbsp;change is always present. &amp;nbsp;It is not the future or the past, it is NOW. &amp;nbsp;We are always revising and redirecting from moment to moment, just like the flow of a small stream...into the future. &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What if you were to magically repeat&amp;nbsp;the year 2023&amp;nbsp;with the added wisdom and knowledge&amp;nbsp;you gained from 2023?&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Would your life be any different? &amp;nbsp;The wisdom you gained from the past twelve months might seem small, but to some, a new direction&amp;nbsp;could mean everything.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As I paint, I feel as if I am in a meditative state of mind. &amp;nbsp;It is a wonder... as&amp;nbsp;I create&amp;nbsp;I am challenging myself to make something out of nothing. Sometimes my direction changes after hours of struggle with one passage. &amp;nbsp;Have you ever made a wrong turn? &amp;nbsp;Yeah, it&#39;s like that, but all without&amp;nbsp;frustration because creating is &quot;a Journey&quot;. &amp;nbsp;What do you do when you take a new and unexpected direction? &amp;nbsp;Do you stop to take a closer look? &amp;nbsp;It might uncover an unfamiliar answer.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 13px;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;lucida sans unicode, lucida grande, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;&amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;img height=&quot;61&quot; src=&quot;https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgallery.mailchimp.com%2F523da5c57d12250c7839b999a%2Fimages%2F9c1b8f72-8c9e-40f4-8768-e8b0a9f3eb54.jpg&amp;amp;t=1552701915&amp;amp;ymreqid=d9e53342-65a2-7a39-1c88-550001017e00&amp;amp;sig=hNj1vVgXPBRVCl253RMfSg--~C&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 61px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 67px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: center; width: 145px;&quot; width=&quot;145&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2024/01/moving-forward.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-86421583345427074</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 May 2023 19:37:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2023-05-09T12:37:42.966-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">here</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">immediacy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">meditation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">mindfulness</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">now</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastel painting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">personal time</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">present</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">quiet</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">time</category><title>The Gift of being Present</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXh6wHRDa-muOJ6wRwahwbwMEF1IRIHlmgvuFbQcgPOcOLW5Lf52njhrswSH3AisKqqx3edjb2p5z7uAZy90wCM6ESMKJTnA0WJmiDKq6FYGYmUPVMrw4x8TT2wcsBFzxNicrFweYirwHM6uOXB8zIqAuKB9LRLuld_fwMVY6bjqH6uMEvJR4WvNaePA/s362/Five%20Fifteen.jpeg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;360&quot; data-original-width=&quot;362&quot; height=&quot;318&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXh6wHRDa-muOJ6wRwahwbwMEF1IRIHlmgvuFbQcgPOcOLW5Lf52njhrswSH3AisKqqx3edjb2p5z7uAZy90wCM6ESMKJTnA0WJmiDKq6FYGYmUPVMrw4x8TT2wcsBFzxNicrFweYirwHM6uOXB8zIqAuKB9LRLuld_fwMVY6bjqH6uMEvJR4WvNaePA/s320/Five%20Fifteen.jpeg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&quot;Five Fifteen&quot; &amp;nbsp;24x24&quot; Pastel on sanded paper&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The gift of being present...what a concept! I dare to suggest that most&amp;nbsp;of us&amp;nbsp;live in an interruption-based society and&amp;nbsp;are simply busy working to live and survive.&amp;nbsp;And&amp;nbsp;when all our needs have been met we naturally move towards&amp;nbsp;new goals.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Planning,&amp;nbsp;dreaming,&amp;nbsp;and navigating the world around us can&amp;nbsp;give us a sense of purpose.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;We can also get hung up on worrying about the past and lost opportunities. Why not? How come? Not me?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;Or how about the voices in your head&amp;nbsp;that keep reminding you of all those &quot;Honey do&#39;s&quot;? &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;What if you let off the gas and just coasted for a while? When was the last time you did that? A long overdue vacation? That in itself could be exhausting! Do you need more time for yourself? L&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;iving in the moment is&amp;nbsp;possible with a bit of thoughtful effort.&amp;nbsp;Become more&amp;nbsp;aware&amp;nbsp;of your&amp;nbsp;surroundings.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Quietly sit down and look&amp;nbsp;outdoors at the colorful Spring season.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;What do you really see?&amp;nbsp;When have you just sat and listened to&amp;nbsp;the quiet sounds around you? Can you identify them?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Being present&amp;nbsp;in the here and now is such a gift to your well-being.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Take a deep breath, pray, meditate,&amp;nbsp;fill your lungs, and clear your mind. Just be here, and gift yourself the present.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-gift-of-being-present.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXh6wHRDa-muOJ6wRwahwbwMEF1IRIHlmgvuFbQcgPOcOLW5Lf52njhrswSH3AisKqqx3edjb2p5z7uAZy90wCM6ESMKJTnA0WJmiDKq6FYGYmUPVMrw4x8TT2wcsBFzxNicrFweYirwHM6uOXB8zIqAuKB9LRLuld_fwMVY6bjqH6uMEvJR4WvNaePA/s72-c/Five%20Fifteen.jpeg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-1625355515510643927</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Apr 2023 03:30:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2023-04-01T21:03:50.966-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">change</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">circumstances</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">having perspective</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">individual control</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">life changes</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">personal opinion</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">perspective</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">perspective on life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">situation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">unforeseen solutions</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">viewpoint</category><title>Clearing the way towards a fresh perspective</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;templateContainer&quot; style=&quot;background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; width: 600px;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;templateHeader&quot; style=&quot;border-bottom-color: currentcolor; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; width: 600px;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;headerContent&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse; color: #202020; font-family: Arial; font-size: 34px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 34px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;templateBody&quot; style=&quot;width: 600px;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;bodyContent&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;20&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%px;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/workszoom/4100324/summer-field#/&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;6402287&quot; height=&quot;403&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/7cc7e1fe-4903-69ce-efb7-5e0578be008f.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 403px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; text-decoration: none; width: 500px;&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;&amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 13px;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.artelementsgallery.com/collections/brenda-boylan/products/summer-field-1&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&quot;Summer Field&quot; oil on linen panel, 8x10&quot;&amp;nbsp; $&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.artelementsgallery.com/collections/brenda-boylan/products/summer-field-1&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;1,050&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;Available through&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.artelementsgallery.com/collections/brenda-boylan/products/summer-field-1&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;Art Elements Gallery&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;&amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What does it take to make a small change in your life? Pretty easy, right? Perhaps for some of us, but it truly depends on each personal situation. We each are born and&amp;nbsp;develop through experience,&amp;nbsp;a unique perspective on life and how things work around us...politics, science, religion, the natural world...the &quot;usual&quot; circumstances beyond our individual control. So when a change is&amp;nbsp;necessary, do you freeze or jump?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What if you took a magnifying glass and looked with&amp;nbsp;your naked eye, at a colorful&amp;nbsp;image in a magazine? There you would see thousands of red,&amp;nbsp;blue, yellow, and black dots meaninglessly arranged apart&amp;nbsp;from each other. But when you look at the dots from a distance, you see&amp;nbsp;the&amp;nbsp;individual dots are arranged to make more sense&amp;nbsp;and become clear with a&amp;nbsp;united idea. Continue looking at this image from 30 yards away, it becomes blurry, and inevitably...a blob!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We all know that we experience, over time, a huge dictionary of trials and tribulations that form our outward perception&amp;nbsp;of life. This is what makes us&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;lucida sans unicode, lucida grande, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;so beautifully unique!&amp;nbsp;The same goes for stepping back as an artist.&amp;nbsp;I often step back and physically remove myself from my paintings. Viewing my work&amp;nbsp;from&amp;nbsp;a different perspective opens up unforeseen&amp;nbsp;solutions. I will often turn the&amp;nbsp;work upside down, face it towards the wall to get a break from it, look at it in a mirror, or take a photo and&amp;nbsp;look&amp;nbsp;at it in reverse on my smartphone. What and how do you&amp;nbsp;gain&amp;nbsp;a new perspective? &amp;nbsp;Change it up!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Moving along...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;lucida sans unicode, lucida grande, sans-serif&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;img height=&quot;61&quot; src=&quot;https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgallery.mailchimp.com%2F523da5c57d12250c7839b999a%2Fimages%2F9c1b8f72-8c9e-40f4-8768-e8b0a9f3eb54.jpg&amp;amp;t=1552701915&amp;amp;ymreqid=d9e53342-65a2-7a39-1c88-550001017e00&amp;amp;sig=hNj1vVgXPBRVCl253RMfSg--~C&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; font-family: &amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif; height: 61px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 67px; outline: currentcolor; text-align: center; width: 145px;&quot; width=&quot;145&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2023/04/clearing-way.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-7292245052710217031</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Mar 2023 21:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2023-03-09T13:41:51.953-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">endurance</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">existence</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fine art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lasting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">oasis</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Palm desert</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Palm Springs</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">palm tree</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">presence</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">San Andreas Fault</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">self-evaluation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">time</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">time out</category><title>A thirst for first</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/portfolio-viewer?collection=47206#lg=1&amp;amp;artworkId=3053132&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1195&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1920&quot; height=&quot;318&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalry9RG5_uJxn0ghoN638zd46I-_viPdQYCgpsGqpOV4Fp0gcQfLm28vTDClzAU6iPQsQkq-4aFsD-ps2ycvtwEie0wk1ntZJIryBKGiVDon3sC9WAY_BNgOk7-UemURrW1QtWYv0HpKoo8w68HbtY_cmCFmq9f7g1hqHTfDl8GI2qbVzZNRsLz6HDQ/w513-h318/Reflections%20of%20the%20Past.jpg&quot; width=&quot;513&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/portfolio-viewer?collection=47206#lg=1&amp;amp;artworkId=3053132&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&quot;Reflections of the Past&quot; &amp;nbsp;36x60&quot;x1.5&quot; &amp;nbsp;Available&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: &amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Finally...winter is showing signs of exhaustion! While most of us have endured several chilly&amp;nbsp;months inside our cocoons,&amp;nbsp;a wariness begins to emerge, causing us to get up, shake off the cobwebs,&amp;nbsp;and get&amp;nbsp;out of our winter cave.&amp;nbsp;Spring spurs a&amp;nbsp;little urgency to evaluate&amp;nbsp;where we will go next. &amp;nbsp;Some of us will be packing travel&amp;nbsp;bags, and experiencing many &quot;firsts&quot;,&amp;nbsp;while some may stay settled into a&amp;nbsp;comfortable,&amp;nbsp;solid routine. &amp;nbsp;Oh, Spring! &amp;nbsp;What lies&amp;nbsp;ahead?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Do you ever look at nature and wonder just how you are here in the present?&amp;nbsp; Does the outdoors bring forth new ideas?&amp;nbsp;It surely does for me! &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One Spring I took a painting trip&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;California&#39;s Palm Desert&amp;nbsp;that&amp;nbsp;produced some of my favorite pieces (the inspiration for the piece above).&amp;nbsp;The subtle&amp;nbsp;colors of the old palm tree skirts&amp;nbsp;were&amp;nbsp;an unexpected sight.&amp;nbsp;What amazed me while&amp;nbsp;creating their likeness, was how I was present in an incredible moment of our earth&#39;s existence. The palm trees have been there for hundreds, if not thousands&amp;nbsp;of years.&amp;nbsp;drinking from the pools of percolating water that bubbles up&amp;nbsp;from the infamous San Andreas Fault. &amp;nbsp;The thought came&amp;nbsp;up that&amp;nbsp;my paintings&amp;nbsp;took an&amp;nbsp;ensie-weensie second of&amp;nbsp;their existence.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Time is&amp;nbsp;precious. And while the palm trees continue to drink from the well, we continue to&amp;nbsp;spin&amp;nbsp;around&amp;nbsp;so that we don&#39;t&amp;nbsp;notice what is actually around us. &amp;nbsp;S&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: lucida sans unicode, lucida grande, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;o here are a couple of&amp;nbsp;ideas we can practice to&amp;nbsp;slow down our busy lives and enrich our presence today...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;lucida sans unicode&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;lucida grande&amp;quot;, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;Take a minute&amp;nbsp;out for your &quot;self&quot;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;just&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;b r e a t h e&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;deeply.&lt;br /&gt;Listen to the sounds around you. &amp;nbsp;What do you really hear?&lt;br /&gt;Go to the market and buy a fragrant bouquet to enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;Get up early to view a sunrise. &amp;nbsp;How long has it been since you have done that?&lt;br /&gt;Or touch the velvet of a rose flower...although they are out of season, you get the idea?&lt;br /&gt;Use all of your senses to fill yourself up. &amp;nbsp;What will you do with your Spring?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 16px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Moving along&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img height=&quot;61&quot; src=&quot;https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgallery.mailchimp.com%2F523da5c57d12250c7839b999a%2Fimages%2F9c1b8f72-8c9e-40f4-8768-e8b0a9f3eb54.jpg&amp;amp;t=1552701915&amp;amp;ymreqid=d9e53342-65a2-7a39-1c88-550001017e00&amp;amp;sig=hNj1vVgXPBRVCl253RMfSg--~C&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 61px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 67px; outline: none; text-align: center; width: 145px;&quot; width=&quot;145&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-thirst-for-first.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalry9RG5_uJxn0ghoN638zd46I-_viPdQYCgpsGqpOV4Fp0gcQfLm28vTDClzAU6iPQsQkq-4aFsD-ps2ycvtwEie0wk1ntZJIryBKGiVDon3sC9WAY_BNgOk7-UemURrW1QtWYv0HpKoo8w68HbtY_cmCFmq9f7g1hqHTfDl8GI2qbVzZNRsLz6HDQ/s72-w513-h318-c/Reflections%20of%20the%20Past.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-627940982123032011</guid><pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 05:36:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2023-02-07T22:15:40.502-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">artistic</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">artistic persistence</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">artistic talent</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">creative career</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">draw</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">jackpot</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">joker</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">luck</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">paint</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">talent</category><title>Luck of the draw....or playing with aces and jokers?</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqj1OyVAusoPrRQOz9H0bhE8tKjbR6Sb-BGsl2j6QBAAdKKvhWqd75ErWFF40-o-diFV09XtxTVbuvNrd9uUE8-siTtENMsgw4xFFhbpKbbSDxthX90Gb3w0laa7S8axNHX16TlIj73Ia53hhJpZrSSfcGSSwxvQDtupvKDMHsF4y8MO2QdmMDt25rA/s2421/Vague%20Mist.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;2421&quot; data-original-width=&quot;2400&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqj1OyVAusoPrRQOz9H0bhE8tKjbR6Sb-BGsl2j6QBAAdKKvhWqd75ErWFF40-o-diFV09XtxTVbuvNrd9uUE8-siTtENMsgw4xFFhbpKbbSDxthX90Gb3w0laa7S8axNHX16TlIj73Ia53hhJpZrSSfcGSSwxvQDtupvKDMHsF4y8MO2QdmMDt25rA/w332-h320/Vague%20Mist.jpg&quot; width=&quot;332&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/workszoom/4971245/vague-mist#/&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&quot;Vague Mist&quot;&amp;nbsp;oil on boxed panel, 12x12x1.5&quot; &amp;nbsp;Sold&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;What if you won a ten-million-dollar jackpot? &amp;nbsp;How would your life change? &amp;nbsp;Or would you try&amp;nbsp;to preserve the &quot;who,&amp;nbsp;what, and where&quot; you have become at this point? &amp;nbsp;It&#39;s quite possible your name would be reported on the evening news and the IRS would be banging on your front door. Or perhaps you&#39;d move to Tahiti and wear coconuts for the rest of your life.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Some say that artists are &quot;lucky to be born with talent&quot;.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps there is an&amp;nbsp;eensie-weensie bit of truth to that statement, but there is one large&amp;nbsp;aspect of talent&amp;nbsp;that cannot be overlooked. &amp;nbsp;It&#39;s called TIME. &amp;nbsp;Having a talent is&amp;nbsp;not luck of the draw. Making a career as an&amp;nbsp;artist takes an entire lifetime of decisions, practice, failures, and&amp;nbsp;experimentation...and there will always be more as time provides.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;We each have some special&amp;nbsp;gift (aka jackpot)&amp;nbsp;that makes us who we are. &amp;nbsp;We all are dealt&amp;nbsp;with opportunities (aces), and circumstances (jokers), that mold our destiny, and&amp;nbsp;millions of decisions&amp;nbsp;that can have a million outcomes. Could it be luck or lack of &quot;the draw&quot;? &amp;nbsp;Could it be fortuitous or happenstance? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Perhaps&amp;nbsp;&quot;our time&quot; is the only lucky thing we have. &amp;nbsp;So play your cards&amp;nbsp;well!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2023/02/luck-of-drawplaying-with-aces-and-jokers.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqj1OyVAusoPrRQOz9H0bhE8tKjbR6Sb-BGsl2j6QBAAdKKvhWqd75ErWFF40-o-diFV09XtxTVbuvNrd9uUE8-siTtENMsgw4xFFhbpKbbSDxthX90Gb3w0laa7S8axNHX16TlIj73Ia53hhJpZrSSfcGSSwxvQDtupvKDMHsF4y8MO2QdmMDt25rA/s72-w332-h320-c/Vague%20Mist.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-3875699309838546116</guid><pubDate>Tue, 03 Jan 2023 21:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2023-01-03T13:29:05.705-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Intention</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">time</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">understanding</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">what is your why? relevance</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">your why</category><title>Wrapping things up with intention</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Wrapping things up with intention&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot; style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG886JYB879JFPLsxkDbQ_tdsnDJAZerM_cuZSUeGb8pzq2M_v-avPyiMjSsresTPvqRkSeYSsH4RR-0970ZZSBDc-SBTf4py0N9OQ19i3KV9hyBHQGL79yPKJd5-D0enoscDcVUWSFpiH8Y4zvfFERiIPjTy_L1wvHp0EdA6SK1_PVLCM37v4laqZw/s3771/Relevance.jpg&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;2752&quot; data-original-width=&quot;3771&quot; height=&quot;377&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG886JYB879JFPLsxkDbQ_tdsnDJAZerM_cuZSUeGb8pzq2M_v-avPyiMjSsresTPvqRkSeYSsH4RR-0970ZZSBDc-SBTf4py0N9OQ19i3KV9hyBHQGL79yPKJd5-D0enoscDcVUWSFpiH8Y4zvfFERiIPjTy_L1wvHp0EdA6SK1_PVLCM37v4laqZw/w516-h377/Relevance.jpg&quot; width=&quot;516&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&quot;Relevance&quot; 6x8&quot; oil on canvas panel,&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Over the past few years, have you&amp;nbsp;noticed how precious your time has become? The subject of time eventually revolves around&amp;nbsp;more personal questions about &quot;why&amp;nbsp;we do&amp;nbsp;with what we have&quot;. Personally, the subject of time has been a hot topic between me and my three-legged easel.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot;&gt;As a very young artist, I simply wanted to draw&amp;nbsp;horses, yet I was completely unaware of how&amp;nbsp;drawing the same subject repeatedly taught me a lifetime of skills.&amp;nbsp;My &quot;why&quot; was to&amp;nbsp;improve my&amp;nbsp;ability&amp;nbsp;to&amp;nbsp;see better what I saw, and also&amp;nbsp;get&amp;nbsp;some sort of praise or recognition for my work. But life takes its turns...and time reminded me&amp;nbsp;I had to eat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now..what time has taught me&amp;nbsp;is to&amp;nbsp;value&amp;nbsp;an intimate relationship with what I paint. The &quot;what&quot; can be an emotional&amp;nbsp;intention, a purpose, or a lesson at the end of each mark. My creative intentions&amp;nbsp;revolve&amp;nbsp;around my&amp;nbsp;personal&amp;nbsp;story&amp;nbsp;more than any&amp;nbsp;quantity,&amp;nbsp;blue ribbon, or banknote.&amp;nbsp;After all, is said and done, there is no better time than to discover and understand your personal&amp;nbsp;&quot;why&quot;...&amp;nbsp;now! &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;verdana, geneva, sans-serif&quot;&gt;What is your &quot;Why&quot;? &amp;nbsp;Do share!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2023/01/wrapping-things-up-with-intention.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbG886JYB879JFPLsxkDbQ_tdsnDJAZerM_cuZSUeGb8pzq2M_v-avPyiMjSsresTPvqRkSeYSsH4RR-0970ZZSBDc-SBTf4py0N9OQ19i3KV9hyBHQGL79yPKJd5-D0enoscDcVUWSFpiH8Y4zvfFERiIPjTy_L1wvHp0EdA6SK1_PVLCM37v4laqZw/s72-w516-h377-c/Relevance.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-6816698306456921701</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:13:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2022-11-03T17:13:10.722-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">aging</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">change of seasons</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">crossing bridges</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fall</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fog</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">introspection</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lifespan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">reflecting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">seasons</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Spring</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">viewpoint</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">winter</category><title>Crossing over to the other side...an introspection on life</title><description>&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: maroon; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Crossing over...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.artelementsgallery.com/collections/brenda-boylan/products/bridge-to-somewhere&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;6358336&quot; height=&quot;423&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/_compresseds/65ee9567-cfff-8380-af2b-94424b540903.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 423px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration: none; width: 435px;&quot; width=&quot;435&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.artelementsgallery.com/collections/brenda-boylan/products/bridge-to-somewhere&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&quot;Bridge to Somewhere&quot; oil on gallery-wrapped canvas, 6x6&quot; $550.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 700;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 700;&quot;&gt;to the&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;other side&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Throughout the Fall months in the Northern Hemisphere,&amp;nbsp;a noticeable&amp;nbsp;change in the weather, color, and&amp;nbsp;pace of life is evident. It takes me back to when I was in&amp;nbsp;college.&amp;nbsp;I recall&amp;nbsp;my music history instructor had us&amp;nbsp;study&amp;nbsp;the late 60&#39;s&amp;nbsp;album &quot;Bookends&quot; by Simon and Garfunkle.&amp;nbsp; It is a compilation of&amp;nbsp;songs written about&amp;nbsp;the seasons of life. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Right now I am feeling as if&amp;nbsp;Fall&amp;nbsp;offers more than&amp;nbsp;seasonal&amp;nbsp;changes. &amp;nbsp;Lately, I have been practicing&amp;nbsp;introspection&amp;nbsp;as I move and look forward...and back at&amp;nbsp;my life.&amp;nbsp; Spring: &amp;nbsp;do you see it in children? &amp;nbsp;They are blossoming beings, growing and learning day by day. &amp;nbsp;Summer: &amp;nbsp;a&amp;nbsp;more relaxed, confident, and productive&amp;nbsp;pace of life. &amp;nbsp; As we enter into Fall, a keen observation of the colors, temps, and a realization that winter is just around the corner...and over the bridge! &amp;nbsp;Whoa, the chill of&amp;nbsp;Winter!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;Where did the time go? &amp;nbsp;Fall truly gives us a keen&amp;nbsp;introspective on time. Time is here. It is now, and it&amp;nbsp;should be spent&amp;nbsp;with intention. &amp;nbsp;How about you? &amp;nbsp;Do you contemplate the seasons? Do you know where you are in life? &amp;nbsp; Do tell!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2022/11/crossing-over-to-other-sidean.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-8666531453464159818</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Aug 2022 05:13:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2022-08-01T22:13:55.042-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">challenges</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">dandelions</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">optimism</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">perspective</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">positivity</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">situations</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">summer</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">the beauty of life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">unsung pleasures</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Weeds</category><title></title><description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;Pulling weeds...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a aggregateclicks=&quot;24&quot; aggregateheat=&quot;33.3&quot; aggregateuniqueclicks=&quot;19&quot; aggregateuniqueheat=&quot;32.8&quot; class=&quot;heatmapElement&quot; desktopclicks=&quot;15&quot; desktopheat=&quot;32.6&quot; desktopuniqueclicks=&quot;10&quot; desktopuniqueheat=&quot;31.3&quot; href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cgil50SlYJP/&quot; mobileclicks=&quot;9&quot; mobileheat=&quot;34.6&quot; mobileuniqueclicks=&quot;9&quot; mobileuniqueheat=&quot;34.6&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; tabindex=&quot;-1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; trackid=&quot;133563916&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;clickmapLinkContainer-2ee_O clickmapAugmentation-1ZOR7&quot; 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color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;and other unsung pleasures.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The heat of summer is upon us and thoughts of cooler days only tease us as we linger&amp;nbsp;in the throes of August.&amp;nbsp;In good time the weather will continue its path toward cooler days, and I ponder&amp;nbsp;the scorching summer heat as one of life&#39;s&amp;nbsp;weeds. &amp;nbsp;Not all of life&#39;s weeds are bad...and in some way, I question&amp;nbsp;how earthly&amp;nbsp;weeds&amp;nbsp;have developed a fascinating ability to&amp;nbsp;thrive.&amp;nbsp;Oh, how&amp;nbsp;wonderfully smart nature really is!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Consider the dandelion...&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;A dandelion&amp;nbsp;creates&amp;nbsp;tasty broad leaves&amp;nbsp;that you can add to your fresh garden&amp;nbsp;salad.&amp;nbsp;Its bright yellow flowers magically transform into perfectly sphere-shaped, fluffy wish-makers that have been designed to&amp;nbsp;catch the wind&amp;nbsp;and land on&amp;nbsp;a willing patch of ground to blossom once again. Perhaps&amp;nbsp;a&amp;nbsp;sparrow chic may find its first tiny seed to eat from that fluffy wish-maker!&amp;nbsp; Ahhh, nature...&amp;nbsp;how I love thee.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What about the prickly weeds of life?&lt;br /&gt;I want to point out that these&amp;nbsp;weeds can be viewed as&amp;nbsp;&quot;situations&quot;. &amp;nbsp;We&amp;nbsp;need to&amp;nbsp;view them as they really are. The heat of the summer&amp;nbsp;has its purpose. And so does every action and reaction in life. The circle of life serves us all in terribly difficult times as well as miraculous moments. What a world we live in!&amp;nbsp;My point is that every lousy thing that happens has an upside. &amp;nbsp;Missed your flight? As you wait it out at the airport bar, you engage with another passenger who shares brilliant ideas that provide answers to past challenges.&amp;nbsp;At times, we&amp;nbsp;have to really look hard to find it&amp;nbsp;and most of the time it&#39;s right in front of us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The beauty:&lt;br /&gt;A sunrise&amp;nbsp;ends with the sun setting.&lt;br /&gt;The ocean has crashing waves that never cease, and&amp;nbsp;beautiful sea life underneath.&lt;br /&gt;A slow sigh&amp;nbsp;of relief&amp;nbsp;begins with a screaming&amp;nbsp;breath of life.&lt;br /&gt;Painting on-site on a blistering&amp;nbsp;July day brings&amp;nbsp;a sunburn and a wonderful work of art. The&amp;nbsp;view before me was blocked by overgrown bushes,&amp;nbsp;so I painted the weeds&amp;nbsp;in front of me. &amp;nbsp;Why not?!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2022/08/pulling-weeds.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-7417644677133737628</guid><pubDate>Sun, 05 Jun 2022 06:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2022-06-04T23:09:50.559-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art appreciation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art opinion</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">human nature</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastel art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Pastel artist</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">perceptions on art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">public opinion</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">viewing art</category><title>How people view our artwork</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesSoEc38PGPZT6jT1WHrzX3VIMR4xf7yy0l3vDnLxvUwFcw9mcrdN-vekRuFxt8dJx8KGHF0KzYayguuLUDqSoYFHnt0FtjVHLsMi2FSZusmiw0Z1NDPu3OxW-D2xSxHSm8V3szl02iKVSi7xoRs-HdBuWblWcfGrFm37R_nzIcToZ8TDVsBus8YN4g/s500/Hilsboro%20PA%202010.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;332&quot; data-original-width=&quot;500&quot; height=&quot;430&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesSoEc38PGPZT6jT1WHrzX3VIMR4xf7yy0l3vDnLxvUwFcw9mcrdN-vekRuFxt8dJx8KGHF0KzYayguuLUDqSoYFHnt0FtjVHLsMi2FSZusmiw0Z1NDPu3OxW-D2xSxHSm8V3szl02iKVSi7xoRs-HdBuWblWcfGrFm37R_nzIcToZ8TDVsBus8YN4g/w650-h430/Hilsboro%20PA%202010.jpg&quot; width=&quot;650&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;How people view an artist&#39;s work is as unique as the&amp;nbsp;individual.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;Every one of us has life experiences that inform how we look at the world around us. &amp;nbsp;People view our work as unique as to how each individual person thinks, dreams, senses, and perceives the&amp;nbsp;world around them. &amp;nbsp;It is so fun to learn about all the angles art will bring to mind while looking, absorbing, dissecting,&amp;nbsp;analyzing, and swallowing the whole piece.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;Some will take an analytical approach&amp;nbsp;“Perhaps there is some sort of reference to…?&quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;Some will take a dream approach…”It takes me far away…&quot;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;and some will take on a memory approach…”It reminds me of…&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;But what do people see when they look at a pastel? &amp;nbsp;Well, there is one common&amp;nbsp;reaction&amp;nbsp;I get each time, and that is…”Oh, that’s CHALK, isn’t it? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;Well, it is the most common art material since the dawn of&amp;nbsp;time and is often mistaken for chalk, but no, it is not chalk. &amp;nbsp;It’s pure pigment rolled up&amp;nbsp;with a touch of&amp;nbsp;binder. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;....Silence....&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;The earliest renditions of art are displayed in the caves of Lascaux and were made with mankind&#39;s first pastels. &amp;nbsp;The earliest masters&amp;nbsp;used it to summon up quick&amp;nbsp;ideas and from that time on,&amp;nbsp;artists have relied on its versatility to create beautiful works of fine art. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande;&quot;&gt;People will always view our work as individually as&amp;nbsp;the artist creates.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;Lucida Grande&amp;quot;; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2022/06/how-people-view-our-artwork.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgesSoEc38PGPZT6jT1WHrzX3VIMR4xf7yy0l3vDnLxvUwFcw9mcrdN-vekRuFxt8dJx8KGHF0KzYayguuLUDqSoYFHnt0FtjVHLsMi2FSZusmiw0Z1NDPu3OxW-D2xSxHSm8V3szl02iKVSi7xoRs-HdBuWblWcfGrFm37R_nzIcToZ8TDVsBus8YN4g/s72-w650-h430-c/Hilsboro%20PA%202010.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-8298928120557382083</guid><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2022 17:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2022-06-01T10:29:00.143-07:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;A different point of view...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;6284840&quot; height=&quot;330&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/615203be-6d6e-b17b-0b8e-b6f487dc3922.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 330px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 325px;&quot; width=&quot;325&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;creates new&amp;nbsp;ideas.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When I was a young child&amp;nbsp;I would spend hours burning energy&amp;nbsp;riding my bouncy horse.&amp;nbsp;After a couple of hundred races, I wondered if there were other ways to ride the horse. Why not? So I tried riding&amp;nbsp;on it facing backward. &amp;nbsp;And then I tried&amp;nbsp;riding side-saddle&amp;nbsp;and eventually, I discovered hanging upside down was the best...until the blood rushed to my head.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I suppose the horse taught me&amp;nbsp;that changing&amp;nbsp;my perspective might open up new possibilities...and that curiosity could&amp;nbsp;offer up some life lessons. &amp;nbsp;Flexing&amp;nbsp;my point of view has helped me manage a few challenging&amp;nbsp;circumstances.&amp;nbsp;In these uncertain times, I believe&amp;nbsp;that flexibility&amp;nbsp;is&amp;nbsp;more important than ever before.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sometimes we can just get in our own way....and sometimes we can get in others&#39; way too. &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;A stifled point of view could deem us self-absorbed,&amp;nbsp;judgemental, and even shall I say...narcissistic. &amp;nbsp;But when we&amp;nbsp;get out of our own way and begin to understand another&#39;s&amp;nbsp;viewpoint&amp;nbsp;or life experiences, our compassion and forgiveness grow. &amp;nbsp;Listen&amp;nbsp;carefully and ask questions&amp;nbsp;to better understand their &quot;why&quot; or &quot;view&quot; to see what makes them &quot;tick&quot;. We don&#39;t have to agree, yet understanding another&#39;s point of view or experience&amp;nbsp;connects us and&amp;nbsp;certainly&amp;nbsp;opens&amp;nbsp;up doors to better relationships in our community. &amp;nbsp;We humans have the unique ability to have and share compassion for others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What if?&lt;br /&gt;Why not?&lt;br /&gt;How fun!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Moving along...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2022/06/a-different-point-of-view.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-1647346209945648391</guid><pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2022 01:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2022-04-24T18:31:09.818-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brenda Boylan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">broken pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">changing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">crushed pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">experimenting with pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">hand rolled pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">making pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pigments</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">thoughts on change</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">what would you change?</category><title>Keeping it simple</title><description>&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;Keeping it simple...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;in a complicated world&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;6280940&quot; height=&quot;386&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/a87018cf-1c63-8688-ad8a-0164d311df48.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 386px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 325px;&quot; width=&quot;325&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;No doubt&amp;nbsp;we are living in very challenging times. &amp;nbsp;Global warming, cultural division, instant communication, space flights, war, and Covid...and that&#39;s just the tip of the iceberg! &amp;nbsp;Iceberg? Ack! &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Coming from the 60&#39;s generation, it would seem&amp;nbsp;we had it tough.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It was rare to have a private phone line, a color television,&amp;nbsp;and fast-food meals. It was not convenient, yes, but it was simple.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;While I was raised in poverty for a&amp;nbsp;short time&amp;nbsp;with my unstable Mother, I saw and experienced a LOT of things that have informed my perceptions of the world around me. We got along with very little and struggled.&amp;nbsp;Yet the distractions were few. &amp;nbsp;Looking back, it really wasn&#39;t bad, but that&#39;s hindsight. &amp;nbsp;Having had success and failure in many forms changes our perceptions of life. &amp;nbsp;The struggle is good, but not fun. We learn from it all and hope for better each time around.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Recently, I recorded a few instructional videos and an&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://brendaboylan.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=523da5c57d12250c7839b999a&amp;amp;id=b3511afbe3&amp;amp;e=b53257006f&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;online appearance&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;on repurposing pastels&amp;nbsp;The experiences were very challenging and tested my will. &amp;nbsp;My personal expectations were high and I felt&amp;nbsp;confident. &amp;nbsp;I am still wondering what the final result will be from it all. &amp;nbsp;Will it have been worth my time? &amp;nbsp;Will it inform and inspire others? &amp;nbsp;Most likely. But who knows. &amp;nbsp;I allow my hopes to not be crushed if all fails,&amp;nbsp;and I understand&amp;nbsp;that I have no control over much if anything in this world. What works best is&amp;nbsp;living simply and being responsible with choices. &amp;nbsp;It&#39;s like that even more so in the year 2022.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;If you could change one thing in our&amp;nbsp;world today, what would that be?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2022/04/keeping-it-simple.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-53360899342111273</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 Jan 2022 17:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2022-01-03T09:20:59.818-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art classes</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">challenges with change</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">change</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">online art instruction</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">online classes</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">online teaching</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">teaching</category><title></title><description>&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 20px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Spinning Into a&amp;nbsp;W&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;orld&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 20px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. . .&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;5987518&quot; height=&quot;300&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/1b9f0710-f23c-40a8-804a-3862ac82f9f1.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 300px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 400px;&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. . . Like OZ&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: x-small;&quot;&gt;(recap from April 2021)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: Arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 13px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: dimgrey; font-family: noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;The past few months have been a whirlwind of new adventures for me...but not anything like a fun&amp;nbsp;outdoorsy&amp;nbsp;adventure.&amp;nbsp;I&quot;m talking about&amp;nbsp;Online Video adventures.&amp;nbsp; All because of shitdowns and social distancing, most if not all&amp;nbsp;of us&amp;nbsp;have had&amp;nbsp;to recreate&amp;nbsp;our lives online...and we&#39;re either&amp;nbsp;getting pretty good at it&amp;nbsp;or pretty messed up. &amp;nbsp;Well,&amp;nbsp;I&#39;m&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;feeling&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;a little bit of both.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A while back, I&amp;nbsp;started teaching pastel painting online,&amp;nbsp;and then I soon found out that online instruction requires a&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;huge&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;mental shift filled with excitement and fear.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Imagine along with me, talking with a&amp;nbsp;group of peers&amp;nbsp;with your eyes closed, sharing&amp;nbsp;how you do what you love to do, say...flying a kite, for example, and then suddenly you are looking into a computer screen&amp;nbsp;trying to explain how to do it.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;And then the wind picks up, and then your kite....well. You get my drift. &amp;nbsp;Needless to say, my mind has been getting quite the workout, &amp;nbsp;unlike my now flabby body, as it shifts from my vault of information and then transfers that into verbs, computer commands, and clicks, all&amp;nbsp;while laughing at how It all makes sense. &amp;nbsp;It feels as if I am&amp;nbsp;both running from tornados and running towards them at the same time. And I&#39;m not out of breath! &amp;nbsp;Are you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mostly, what I&#39;m yearning for is the comfort of&amp;nbsp;familiar&amp;nbsp;days. &amp;nbsp;Who loves a great conversation face to face? Or a good firm&amp;nbsp;handshake or hug. Remember those? &amp;nbsp;Gosh yes!&amp;nbsp;But you know what? &amp;nbsp;The return to whatever normal was will be&amp;nbsp;sweeter when we land back on&amp;nbsp;solid ground... hopefully soon. &amp;nbsp;And oh, how a normal routine will feel ever&amp;nbsp;so sweet. &amp;nbsp;And the clean-up, no matter how devastating,&amp;nbsp;will be&amp;nbsp;a cathartic rainbow.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Moving along...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2022/01/spinning-into-orld.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-1949780995358830875</guid><pubDate>Sun, 12 Sep 2021 00:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2021-09-11T17:04:12.147-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">2020</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art blog</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Artist</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">artists update</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brenda Boylan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">enduring</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">focus</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">goal list</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">motivation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">one word</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">procrastination</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">review</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">slowing down</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">soap opera</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">suspend</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">time</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">year-end</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">yearly lists</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">yearly review</category><title>Life&#39;s Not An Act!</title><description>&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong style=&quot;background-color: white; color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: medium;&quot;&gt;A&amp;nbsp;Show-Stopping&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 20px;&quot;&gt;. . .&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;5876522&quot; height=&quot;425&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/1bcd4c28-0420-49bb-b733-b84b58c8c4b7.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 425px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 235px;&quot; width=&quot;235&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. . . Year&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(recap from Jan 2021)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Well, my friends, &amp;nbsp;If you were to find one&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;WORD&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;that would define&amp;nbsp;2020, what would it be?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the beginning of each new year, I take some time out to&amp;nbsp;write down a list of&amp;nbsp;goals I&#39;d like to attain.&amp;nbsp;Sadly, I&amp;nbsp;had never looked at my 2020 goal list again.&amp;nbsp; As I am writing this,&amp;nbsp;I just pulled out my list of goals for the first time since I wrote it and I&#39;m surprised at how lofty they were. I almost want to say they were unattainable but were more like a misguided thought. &amp;nbsp;At this point I realized, I just need to be&amp;nbsp;grateful I have one life to live. &amp;nbsp;If you could rerun what went right, what might that be? &amp;nbsp;I would imagine it must have been pretty much an individual activity? &amp;nbsp;Like throwing a temper tantrum or running in circles? &amp;nbsp;HA! &amp;nbsp;How about learning how to ZOOM or facetime? &amp;nbsp;For the most part, accumulated show cancellations were what slowed me down. &lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Waaa a a &amp;nbsp;a &amp;nbsp;y&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt; &amp;nbsp;down.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On a brighter note, last&amp;nbsp;year provided me a lot of time to think, learn,&amp;nbsp;and reassess just what is important. I am so grateful for my husband and all my children...including a new kitten. &amp;nbsp;I had time to really focus on my personal health, yet exercise evaded me. Motivation slipped a bit, but so did the days of my life.&amp;nbsp; So, what day is it anyway? &amp;nbsp;We all endured 2020 together, and I am happy to turn over in bed and wake up.&amp;nbsp; So what one word&amp;nbsp;would you call 2020? &amp;nbsp;For me, it was &quot;&lt;strong&gt;Suspend&lt;/strong&gt;&quot; &amp;nbsp;Life is not a soap opera, nor&amp;nbsp;does it offer a &quot;re-run&quot; or&amp;nbsp;a &quot;&lt;em&gt;fast-forward&lt;/em&gt;&quot; button. So let&#39;s take it easy on ourselves.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;One. Day. At. A. Time.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/lifes-not-act.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-1336194279086228181</guid><pubDate>Fri, 13 Aug 2021 21:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2021-08-13T14:42:11.109-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brenda</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">bridge</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">cartwheels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">conquering procrastination</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Covid fears</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">cure</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fear</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">giggling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">holding patterns</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">joyful</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">making a mark</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">mark making</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">OR.</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">painting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Portland</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">procrastination</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">slump</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">St. John&#39;s Bridge</category><title> Finding my GrOOOOOOve. . .</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;5848238&quot; height=&quot;350&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/9b43bd8a-20e6-46f3-b535-6cb9e87edd03.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 350px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 348px;&quot; width=&quot;348&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. . . with one little mark&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #505050;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;This post is from my monthly &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/email-newsletter&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Studio Updates&lt;/a&gt;, dating November 2020. &amp;nbsp;Take note that the&amp;nbsp;timing of this post my not be relevant.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: x-large;&quot;&gt;~&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;At this very moment of writing, America has resolved the election and potentially developed a strong Covid cure. It sure has been a tough road. Together we all have been on them at different times of our lives, with steep hills to conquer and bruising bumps to get over. Our 2020 stories will take the route into the history books and cement them into our current generation. I wonder how&amp;nbsp;stories we all have in common from 2020? Sad,&amp;nbsp;yet somehow I am feeling a little glimmer of hope.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;On a brighter note, so much is bubbling up in my studio! There are several half-finished paintings that I&#39;m re-addressing, online courses are starting to take shape, a BIG, long-term project is being imagined, and just some good vibes all over. I&quot;m happy to say that my slump is nearly over and I&#39;m starting to find my groove! It all came to a head while I was working on a painting last week, when one little, and very joyful brushstroke &quot;giggled&quot; at me! Yes, I wrote&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;giggled&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;You see, the act of painting is a dialogue...and sometimes it speaks to the artist in most mysterious ways, but this time it giggled! And the best part? I was ready to receive it! What a joyful and intimate moment. I sure hope that joyful mark comes back to greet me again and again. As for the photo above? Yup, that&#39;s me...high up on the top of the beautiful St. John&#39;s Bridge in Portland, OR., during a graffiti abatement closure. A while back when life was &quot;easy&quot;, a few of us artists, Don Bishop, Quin Sweetman, and Za Vue had the idea to paint a nocturne of the Willamette River upon the closed bridge. And what should one do when in a most opportunistic place? Well... Cartwheels! ... and take a rest in the middle of the high road!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So how do you find your gr&lt;em&gt;OOOO&lt;/em&gt;ve?&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:rtistik@frontier.com?subject=How%20I%20got%20my%20Groove%20back!&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-weight: normal;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Do Share!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Moooving along...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2021/08/finding-my-groooooove.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-7551380070765318671</guid><pubDate>Wed, 19 May 2021 05:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2021-09-11T16:55:06.667-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art imitates life</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art issues</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">challenge</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">hesitation</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">holding patterns</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">life imitates art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">personal challenges</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">procrastination</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">struggle</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">struggling to move forward</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">whoop my butt</category><title> A Holding Pattern and the Struggle to Land</title><description>&lt;h2 style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;h1 style=&quot;color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #990000;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;A Holding Pattern&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;and the Struggle to Land&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #990000;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;5700258&quot; height=&quot;291&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/72bad2fa-11c9-455d-adf5-492670122a8a.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 248px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 275px;&quot; width=&quot;322&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;color: #505050; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: Arial;&quot;&gt;N&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;ow more than ever do you find yourself asking &quot;How am I doing?&quot;&amp;nbsp;How many times have you said,&amp;nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s been a&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;really weird&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;year&quot;?&amp;nbsp; It seems trivial to say the big challenges&amp;nbsp;are about readjusting&amp;nbsp;our daily lives. Over the past eight months, we&#39;ve had to reconfigure how to shop and keep 6&#39; apart,&amp;nbsp;attend school, see the doctor, enjoy a dinner out....and just breathe!&amp;nbsp; So,&amp;nbsp;just last week&amp;nbsp;as I was painting on a most difficult piece and pondering my personal challenges,&amp;nbsp;I decided that the phrase&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&quot;Life imitates art&quot;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;is relevant more than ever.&amp;nbsp; Are my struggles at the easel&amp;nbsp;in effect, in sync with the world around us? Why yes they are.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Let me explain. On my easel sits a piece that is&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;whooping my butt&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;!&amp;nbsp; I would work for&amp;nbsp;4 hours on a&amp;nbsp;particular area of the piece, resolving all the problems of the world upon my easel.&amp;nbsp;Then.... the following day I&#39;d return to my studio and scrape it all off!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;After four embattled&amp;nbsp;weeks of&amp;nbsp;daily repeated efforts, I finally realized, and am embarrassed to share, that&amp;nbsp;I was in a&amp;nbsp;hovering pattern. I could compare it to the delicate Forrest Gump feather that indecisively floats&amp;nbsp;along&amp;nbsp;with the breeze. Perhaps the smoke-filled skies from the devastating fires, protests, hurricanes, and Covid are affecting my work in various ways?&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Hmmm...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;em style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;I will let you in on my&amp;nbsp;little secret.&amp;nbsp; It is not unusual for me to experience environmental battles in my work, but never one so extended. Heartbreaking.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;So, I was wondering if&amp;nbsp;you sense holding patterns in your life&amp;nbsp;too? How do you process a difficult struggle?&amp;nbsp; Well, for me my art acts as a grounding, therapeutic source.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps the phrase &quot;Life imitates art&quot; could be switched around for one instance to read&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&quot;&lt;em&gt;Art imitates life&quot;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;?&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2 style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: Arial; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;h4 style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Moving along...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: 400;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial; font-size: 14px; outline-color: initial; outline-width: initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgallery.mailchimp.com%2F523da5c57d12250c7839b999a%2Fimages%2F9c1b8f72-8c9e-40f4-8768-e8b0a9f3eb54.jpg&amp;amp;t=1552701915&amp;amp;ymreqid=d9e53342-65a2-7a39-1c88-550001017e00&amp;amp;sig=hNj1vVgXPBRVCl253RMfSg--~C&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 67px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; min-height: 67px; outline: none; text-align: center; width: 160px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2021/05/a-holding-pattern-and-struggle-to-land.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-6658640792752559019</guid><pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2021 18:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2021-03-04T11:34:31.587-08:00</atom:updated><title>Chosen Faculty for Plein Air LIVE!</title><description>&lt;h3 style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;Sharing a bit of shameless self promotion.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pleinairlive.com/2021?affiliate_id=2997289 &quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;901&quot; data-original-width=&quot;901&quot; height=&quot;381&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczUc_34UD88F_-q2786HsjWAUauBi3LQU7mzu8YSD99Gjl5bqJS03MDarT8atZHVEUQS_64vY1MAW7aVl-64vMOGIOy5M6pimOJ4Acr1W6NYsqamH9VX-WrSxtAC_XItXJqIWH21Q7Fdk/w381-h381/Brenda+Boylan_900x900-2.png&quot; width=&quot;381&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: red;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pleinairlive.com/2021?affiliate_id=2997289&quot; style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;&quot;&gt;https://www.pleinairlive.com/2021?affiliate_id=2997289&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: red;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: LucidaGrande; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &amp;quot;.SFNSText-Regular&amp;quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;&quot;&gt;&lt;div dir=&quot;auto&quot; style=&quot;font-family: inherit;&quot;&gt;I&#39;ve been asked to be on staff for the Beginner&#39;s Day, April 14th at the 2021 Plein Air Live event.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &amp;quot;.SFNSText-Regular&amp;quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;&quot;&gt;&lt;div dir=&quot;auto&quot; style=&quot;font-family: inherit;&quot;&gt;Join me and others as I share tips, tricks, and advised experience on painting outdoors.  Pastels have their own qualities that make plein air a very rewarding experience...but there are some pitfalls and challenges too. My focus will be on plein air with pastels along with other Professional artists teaching Oil, Watercolor, and Acrylic for the Plein Air Live &quot;Beginners Day&quot;. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &amp;quot;.SFNSText-Regular&amp;quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;&quot;&gt;&lt;div dir=&quot;auto&quot; style=&quot;font-family: inherit;&quot;&gt;Boot up your computer, laptop, or smartphone, grab a note pad, and your sense of humor to learn and laugh along with me and other professional artists as I demonstrate my method with pastels en plein air.  This &quot;Beginners Day&quot; is available through registering for the Plein Air Live event.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q&quot; style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &amp;quot;.SFNSText-Regular&amp;quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;&quot;&gt;&lt;div dir=&quot;auto&quot; style=&quot;font-family: inherit;&quot;&gt;Learn more at Plein Air Live April 14-17th &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pleinairlive.com/2021?affiliate_id=2997289 &quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;HERE&lt;/b&gt;!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2021/02/chosen-faculty-for-plein-air-live.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczUc_34UD88F_-q2786HsjWAUauBi3LQU7mzu8YSD99Gjl5bqJS03MDarT8atZHVEUQS_64vY1MAW7aVl-64vMOGIOy5M6pimOJ4Acr1W6NYsqamH9VX-WrSxtAC_XItXJqIWH21Q7Fdk/s72-w381-h381-c/Brenda+Boylan_900x900-2.png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-639319034334475663</guid><pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2021 03:34:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2021-02-03T19:34:03.379-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">barn</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brenda Boylan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">calm</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">catalyst</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">family farm</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">feelings</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fine art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">hope</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">melancholy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">memories</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">nostalgia</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">oil painting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">paintbrush</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">painting</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">positive</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">resolve</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">rural art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">rural landscape</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">rustic</category><title> An Artist&#39;s Voice Is Not Heard</title><description>&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;An Artist&#39;s&amp;nbsp;Voice&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 20px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Is Not&amp;nbsp;Heard&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;5677350&quot; height=&quot;304&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/161476e3-fcbf-4761-91aa-2b8329f14098.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 304px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 375px;&quot; width=&quot;375&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Grandpa&#39;s Barn, Creswell, OR.&amp;nbsp; Demolished c..2010&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;I&#39;m hoping all is well with you and are getting through your summer unaffected by all the bad news out there. It&#39;s been so difficult to find positive in our world, and as an artist,&amp;nbsp;I feel a deep responsibility to bring some beauty into your life.&amp;nbsp; You see, it&#39;s more of a calling&amp;nbsp;and I must do what I am destined to do.&amp;nbsp; So hand over the reins&amp;nbsp;for a minute and hear me out, OK?&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So over the past ten months, give or take, I have been feeling something brewing in my artwork that&amp;nbsp;was not apparent to me until last week.&amp;nbsp; As the paintbrush was burning up the easel, my&amp;nbsp;work began to&amp;nbsp;steer&amp;nbsp;towards&amp;nbsp;barns and rural life.&amp;nbsp; Simple subjects. Things that I could relate to on a deeper level.&amp;nbsp; And through discussion&amp;nbsp;and feedback from my collectors and artist peers,&amp;nbsp;there seems to be a common thread that is felt in my most recent work:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nostalgia&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Fond melancholy&lt;br /&gt;Calm&lt;br /&gt;Hope&lt;br /&gt;Resolve&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;and all those feelings have been sensed in paint?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WOAH!&amp;nbsp; It is more apparent to me&amp;nbsp;just how my deep feelings translate over to the canvas. So it isn&#39;t&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;COVID&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;or riots?&amp;nbsp; Well, I know&amp;nbsp;those feelings of injustice and tragedy are pouring&amp;nbsp;out in oil just the same. But now more than ever I realize the apparent visual communication I have been whipping up is coming out&amp;nbsp;in ways I had never imagined.&amp;nbsp; It&#39;s a SENSE of calm I get when I paint.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;My main catalyst?&amp;nbsp; The sale of my family&#39;s&amp;nbsp;100-year-old&amp;nbsp;farm&amp;nbsp;and a deep regret that I could not take the farm onto my own to cherish, nurture, and allow to blossom.&amp;nbsp; The change of hands had to happen at some time I suppose,&amp;nbsp; and so I express my feelings&amp;nbsp;throug&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;h&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;creating&amp;nbsp;with pigments.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;So please take a minute to visit both my &quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/collections/47206&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-weight: normal;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;Landscapes&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&quot; and &quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brendaboylan.com/collections/47201&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-weight: normal;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;Plein Air&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&quot; pages on my website. &amp;nbsp;Please l&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:makinart@frontier.com?subject=How%20does%20Brenda&#39;s%20recent%20work%20make%20me%20feel%3F&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;et me know&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:makinart@frontier.com?subject=How%20does%20Brenda&#39;s%20recent%20work%20make%20me%20feel%3F&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;what you&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;feel&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;when you look at my barns.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Is it nostalgia? Or perhaps you might sense a resolve in my work? For&amp;nbsp;me, I believe that the artists&#39; voice is not heard, but felt... and&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;I feel&amp;nbsp;hope&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2021/02/an-artists-voice-is-not-heard.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-699603072642997263</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Dec 2020 05:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2021-09-11T16:55:47.531-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">A Christmas Story</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brenda Boylan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Cousin It</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">finding humor</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Fragile</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">funny</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">humor</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">keeping it light</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">laugh</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">life in general</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">silly</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Adams Family</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Uncertain times</category><title>Keeping It Light . . .</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(80, 80, 80); color: #505050; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Arial; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keeping It Light&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 20px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;. . .&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;5663558&quot; height=&quot;344&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/e9ebe65c-464d-41e1-8723-904d378aa97e.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 344px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 425px;&quot; width=&quot;425&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Arial; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. . . in Uncertain Times&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-family: Arial; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;I sure hope all is well with you during these uncertain times.&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;I&#39;m doing my best to stay vertical under all the circumstances thrown at me.&amp;nbsp;Sometimes I could compare each day&amp;nbsp;to a dartboard game, and then when I go out painting, the world becomes a beautiful place to just be.&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;So when life&#39;s situations get a little out of bounds, ever&amp;nbsp;more than now,&amp;nbsp;I just gotta make a little fun!&amp;nbsp; We&#39;ve all heard that laughter is the best medicine, and honestly, I am sort of a fan of this humorous drug. I love how my heart and body feel after a great laugh, giggle, or simply a smile. If I could find ways to make someone smile, game on!&amp;nbsp; I have often been caught finding humor&amp;nbsp;during inappropriate times, smuggling my laugh into my bent elbow to keep from exploding at some personally embarrassing situation.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So welcome to my world!&amp;nbsp; While out painting on site, I can be found wearing a hat to protect my face from the glaring sunshine. One of my favorite head coverings is my&amp;nbsp;painting visor, above.&amp;nbsp;It packs up nicely into a roll, it is lightweight,&amp;nbsp;and it&#39;s designed to allow some extra shade simply by pulling my hair over the brim. I have often been told that I look like the &quot;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span face=&quot;&amp;quot;helvetica neue&amp;quot;, helvetica, arial, verdana, sans-serif&quot;&gt;FRAGILE&lt;/span&gt;&#39;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;leg lampshade&quot;&amp;nbsp;from the movie&amp;nbsp;&lt;u&gt;A Christmas Story&lt;/u&gt;, or perhaps I remind others of the character &quot;Cousin IT&quot; from the 60&#39;s era Adams Family Tv show.&amp;nbsp;Regardless of the similarities,&amp;nbsp;it serves me and my humor well.&amp;nbsp; and I kinda like my &quot;do&quot; being out of my way and off of my neck on hot days...&lt;br /&gt;So go ahead and laugh! You&#39;ll feel better ... and in these uncertain times,&amp;nbsp;it&#39;s free!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: black;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Moving along...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2020/12/keeping-it-light.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-1101963011959349327</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2020-11-13T12:30:21.560-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">#brendaboylanart</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brendaboylan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">collapse</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">failure</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">falling</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">gettingbackup</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">lifesatrip</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Olmstedpleinair</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastelbox</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastelsandpleinair</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">plein air</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">recovery</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">tumble</category><title>Life&#39;s A Trip...</title><description>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;templateContainer&quot; style=&quot;background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); color: black; width: 600px;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;templateBody&quot; style=&quot;width: 600px;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;bodyContent&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;20&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;width: 100%px;&quot;&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style=&quot;border-collapse: collapse;&quot; valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: Arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong style=&quot;color: maroon; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif; font-size: 20px;&quot;&gt;Life&#39;s a Trip . . .&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;img data-file-id=&quot;5650066&quot; height=&quot;500&quot; src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/_compresseds/bfed7a89-bdfc-4e7a-8b5d-3ed39ad14d77.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 500px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 375px;&quot; width=&quot;375&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: maroon;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;. . . when you get&amp;nbsp;back up&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: dimgrey;&quot;&gt;H&lt;em&gt;ow are&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;you&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;doing during this unrest and an unworldly pandemic&lt;/em&gt;?&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;It seems so long since I have seen a familiar face within 3 feet of me, sharing a good laugh, feeling the summer heat&amp;nbsp;together while outside in the July air.&amp;nbsp; Personally, I have noticed that my&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;way&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;has been negotiating with my&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;will&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, and I&#39;m trying to find balance with what is more important: whether I&amp;nbsp;stick to my old routine (which has been cut short), or just relax a little more ... and take another nap. It seems that my motivation is slipping, so I figured I would&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;Google &quot;getting motivation&quot; and this is the first thing that popped up:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Set goals&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Choose goals that interest you&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Find things that interest you within goals that don&#39;t&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Make your goal public&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Plot your progress&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Break up your goal&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Use rewards&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Don&#39;t do it alone.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Everything looks attainable, but there is one item on this list that is really challenging, and that is #8.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;em&gt;Don&#39;t do it alone?&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp; REALLY?&amp;nbsp; It&#39;s the one ingredient we all need the most in these unprecedented times...and that is togetherness!&amp;nbsp; So, reach out to one another, volunteer, write a love letter, send a long lost friend a text or&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:rtistik@frontier.com?subject=Life%27s%20a%20Trip&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;email&lt;/a&gt;, or better yet...an overdue phone call. I love to hear from friends from time to time to rekindle that togetherness we need right now.&amp;nbsp; And if you are motivated enough,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;mailto:rtistik@frontier.com?subject=Keeping%20in%20touch%20with%20Brenda&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;reach out to me&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;with a photo of you and a beloved, or perhaps with you and your favorite piece of art. Let me cheer you on so that you and I will know we are not alone!&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 18px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;#8&amp;nbsp; Don&#39;t do it alone.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: dimgrey;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;By the way...&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: dimgrey;&quot;&gt;in the course of having painted with either pastel or with oil paints, I have figured there is a one in 30 chance my easel will fall over.&amp;nbsp; I&#39;m still smiling, still grateful to those who help me out, and laugh when the numbers are in my favor.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2020/08/lifes-trip.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-7905390521235764607</guid><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2020 06:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2020-06-04T23:24:24.052-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Art event</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">artwork</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fine art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">hardship</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">homestead</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastel</category><title>Seeing through your hopes and dreams</title><description>&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_8In-D3Kvpbg0vBsDjQ4lJkTQR-jKr_ddwLpAh40qLvEI4RuTNvzdh1nWrxoM_buzxvG_FmdTg5oKehyphenhyphen1WBU1vpjjTM81MT1Dr9fGrS2rcvIqAaAmaoVXnoSrsU-GLhB4r39oJxbN0Hw/s1100/DelightoftheDreamer-1.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1100&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1080&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_8In-D3Kvpbg0vBsDjQ4lJkTQR-jKr_ddwLpAh40qLvEI4RuTNvzdh1nWrxoM_buzxvG_FmdTg5oKehyphenhyphen1WBU1vpjjTM81MT1Dr9fGrS2rcvIqAaAmaoVXnoSrsU-GLhB4r39oJxbN0Hw/s320/DelightoftheDreamer-1.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&quot;Delight of the Dreamer&quot;&amp;nbsp; 12x12&quot; Pastel on sanded paper, $1,650&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Available through&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://themissiongallery.com/artists/brenda-boylan/&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Mission Gallery&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Enter into any room that is flooded with filtered light, and you might sense your mood&amp;nbsp;shifting,&amp;nbsp;and perhaps your eyes might&amp;nbsp;even begin to moisten.&amp;nbsp;For me, I am always in touch with my senses, especially my sight, and perception&amp;nbsp;of how people relate to one another. It&#39;s almost funny to say this,&amp;nbsp;but to me, I am on the observation deck&amp;nbsp;of life.&amp;nbsp; A few years back, I came upon this scene inside the Swan House at the Atlanta Historical Museum after a thunderous Spring downpour.&amp;nbsp;Upon entering into&amp;nbsp;this one particular room at that very moment, I felt a compelling sense of elevation by the light that was wrapping around this young girl. It evoked feelings of hope fueled by anticipation, curiosity, and dreams. And now, now more than ever, this piece seems more&amp;nbsp;poignant.&amp;nbsp;One might&amp;nbsp;question if she is isolated in an empty room along&amp;nbsp;with an empty chair&amp;nbsp;to sit, be still&amp;nbsp;and think,&amp;nbsp;or she is waiting for good news that will bring brighter days ahead?.&amp;nbsp; Whether we look at life through either a kaleidoscope lens&amp;nbsp;or a&amp;nbsp;magnifying glass, we still take light&amp;nbsp;in.&amp;nbsp; So&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;w&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;hat do you see in this piece? I&#39;d love to know!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Moving along...&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2020/06/seeing-through-your-hopes-and-dreams.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo_8In-D3Kvpbg0vBsDjQ4lJkTQR-jKr_ddwLpAh40qLvEI4RuTNvzdh1nWrxoM_buzxvG_FmdTg5oKehyphenhyphen1WBU1vpjjTM81MT1Dr9fGrS2rcvIqAaAmaoVXnoSrsU-GLhB4r39oJxbN0Hw/s72-c/DelightoftheDreamer-1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-4603366348492647662</guid><pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2020 20:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2020-05-11T13:15:44.390-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Art Marketing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Artist</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">B. Boylan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Beaverton.</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brenda Boylan</category><title>Finding Grace...amidst the chaos</title><description>&lt;div style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;color: #505050; font-family: Arial; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.brendaboylan.com/&quot; style=&quot;color: #336699; font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://mcusercontent.com/523da5c57d12250c7839b999a/images/ece64b66-ab58-47ac-811b-a04b4c0f5b69.jpg&quot; style=&quot;border: 0px; display: inline; height: 466px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; width: 350px;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 12px;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;(At the MET in NYC)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;background-color: white; line-height: 21px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: arial; font-size: 15px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: dimgrey;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: merriweather, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Life&amp;nbsp;as we know it sure has taken us for a loop or two. I don&#39;t know about you, but I am beginning to sense that we are living in the midst of a paradigm shift. How we communicate, shop, move about, learn, and conduct social gatherings has suddenly been realigned.&amp;nbsp; I want to know if you have had to conduct a video phone call...&lt;em&gt;in your jammi&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;es?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;Or been shopping for that needed necessity, but too nervous to enter into a grocery store so you just do without? &amp;nbsp;What about those loved ones who are, or have suffered from illness? &amp;nbsp;I&#39;m sure you know what I mean.&amp;nbsp; Drive-up pharmacies, facial masks, drive-thru coffee shop kiosks, binging on news headlines, and online shopping are now taking a front seat. As for me and my creative family of artist friends, we have had to cancel all art gatherings, gallery events, and classes have had to be re-imagined...OVERNIGHT!&amp;nbsp; BAM!&amp;nbsp; ZOOM!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: dimgrey;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;Let&#39;s count the benefits of a solitary, home-bound life:&amp;nbsp; families engaging in conversation at the dinner table over a creatively home-constructed mash-like concoction of leftovers. Thoughtful conversations with loved ones, a closer, more united humanity, and honoring life with the help of heroic medical professionals. I imagine&amp;nbsp;we are getting to know each other on a deeper level. Our weaknesses and strengths are exposed&amp;nbsp;by this current reality, making us all take a second look at what life just is. Our environment is cleaner without all the consumption of fuel, with clear skies and fresh rain. I sure hope you can see some of the good in all of this.&amp;nbsp; As for my creative life? I am workin&lt;/span&gt;g&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;noticia text&amp;quot;, georgia, &amp;quot;times new roman&amp;quot;, serif;&quot;&gt;with more intention and giving deeper thought to what and why I paint...in the peace and safety of my solitary studio.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#696969&quot; face=&quot;noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif&quot;&gt;By the way...&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#696969&quot; face=&quot;noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif&quot;&gt;in the&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;caret-color: rgb(105, 105, 105);&quot;&gt;above&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;image of the large painting,&lt;/font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#696969&quot; face=&quot;noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#696969&quot; face=&quot;noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif&quot;&gt;I see a reflection of a tree trunk upon the surface of a body of water&amp;nbsp;with&amp;nbsp;large, pale&amp;nbsp;koi&amp;nbsp;fish, and&amp;nbsp;leaves suspended upon the surface. What might you see in the above piece of art?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-size: 14px;&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#696969&quot; face=&quot;noticia text, georgia, times new roman, serif&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2020/05/finding-graceamidst-chaos.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-2247679221686137454</guid><pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2020 04:36:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2020-03-12T21:36:26.099-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Artist</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Brenda Boylan</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">cityscape</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Jack Richeson</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Pastel artist</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastels</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Pratique des Arts</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urbanart</category><title>interview with Pratique des Arts</title><description>&lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; trbidi=&quot;on&quot;&gt;
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  3. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSdwmhHgQmNVFAqCfCUW9_b4VDWW10hIdnboEs0gxZLo8x8o8H8hkUwFjDWbfeGHvflRUR3E90Kq5XnJdbriU-qdnAfOvuSr9UcYBW_8-9CS2YU-Vy7uPpUCSOf52JKk_hXgVqs61UYwr/s1600/The+Fall+Line.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1600&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1600&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSdwmhHgQmNVFAqCfCUW9_b4VDWW10hIdnboEs0gxZLo8x8o8H8hkUwFjDWbfeGHvflRUR3E90Kq5XnJdbriU-qdnAfOvuSr9UcYBW_8-9CS2YU-Vy7uPpUCSOf52JKk_hXgVqs61UYwr/s320/The+Fall+Line.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  5. &lt;i&gt;The Fall Line&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 24x24&quot; Pastel&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  6. &lt;br /&gt;
  7. A few months ago, I was approached by author Stephanie Portal of a French publication &lt;u&gt;&lt;i&gt;Pratique des Arts&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/u&gt;.&amp;nbsp; She had attended the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.iapspastel.org/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;International Association of Pastel Societies&lt;/a&gt; last June and saw my work and was curious if I would share some information about my pastel work for her audience.&amp;nbsp; I am thrilled to be a conduit for the European&#39;s to see inside It helps me to find words for my work, and I am hoping your readers will gain a better understanding of my work. Please be aware that I am answering your questions predominantly for studio work, but I do provide some of my plein air techniques in the city…a very challenging, yet exciting place to paint.&lt;br /&gt;
  8. &lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;
  9. &lt;i&gt;What do you like about painting cityscapes? What sparked your interest in this theme?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  10. My first spark of inspiration was lit when I saw a painting created by American artist Ken Auster on the cover of an art magazine. It excited me to see everyday scenes uncommonly celebrated as a subject worth painting. Why not... I asked myself, could I take a closer look at my own city? Could I see the beauty in such an unconventional place? Could I recreate a sense of everyday life with bustling modes of transportation and people making their way through town interesting? My most favorite city scenes are accessorized with signage and lights.&amp;nbsp; I often describe the illuminated lights as a candy Lollipop! &lt;br /&gt;
  11. &lt;br /&gt;
  12. &lt;i&gt;What are your favorites places to paint and why? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  13. My favorite city to paint is Portland, OR, where I currently live. It has beautiful contrasts with cool and warm colors and a rail system, taxis, and many pedestrians. But wherever I am traveling, I am always on the lookout for the new subject matter. Having said that, I really like painting from a pedestrian point of view. As I walk along the streets of my own city, I look for the energy and movement of cars and pedestrians that will never present themselves in that moment and arrangement again. &lt;br /&gt;
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  15. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTgrYHVR2mZmKsfvZqM4J6sHp3zrRKolcAhu-any7AFXl4XY4pwfC3MEC03JVAlLdjF7Ob6N4wdA-CAW3MVnoZZsgeZIpc555toNCUp0x3brdA7x57cZeQBNxWNNIpdEy_wQIpsuxggO2/s1600/Island+Girl.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;954&quot; data-original-width=&quot;960&quot; height=&quot;318&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTgrYHVR2mZmKsfvZqM4J6sHp3zrRKolcAhu-any7AFXl4XY4pwfC3MEC03JVAlLdjF7Ob6N4wdA-CAW3MVnoZZsgeZIpc555toNCUp0x3brdA7x57cZeQBNxWNNIpdEy_wQIpsuxggO2/s320/Island+Girl.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  16. &lt;br /&gt;
  17. &lt;i&gt;Why is pastel the medium of choice for this theme? Do you sometimes use another medium (oil?) and how do they compare? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  18. I choose pastel for my city scenes because I love the layering of color and how it allows me to emote solid shapes with color strokes. There is a beautiful thing happening when there are strong heavy marks and light feathery marks that adds excitement to my cityscapes. I do use oils for cityscapes, but it is not my preferred medium. It takes time to mix oil color, but with pastels, there is a spontaneity that matches the energy of the city.&lt;br /&gt;
  19. &lt;br /&gt;
  20. &lt;i&gt;What challenges do you encounter when painting streets from life (compared to quiet country views)? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  21. &lt;i&gt;(atmosphere, busyness, noises, choice of spots)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  22. &lt;i&gt;Do you work or finish your paintings in-studio and why?&lt;/i&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
  23. Painting en plein air poses many challenges in the city. I have reported that the scene is more challenging to select due to its’ location, pedestrian traffic, and safety than painting it.&amp;nbsp; The noise of the city does not bother me, but sometimes there might be an occasional observer. This can create many pleasant and unpleasant situations. Having said that, I prefer to paint my larger urbanscapes in the studio because I can take my time reacting to my feelings than my speed.&lt;br /&gt;
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  26. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4aJJNqROhVBaIug8_pqplwV3DIxDK7rc-HGN7tWsgQI1y6F96Z_J33S6iswq1wPhV9Vk7HeWufsfYWwL_1TzzVxKGA6nkIN4MCnaG4zvXz1nfZ2Tzd_UZ9-qyXEeUb5jqq1lOPBPNird4/s1600/Evening+Errands+sml.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1200&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1200&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4aJJNqROhVBaIug8_pqplwV3DIxDK7rc-HGN7tWsgQI1y6F96Z_J33S6iswq1wPhV9Vk7HeWufsfYWwL_1TzzVxKGA6nkIN4MCnaG4zvXz1nfZ2Tzd_UZ9-qyXEeUb5jqq1lOPBPNird4/s320/Evening+Errands+sml.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  28. &lt;i&gt;Evening Errands 24x24&quot; Pastel&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  30. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  31. &lt;i&gt;What do you look for in a cityscape? What makes an interesting scene? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  32. I look for composition and energy first.&amp;nbsp; For me, an interesting scene must have transit, lights, and then signage.&amp;nbsp; People are wonderful extras, but not always necessary.&lt;br /&gt;
  33. &lt;br /&gt;
  34. &lt;i&gt;What makes a good composition? What elements do you keep/erase?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  35. In the city, I often find good composition when viewed from crossing the middle of a street surrounded by tall buildings.&amp;nbsp; This provides a &quot;U&quot; composition, however, I love creating a fulcrum that is predominantly dark with a small area of light.&amp;nbsp; This can be found deep within an area of buildings with a small area of sky lighting the scene.&lt;br /&gt;
  36. &lt;br /&gt;
  37. I don&#39;t like the sight of trashcans, so I choose to eliminate them. I am careful to choose elements that support the feeling of energy. It could be a specific rail or shuttle, or perhaps people rushing off to work.&lt;br /&gt;
  38. &lt;br /&gt;
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  40. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjvp8qK6vKkNn3Gnl0CEhsGhVx1zPchrlNHRRofFB-s7w4gweJpyAQYQX0HxxTwu9Y7a_IZMMITVE_g0GCAj7uwAuEZfUHjemaU9i6n5R0Hr9Wd-uRKfaH91YN62-kk7b9e-wiK0MNr5wf/s1600/Early+Break.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1599&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1600&quot; height=&quot;319&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjvp8qK6vKkNn3Gnl0CEhsGhVx1zPchrlNHRRofFB-s7w4gweJpyAQYQX0HxxTwu9Y7a_IZMMITVE_g0GCAj7uwAuEZfUHjemaU9i6n5R0Hr9Wd-uRKfaH91YN62-kk7b9e-wiK0MNr5wf/s320/Early+Break.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  41. &lt;span id=&quot;goog_1231615432&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;goog_1231615433&quot;&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  42. &lt;br /&gt;
  43. &lt;i&gt;How important is the light? What are the best times (of the day, of the year) to paint the city?&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  44. I love painting any scene in the early or later hours of the day because it provides a light that has more drama and provides an interesting mood, dramatic shadows, and tonal qualities to an otherwise gray scene. The fall season is also a favorite time of year to paint because it has more color and weather variations.&lt;br /&gt;
  45. &lt;br /&gt;
  46. &lt;i&gt;How do you decide color harmony? Do you pay attention to complementary and analogous colors? Do you have favorite color combinations? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
  47. I love using a complementary or split complementary palette. I am open to what colors are most dominant in a scene and then play with that.&amp;nbsp;However, I love painting orange or blue scenes the most.&lt;br /&gt;
  48. &lt;br /&gt;
  49. &lt;i&gt;You also like night scenes. Why and how do you work on them ? Are they specific difficulties with them? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  50. I love creating night scenes because they offer mood without much detail. Also, there is less to see in the dark, and the street lights are what excite me the most. Like I shared before, &quot;they&quot; are the lollipops!&lt;br /&gt;
  51. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  52. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwQXNc1whbwjgupgZsAjjeCtHg0U_qFZgPtanjDquITQpWeNgjNoWxGjfeWmjBIEwgtaUoBfxxNUEUkKwwgBiOH30dVto5AZxy6S4T3Nhfx8MpRMFIsm1tfEmJf2Imb1nPmKz8pcC7kpf/s1600/Evening+Errands+sml.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1200&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1200&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEwQXNc1whbwjgupgZsAjjeCtHg0U_qFZgPtanjDquITQpWeNgjNoWxGjfeWmjBIEwgtaUoBfxxNUEUkKwwgBiOH30dVto5AZxy6S4T3Nhfx8MpRMFIsm1tfEmJf2Imb1nPmKz8pcC7kpf/s320/Evening+Errands+sml.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  53. &lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  54. &lt;i&gt;Evening Errands&amp;nbsp; 24x24&quot; Pastel&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  55. &lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  56. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  57. But when it comes to painting nocturnes en plein air, that offers many challenges. Losing your equipment is easy when there is a limited light source. Also, colors are nearly lost, so I use a clip-on lamp attached to my palette so that I can see the colors. Upon returning to a day-lit location the finished paintings are often more intense than intended. Oftentimes the pieces could be either exciting or disappointing, depending on how you look at it.&amp;nbsp; As for safety, I recommend painting with a partner so that there are two sets of senses to hear and see potentially dangerous predicaments.&lt;br /&gt;
  58. &lt;br /&gt;
  59. &lt;i&gt;How do you proceed? (sketch, blocking in, layers, highlights)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  60. &lt;i&gt;How important is the drawing? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  61. First, I begin to select a color theme and work up my sketch onto my sanded paper with a pastel pencil.&amp;nbsp; I adjust the composition and drawing by taking a photo of it and then reducing it on my smartphone screen to clearly see the basic elements of the composition.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
  62. &lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;
  63. &lt;i&gt;What about the underpainting? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  64. Once I have made drawing corrections, I begin on an underpainting of either a thin acrylic wash or thin veils of oil. I often switch it up a bit with laying in pastel and then wet it down with turpentine. This is the fun part because often the painting will create an entirely new direction.&amp;nbsp; I love the adventure of all the directions a piece will take in the process.&lt;br /&gt;
  65. &lt;br /&gt;
  66. &lt;i&gt;Do you use different textures of pastels and if yes, how do you make use of them &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  67. I love using softer pastels than harder ones, and I prefer using my own selection of colors produced by Jack Richeson because they are consistent in texture.&amp;nbsp; I will use a harder pastel to lay in my sketch and use the softer pastels for the build-up of layers and mark-making.&lt;br /&gt;
  68. &lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;
  69. &lt;i&gt;How do you capture the atmosphere, the energy of the city? (color harmony, mark making)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  70. The atmosphere is created by thin layers of color, much like the fog is to the sky. Mark making is the most effective way to create energy in a cityscape. It is felt upon application, and it is felt when looking at it.&lt;br /&gt;
  71. &lt;br /&gt;
  72. &lt;i&gt;What did you learn from painting this theme? What do you aim to achieve in the future? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  73. I learned that I need to crop in the scene more often and look for the basic shapes rather than observing every overwhelming detail. This has made my growth and enjoyment so enriching.&lt;br /&gt;
  74. &lt;br /&gt;
  75. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  76. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctSpFOQwEicNHnhB9k8rJ1O0y1LVllBFZMXp85h2aMUGqFEpusgegm00uCiOR_CvfpEhZEcITeAhxBqaTzInyFhvj_ZYCWLwvQClbaJJQjO7HcVED10zjjhYb8vuixoLL48-VUp1-LPYl/s1600/Nocturn+crop.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1308&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1317&quot; height=&quot;317&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjctSpFOQwEicNHnhB9k8rJ1O0y1LVllBFZMXp85h2aMUGqFEpusgegm00uCiOR_CvfpEhZEcITeAhxBqaTzInyFhvj_ZYCWLwvQClbaJJQjO7HcVED10zjjhYb8vuixoLL48-VUp1-LPYl/s320/Nocturn+crop.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  77. &lt;i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/i&gt;
  78. &lt;i&gt;Do you have 5/10 advice/tips/golden rules to paint cityscapes or to paint in the street? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  79. &lt;br /&gt;
  80. Expect the unexpected&lt;br /&gt;
  81. Always choose safety first&lt;br /&gt;
  82. Find the vanishing point and layout the horizon.&lt;br /&gt;
  83. Paint what will most likely move first. Cars, trucks, food cart, the light source.&lt;br /&gt;
  84. Keep it simple&lt;br /&gt;
  85. Be aware of your tripod legs impeding foot traffic&lt;br /&gt;
  86. Be aware of your time&lt;br /&gt;
  87. Take small breaks to rest your legs and look around your surroundings as they are constantly changing.&lt;br /&gt;
  88. Don’t engage with unstable people&lt;br /&gt;
  89. Be flexible. You may have to move while in the middle of creating your masterpiece.&lt;br /&gt;
  90. &lt;br /&gt;
  91. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  92. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPd_gMDXkF-OO-fmbAy6ZiJO1vosDnRX_p81FnjAMuxhKxZI5I8EDyH6628aoRjYEJlWT1NbhZ13b2GpNMP8gb8ktMDjuxfq4IWva6xPuwaUbdim78B4gdNEjBSg4nZ4_0VnuKWw4IoBJ/s1600/Starter+Set.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1500&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1154&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPd_gMDXkF-OO-fmbAy6ZiJO1vosDnRX_p81FnjAMuxhKxZI5I8EDyH6628aoRjYEJlWT1NbhZ13b2GpNMP8gb8ktMDjuxfq4IWva6xPuwaUbdim78B4gdNEjBSg4nZ4_0VnuKWw4IoBJ/s320/Starter+Set.jpg&quot; width=&quot;246&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  93. &lt;i&gt;What material do you use (you can mention brands): paper, pastels, accessories, fixative? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  94. &lt;i&gt;What is your outdoor material? &lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  95. I use Uart 280 grit paper&lt;br /&gt;
  96. Jack Richeson Brenda Boylan Plein Air and Starter Kits, Terry Ludwig pastels, Sennellier pastels&lt;br /&gt;
  97. a small t-square to get angles straight&lt;br /&gt;
  98. Gamsol or denatured alcohol for my wash&lt;br /&gt;
  99. Foam brush to wipe away build-up or to make corrections&lt;br /&gt;
  100. masking tape to mount work to the palette and also to create a dust bin below my paper.&lt;br /&gt;
  101. Soft cotton rag for wiping my hands&lt;br /&gt;
  102. Portable moist wipes for cleaning my hands&lt;br /&gt;
  103. Non-latex gloves to protect my hands&lt;br /&gt;
  104. Tripod with a ball adaptor, and a pastel box that is custom made by Open Box M.&lt;br /&gt;
  105. I do not use fixative.&amp;nbsp; I finish my paintings by covering with a sheet of glassine atop my finished painting. I then buff the glassine into the pastel surface by pressing with the palm of my hand and smoothing out the entire surface. This helps knit the pastel into the tooth of the Uart paper&lt;br /&gt;
  106. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  107. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgFXUb6N1o84oyRObfrZVVYQVHCC1TLMh3Nc_k9jc_2Z9neCpjhXhQZb_DctAiVoZo8K1T4JsjIMpir-G4F32B6IgvMhFzqpuijJTvuVMiVU8fUVkWv03dnMMJHY7JJKoaeYfZnfBdjsY/s1600/Richeson++Pastels.jpeg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;300&quot; data-original-width=&quot;232&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgFXUb6N1o84oyRObfrZVVYQVHCC1TLMh3Nc_k9jc_2Z9neCpjhXhQZb_DctAiVoZo8K1T4JsjIMpir-G4F32B6IgvMhFzqpuijJTvuVMiVU8fUVkWv03dnMMJHY7JJKoaeYfZnfBdjsY/s1600/Richeson++Pastels.jpeg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  108. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  109. </description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2020/03/interview-with-pratique-des-arts.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSdwmhHgQmNVFAqCfCUW9_b4VDWW10hIdnboEs0gxZLo8x8o8H8hkUwFjDWbfeGHvflRUR3E90Kq5XnJdbriU-qdnAfOvuSr9UcYBW_8-9CS2YU-Vy7uPpUCSOf52JKk_hXgVqs61UYwr/s72-c/The+Fall+Line.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-4436688384690965757</guid><pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2019 20:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2019-08-21T10:54:44.125-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art exhibit</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art manners</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">art show</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">etiquette</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">exhibit</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">exhibition</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">gallery</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Gallery etiquette</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">manners</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">OPA</category><title>Polishing Up: Gallery Matters and Manners</title><description>&lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; trbidi=&quot;on&quot;&gt;
  110. After viewing the OPA’s 28th National Juried Exhibition, albeit via the internet, I was Impressed by the volume and level of talent this organization hosts. Bravo! I am a relatively new member and I imagine many of you have a litany of solo shows on your resume’ and have attended art events that could fill Alladin’s wish list. Whether you have attended a museum exhibit, exhibited in a nationally recognized show such as the OPA, or a local small town venue, you will notice that each show has it’s inherent culture and theme.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
  111. &lt;br /&gt;
  112. Every art opening deserves a thoughtful respect to the presented art and those who represent it. To make an event run magically I am going to offer a couple of observations on what to do, and what not to do at an art event. While I’m sure a few of us may have unintentionally committed a social blunder or two, as I sure know I have, we could all use a little polishing up on our art manners.&amp;nbsp; So here are a few pointers to make a show shine:&lt;br /&gt;
  113. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  114. &lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  115. &lt;b&gt;Late is a FOUR Letter Word.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt; When hosting an art opening, it is best to arrive at an agreed time prior the opening so that the gallery director can address any final concerns.&amp;nbsp; This helps build trust and eases the flow of the evening.&amp;nbsp; Being late also means keeping close to closing time. Don’t linger too long after the show is over. Gallerists have a life too, and may want to retire after a hard day’s work. After all, it is possible the gallery dealers may have been on their feet for nearly twelve hours. &lt;br /&gt;
  116. &lt;br /&gt;
  117. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  118. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNBskz8rS9FbIfk7AvM_insUS_sORoQW6b1iGctvS2KNIue3bx3-dcAgYBbdnEOz46SIauG1YDGn91AvIVb4HwsN03F9xjZHRxWHhHMlKs8Edi5SvPqXzUa5IA3gqK7ECmZij2mGwJePu/s1600/IMG_6009.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;735&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1024&quot; height=&quot;286&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNBskz8rS9FbIfk7AvM_insUS_sORoQW6b1iGctvS2KNIue3bx3-dcAgYBbdnEOz46SIauG1YDGn91AvIVb4HwsN03F9xjZHRxWHhHMlKs8Edi5SvPqXzUa5IA3gqK7ECmZij2mGwJePu/s400/IMG_6009.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  119. &lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  120. &lt;i&gt;Wear appropriate attire that is a notch above the occasion.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  121. &lt;br /&gt;
  122. &lt;b&gt;Dress to impress.&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp; An opening is like a job interview. so wear appropriate attire that matches the occasion. With art being displayed in all types of venues from country craft fairs to big city galleries, take mental inventory of the venue and dress a notch up so you take the honor over the venue and customer. Don’t wear a painting smock and stocking cape, nor a ballroom gown and crown, unless it’s a dress themed show. If you are arriving straight from the studio or field, take consideration and pack a change of clothing. Some of us are not fashionistas or GQ models, so when in doubt ask a buddy for an honest opinion.&lt;br /&gt;
  123. &lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;
  124. &lt;b&gt;Decibel Discussions.&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp; Speak at a lower volume than the crowd. A show opening is a joyous event and is a celebration of the art. Yes, I admit that I have had loud outbursts of laughter during a show and have had to tone it down, but be conscious of the room’s volume and allow others to have uninterrupted intellectual conversations. That is not to say that others don’t wish to hear what we have to say about the work, but be conscious of your volume.&lt;br /&gt;
  125. &lt;br /&gt;
  126. &lt;b&gt;Negative Nots.&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp; Don’t openly criticize the show unless you are a professional art critic. While attending an event, it is advised to keep any negative opinions to ourselves. As we all know, art is subjective, yet we may react in unforeseen and unexpected ways. That’s great! The art has spoken through the senses, but let’s play nice. Be aware that the artist’s intent put forth took immense effort, so wait to discuss potentially harming and disappointing opinions…in privacy&amp;nbsp; on the way home in the car. Just remember that public criticism is itself a display of competition. Or is it individuality?&lt;br /&gt;
  127. &lt;br /&gt;
  128. &lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  129. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KCw7W4sQ2njydUtVRKonzm7zUqtAvOiXLTIAnU7TQgMXerYsgWCiXSilGeOZh7OcK31XPGZ6HJUYEf0R6P5YOa-uFoP0FCts1aIeXqjx44EhQ3paUI3046V_OtTIA5m5VU0pC_ug1cZ9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+8.49.27+PM.png&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1024&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1001&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KCw7W4sQ2njydUtVRKonzm7zUqtAvOiXLTIAnU7TQgMXerYsgWCiXSilGeOZh7OcK31XPGZ6HJUYEf0R6P5YOa-uFoP0FCts1aIeXqjx44EhQ3paUI3046V_OtTIA5m5VU0pC_ug1cZ9/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+8.49.27+PM.png&quot; width=&quot;312&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  130. &lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  131. &lt;i&gt;Allow room for everyone to enjoy the work.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  132. &lt;br /&gt;
  133. &lt;b&gt;The Consumer:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt; You’ve seen it before, a guest who consumes a large portion of you or the presenting Artist’s attention and time. Let us all be aware that the show is up and there are several curious collectors at the opening who may want to ask exhibiting artist a question or two.&amp;nbsp; As an art attendee or supporter we may also unknowingly stand directly in front of a piece while catching up with long-lost friends. Keep in mind that blocking others from taking in the work consumes the guests space and time. Move on to view the show and take it in. Also, how many times have you witnessed a close friend or enthusiast cornering the Artist with personal subjects outside of the show at hand? This behavior puts the Artist in an uncomfortable position. If you witness this, please help the Artist by redirecting the guest to allow the Artist to meet other attendees at hand.&lt;br /&gt;
  134. &lt;br /&gt;
  135. &lt;b&gt;Indulge Yourself&lt;/b&gt;...in the art and the collectors, but not in the treats. This includes alcohol. The host often supplies and expenses a spread of morsels and wine to share with the guests. There have been times when a full meal is provided and this is very generous of the host, yet be mindful and step away from the silver trays. Perhaps eat a small snack prior an event, or wait to go out after the event with your new found art admirers. When it comes to the wine, monitor your intake. I know it is easy to take in a little more than needed, but be careful. Sadly, I have witnessed a gallery owner get drunk and it embarrassed me to no end. Unfortunately, that gallerist did not last long in the business and this is true for us artists as well. Also, when finished with your wine cup or small snack plate, place them in the trash receptacle or table and NOT on art pedestals. This gives the 3D art the respect it deserves and keeps the presentation of the room at it’s best.&lt;br /&gt;
  136. &lt;br /&gt;
  137. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  138. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8b6N42e7g4dwqc03DMaNxtXjhwYLMVFQWZOg1ZT6gRmkV4gp4cZjLiHXQSAQE1vjY6_WM_QU1DwpVWHiAZsfBoc6aGX4dJjVrHnZBtldICveRLu9H0c3N8H3Gcog_Yk4LYGt6XU1c9c1/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+8.49.59+PM.png&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1024&quot; data-original-width=&quot;975&quot; height=&quot;400&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8b6N42e7g4dwqc03DMaNxtXjhwYLMVFQWZOg1ZT6gRmkV4gp4cZjLiHXQSAQE1vjY6_WM_QU1DwpVWHiAZsfBoc6aGX4dJjVrHnZBtldICveRLu9H0c3N8H3Gcog_Yk4LYGt6XU1c9c1/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-07-24+at+8.49.59+PM.png&quot; width=&quot;380&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  139. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  140. &lt;i&gt;Misplaced receptacles draw attention away from the art.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  141. &lt;br /&gt;
  142. &lt;b&gt;No Solicitors Allowed.&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp; Do not promote yourself while attending another artist’s show!&amp;nbsp; I had once attended a beautiful show and while there, I saw business cards from another artist placed precariously around the gallery. OUCH! This is not a good way to get attention for our art, and will tarnish a hard earned reputation. Neither is it a good time to solicit a portfolio or whip out a cell phone to share some recent work to the gallerist or director. If asked to share, then take the opportunity to set an appointment for another time.&lt;br /&gt;
  143. &lt;br /&gt;
  144. &lt;b&gt;Permission Please.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt; If you wish to take photos of the art, always ask the artist for permission. A flash may effect the work, and the artist owns copyright on their creations. Many times I have witnessed admirers snapping close ups and have imagined that they might print it out for their enjoyment, or even copy the idea. Here is a great moment to address the admirer that not every artist wants their work photographed. Then again, they may have a potential buyer on the other end. Don’t be afraid to ask what their intention is, and perhaps offer up the gallery directors business card to follow through with the image.&lt;br /&gt;
  145. &lt;br /&gt;
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  147. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJusMaLL-vCLn51MxQthNuFINgdKBCCGmDj3b4Y0mtq306orYfXwAEDX6ufenaFhIeV7HnNpKuXpbqOjJG8gQChA3pIFefbEhHjde9eYCkmwYPPvcv1TYFUUcfqrY1dWI9pkVhqRCu1czL/s1600/IMG_6458.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;872&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1024&quot; height=&quot;340&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJusMaLL-vCLn51MxQthNuFINgdKBCCGmDj3b4Y0mtq306orYfXwAEDX6ufenaFhIeV7HnNpKuXpbqOjJG8gQChA3pIFefbEhHjde9eYCkmwYPPvcv1TYFUUcfqrY1dWI9pkVhqRCu1czL/s400/IMG_6458.jpg&quot; width=&quot;400&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  148. &lt;div style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  149. &lt;i&gt;Ask for permission to take photos of art.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  150. &lt;br /&gt;
  151. There is always more we can do to improve our industry, so I’m hoping that I have cast some light upon a subject that is not often discussed. Whether a small town exhibit, or a national solo show, it is my wish that every one of us can adjust and elevate the sense and value of our work by being mindful of our show manners. We are our best representatives, and genies of our work.&lt;br /&gt;
  152. &lt;br /&gt;
  153. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.brendaboylan.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;BrendaBoylan.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  154. </description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2019/07/polishing-up-on-gallery-manners.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNBskz8rS9FbIfk7AvM_insUS_sORoQW6b1iGctvS2KNIue3bx3-dcAgYBbdnEOz46SIauG1YDGn91AvIVb4HwsN03F9xjZHRxWHhHMlKs8Edi5SvPqXzUa5IA3gqK7ECmZij2mGwJePu/s72-c/IMG_6009.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2839646558738602935.post-3528856820188059772</guid><pubDate>Sat, 09 Feb 2019 00:55:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2019-02-13T14:15:35.905-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">birch trees</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fall</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Fall season</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">leaves</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">paintings</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">paintings of trees</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastel</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">pastel paintings</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">plein air</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">seasons</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">trees</category><title>Morning Birches 10x8</title><description>&lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot; trbidi=&quot;on&quot;&gt;
  155. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  156. &lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYPsaFtKEs6Y0vdBt-bVgvxdb0EqkzSiWfptwxfh0OXiPp_SBA8rMxbj65fRcCf4ARbzaGVqwKPs1ni9_LhFF8CfSVpROZ3CFurIuMoK0b0eLJb6pu2TVB1sEPPni7bJAnFfOq5BEXXDi/s1600/Morning+Birches.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; data-original-height=&quot;1600&quot; data-original-width=&quot;1280&quot; height=&quot;400&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYPsaFtKEs6Y0vdBt-bVgvxdb0EqkzSiWfptwxfh0OXiPp_SBA8rMxbj65fRcCf4ARbzaGVqwKPs1ni9_LhFF8CfSVpROZ3CFurIuMoK0b0eLJb6pu2TVB1sEPPni7bJAnFfOq5BEXXDi/s400/Morning+Birches.jpg&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  157. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  158. &lt;span style=&quot;font-size: x-small;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Morning Birches 10x8&quot; o/l&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  159. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
  160. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  161. &lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: left;&quot;&gt;
  162. Overlooked, average, and often undiscovered spaces close to home can be the most inspiring places to paint.&amp;nbsp; Once you slow down and really look around you, you will find all sorts of unsung beauty.&amp;nbsp; Here is a spot just around the corner from my house that I drive past nearly every day.&amp;nbsp; It was a chilly Fall morning with the sun rising just behind the rooftops, and there it was...this stand of small birches highlighted by a glowing, rainbow-like mist. I gotta STOP! And so I made a swift U-turn back to my house, picked up my painting gear and returned a few minutes later to paint it.&amp;nbsp; Now every time I drive past this unnoticed spot of beauty, I will always remember what I saw and what was painted. Art does that. It takes us somewhere else, calms us, and settles our busy lives down.&amp;nbsp; Take in a moment and look around you while running your next errand. What do you see?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
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  166. This piece is headed to the New Visions show at &lt;a href=&quot;https://themissiongallery.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Mission Gallery&lt;/a&gt; in St. George, UT. March 21-22, 2019 &lt;/div&gt;
  167. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  168. </description><link>http://brendaboylan.blogspot.com/2019/02/morning-birches-10x8.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Brenda Boylan)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYPsaFtKEs6Y0vdBt-bVgvxdb0EqkzSiWfptwxfh0OXiPp_SBA8rMxbj65fRcCf4ARbzaGVqwKPs1ni9_LhFF8CfSVpROZ3CFurIuMoK0b0eLJb6pu2TVB1sEPPni7bJAnFfOq5BEXXDi/s72-c/Morning+Birches.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>

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