Artful Monday

For a long time, I have been kind of...undecided about the role Painting has to play in my life.  I go back and forth about it. 

I'm not sure why.

I guess it's because, like anyone, I sometimes make excuses to block myself from doing the things I really want to do and the things that make me happy.  Who knows why?  Fear of the unknown, maybe?  I'm not sure.

Instead of focusing energy on this thing that I love to do and trying to make it into a vocation rather than a hobby, I poo poo it and say, "I would....if only I had time."

Sound familiar?  To some of you, it may.

In my world, "I don't have time" tends to mean one of two things.  Either, "I am not making time," or "I am not using the time I do have very wisely."

I want this to change.  No more excuses.

I will be 40 years old this Saturday.  It is time to live the life I truly want.  It can start small, but it has to start, and it has to be a Priority.  That is the point of this post.

I want you to notice Two Major Changes on Today's Blog.  Look, up at the top of the page.  See those new tabs?

One says ART HELPS BUNNIES.  

The other says ART HELPS CATS.

These two simple tabs are part of my new mission Use My Talents for the Forces of Good (instead of Evil, as I have been.  NOT REALLY!)

These two simple tabs are a representation of me starting to do Two of the Things I Want To Do Most in This Life.  These Two Things are as follows:
   
1.  I want to Paint
2.  I want to help Animals

50% of all proceeds from any Bunny or Cat Portrait (or DOG! or any other kind of Animal!!) you or others purchase will go to the no-kill animal shelters listed on the pages.  Helping Animals is the Mission.

There you have it.

There is more to come in this Fortieth Year.  Lots more.  Exciting New Projects and Lots of Fun Things.

But this?  This is a start.

Old School

A few months ago, my mom asked me to donate a painting to an art auction she was organizing for one of the millions of volunteer things she does.  She needed it for an event that went down last week.

My mom had asked for a cityscape or a cafe scene.  My first inclination was to paint something totally new since I had so much time, so I set to work.  But, I immediately wasn't pleased with what I started.  I worked on it a couple of days for a few hours each, and then decided to give up because I just wasn't feeling it.   I mostly paint animals nowadays, so it just felt strange.

When I first started painting, I painted a lot of cityscapes and scenes of cafes both here in Erie and also other places.  Before I met her, the Chick had gone to Paris, and she had a slew of black and white prints that I loved to paint from.  I liked painting from the black and whites because then the basic shapes of things and the composition was all laid out for me, but the colors could be anything I wanted.  There were no preconceived notions.  It was fun to paint things colors that they would never be, or at least colors they would never be under normal circumstances.

When I needed this painting for my mom, and I wasn't feeling like painting something fresh, I thought through the paintings I had sitting around.  There aren't many left, as (fortunately!) I've sold most of them over the years through various venues.

There was one painting that I never sold, I guess for sentimental reasons.  I don't usually feel that attached to the art I create.  I think of it as something I want out in the world, not in the Lilypad crowding up the walls. 

This was the painting I decided to give to my mom.  It was pretty much the first painting I ever made.  It's just a random street scene form Paris.  I call it "Red Car:"

As it turned out, the painting didn't end up getting bid on in the auction.  My mom said none of the bigger paintings were bid on or purchased, sadly.  It's a small town (Titusville, PA), and these are hard times, so it wasn't a surprise that no one wanted to fork over a couple hundred buckos for a scene they didn't recognize.

And, I have to say I'm glad. 

I thought I wasn't attached to this piece, but it turned out that I was, and that I'm glad it didn't sell so it can go back up on the wall in the Rabbit Room.

I think that's where it belongs.

News From the Weekend, In Which We Danced, I Painted, and We Learned that Miss Blueberry Can Be Hypnotized

"Brace yourself for the ending..."

Did you have an exciting weekend?

As you can tell from the title of today's post, We DID!

Exciting, that is if you like Dancing, Painting....and Hypnotizing Bunnies.

All of which I enjoy.

Now, you know I'm not much of a dancer. I've discussed that before. The fact that I can move my hips at all is miraculous, let alone the fact that I can move my ribs rather independently of my hips (when, and if, I really concentrate).

And, now, I have officially done those things and more in front of (or more accurately, in back of, since I was the DJ and had to stand in the back of the room by the CD player) a room full of people in the Chick's YogaDance class!! It was amazingly FUN!!!!

So, that was the dancing part.

As for the painting part, I worked on more beer portraits. Truth be told, they are not all beer portraits. Some of them are other things.

The following paintings are not at all finished, but it will give you the idea:

A little Pinot Noir, a little Champagne.....

...and a Gnome with Beer.

And, finally the last part, which was the part in which we learn that Miss Blueberry can be hypnotized.

Are you wondering what that means? In case you're wondering, here is an instructional video that explains and demonstrates the process of Bunny Hypnotizing:



And that's what we did with Blueberry.

We started like this:

You are getting veeeeery, veeeeery sleeeeeeeeeepy.....zzzzzzzzzzz...

And then moved on to this:

ZONK!

Wait-- what's wrong? Did we hypnotize you, too?

Oops, sorry. I'm sure you'll wake up in time for the Important Stuff.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.................

Welcome, Monday!

Zoe and I had a great weekend.

How about you?

Are you wondering what was good about Zoe's weekend?


Well?
Zoe had a hard week. You can see from these pictures how She was forced to go up the stairs.

She needed some rest.

So, while Zoe rested, the Chick and I had a really busy Saturday. In the morning, we got Rosie the Awesome Cat some baby food. That's what she's onto now. Other food doesn't sound so good. What sounds good to her is baby food, as fed to her on our fingers and hands.

Totally fine. She is our Little Princess.
Then, we tried out a new Vegetarian/ vegan cafe in town called The Singing Bowl. YUM! I had the BLT with tempeh bacon, which was completely delish. We also stopped at the discount dance supply tore nearby to get the Chick some shoes for ballroom dancing. That was a great success!

Later in the day, we had a friend over to discuss a Tarot Party that we're going to host for her. That was fun, and we got lots of planning done.

Zoe continued to rest on Sunday, while I painted. Here's some stuff I worked on:

The Chick with Toby

Self Portrait with Zoe

What did you do over the weekend?

Certainly you didn't work as hard as a Bunny all week. We're not sure if you deserve rest.

Face it-- you will NEVER work as hard as a Bunny. NEVER!

We Interrupt This Program...

Oh, Wise Rabbit!!!!
(Remember this exclamation
as foreshadowing for later...)

For 5 or 6 weeks now, Zoe and I have been sharing dreams on Wednesdays.

Well, I have, anyway. Zoe doesn't share Her Dreams. It is Her impression that that would be Too Personal.

However, due to other things going on at the Lilypad at the present time, Zoe and I thought it pertinent to take a break from our dream sharing posts to share a couple of other Informational-type Tidbits.

For one thing, it has been ages since I have posted any art that I've worked on. The reason for this? Well.... I haven't been making a whole lot. A commission here or there, yes, but as far as actual painting? Not so much.

Instead, I have been concentrating on writing. I am working my way through my second novel (no, the first one has not been published, but if you know anyone who knows anyone, as the saying goes, you could enter Miss Zoe's good graces for at least a few weeks!).

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in the Rabbit Room trying to write and I was having a Very Hard Time.

I said to Zoe, "Oh, Wise Rabbit! What is my freaking problem? I LOVE to write and usually, it just comes out. But lately....sigh."

Miss Zoe, being Who She Is, hopped over under the Writing Chair and sat on my foot. Then, She hopped over to the easel and sat there, looking, as usual, pretty darn coy.

That was it!!! I hadn't been painting in a long time! In fact, I had done no art whatsoever in quite some time!

WHAT???

Thank goodness for Smart Lagomorphic Companions!

I said to the Chick, "I need to do some Art. Do you mind if i just start drawing on the walls?"

To which she answered (as is often her response when I ask silly questions), "DUH! Of course not!"

And so, while the Chick was gone, I set to work again in the kitchen. Here is some of what happened:





And, now, with an element of Conversational Whiplash, but still in the Spirit of New Things Happening at the Lilypad, I would like to present a picture of Someone New. For those of you who read Blisschick, this will come as no surprise, but just in case...

MEET MR. TOBY!!!

WHERE IS THAT RABBIT??

Is that what you're asking yourself?

"Where's that Rabbit?" you're thinking. Maybe you even said it out loud to your Cat. Or, your Dog. Or, to Your Very Own Rabbit.

Don't you worry your long, fuzzy ears. She's back.

And by back, I obviously mean.. back.

She is not that interested in you. But that's OK.

What matters is your interest in Her.

She can feel it.

You see, the Blisschick came home and there's been excitement and busyosity and going back to work after 9 days off, and on, and on, and on. So much catching up to do.

So, we missed blogging for a couple of days. Do you want to make something of it?

Look out your window. Miss Zoe is waiting for you outside. You don't want it to come to that do you?

I didn't think so.

So, instead, why not just check out this painting I made for the Blisschick while she was away:



Written on it is this piece of a poem by Rumi:

My head is bursting with the JOY of the unknown.
My heart is EXPANDING a thousand fold.
Every cell, taking wings, FLIES about the world.

JOY EXPANDING FLIES.

Cool, huh?

That Rumi. Always so cool.

"Like a Rabbit," said Miss Zoe. "Mr. Rumi was cool like Me."

SO very true.

Cool like a Rabbit.

That's something we can all work toward.

Finally!! Flip Friday!!!

And, I say FINALLY FLIP FRIDAY meaning-- FINALLY it's FRIDAY!!!!

That means, of course, the long-awaited return of the Blissful Chick who also lives here.

YAY!!

And just when Miss Lilly was beginning to warm up to me, too.

Oh, well.

So, in honor of the Chick's return, here are two videos.

First, the "After" of the kitchen movies. You are getting to see it before the Chick!!! Do you feel privileged or what??

As it turns out, the narration is totally boring. Sorry. I tried to get a Certain Rabbit to help with that, but She was uncooperative.

Imagine that!!!

The "After" Kitchen Movie from marcy hall on Vimeo.

And, speaking of feeling privileged, here's your Rabbit Movie for the Week.

Watch at Your Own Risk: It could be Too Cute to be good for you!!

This Week's Zoe Movie from marcy hall on Vimeo.

If you're reading these words, I'm hoping that means you've lived through the Cuteness.

Good show.

Have a good weekend!!

The "Before" of the "After"

So, the week is going OK.

Cats and Rabbit and I are still pretty darn lonely without The Blisschick here.

"Excuse me? Did you say we are doing OK? Because I'm finding the Bunny Monitoring to be a little lax to say the least. Humph!"

I'm going to ignore that. She LOVES Her cat. Don't let her fool you.

It's weird to be in a house where I am the only Human.

It's also strangely quiet around here.

Oh, the cats do their share of talking. That's for sure.

Miss Zoe has been pretty quiet (until the above comment, anyhow!). Though she did thump at the noisy crew with noisy trucks that was resurfacing our street on Monday. It takes a lot to make her thump, though now the street is smooth, so it may have been worth One Thump.

(Perhaps that could be a new form of measurement. A smooth road may be worth One Thump. What might be worth Two?)

Anyhow, as promised Zoe and I would like to share some video from the kitchen painting project.

I wanted to post "Before" and "After" all in one day. But it is so dark and gloomy here today that it's hard to see the new wall colors very well in the videos I tried to take.

So today, I'll show you the "Before." Watching it made me giggle. The narration I did totally makes it sound like I'm on a home makeover show. Except, I am not a Trained Narration Professional, and that fact is Very apparent.

Kitchen Painting at the Lilypad: "Before" from marcy hall on Vimeo.

You'll have to wait until Friday for the "After."

Waiting for it will be worth Two Thumps.

Though, I'm not sure if that's a good thing. Hmmmmm.....

OK. What just happened?

Was it just the weekend?

Wait!

Do you mean that it's already Monday?

I even had a 3 day weekend. So, what on earth happened?

Was I secretly abducted and taken off to a faraway planet and then returned having been given some kind of mind erasing food or drink or pill?

Or, were we just at home? Doing Absolutely Nothing?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I do remember a brief trip to the beach with morning bagels. It was actually a little too chilly already to stay very long. It was absolutely gorgey, though the breeze made it cold, even with a jacket or hoodie.

Even Mr. Gull Looks cold.
Though not too cold to eye
The Blisschick's sesame seed bagel, mind you.

A post bagel gaze at the Lake.

Me, smiling at both the
Sunshine and the thought of a
Very Cute Rabbit at home.

I also recall reading some fiction, which made me dream of good Pinot Noir. In fact, if anyone has a favorite Pinot Noir, please feel free to recommend. Zoe and I are up for suggestions. We might even share with the Blisschick.

Also, Zoe and I got some things ready to send in the mail.

What? What are we sending?

HALLOWBUNNIES!!!! BOO!!

One HallowBunny will soon be on her way to the City of Brotherly Love. And, one will soon be jetting off to Australia. MusicMiles suggested packing some snacks for that Rabbit's long ride.

Miss Zoe concurred: "We all know that Rabbits do like a little something," She quipped.

A point well taken.

And, what of the Rabbit's weekend?


I guess that sums it up. Carrot toy is appealing due to the lack of Willow Balls. Poor Miss Zoe is in a bit of a toy dry spell right now. It is so very sad.

How about you? What fun did you have? Was your weekend an Action Packed Adventure? Or, did it involve a lot of Sitting In Chairs?

Either way, we hope it was delightful.

Happy Monday.

Even The Rabbit hopes it's nice for you.

Sneak Peek

Zoe and I have been working on a little something special.

We'll tell you about it.

In a minute.

Zoe wants the anticipation to build for a minute.

First, she's going to show you a picture of Herself. If you're lucky, She'll share two.

"Why not?" She asks while taking a little bath next to the hay box. "It's what I do. They want to see Me after all."

True. Isn't it?

First, then, are two pictures of what Miss Zoe is currently doing:

A bird's eye view to show off her Lovely Spots!

And a ground shot so you can clearly see
Her annoyance at your impatience.
"Humans!" She scoffs.

As you can see, She is lounging.

That's because of all the hard work she did today!

On, then, to the Sneak Peek.

As you know, we discussed last week the fact that Halloween is on the way. It's an exciting time of year, here at the Lilypad.

In honor of the excitement and to help build up to the holiday, Miss Zoe and I have painted about a dozen Halloween Bunnies. Bunnies in costumes. Bunnies who want to Trick you rather than Treat you.

But you can give Them a Treat.

Of course you can!

(WRITE THIS DOWN!!! Bunnies like carrots and banana chips especially well. And raisins, and kale, and alfalfa, and cherries, and timothy hay, and apples, and romaine lettuce, and herbs, and parsley, and, well.....you get the idea.)

Ready? OK!! (Sorry the picture quality is poor. The light is low in the Rabbit Room this morning. But, you'll get the idea i hope.)

Full Body

Detail

This is, of course, a Witchy Rabbit, but there are many more bunnies painted on small, wooden, hang-able or sit-able plaques and dressed in different costumes!

There's a SuperBunny!

A BunnyZorro!

A BunnyPirate!!

And Many More!!!!!

The Blisschick is in the process of loading them up into a store, and then they'll all be needing good homes!!

How about it? Will you help a Rabbit in need of a home? It will promise not to eat much.

But, I can't promise These Rabbits will be nice..... You're on your own with that!

No Regrets. Only Rabbits.

Not to depress those of you who absolutely love Summer, but the Canada Geese flying over the Lilypad in their big, honking Vs would say that Autumn seems to be on the way.

Ahhhhh....... and won't that be a relief?

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Summer. I love sunshine! I love hot, humid weather! I love waking up at 4:30AM and it's sort of light out already.

OK, that last thing might just be proof of psychosis. Whatev.

The point is, we here at the Lilypad love Summer, yes. But we also love the hibernation that comes with the rest of the year. And this year, we are super-extra looking forward to it.

Remember a couple of months ago, when I said I was going to forgo painting for while to concentrate on writing? To really, really buckle down and work on my novel?

Of course I had a hard time not painting. It's a part of myself that I really cannot forgo just for the sake of convenience. But the point was to write more. I even took unpaid leave hours at work to come home early everyday and get right to work.

Did I do it?

Well......

The Deadly Rabbit Stare

(Oh, no, the STARE!!)

Well you see I tried, but I was... I mean we were so.... I mean....

OUCH!!! IT BURNS!!!!

Well, Zoe has every right to Stare at me. I didn't really fulfill my promise to myself to focus. To concentrate. To work my butt off in an effort to do my thing. Or things, I could say.

But, I'm not going to take it too hard. We had a strange Summer. Even as I write that, I know that that's not necessarily the reason. Every Summer is strange. Full of events and festivals and parties and visits from friends and family and just wanting to sit out in the yard for goodness sake and relax in the Sunshine.

I could spend my time feeling really bad about this fact. Feeling like a loser.

But where's the fun in that?

Maybe the lesson I could learn from this is that it's just that it's Important not to judge Oneself for... well.... resting. That it's Important to take a deep breath, think about what direction I want to take now, and just start again.

With no regrets. No judgments of Self.

Leave the Judging to the Rabbit.

It's kinda what they do.

I mean come on. Did you see that Stare?

Just in case you missed it the first time!

Now, that's a professional. Leave it to her. You? You just go about your business.

A Day in Pictures

It's been a hectic day. Sometimes that happens.

I'm finally getting around to writing this post, and it's already after 5PM.

You see, last night, Zoe and I agreed that she would be in charge of writing today.

But then, she didn't quite get around to it. I asked her what came up, and all she would say is this: "Something Super Important."

I have no idea what that means, do you?

Well, no matter. I understand that she is Super Important and has Super Important Stuff.

Super, Super Important, even.

OK, so what I thought I would do is illustrate my day in photos.

First, I went to work. But on my lunch hour, I walked a couple of blocks up the hill on State Street to the Erie Art Museum. On the stairs for a lunchtime concert were 2 Heliotropes (in case you've missed out on my last couple of mentions of the Heliotropes-- there's usually 4 or 5--, they are my new favorite band. And, they are LOCAL ERIE-ITES!! Even Better!!):

2 Heliotropes jamming in the sunshine!
(A short video of them will surface for Flip Friday!! Stay tuned!!)

After a lovely bike ride home, my parents stopped by to drop off my most excellent kayak, The Loon:

The Loooooooooooooon!!!!

And, now, after I write this, it will be time for a little painting before dinner. The Blisschick is downstairs dancing (like a loon!) and Miss Zoe and I will do a little painting. We're working on a bit of a portrait of....well...someone:

Our cat will probably visit, too:

And lastly, Miss Zoe would like to reveal to you, her Loyal Followers, a wee glimpse into what she calls her Super Important Stuff.

Turns out, it is this:

Rolling!!

ROLLING!!

AND, MORE ROLLING!!!

Well, I guess that is Super Important. Therefore, we will excuse Miss Zoe from her writing assignment. Clearly, I should do my own work, yes?

Clearly.

Muses and Music

On Monday, I told you that I would show you my most recent painting.

Well, we'll get to that in a moment.

Before music comes muse.

And who would that be?

Hmmmmmm......

As you know, we lost Baby Audrey not long ago. We buried her under the Crab Apple Tree in our backyard. A wonderful and fitting place. Her resting place and window to Sparkle Pond is visited daily by Many Outdoor Rabbits and Other Animals.

As a Surprise, the Blisschick ordered me a Saint Francis statue to mark this special spot. He came in the mail on Monday. Before we took him outside, we took him up to see Miss Zoe. Audrey was her special friend, too. And, this Saint Francis is special-- he has a Rabbit at his feet.

Quite fitting.

What follows is a representation in pictures of Miss Zoe's encounter with Francis.

At first, she's not sure, but she warms up to him, as you will see.















Cute, eh?

We've covered the Muse. Now on to the Music. Here is Richard's Guitar:


Today, we're off to Cleveland with Miss Kitty to go to the Art Museum and the West Side Market.

My directive from Miss Zoe?

"Take some interesting video. People must be getting tired of Rabbit videos."

That's the funniest thing she's said all day, don't you agree?