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2010

2009 :...December... .November... .October... .September... .August
July
.. .June. .May. .April.. .March.. .February...January

2008.........2007

"Spirit is the essence of art."

~ March 2009 ~

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March 30h ~ Achievement
I had some exciting news last week. After several months of preparation, tutoring and hard work, I submitted my application to become a contributor to iStockphoto on Thursday afternoon. I didn't expect to hear anything back on it for several weeks, however Friday morning I got my acceptance email! It said; "Congratulations, the iStockphoto administrators have determined that your files are commercially and technically ready for iStockphoto.com. Please begin uploading at your convenience." Now the fun (and work) begins! I owe a lot of this achievement to my friend and mentor, Nancy Louie. Thanks, Nano! You can see more about this exciting new venue on my January 5th - January 26th Spirit Art Blog posts.

"What separates those who achieve from those who do not is in direct proportion to
one's ability to ask for help." ~ Donald Keough

"One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus;
we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never
deciding to master anything in particular." ~ Anthony Robbins
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Now License this image through iStockPhoto.

This is one of the photos I submitted for my application.

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March 26th ~ Outrageousness
In keeping with the season, today I wanted to post a painting of tulips. Pondering this flower brought to mind the late Herbert Khaury, better known as Tiny Tim. In 1968, his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", a popular song from 1926, made a big hit on the music charts. A ukulele player wearing cheap suits and sporting long stringy hair, Tim sung in a distinctively high falsetto / vibrato voice. His outrageousness got him gigs on TV with Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan, and Jackie Gleason. A year later he was married on The Tonight Show in front of an estimated 40 million viewers. In a world where the outrageous has become the norm, sometimes we forget that big things are often only possible by taking bold, exaggerated or seemingly improbable action.

"In the end, your creativity - perhaps even your outrageousness, will determine the final result."
~ Bobby Flay

"Here's to the Crazy Ones. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can
change the world, are the ones who do." ~ Apple Computer Ad
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Original Watercolor ~ "Outrageously Opulent" ~ *Sold

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March 23rd ~ The Daffodil Principle
I often come across inspirational writing online.  The Daffodil Principle by Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards one such story. You probably have seen it before. Since the daffodils are just coming up now, I thought it would be a nice story to share here today.There are two parables to this story. One is that there is no better time than the present to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. The second message of this narrative is that big dreams and goals are accomplished by keeping steadfast focus on your vision and moving ahead gradually. We make progress by continually working our plan and remembering that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't
have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."  ~ Frederick Keonig

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
  ~Robert Brault
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Original Watercolor ~ "The Daffodil Principle" ~ *Sold

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March 19th ~ Spring
One of the blogs I follow is called "Thought Sketches" by Bill611. I enjoy reading his "thoughts" because they are often fresh and routinely unpredictable. This is one of the poems he said he "threw together" and I "thought" it was nice so, I'm sharing it with you here today. Spring is definitely "in the air" here in Southern NJ. That could change at a moment's notice, however, just because these are the ways of the days in March.

March
I love the month of March
Springtime licking at the bottom of the ice cream bowl of winter
Nature's orgy
Passion play of wind and rain and snow and sun
Something old, something new
Something gray, and something blue
Butterflies and flowers snuggled under their covers
In their last dreamy moments of winter's sleep
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Original Watercolor ~ "The Spring Awakening" ~ *Sold

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March 16th ~ Possibilities
I became intrigued and emotionally involved the first time I saw this blog "art for the animals" . It's headed up by a couple of my blogger buddies. After seeing it, I couldn't get it out of my mind, so I knew I just had to get involved and do something to help. The idea of helping out some homeless pets, the people who care for them and the shelters got me real charged up. I've been so inspired just considering all of the possibilities! Go to my web log to see all three paintings I've completed so far and to find out more about this wonderful project. I'd love to get more artists and animal lovers involved, so contact me if you are interested in helping!

"In art, there is room for all possibilities." ~ Pablo Picasso

"Every new day begins with new possibilities." ~ Ronald Reagan
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5" x 7" oil painting ~ "Black Is Beautiful" ~ the third in my series of shelter pets.

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March 12th ~ The Internet Classroom
Ever since my workshop this past weekend, I've been in "classroom mode". Stepping out of my comfort zone, I've been trying new equipment, techniques and mediums. Yesterday I spent most of the day learning how to use my Wacom Drawing Tablet. Today I wanted to try some oils. I had seen this video by Larry Seiler - alla prima brushwork exercise in oils last week and discovered the "Different Strokes From Different Folks" blog by Karin Jurick a month ago. Check these links out! The internet offers a wealth of opportunities for gaining valuable knowledge, connecting with like minded individuals and refining your skills.

"One of the best ways to keep your mind young is to remain a student for life." ~ Sandy Sandy

"When you create art, you want to use yourself as an instrument to find out about things." ~ Kim Tran

"36 satisfactory exposures on a roll means a photographer is not trying anything new." ~ Freeman Patterson
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This painting subject is from the current "sushi challenge" on Karin's blog and the technique is from Larry's video. This little oil took me under an hour with just over 250 strokes.

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March 9th ~ Portraiture
My weekend Spirit Art Workshop was a success. Students left here with expanded knowledge, better technical skills and a feeling of accomplishment. I talked about values a lot during the class, as this is connected to light and shadow and is the core of creating images with all mediums; be it painting, drawing or photography. One of the participants of the workshop was my college buddy, accomplished designer and photographer, Nancy Louie. She brought her photo gear and treated us to some portrait work while she was here. Below is a portrait she did of me doing a blind contour drawing demonstration. I converted it to black and white to show you how good imaging is dependent on values. To see this full color portrait, photos of participants and more about the workshop, go to my web log.

"When you photograph people in color you photograph their clothes.  But when you photograph people in Black and White, you photograph their souls!"  ~ Ted Grant

"Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography." ~  George Eastman
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"Sandy Sandy Spiritartist - 3/7/09 - © Nancy Louie"
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March 5th ~ Magic Of Snow
I'm sitting here in my studio looking out the window at the deer, wild turkeys and large variety of songbirds in my yard. I'm surrounded by a winter wonderland! A year ago to this day, I was in beautiful Crested Butte Colorado. My visit there filled me with great enthusiasm and inspiration. Nature's magic always has a way of reawakening my inner child. Getting up close and personal with the beauty of the natural world soothes my soul and refreshes my spirit like nothing else on this planet can do. I've also posted more snow photos on my web log. 

"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just
look at what they can do when they stick together."  ~ Unknown

"The future lies before you, like paths of pure white snow. Be
careful how you tread it, for every step will show." ~ William Faulkner
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Now License this image through iStockPhoto.

"Ski Bunnies and Snowshoe" - Crested Butte, Co.
16" x 20" ~ silver level - original watercolor
double matted and framed - $399.00




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March 2nd ~ Beauty
We woke this morning to a true "Winter Wonderland"! The beauty of it is simply breathtaking. Here in Southern NJ, the climate is warming and now we only get a snow like this every three or four years. I guess that makes me appreciate it even more. This time I believe the snow will be with us here in the pines for a week or so. That should give me plenty of opportunities to soak up nature's impressive grandeur.

"Beauty is one of the rare things that does not lead to doubt of God."
~ Jean Anouilh

"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it." ~ Confucius

Today's photo was taken early this morning with my new Nikon from my kitchen window.If you are a friend on Facebook, you can see the album of photos I took today with my little point and shoot - Cannon PowerShot A590. I will wait until it stops snowing to take my big boy out to play. I've also posted more snow photos on my web log.
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~ February 2009 ~

Get inspirational emails with images delivered free to your mailbox every Monday and Thursday. Just email me with "spirit art subscribe" in your email. ~ Sandysandy

2010

2009 :...December... .November... .October... .September... .August
July
.. .June. .May. .April.. .March.. .February...January

2008.........2007

"Spirit is the essence of art."


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