In the Studio

1. emerging

2. developing

3. waiting

1. I LOVE her so far

2.  Is something wrong I asked her?

Look under the "FINISHED,"  to find out how these developing paintings worked out.

Impromptu Confession

I've been talking about getting Professional photo's taken of me and my art for online use on Facebook, Twitter, etc,etc. But for now I these will do.  My husband was the photographer and for his first time using my camera I believe he did pretty good.  He swears he doesn't have a artistic bone in his body so for him to help me out by trying to do his best with these photos is a big deal. Now I know that they are a bit out of focus but I'm going to use them and besides I think it adds to the Artsy Vibe that I live for.

~ Thanks Hubby for being there for me ALWAYS.

 We were playing around making it fun, he was a little tense cause he wanted to make these great for me.

 Sexy moma... Well I try, "Work It," as they say.

Confession: I've Stalled, I have 40 MORE pounds to loose.

...been stalled for the summer when I should have been going strong.  But committing right now to "Digging Deep" and getting back to being Focused on the goal at hand.

I made some videos of me exercising, talking about the struggle I still have to being motivated to exercise but I have not uploaded them to my YouTube channel (yet), maybe I will get the courage to do so, just to help motivate someone else.  I originally got motivated (to loose the first 40lbs that i lost) through a combination of things one being that I was "tire of being tire."  And the other being straight vanity... I had morphed into the "fat dude in the little suit," not a good look.  And Youtube played a part too with all the exercise guru's along with people like you and me video taping there journey.

Although I feel much better, unfortunately for me that just isn't enough for these next 40lbs I will shed.  PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER and meditation is always part of the equation.  But for me I need to mix it up so my physical exercises will be concentrating on learning Yoga and also
Kickboxing with some of my old workout videos thrown in every now and then when I need a change.  I have been researching Billy Blanks, it's funny but before the forty pound weight loss I would have NEVER thought I would consider one of his rigorous workouts but I believe I can handle him now... Yikes!!  And as for doing Yoga in the past, that was a no-go just looked to boring but now I really want the flexibility and the contrast of these two types of work out will keep my body in loosing mode (weight that is).

In my Healthy living, conscious eating struggles I have gained back 5lbs, mainly in my stomach.  And although it is only a five pound gain, I have also noticed I am softer, meaning the muscle definition that I had worked for is barely noticeable anymore.  

Just two blog posts ago I was rejoicing and now I am putting this out there to confess and "Get Right."

Healthy Conscious Eating and Commiting to DAILY exercise is the only way for me, I declare.

In the Studio

The gold ring and earrings were made for my oldest daughter but I will be making something like these to sell.

 All of the following paintings are "works in Progress."  I must remember to upload photo's of these when they are finished the set of 4 to the left are part of the "AFRO Series," that I have been inspired to continue.

Neon in Nature... WoW!!!

Although these flowers are clearly on their last leg (really some are dead), they are all still very inspiring  and the neon green, yellow and orange have contributed to the way I am feeling about neon colors.  

While reading a fashion magazine I read that neon is in, this spring in terms of fashion. But I personally  never really enjoyed neon colors before but while applying the colors to my back ground in this work, I caught the bug and it made me open up to trying on some neon colored clothing... and I must say the neon pink and orange look pretty good on me.  

This is the beginning stages of the above work in progress.

The purple in my painting is inspired by these flowers and in the painting the purple gives depth and yellow brightens the work but we will see in the progessive development of this work how that pans out.

This is what the hair accessories I made for the girls to wear in the family photos looked... I thought they looked great (feathers and felt).

This photo is a full shot of the painting that I mentioned in the previous post, it's another work in progress.  I am always working on many things at any given time ( Hair accessories, Paintings, Art Jewelry, Throw pillows: can find my art and accessories for sale at: The Artsy Life Boutique ) and I love working like that this way I never get bored.

Energy and Enthusiasm

Energy and enthusiasm is a wonderful byproduct of choosing to lead a healthy lifestyle.

 I have lost 44lbs. and I am very Energetic and my creative flow is Dancing with Joy. This top photo is me now and the following photos are before shots.  The extra rolls on my necks and double chin are gone...

I miss my Afro (when my hair was in it's natural state, Kinky, I felt that I stood out but being a certified Cosmetologist turned Full time Artist, I am always ready for change when it comes to my hair, but next time I will buy a couple of Good wigs for when I am in the mood for a straight hair styles.  2013, BIG Chop is scheduled for the first of the year. But in the mean time, you will get to see many different hair cuts and styles between now and then on this relaxed hair.  Coming soon, some sort of BOB style and Vibrant Red Hair color in the top and chocolate brown in the back.




The weight is off my shoulders... literally and I love it.  Although I am not excited about exercising I LOVE, Love the results I'm getting. The weight loss has been a business booster... energy has gave way to a MORE positive and MORE enthusiastic me.

Fresh food, real oil (olive oil) and real butter. For me, it's been about "Conscious Eating," which is taking responsibility for what I'm putting into my body.  Getting knowledgable about food and it's value to making my life better (or worse, it's definately my choice).  

And not depriving myself of things I crave... but "Conscious Eating," is definately portion control along with eating in a timely manner. This means eating something EVERY 2 to 3 hours, if I'm hungery or not.  A great example of this is that I am never hungery at breakfast time, but I make a little something anyway. I found out that eating something as soon as possible after I wake up starts our metabalisms which allows my body to not feel like it's starving by lunch time. And eating smaller portions but eating more often means I never feel hungery-starved and my cravings for french fries or pizza (just two examples of my many bad food choices from my past) are no longer controlling me. 

Now on to the Studio...

In the studio I have a new found love for green, for many different tones and tints.  Although green seems to have made an appearance in almost all my current work (my new hair accessory designs to the spring colors of the Art Jewelry). The canvas behind the lovely floral arrangement (that my Wonderful Hubby brought home to me- Happy Anniversary!!!) is a new work in progress. This canvas is a large one it measures 36x 48 and I am happy with the progress of it, the top photo you see with me looking up at it is a glimps of what it currently looks like, with lots of other colors added  because colorful paintings are what makes me smile. And the small paintings are prepped backgrounds, for my "Afro Series." And Yes I am still adding more ladies to the series. These hair bows we made for my girls to wear for our family photos.  One is a headband and the other is on a metal comb.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Life is Good. 

And I am Grateful for my life. 

When I think about what Valentine's Day means to me of course I think of LOVE but even more I think of Love and being Grateful as being one.  I am Grateful for my husband and the fact that he is a man that cares for me and his children with Great detail, he is AWESOME and I am in LOVE with him. We are a Great Parenting team he and I work to teach our children what life is about and how they can provide a great lives for themselves... being a GREAT parent is hard but the Joy we recieve along the way is priceless.  I am Grateful for the trying times that we sometimes experience with the girls (yes I said Grateful) because we look at these as "teachable moments,"  these tend to be the times when our lessons that we want them to learn really sink in.  I am making a concious effort to be more verbal about being Grateful even in the tough times that come my way.  I am committed to looking for the Joyful, Happy and Fun that life has to offer (even in the mist of a "storm"). 

This is a painting I have been working on and the flowers are what I recieved today from my Lovely Husband.

My mother is no longer her on earth with me. But I am Grateful that the Lord allowed me the opportunity to call her my mother. I miss her terribly at times... I miss the sound of her voice,  the perfume that she would wear, the way it smelled on her skin.  I miss her advice (even the unsolicited) and wisdom.  I miss being able to tell her I Love her, face to face (I did not say it enough). I learned a lot about being a parent from my memories of you.  I love you mom and I and Grateful for the time we did have together.

This picture of me is Thirty-four pounds ago.... in a future post I will post a current picture.

 This picture is of a painting I have been working on and the flowers I recieved today from my Lovely husband.

 Fresh fruits and vegetables now play a more leading role in my "Healthy Lifestyle Journey."