I can’t say Valentine’s Day has ever really meant anything special to me.  Too Hallmark cardish I guess … sorry Hallmark. In my opinion love shouldn’t only be celebrated  on February 14th.

I believe those feelings and thoughts should be expressed as often as possible to those we love.  I’m actually good at that.  Rightly or wrongly I wear my heart on my sleeve most of the time, oh and I cry a lot.  Movies, commercials, music and most especially when I hear of some random act of kindness.  I just fall apart but in a good way.

We continually hear how short life is but I don’t think we really process that fully.  But… it is short.  Once you begin losing people you love you realize that pretty quickly and it hits home in a big way.

Say “I love you” now and say it often.

I also think if we are going to celebrate Valentine’s Day let’s spread the love around.  Who says it has to be only about our significant other?   Yes, we love them

but let’s take it a step further and widen the circle to all those we love..

                                                                                       Family & Friends

                                                                     Loved ones in Fur Coats

                                                                                      Nature

I believe our lives really are about the small things that happen in our day to day existence… it is what shapes us and our perspective of the world around us.

If we are able to find joy in these small moments on a daily basis …well life just opens up.

But hey don’t take my word for it …let’s give  the last word on the subject to the Beatles who so eloquently summed it all up ..

“And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make”

Beatles, Golden Slumber …..Abbey Road

I wish you a day filled with ♥ today and everyday ….

Yesterday I was spending a bit  (yes, only a bit) of time in the studio doing what I consider necessary… organizing.

I would rather be painting…

But I must admit there does come a time when it is impossible to ignore the fact that you can’t find stuff, like an 8”x8”  canvas, a pencil and my tube of prussian blue paint.  It is then that you are forced to consider the obvious….

My space is 10‘x12’ which doesn’t lend itself to being a great place to store much but I am happy there.  I get the north light almost all day which is great for painting and because it is away from the living portion of the house it really feels separate from everything else … and mostly it’s my own.  If I decide to look at it from the glass half full aspect, I fortunately have a small storage closet  in which I am able to house some paint and a few canvases.  Glass half empty … everyone else who lives in this house also stores much of their stuff in there as well.  Old games, beany babies who look as if they have seen better days, blueprints for I don’t know what, manual for things we no longer own.  I’m feeling a purge coming on …

Generally I’m fairly neat and tidy.  Clutter does drive me up the walls especially in a small space but I must admit there are times when I am working and have totally lost myself in the process.  I’m just so in “that moment” and that connection between me and the work is so strong that it seems to be the only thing that matters.  Putting things back in their place is not even on my radar.

So as I sat in my disorganized space yesterday, trying to figure out where to begin, drinking my second cup of tea, I spot out of the corner of my eye a sketch I completed last week …. I feel that initial tiny surge of adrenalin building and before you know it that ovewhelming need to get started organzing painting.  I pick up a pencil and tell myself I will need to give myself a bit more time to figure out this organizational plan of mine …. perhaps tomorrow.