Monday, 30 April 2007

Virginia Tech tragedy

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" by Edmund Burke

Today, many Bloggers will be silent to remember the lives lost on that fateful day, April 16th. With all due respect, and from my own personal perspective, I feel that being silent is a nice gesture but I don't feel it will achieve anything via the Blogosphere. I would prefer to show my respect by talking about my feelings and offering my heartfelt prayers.

I honestly believe that this tragedy could have been avoided as the signs were there but not deemed severe enough to be acted upon by those in authority. I was dumbfounded by this after reading just a few things the perpetrator had done prior to that day. I don't want to play the blame game here but I do pray that there will be some valuable lessons learned from this tragedy so that this sort of thing won't happen again.

I was reading another Blogger's post and she was talking about stumbling across the My Space site of one of the Virginia Tech victims. I followed the link she provided and, I too, was deeply affected to see a beautiful, young girl's family and friends pleading with her to post or phone to let them know she was okay....then their later comments of heartbreak and prayers after they had obviously found out the devastating news of her death. I cried. I empathised with what they must have been going through and are still going through.

I pray that many lives will be touched by this tragedy in a positive way. May the victim's tragic deaths not have been in vain. May it put into perspective just how precious life really is. May we see that precious time with loved ones, family and friends far outweigh the material things. Let us live our lives to the fullest, in goodness and love. Take time to smell the flowers and appreciate the little things. Be an Angel and practise random acts of kindness. Make life matter......

Love, Light and Peace ~

Saturday, 28 April 2007

Zebra art card in progress

Today has been overcast and started out looking like we would be in for a good lot of rain......we're STILL waiting for the first drop and it's 4 PM! We desperately need rain because we're now on Level Five water restrictions so I hope somebody up there is listening ~

On another note, I finally managed to make a start on the Zebra art card today. Hopefully, I'll find some time to finish it tomorrow. Stay tuned ~

Zebra art card in progress - © Serena Lewis

Friday, 27 April 2007

Sizzling Lilies


Sizzling Lilies - © Serena Lewis

Well, I have been busy base-coating bits and pieces so I don't have any current pieces to show you yet. The Calla Lily painting was done last year for a workshop I was teaching for Beginner students. I love the rich colours in it as it suits my Mexican theme kitchen/dining area. Speaking of decorating themes, my parents are passing on to me a lovely two-seater lounge chair.......problem.......it's GREEN!!!! My lounge colours are currently turquoise and orange accents so I think this green is going to clash which means a change in colour scheme.......which means I have to paint a new painting for my lounge.....which also means new cushion covers and re-painting some accent pieces. That will keep me busy. I'll try to get some before and after pics to show you.

Wednesday, 25 April 2007

ANZAC Day - Lest We Forget



ANZAC DAY is one of Australia's most important national occasions. On this day, we remember the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp who fought so bravely during the Gallipoli campaign in the First World War. Australia lost over 8000 soldiers. To read the history in more depth, please visit this link.

LEST WE FORGET ~

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

My daughter's clock - finished


Finished clock - © Serena Lewis

As promised earlier today, here is the finished clock apart from varnishing and assembling the time piece and clock hands which will be black.

Baby Birth Plaque

What a week! My Mum was taken into hospital on the weekend and ended up having emergency surgery. She's doing fine but will need more surgery in a couple of weeks. She's back home so I'm going to visit her this morning as I haven't had a chance before now due to being sick myself. I'm wondering if perhaps I'm anaemic.....I haven't eaten meat for two years now although I still eat seafood and take vitamin supplements when I remember.


Baby Birth plaque - © Serena Lewis (acknowledgment in part to Ladybug Creations)

I finished the birth plaque yesterday. I pixelated the baby's name for privacy reasons but, all in all, I think it turned out pretty cute! As my own art leans towards realism, I don't usually paint whimsical designs apart from when I'm asked to paint a baby birth plaque or a name plaque for a child. I often rely on the creative mind of Jan McGraw Ladybug Creations who creates the most gorgeous whimsical designs. She is not only creative but extremely generous because, each month, she offers one of her designs FREE for download. I have purchased several of her CDs over the years too. That cute little puppy on the skate is one of her designs.

I also added an extra touch to my daughter's Feng Shui clock but still waiting on the clock hands. I'll try to post a pic later today.

Must dash for now as I need to get my son organised for school ~

Friday, 20 April 2007

Word by Mouth....or perhaps email ~

I was reading one of my blog subscriptions today - Case-Notes from the Artsy Asylum - and I found a link to an artist offering a free notecard by mail in return for you emailing the link to a friend....like a 'word by mouth' kinda thing. You might want to check it out for yourself at The Painting Activist. Her artwork is rich and colourful...well worth a look-see. I browsed Ashley's blog archives while I was there and found it very interesting as she touches on many topics I hold close to my heart. Needless to say, I subscribed to her blog too.

One Day Blog Silence......not me!

To honour the victims of the Virginia Tech. shooting, the Blogosphere is trying to organise a day of silence on April 30th. After reading different opinions at the following links, I am leaning on the side of NOT being silent. The quote, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" by Edmund Burke, has always tugged at my sense of what is right and I'd rather act than be silent. You may find the following links of interest in making your own choice for the day - This weblog will not be silent, One Day Blog Silence and Venomous Kate's take on it. Note - You will also find some interesting comments at the bottom of their posts too.

Monday, 16 April 2007

Rear-ended!!!!!

Yesterday my daughter, Michelle, came over for an art lesson and we decided to take a run to Spotlight as she also wants me to sew her a skirt and needed to buy fabric. Well, there I was behind the wheel of my car, Tilly, waiting for a break in traffic on a busy road so that I could pull out of the side street safely when......BANG!......the car behind rear-ended me!!! Why don't people pay attention???!!! We both pulled our cars off the road to inspect the damage and, before I got out of my car, I took some deep breaths and calmed the inner part of me who was desperate to jump out of the car and scream abuse at the woman. After all, why should I have been the one to look like a ranting, raving lunatic when it was she who was clearly in the wrong? Surprisingly, there was no damage to either vehicle. I accepted her apology and we mutually agreed no harm was done and went on our merry way. She certainly did strike my daughter and I as being a little on the strange side though and we are still baffled by her words, "It's just one of those woman accidents". What the heck is THAT suppose to mean?! Isn't that an insult to women drivers everywhere??? What, men are never involved in rear-end accidents?

I'll leave you today with a couple more sketches from my sketchbook.


A life drawing of my childhood doll - © Serena Lewis


A life drawing of a porcelain figurine - © Serena Lewis

Saturday, 14 April 2007

From my sketchbook to you...

It's been a very busy week for me with my son on school holidays and trying to work on commissions so I really don't have much to show you. However, I've decided to post some drawings from my sketchbook. Even though I've been painting for over fourteen years, I'd never kept a sketchbook but, in 2002, I borrowed a book from the library titled - Drawing on the Right Side of your Brain by Betty Edwards - and I was so impressed. When the new, updated edition came out by the same author, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I just had to have it! If you're interested in reading an explanation and trying a drawing exercise for yourself, visit Betty Edward's web-site. Another fabulous book that is like a bible to me is The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Her book is more about developing your creativity, not actually teaching you to draw, and I have found it invaluable. It's set out as a twelve week course in which you are given weekly exercises to complete. I have read this book numerous times and highly recommend it especially if you are in the midst of the dreaded artist's block.


Border Collie puppy (charcoal pencil) - © Serena Lewis


Rose Study (drawn from life - charcoal pencil) - © Serena Lewis


My son sleeping (drawn from life) - © Serena Lewis


My daughter's hands - © Serena Lewis


Buddha (drawn from life) - © Serena Lewis

Sunday, 8 April 2007

A safe and happy Easter to all ~

I've had a very busy week so haven't had much time to paint unfortunately but I do have a few projects in progress. I have another art card gessoed and ready to go on my painting table. Michelle's Feng Shui clock has been put on hold until I track down the right clock hands for it. I also started painting a baby birth plaque for my niece's friend. It's been a long time since I have painted one of those but it's fun putting the different elements together.

I have noticed a huge trend in sketchbook journals of late and I really like the idea. So, being that I'm self-taught, I decided to brush up on my drawing skills. I visited the local library and chose some drawing books which I would highly recommend - So You Thought You Couldn't Draw by Sandra McFall Angelo and Drawing Problems and Solutions by Trudy Friend My practise drawing is from the Sandra McFall Angelo book. This one was done using a grid and is close to art card size. I made a start on drawing the same elephant without a grid but was distracted by that thing called 'life' so maybe you will see that in a later post.

Practise drawing of elephant


I hope you are all enjoying the Easter break.