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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Attitude of Gratitude



Dear Fellow Artists and Friends,
We are entering the holiday season. Commercials bombard us with images of the perfect family (healthy and happy). These images can misdirect our hearts and minds and leave us with feelings of sorrow. We are not in a perfect world and no family is left untouched by sorrow, grief, pain, illness… I am no different.
This last year has been filled with its “Highs & Lows”. I am blessed with an art career that is successful (teaching, shows, publications…), a new granddaughter, a new kitchen, wonderful friends, a loving husband and family. I also have had my lows. My son Daniel was diagnosed with Hodkin’s Lymphoma, my Dad and Step-Dad both had cancer this year, my tiny grandson was hospitalized, and I am still struggling with a disc problem in my neck. I can be thankful that Daniel has a good chance of beating cancer, both my Dads are in remission, and grandson has recovered.

Before we get lost in the busy-ness of the season I want to share a quote with you. It is hanging in my studio. It is a wonderful reminder that there is very little in life we have any control over except our attitude. I choose to have an Attitude of Gratitude...and pray!

ATTITUDE   
by, Charles Swindoll
 “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.” 

Happy Thanksgiving!
Brenda

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Pomegranate Collage Demonstration


I love the feeling of being in the middle of a painting and things are spread out all around my studio...I am in my element! The business of being creative gets messy sometimes. I like creative chaos. I just finished a stained paper collage. I thought it would be fun to share the collage process in its stages.

I stain/paint a lot of papers with watercolor. This takes time so I usually set aside a day to do this. I stain the paper with primary, secondary colors and neutrals. I line the floor with paper towels. I lay the painted papers on the floor to dry. 

The Japanese papers are commonly known as Mulberry, Unryu, Washi Paper. Do I have a favorite paper...no. Do I have resource... no. I just buy papers when I find something that interests me. Some papers are transparent and others opaque.  I suggest you do a word search for the papers I listed above and see where you can purchase some.

I draw the image on a 300lb piece of watercolor paper. I begin by blocking in the image with the stained papers. I use acrylic matte medium to adhere the papers to the watercolor paper. In the beginning the images looks rough but it is only the early stage
I have covered about half the watercolor paper with pieces of stained papers. I block in the large shapes first and tear the stained papers to get desired shapes. When I come up against small shape I’ll lay the Japanese paper on top of my drawing and use a wet brush to draw an outline. The paper will tear in a more controlled manner along the wet line. The collage paper should overlap the edges of other papers. The entire surface of the watercolor paper needs to be covered with collage.

Before I begin painting I need to unify the surface of the collage. I use a 50/50 mixture of matte medium and water. I painted the mixture over the entire collage and allowed to air dry before I begin painting.

The technique of painting on a surface that is covered with acrylic matte medium is very different than a traditional watercolor. The surface does not have the same absorbency as watercolor paper. The amount of water mixed with the paint and on the brush is decreased. All professional grade watercolors work for this technique.

I use the technique of negative painting to suggest more leaf shapes in the background. If you are unfamiliar with negative painting use the "Search" bar to the right to read past posts on the technique

In the final stage I added additional collage leaves on the lowest pomegranate, cast shadows.

© Copyright, Brenda Swenson retains copyrights to all artwork. All images on this site are property of Brenda Swenson and may not be used in any way for commercial, financial or personal without prior written consent. All Rights Reserved for republication (printed, digital or painted) and anything but personal viewing of artworks on this site.  

Friday, November 2, 2012

Daniel



Thank you for all the emails, prayers and good wishes. Here is the up-date on my son, Daniel.

Daniel and his great sense of humor!
October 11th, Bone Marrow Biopsy
October 16th, PET/CT Scan
October 18th, Test Results  
The lymphoma has not moved past the diaphragm or into the bone marrow. This is great news because it means the cancer has not gone into his organs or bones! Praise the Lord!

At out-patient they inserted a PICC line. This is like a permanent IV so that he doesn't have to get stuck for every treatment. The PICC line starts on the inside of his right upper arm and travels all the way up the arm, across the chest, and ends right above the heart. This way, when the chemo drugs are delivered they are right next to the heart that can immediately pump them throughout his system. The PICC line also protects from multiple veins collapsing through new IV inserts or blood draws. They can actually draw blood through his PICC line as well. The procedure took about an hour. Daniel will need chemo therapy every 2 weeks for 6 months.

October 23rd, Chemo Begins
He was at the doctors for 6 hours. When he got home he was exhausted. He had something to eat and mostly slept. The next morning his efforts to go to school were well-intentioned but he was just too fatigued to make it out the door. He crawled back in bed and slept until 11. He basically felt cruddy for 4 days. He slept a lot, said food tasted slightly metallic, had a difficult time focusing.

Daniel, Heidi Joshua and Nevaeh
October 28th, Feeling better!
Today Daniel and Heidi brought their daughter Nevaeh before the congregation. She was dedicated, and will be baptized when she is old enough to make a conscious decision of what it means to be a Christian.

Heidi is a wonderful daughter–in-love! I love her beyond words and I am so thankful for the bond we share. She is the perfect mate for Daniel and an amazing mommy to two tiny children. Joshua is 17 months, and Nevaeh is 4 months old.

The family has many prayer concerns and I am passing along their list.

1) Complete healing with little to no side effects along the way.
2) Daniel is attending Cal Poly to be a Mechanical Engineer. Energy to finish school work and wisdom to know when to put the books down.
3) No sickness (it's very easy to catch the flu with no immune system).
4) Patience with our babies.
5) Taking our stress to the Lord and not out on each other.
6) Critical illness insurance approval (they have received all documents and approval is pending).
7) Acceptance into cancer financial assistance programs (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and The Beckstrand Cancer Foundation).
8) Wisdom in navigating the insurance claims and bills.

All of you who have been so faithful to pray for us, the Lord is listening and honoring your prayers. Thank you!

Please know I haven’t departed from my art related posts. I have something special to share and I will have it posted in a couple days.

Brenda