I Found Heaven...

when I made my way down to the beach at Perdido Key, Florida for the first time in my life! (can you believe that?!?) I went on a trip with six of the most precious women in the world and can't fathom why I haven't gone before the age of 41! They took great care of me as I was somewhat scared of the water (actually the critters in it, not the water itself!) and helped me have a very memorable time...we ate and ate...drank and drank...laughed and I cried...read books, played in the water and just hung out and talked for hours. I was up every morning before sunrise of course, because I was not going to miss a minute of the beautiful view from our condo on the 9th floor overlooking the beach. We only put on makeup one night which was fantastic and I also realized I had packed too many clothes...I will remember that next year!

Four of the six girls have been going for years and this time they invited myself and another friend of ours to join them...we all have such different personalities, but share a love for each other that when I think about it, it totally amazes me...friends are like family, really, and I deeply care about the people I share my time with. Winston Churchhill once said, "What we get is how we make a living; what we give is how we make a life." I've received nothing but the best from the people around me and I can truly say that I have a life is that is truly blessed and I'm grateful for it. As I was standing out staring at the ocean, thinking of these fantastic friends of mine, the beauty of what I was seeing and the husband I missed immensely, I thought of the following:

The calm and serenity of the ocean,
The beautiful friends surrounding me,

My warm thoughts of you,

Make me weep with joy.

I did cry when I had to leave...not that I don't love my home...I just found something else to love as well...thanks again to Leah, Robin, Steph, Janice, Shelly and Michelle...I will never forget our time on our private terrace...

A Follow Up...

on a previous post...the Circles of Life painting that I did for The Robert Elliott Foundation auction went for $625! I was totally tickled and it thrills me that it will help in some small way...

From a Canvas to...

everyday usable products! It is actually so cool to have something you love to do such as painting, but then to be able to have them added to products to sell without further work and no overhead is awesome...I've received so many wonderful comments on the Circles of Life painting that I did for an upcoming charity auction (see previous post) and several hoping they win the bid! It just makes you feel good...I told them that if for some reason they didn't get it, that there would be prints, etc. available with the design on it...not the same I know, but there can only be one original! These products are all available at my Cafe Press store as well as Zazzle. The tile coasters are my favorite...Zazzle has the most fabulous greeting cards and you can really find anything you need at either place! I'm going to try and work on some Christmas items when I get back from a much needed girl vacation next week! Off to work...I am revisiting some older paintings today...

I Had A Wild Hair...

one day, needing a reading light by the couch. I had this cruddy old paper lampshade on a black rod iron base, but it just wasn't doing it for me! I decided I would just redo it.....I added fabric and paint and voila! Rick and my mother both had a fit over it. He loved the colors and mom thought it looked like stained glass lit up. It did turn out pretty cool...I'm on a mission for old shades - to make them new, modern, cool and definitely usable, where they weren't before! I am also doing fabric art and photography greeting cards...just what I needed - something else to do! More on that later...

A Sad Day For My Friends...

The following story is from my best friend Carrie who's beloved family pet and our friend, Dooley, passed away yesterday. She wrote this to let everyone know and it's so sweet whether you love animals or you don't. I've read it twice and am a blubbering idiot...pets are family too...just wanted to share it with you...the upper pic is of Gretchen and Dooley, next comes Webb and my precious Trixie who thinks she's a big dog and then sweet Dooley...

Searcy, Arkansas - Dooley Stewart, 14, passed from this earth on September 10, 2008 after a long battle with Arthritis. Dooley was born in Searcy, Arkansas. Dooley was loved by many and had a wonderful life with the Stewart family, Ms. Cloe, Gretchen and Webb. Dooley was given to the Stewarts in 1998. His previous owners had to get rid of him because he killed their pet pig. Ted brought Dooley home and he became the hit of the neighborhood. He had trouble staying around the house so we took him to the Humane Society in Searcy to pick out a friend. Dooley chose his beloved friend Gretchen. Dooley lived a happy life with Gretchen but never had any puppies of his own. Webb came along in May of 2007 and Dooley slowly warmed up to him.
Dooley is survived by his companion of 10 years, Gretchen, son Webb, Owners Teddy, Carrie, Ashton, Samantha and Lynda Cloe.
Dooley will be cremated and services will be held when the ashes are retrieved.
Memorials may be made to the Searcy Humane Society.
Arrangements are by Searcy Animal Clinic.

For a Great Cause...

I sat down and tried to come up with something happy, yet thought provoking....the cause is dear to some of my best friends in the world, The Robert Elliott Foundation, whose purpose is to help those suffering from depression. I've talked about it before in a previous post, but this is the first time I've been asked to paint something for them and I was honored to do so. It's entitled "Circles of Life" and is an acrylic done on stretched canvas that measures 24"x24". The circles deal with all of the happiness, sadness and everything in between that we deal with in this one shot at life. I think we sometimes run around in these circles and don't know how to stop, but then there are the fabulous moments where we don't want to at all. I hope it brings some money to the foundation...the auction is on the 23rd of this month...I am always nervous about these things! I'll be sure to let you all know...

And a Set of Three...

trees...8x8 acrylic paintings on stretched canvas. I did these 3 after a visit to ArtSpace in River Market and they are entitled White Forest #1-3...when I paint I tend to just keep going! With that being said, I was discussing with a dear friend and fellow artist the other day about what it takes to do an art show and the amount of pieces needed. I've read various different opinions on this and I was thinking around 40-50 when she said 125! I thought, jeez, I'd have to take off work a year to do that and we know that's not going to happen! I did come to the realization though, that in order to have a great show and for people to come to know your work is to be consistent in your paintings...I am the total opposite of that so it's going to require some deep thought on the subject. I do hope you like these pieces...I've had great comments on them so far and will have them on kellyvanhook.etsy.com within the next week...until then, off to varnish...P.S. Excuse the blurry picture!! For some reason I didn't catch it, but will be taking new ones!

Inspiration Found in Eureka...

led me home to paint with lots of color and texture! I just wanted to share these five abstract acrylic paintings that I did immediately upon our return. As I stated in the previous post, the architecture, palette and surroundings of Eureka were breathtaking and we were totally impressed by the preservation and beauty of a small piece of heaven found in our state. The paintings are aptly titled Colors of Eureka 1-5, one has sold and the others are available at kellyvanhook.etsy.com! I hope you enjoy looking...