Hey :)

Hey guys!

I really really REALLY am alive still! Very much so.

I've moved to Nashville and I work with toddlers just waiting for the day I am go to art school. I don't have internet and my job keeps me exhausted- but that's ok, because I am making money and getting established in a growing artsy area with lovely lovely roommates.

So things are good. I have pictures of some art projects, etc, to post, but I don't have my camera with me at the moment.

So working hard with no internet plus 2 months of bronchitis equals not much blog updating. But I just got a lovely little message/comment that encouraged me very very much, so I am telling you that I am well, and in a sense, much closer to any dreams of some kind of art career.

I am also learning Japanese when I can find the resources (limited internet makes that challenging as well.) No, seriously, I am serious about this.

Anyways, I DO think of and miss you guys and this blog and networking and all that. But wonderful things are happening in my life, and I am sure that it is going to lead somewhere in the end.

God bless you guys!

School for Sacred Art

I just got back from the Church Teaches Forum today (where I heard preach such persons as Cardinal Arinze and Cardinal Burke), and while I was there a seminarian friend of mine handed me some information on this sacred art program in Florence. I would LOVE to do a program like this someday! So much! Sigh.... maybe someday. Florence would be the perfect place. I was only there a short time last year, and I know I benefited from that much alone. I can't imagine what it would be like to actually study there.
   Hmmm... I just got back, and I am rather car sick, and so yeah, that's my excuse for not having a new drawing on here for you. But, speaking of Florence, how about I post the quick sketch I did in front of Michelangelo's David? I think that's a good idea- one of the highlights of Europe, and maybe my life.

There it is! I drew from a master just like the masters did themselves!
   I have to say, Michelangelo intimidates me- I hear he was intolerant of slacker artists.... and man, he practiced what he preached! I cannot even fathom how one artist can do so much in a life time, and they didn't live as long back then. Another reason is that he loved sculpture and did it well. He considered it a higher form of art than painting. Well, I have yet to tackle sculpture at all, and so the sound of it sounds big and unattainable. I do hope to tackle it someday. Maybe in Florence.... or Ireland.
    I also hear he destroyed his anatomy studies so no one would discover his secrets. I may be wrong about that, but that sounds like something he'd do.
     Quote time. Hmmm.....

If in my youth I had realized that the sustaining splendour of beauty of with which I was in love would one day flood back into my heart, there to ignite a flame that would torture me without end, how gladly would I have put out the light in my eyes. -Michelangelo

And....

‎"The liberating encounter with forgiveness can be experienced even by a wounded heart, thanks to the healing power of God, who is Love." - *Blessed*Pope John Paul II

April 28th, 2011: ttfn!

I'm off to Chicago in the morning... so no more drawings for the weekend. (I know, I have done so well keeping up with my blog the past few weeks) BUT, I will be going to the Chicago Art Institute! So I will be doing my artist's soul good! Maybe I'll even sketch something there... depending on how much time I have. Anyway, they have this painting there! I know, such a moving piece.....

And this..... pointillism!

And this! I like ziz one!

And this is a lovely one I've seen before... from the Waterhouse era I believe....

And this Bouguereau piece! I LOVE him, and while this isn't my favorite of his, I will take what I can get!

Ok, I had best get off and get packing!

April 19th, 2011: Passion Week

Well, this week is Passion Week... one of my favorite weeks of the year, if not my favorite of all. Out of all this week, I think that Thursday night and Good Friday are my favorite times. Side note: I was in Ireland last year during Holy Week. On Holy Thursday evening, I went for a walk by myself to an old broken down church and grave yard (it was the closest thing to going to church available... and besides, I was surrounded by celtic crosses <3 ), and for Good Friday we were in Killarney at the Franciscan Church... anyways, I love Holy Week and I love Ireland and the two remind me of each other, which is very bittersweet.

 So tonight I was wanting to get into the Holy Week spirit, and so I put in the Passion of the Christ soundtrack, and just drew in the time slot I had available. It's very rough- as usual. It reminds me of the Turin and Beleg picture I drew...  Anyways, I have a very special devotion to the Agony in the Garden, and I tend to want to sketch drawings like this a lot....

For some reason I am having the hardest time getting the scanner to come up with an accurate image. The face I drew looks so different in person... oh well. Oh computers... they will be the death of me. 

    I did a drawing of the Agony in the Garden last year when I was studying in Austria. I wanted to post that tonight, but I don't exactly know where it is at the moment... I will have to find it and post it later. 

    And once again, St. Therese has the quote of the day. I have been rereading Story of a Soul, as well as reading The Sadness of Christ by St. Thomas More for Lent. I will have to try to find some good quotes from the latter- it is an AMAZING book!

‎

"He wants me to love Him because He has forgiven me, not much, but everything. He did not wait for me to love Him with a great love... but made me see that He had loved me first, with an infinite providence, so that now I may love Him in return even unto folly" St. Therese