Smile, and I Will Get By

The chill which is Portland Fall is officially upon us. I woke up crying this morning. All my joints felt as if they had been stretched beyond their limits, snapped back, and then twisted mercilessly. The chill was quick to set into my bones this year, quicker than any past. It is going to take a miracle to get me through another winter in Oregon.

I will definitely miss summer.

Oh, that magical season when my joints are nice and limber. Always in pain, but nice and limber in the summer, just the same.

This really isn’t that great of a picture of me, taken a few months ago, but I chose it to make a point. Once upon a time I was as flexible as a . . . well, maybe I will let your imagination run a bit. And I can still get into some awkward positions, even at my size and age. Now, bring your imagination back. I didn’t mean for it to go that far!

At any rate, I will miss summer.

Sometimes, no matter what we do, we just cannot get past the pain.

We cannot blink the tears away.

We cannot kiss all the boo boos bye bye.

We simply cannot wish away the pain, no matter how hard we try.

Sometimes, all we can do is distract ourselves, minute by minute, hopefully in healthy ways.

My art is my distraction. Along with the larger pieces I am working on, I have dabbled lately in some whimsy.

Whimsy is good for the soul, good for pain. So is laughing. Smiling. Hugging. Kissing. (Oops. Did I say that out loud?)

Can’t you just picture Charlie Chaplin as he sings about smiling through his pain? Hey, you don’t have to envision! Here’s a Youtube video for you to check out. It isn’t mine, but I thought you might enjoy it.

Smile, Charlie Chaplin

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it is breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by…

If you smile
With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You will find that life is still worthwhile
If you just…

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That is the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what is the use of crying
You will find that life is still worthwhile
If you just…

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it is breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by…

If you smile
Through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You will find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile…

That is the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what is the use of crying
You will find that life is still worthwhile

 

Blessings for a pain-free day, or at least one filled with laughter.

Love, Jenni Lynn

I’m Getting Better!

Hey, maybe drawing and painting is like riding a bike, after all. I am improving by leaps and bounds after years away from my artwork.

But I will let you be the judge. Check out me using an actual quill to draw an owl in pen and ink!

I needed to slow myself down, and if you struggle with your art, I challenge you to try pen and ink because it really makes you think about every stroke, unlike charcoal, where I, for one, make broad, sweeping strokes and erase and smudge a lot.

Enjoy!

Blue bird done in pen and ink and colored pencil.

This Virgin Mary I am working on as a commissioned piece. It is in soft pastels. I may start again, this time using paints instead.

This sailing ship was done in watercolors. The great thing about having a light box is that I can make one drawing, copy it, and do it several different ways, as below, which is done with colored pencils.

Thank you for viewing.

Creative Challenge

I occasionally stumble around the internet, browsing my various interests. Occasionally I find a great blog and stay awhile.

A few of the artistic bloggers mentioned that they had challenged themselves to 100 paintings in 100 days. I thought, “Ugh, I could never do that, not with my lack of discipline.” Plus there’s the fact that many days, I just don’t feel up to doing much at all because of my illness. Well, ugh be gone.

I have taken up just that challenge. I need to get my drawing and painting skills back up to par. Too many years have passed since I took my craft seriously.

Not everything comes back as easily as riding a bicycle, though, I wish it did.

I took up the challenge about a week ago, and I have actually painted or drawn at least two a day, but I will only share the best ones. Some are just awful, as with any artist as they hone their craft. Nobody’s perfect. These are just photos of my paintings, for now. I will scan in the best ones at a later date.

This is one of the first ones, which I will be putting on children’s products over at Cafepress in my store. More on all that excitement later.

This is another one from early in the week. I have decided that she will be redone as a mermaid.

“Dam!” This is another one that will end up on Cafepress, but I will probably redo it so that it is bolder.

“Sunset Sail”

“Cecelia in Hiding”

“Angel Mine”

Some of the colors are not showing up as well as I would like, but you get the idea about how I am doing in my challenge.

Technology, the boon and the bane of our existence. Go figure.

The mediums I chose for this past week were oil pastels and watercolors, often using both on the same painting.

Thank you for looking. I appreciate my readers, one and all.