Holiday WINNER!

I recently put out a 'contest' of sorts. The challenge was to name each song from the "barely awake but burning with life" post. apparently this was a difficult challenge!?? I'm only kidding..I know it was difficult, and was completely open to the use of google to help one along in the challenge. I may find you an odd being if you could name each song with out having to use google as a resource! That being said - I have a winner. Dr Phil Collins - a dear friend and a master in music and supporter/lover of the arts! I think this was fun and look forward to more opportunities to help spread the love and collection of arts.

I was fortunate enough to meet Phil a little over a year ago at a studio show that I had to honor of teaming with Rita Marie Ross and Daryl Colburn. Daryl recently passed away, and I speak for Phil and myself in saying we miss him dearly! What a kindred spirit (yes, that is a term I cherish from "Anne of Green Gables") he was and what a contribution he was to so many and their lives full of worth and purity in thought.

I am honored to have such friend in my life! I appreciate their contribution to this world and their support of beauty in the world of art. I look forward to this world of ours growing! Thank you for being a part of it! Stay tuned for more contributions!

xoxo ERIN

Sam Baker - Sweetly Undone (Fearless Radio)

This is a song from Sam Baker that I thought went well with KISSES IN THE GARDEN. Somewhat matches the delicate-complex simplicity of the piece.

KISSES IN THE GARDEN

There are so many things that have happened in the past few months that have been beautiful, heart breaking, exciting, painful, lovely, wonderful and unexpected. I wouldn't have it any other way, because I don't think you can have it any other way. It's what you do with those moments that make up your life when the lights go out at the end of each day. It is the color you see in those moments; the joy you allow in, the sorrow you allow in and what you create with that allowance. This piece surely came from all of those places - which is why I was not getting very far with a name. My favorite Dad came to town to go to a house concert at my great friend Phil's house. Somewhere in conversation with Phil and his wife Cecilia, Dad proclaims that he has named this piece. I guess my birthday present came early! He announced the name, and I didn't flinch. I saw it immediately. So the name stands. The evening went on with us being entertained by the lovely likes of Danny Schmidt, Carrie Elkin, Sam Baker, Drew Pressman, Raina Rose, Anthony Da Costa, and The Band of Heathens. What an amazing line up. Thank you Phil for a great night of music. Thank you Dad for the name. (both my own and the recent art).

19"x24"

SOLD (original)
Prints available

LEAF ON LEAF III

‎"Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul."- Edvard Munch

Another addition to my collection of leaves. A little softer and not as robust as the previous - perhaps influenced by the dry air and lack of rain in Texas as of late.

This will be part of Women & Their Work Gallery Red Dot Art Spree. Opening event is September 15th from 7pm-10pm. The exhibit will be open for viewing and sale until the 25th. Stop by and see this wonderful collection of artist and support the arts!

11"x14"

Barely awake, but burning with life

Here they are, those pieces of songs that for some reason stuck out and my hand wrote them down that fill my 'art wobee' my 'crank it blanket.' (And yes those terms are silly - I thought them up on the LONG drive home yesterday in traffic trying to keep my head light in the heat and congestion!)

*Cut a 6" valley through the middle of my soul*Time reaches to you, just like a willow*Anywhere I lay my head is home*I'd buy you a smile but would you wear it*I put some whiskey in my whiskey. I put some heartache in my heart*Your lips were where the first thought began*There's a lot of space in my heart*Jesus & Mary can you carry us, across this ocean, into the arms of forgiveness*Can I lay down my foolish pride and find my heart a home*Need grace to find what can't be found*How many nights can a soul so full of life remain untouched*Dreams are just prayers...with out the put on airs*Their hearts & their bones and they won't come undone*Second thoughts on why we let love slip away*Pulse racing like thunder as we surrender to it all*God only knows why its taken so long to let my doubts go*This tired mind just wants to be led home*Chances are I took the wrong turn every chance I had a turn to take*IT'S MY FAVORITE TIME OF DAY, BARELY AWAKE, BUT BURNING WITH LIFE*He wore his passion for a woman like a thorny crown*I hope that I find what I'm reaching for...the way it is in my mind*I wan't wrong to long for his beauty*Give me these moments*I think I might have inhaled you*Searching for an encounter*Hidings such a lonely thing to do*Gold is another work for culture*Filling the darkness, with order and light, you are the sentinels. Silent and sure, keeping watch in the night*Old habits die hard when you have a sentimental heart*70 years old and still just a crazy kid with a dream*In our soul, you poked a million holes, but you never let them show*Darkness upon me that's flooded with light. I'm frightened by those who don't see it*I wanted love, but not for myself, but for the girl so she could love herself*Nothing so peaceful as when I met you*Busy counting bullet holes in state line signs, I led a life of lonely drifting trying to rise above the buzzards in my mind*Trying to find the bones of this mascarade* The space you share with the roommate in your head*And now the heart is filled with gold, as if it were a purse*BE THE BOREDOM OR THE BLISS...BE A MAN ABOUT THIS*Lend me you hand and we'll conquer them all, but lend my your heart and I'll just let you fall, lend me your eyes and I'll change what you see BUT YOUR SOUL YOU MUST KEEP TOTALLY FREE*I miss your face like hell*Take these demons from my head, I can't get caught in thought again*You've got your book on Africa, I've got Twain.

That's a wrap folks. As I looked at these words collectively, I think my attraction to them is the way these song writers pieced them together - and to me - happy-empty-painful-sad-joyful, whatever the expression - I got it. I felt it. Job well done song writers! And thank you for sharing those moments with all of us.

The space...in my head and in my home.

"Crank it blanket"

"Creation Station"

I've had many of you ask where my studio is, where it is I work. Well - ta dah. I was cleaning up my work area tonight after finishing up a piece. As I cleaned up the eraser dust, the pens, the ink, the brushes I saw in it's entirety - my art wobee (for lack of better description). I bought a large piece of thick paper years ago with the intention of one day drawing on it, then it accidentally got drawn on and immediately became the buffer between my work and my beloved table. When I first started this drawing adventure of mine, I sat where you sit in a house - the table. This table has a history. Me and my entire family spent many meals around this table, said a million prayers, cried a few tears, laughed a lot of laughs, fed a lot of scraps to our beloved dog Pepper, ate my Mom's homemade birthday cakes, did homework, paid bills, and the list goes on. It's beautiful wood has dings, creaks, and stains to show for it all. So back to the art wobee - due to the many dings and the normal nature of wood - it's not the smoothest of surfaces so my wobee helps to smooth it all out. Through the years, I have jotted down phrases of certain songs, since I'm always listening to music while drawing. Being somewhat sentimental, I collected all the phrases. I find them interesting and just wanted to share - because these words that at one point in time, stuck out in my mind, steered the lines on the page. Created the emotion behind the lines. And here they are. Are you ready? ...next post.

Love where this is going...

I sat down Friday night with a refreshed playlist powered by Lissie ("Everywhere I Go" - video below, is a killer version in which Ellie Goulding joins her) I wasn't sure what I was wanting to draw - but I haven't sat down at the drawing board in a while. I am about three months into my new job - after leaving my job of 7 years. It was a difficult change to make, but a necessary one, and as it turns out - the right change. Whew! So I get home from work on Friday night and look at the blank space in front of me - Lissie in the back ground and I dove into the lines. The color - pre-determined purples and red. I loved how the color combo turned out in RED OAK so I wanted to play with them some more. I think I like!
http://youtu.be/YpyyepDyaLs

LAURA U

Last week in Houston was the opening for my work being hung in @Laura U which is a fabulous full service Design Studio and retail boutique. My incredibly talented college friend, Kristina Wilson, pictured above with me (http://wonderswillnevercease.blogspot.com/) works there and we finally found a way to join forces! Stay tuned for new things we have up our creative sleeves - great things to come! We promise. The event was great and I met a lot of fun Houstonians and all in all, it was a fantastic experience. My work will be hung there for a couple of months, so if in Houston in the Westheimer area, stop in and take a look at their beautiful space and meet the great folk that work there! Check out more pictures from the event on my Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/jxx2NH

WEIRDO

Made specifically for the Keep Austin Weird Festival and 5k (6.25.11)

for this city (Austin) and for all the weirdos that LOVE all the city has to offer. Thank you WEIRDOS for your contribution!

ME, MYSELF, & I

I drew the original sketch of this on what you may call a not so good day - skewed perspective and such. The colors were originally black and blue and the only thing on the paper were the three forms. No energy. I loved it, but I knew something was missing. I was discussing this drawing with a friend one night and we got to talking about the awesomeness of who each person believes themselves to be, and the sadness in them not being able to truly believe in and show that person to the known and unknown people in their lives. Our color and vitality gets buried with fear and the unknown. This was me taking that day of perhaps doubt in myself and expressing a belief in who I know myself to be. Me, Myself, and I.

19"x24"
SOLD

RED OAK

I talked with Michael (fondly known as Big Mike to the community) for a while on what he wanted the drawing to represent. He had a drawing from his childhood of roots that spelt out the words RED OAK that he showed me. From that, I decided to complete the other side of those roots. A lot of our conversations were about strength and growth as a human being, becoming a better and stronger person, being a person of faith and whose life reflected just that. I wanted this drawing to represent the power in that kind of living.

19"x24"

Sold

SAVE THE MINDS

I had a friend approach me with an idea he had for a promotion for his foundation. The Flatwater Foundation, which was created to help provide people diagnosed with cancer along with their families and loved ones mental health therapy and family support. It resonated with me for many reasons; my Dad is an LPC and trains professional counselors and a cancer survivor, and I lost my Mom almost 14 years ago to cancer. The importance of a healthy mind amidst all of this plays a major role in the entire experience - for all! The opportunity to be a part of the Flatwater Foundations efforts was exciting for me.

LEAF ON LEAF II

I drew this second set of leaves right after the first set sold. The second time around was interesting because I felt as though I have never allowed myself to 'repeat' an idea. It opened a good amount of space in my head - allowing myself to simply add to what has already been created. As similar as they may be, they are different and they come from a different place. I started with three leaves to connect to the spiritual side of the person who requested the leaves. I'm so happy to know that someone finds inspiration and joy in lines I have created, enough to request this addition!

11"x14"
SOLD

SOUNDS OF A HEART

I was asked to do something to represent new motherhood. Something I have never experienced, but I've had a Mom, and so I took that and imagined the flip side. I fed off of that feeling of the sound of a heartbeat in the chest echoing in my ear - and this is what 'flashes' before my eyes within that sound.
Growth, cradling, well wishes, tears of joy and pain, hearts full of love and on and on. I had quite an experience creating this and thank you to my Mom friends that helped me do a little 'market research!'

14"x17"
SOLD

VIVID BLUE HAZE

A feeling of calm, crisp energy. A fire that doesn't burn but cools.

14"x17"
SOLD