We have a new member of our furry family here at the farm! Last Saturday we picked up the cutest little fluffball and welcomed her into our home. “Devon” was rescued by the Lucy MacKenzie Humane Society. I first laid eyes on her at their Spring Fling Fundraising Dinner in March. I knew then that Rollie would soon have a little sister.
There have been a lot of changes happening around here, and this one just seemed to fit right in. I am trying really hard to let myself pay attention to what really makes me happy. Rollie, my wonderful studio companion, is turning 10 this year and we were feeling like he was getting bored with life. I could recognize that because it’s how I was feeling last fall. My work had become predictable and often it was only challenging due to the sheer volume of it. So I decided to end the Canvasworks Supplies business, create a new website to reflect my best and most interesting (to me, at least) works and make a promise to myself to limit the work I do to the pieces that I find intriguing and that will encourage my growth as an artist.
As I lay on the couch at 4 in the morning last Sunday with this new puppy snuggling into my chest, trying to settle in, I felt this wave of, “Yes. I am moving in the right direction.” And Rollie? He has become the best big brother ever. He is teaching Devon to be as quiet, calm and happy as he is, while allowing all-out romp time between naps and walks! It’s wonderful to see him play with her. I think we’ve saved him from Old Dog Syndrome, at least for now.
And me? I am doing crazy things like letting myself take a whole day once a week to work on anything I want! This week I started two 3′ X 6′ murals of fox hunting scenes which will go to Kentucky at the end of the month to be displayed in a friend’s tailgate picnic tent at the Rolex Three Day Event. I LOVE painting these scenes. The colors, the historic feel, the horses and hounds all pop out and beg me to paint them. I’m not sure what I will do with the paintings after the picnic is over, but that doesn’t matter. I’m just letting myself paint them because I want to and because I want to share them and because they’re in me and they want out.
Let your inner puppy out to play!
