[i] LoveLife

Then paint.

I am excited to start this day. I have a painting on the go that snuck up on me yesterday. It was not part of my plan, but when the rush began - it was like the others; fast! Grab canvas. Pray there is paint. Grab brushes. Set the easel. Queue music.

Then paint.

I don't know what that feeling is called - the rush to move, but it is very much like a passing train and you race like heck to jump on or it leaves you.

*

I am excited to see where today takes me. I was beyond disappointed last night when the pain in my hands was more than I could bear. After the storm cleared and the air smelled fresh and sorry - the wind howled in and out of my studio. I wanted to paint. So badly. The train was passing me. And it was a cocktail of anger and anguish to turn off the studio lights and go downstairs to sit quietly with icepacks.

Next train.

Today: paint. I'll be posting progress on my Instagram feed (@kalbarteski). I'm wishing for a fabulous train. ;)

GO!

B-sides + oddities.

Random greatness: Things still aren't really making sense health-wise and that fact makes everything else crystal clear. The passion. The love. The painting. The choices. The fact that where I am - is exactly where I need to be. And that painting is the life for me. And that life is very, very good if you look for the best parts.

Hey. Follow me on Instagram for peeks at the new paintings. (@kalbarteski.com)

Today: more appointments and more painting. I am hopeful. (It's Monday!!) Coffee, please.

GO!

Happy Mother's Day.

To the moms.
To his mom.
To my mom.

Much love + understanding.

Small beauties.

I have small goals today.

Get going early. Be focussed. Find your groove. Keep moving. Don't sweat it. Be grateful. Make magic. Find the joy.

That's all... Just a bunch of small attainable bites in hopes of creating the perfect storm of a day. The kinds that leaves you exausted + happy. With lots of pretty canvasses to look at. Yeah, that one.

Today: little chewable bites of awesome - and by that I mean paint.

GO!

Character flaws + colours.

Painting is, to me, a little bit like I imagine flying to be. Updrafts and down swoops. You have to jump in and believe in yourself. And trust the process. It doesn't always look right off the hop. But you look past it. You push through. You soldier on. Because you know where you're trying to go. I used to feel uncomfortable in paint because, let's face it, paint is harder to control.

It's not so much that I've gotten better at the technicalities of painting... just a heck of a lot better at embracing the discomfort of having everything completely under control.

It's a character flaw more than a technical skill.

Today: I paint.

GO!

On wood.

I did this painting last weekend and it's called Orchidée. It was an experiment on a raw board canvas. The size is a cozy 10 x 20 inches and 1.5 inches thick. I feel like I could write a long winding story about what this one represents to me...

But she can speak for herself...

*

Today: is a girl tribe day + I love those. I'm hoping for sunshine. I'm hoping for happy ladies.

GO!

iPhone cases (+ all that jazz).

HURRAY! Here are the iPhone 4 + 4S cases! These cases are available through UNCOMMON. They are ONLY available to the very special folks I (and you!) share the link with. So spread the word!

NOTE: These are hard plastic capsule cases and I can vouch for their awesomeness because I've used them. And I love them. The quality is top notch. They have one drawback and that's DOCKING. If you want to dock your phone in your stereo - you might have to slide off the bottom piece of the case. Not a big deal.

PS: UNCOMMON doesn't have a way for me to display the cases in a nice easy "store" manner. So this is as good as it gets. Their site is easy, fast and all production + shipping is done by UNCOMMON. I will never even know if a case gets ordered (but I would love it if you sent me a photo of you and your new case!!). They do it all. I don't earn any money from these sales. Not a penny. I just appeciate protecting your phone and looking good at the same time (AND I have an entire folder full of emails about asking for cases).

TO PURCHASE AN iPhone CASE: click on the links below. You will be taken to UNCOMMON's site and you'll get to see a bigger, shinier version of the case to help you decide.

CASE 01 - BOKEH NO.05

CASE 02 - LOVE

CASE 03 - EVEN AFTER ALL...

CASE 04 - BE FIERCE

CASE 05 - EXHALE

CASE 06 - MAKE LOVE...

CASE 07 - SCRIPTS

CASE 08 - THE MOMENT

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How's that for a Monday!?

Just in case.

If you have ever wanted a good looking way to protect your iPhone - I CAN HELP YOU! Finally. Oh, I know there are a million places to do custom iPhone cases, but now UNCOMMON makes it easy for me to offer specific designs. I am not affiliated with UNCOMMON in any way and UNCOMMON not be sending me a dime of your sale. In fact, I think their customer service is borderline bad, but I have had really great luck with the quality of their cases. My girl tribe has been dropping my iPhone like it's hot for 3 years and counting.

So mama needs a well protected iPhone. (and maybe an iPod, too.)

Watch for a post today.

Today: this week and every week hereafter is about painting. I got in to see a specialist last week for my hands and it looks very bad. I was a little bit devastated to hear words like Rheumatoid Arthritis and joint degeneration. I was certifiably heartbroken to hold prescriptions for drugs that will kill my liver and make a mockery of my efforts to rid myself and my small people of chemicals. I will be getting more opinions, don't worry. I don't want to talk about it anymore. It is what it is. I'm going to paint.

"Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, "so what". That's one of my favorite things to say. So what.'" (Warhol)

I love you, crazy-weird Andy Warhol. GO!

This is me.

Happy weekending.

To those who _________;

Fill in the blank on that one. How does it work for you? Good things come to those who _______________ : WAIT. BEG. PAINT. PERSEVERE. CRY. PRAY. LOVE. DENY. SCREAM. SQUEAK. I have been doing all of those things lately because I am in need of good things. AND AS I SAY THAT - I totally know that these painful hands have helped me make decisions, helped me pare down my obligations, helped me focus on what fills me.

So, in essence - good has been coming all along.

(JARS: I like things in clear jars. It might not win a design award, but being able to quickly find things is a pretty fantastic feat in my studio.)

Today: The girls and I are hanging out + laying low. There's a bug going round.

GO!