[i] LoveLife

BE YOURSELF- new print.

Hello last day of January! I finally got one of my new prints into my ARTshop! Yay! I like it. It's available as an 8x10 and a hulking 20x24 - and there is potential that it might show up somewhere the second week in February as a wrapped canvas (but that is not confirmed and you did not hear it from me).

This one was a special piece that I am happy I got the push to create. Thanks Naomi.

Next ARTshop print release: get your very own print of Elise's custom penguin illustration. (Which by the way is much nicer than in that instagram photo!)

Love is in the air: I have a couple of new prints to finish up - they are so sweet I'm taking my time.

Today: I have a date with some Pilates and then hopefully my motivation will magically snap back to its regular size and shape. It's been feeling small.

GO!

Art and the artist.

This is my new piece of art. PAINTED BY A POLAR BEAR. AWESOME, right?! I'm super smitten and as soon as I find the perfect frame - I will share a couple more photos of this masterpiece and what it means to me. And what it's done to my internal wiring. In the mean time - I'm buried under some script work I can talk about and some that I can't. It's not a bad place to be. Coffee in hand.

Today: more scripting. More scanning. I hope to get a couple of new prints into the ARTshop, too. Not bad for a Wednesday where the wind is picking up and the temperature is dropping again. Stay warm!

GO!

 

Magical Winter.

This is one of my MOST favourite parts of the year. It's the middle of winter and one part of why I love winter so much is picture in the photo above (Taken by the amazing Tamara!). This is a river. But, right around February it's good and frozen and it becomes a park. A park with skating trails and walking paths and warming huts. And yesterday, after a long spell of really cold days (some -40 with the windchill), it became a CELEBRATION. At the sight of a balmy (-8) day it felt like the WHOLE CITY leapt out from under their cozy blankets to play in the snow. People were laughing. People were saying hello to each other. There were fires built to warm your hands and a group of nice hearts were pouring hot and delicious tea for all (FOR FREE!). It was sunny and bright without a biting wind or a blowing flake.

If it sounds magical - it's because it is.

The magic of the rivertrail doesn't last long. In month or so it will be gone. The ice will be starting to change... Between now and that looming deadline - it just might be too cold to enjoy this magical place again. Sometimes, the river doesn't freeze flatly and no riverwalk can be cleared. Sometimes it's just too cold to be out with small people and pets.

But, when it happens - it's awesome.

"Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation." Kin Hubbard

I saw that quote on Facebook yesterday and it made me smile. Wedefinitely talk a lot about the weather around here. Maybe because we have nothing else to talk about... maybe because it makes it seem like we're not alone.

Today: I'm taking the Girl Tribe for checkups and donuts. And offering a new print in the shop later on. (And I just might sneak away for a peaceful walk of my own on the river before it is gone.

GO!

Happy to be 2.

Hello Poet,

You've made the last two years full + round. You are amazing. You're SUPER funny. You're good-natured. You are loved. You are the sweetest little third-born there is. AND I AM SO HAPPY WE HAD YOU. That we have you here. My heart is full and our home is loud and chaotic, but your light shines. You are loud like your biggest sister and kind like your other sister. You are fiercely independent and just can't wait to catch up to the others. You cuddle. You snuggle. You sing and you play quietly by yourself, too. You love us and my baby we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you.

You own the phrase - "I do it!" And, little one, YOU DO IT. You can dress yourself and use the potty and you are in no way a baby anymore...

But, oh Love you will always be my baby.

Love you,

Mama

Today: celebrations and party preparations! When I asked her what she wanted on her birthday cake - she said "CAKE". So let her have cake! Happy second birthday, Poet!

GO!

Beginning, middle + end.

 

Just a little reminder. WHY? Because I am working on a project (the polar bear art show) that has potential to do really spectacularly, amazing things. I feel that in my heart. It's already introduced me to some of the most amazingly interesting people (AND BEARS!!). The challenge is navigating some of the strange politics that come with world's most awesome predator. If that sounds really crazy - it's because IT REALLY, TRULY IS. A bunch of grown people with a fondness for bears... and a thousand differing opinions of who, when and how help them. REGARDLESS of that mumbo - I posted this little graphic to remind myself to follow my heart - TO THE END OF IT. I think that could mean so many awesome things... to the end of the adventure, until it's not a good idea anymore, all your entire life, until winds change, until your heart slows.

I am not a politcal person. I'm just an artist who loves polar bears and believes they deserve to be celebrated. I cannot wait to do that. With style + pride. I want to inspire + learn. My dream is to bring together a celebration of people who would like to do that, too.

Are you with me?

Today: I am getting my fingers dirty. If you follow me on Instagram (@kalbarteski) you will see the different types of projects I was working on this week... from lines (a special penguin family for Elise and Paul's eagerly anticipated little girl!) to paint sketches and a little kitchen makeover. Good times around here. Good times. New prints in my ARTshop next week. Woot!

GO!

Kitchen Swiss!

 

No one has ever accused me of being a chicken! My new kitchen paint scheme is a little ballsy. Swiss. Dramatic. Awesome!! It reminds me of the northern lights and Ursa Major. It's out there. But I really like it. OH, It's not for everyone - I get that. But MAN is it making me happy. It's me. I'm in the process of painting the colour out of our house... Why? Because I have lots of colourful paintings and I'm tired of hiding them because they don't "go" with the paint colours. It's bright, clean and fabulous in here now and THE ART LOVES IT.

So I thought I'd make more. Right this instant.

Today: LOVE. It's COLD. As in feels like -40. After Pilot and I take a walk to school I'm going to be chugalugging tea with my polar bear sweater on. It's time to talk bears. Who doesn't love talking bears? great day ahead. Love, love, love, love, love, love!

GO!

Stripes + songs

I have been playing a little bit of hooky from my studio to take advantage of a surge of energy I've been feeling towards our house. And towards life. I started to tackle it in earnest last year but the pain in my hands left little room for anything. Its been bugging me for a year. BUT now, I am full steam ahead and finding great happiness in the bright, white changes. And the simple idea that we live here NOW and i want to LOVE every bit of this moment. It's mostly just paint + pictures until we are ready to put in our patio doors... BUT WHAT A DIFFERENCE. It looks different and it feels SO GREAT to see this house become a space that is not only functional and beautiful, but inspiring, too. (And also much more of a showcase for art work.)

With the exception of everything but a special package I ordered - the main floor should be in top form by February. Dan is has tackled the basement and it's definitely a game-changer to be able to use that space for kids, toys and guests.

Today: I'm painting walls, stripes, stools and canvasses. I'm such a happy bird when there's a brush in my hand. Oh, and the coffee!

GO!

Basic black.

It's been slow.  Almost so slow that I didn't notice. Just like the turning of a tall ship... Ever. So. Slow. A quiet, peaceful, purposeful return to my core... basics.

There's a quote somewhere that says something like you know everything when you're young. And oh, did I ever. I also had a very strong sense of what I was good at and what I liked. And then you grow. And you age. And you learn that you really don't know what you think you knew. And that there's a whole world out there that becomes this massive soup of things to amble after and emulate...

I started my art career in black + white with a heavy emphasis on the things I love the most. I've been finding a sweet validation in the fact that I have, unknowingly, journeyed back: black + white and wildlife. It's just part of who I am.

I like that so much.

BLACK + WHITE: I'm heading back to basics around here. Black + white have always been the ideas I understood best. My go-to language. The stark + obvious contrast is my happy-place - whether it's script or lines or paint or walls.

Today: I'm hoping to tackle some painting. Canvas. Walls. There's an idea I have in my head and I'll be chasing it.

GO!

Polar bears + humour

This makes me laugh. And it's fascinating. I just love polar bears. They are so incredibly curious and amazing.

Today: my studio is organized and it's time to get painting. January is half over!

GO!

Ready. Set.

We are back from a short + sunny trip to Florida! It's a nice place, that happy + humid coast. It was the perfect getaway to start the new year with a little sand in between our toes and some dolphin on the horizon. And family. And good friends, too! We are counting our lucky stars as we snuggle back into our own beds and get ready to embrace routine.

Normally, I have a list of resolutions for the new year. I like declaring all kinds of things I will charge after, but I just don't feel like it this time. I will paint as much as I can and love to the best of my abilities. Other than that I don't resolve to do anything specific. Or daily. Or hashtagged. Oh, I'll still be exercising and sticking to my gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free life... But those aren't resolutions - those are survival tactics.

There are a million things I'd like to cross off my TO-DO lists, but staying healthy + happy and in a positive mindset trump everything else.

Today: I'm cleaning out my studio so I can think! It's a tradition for me to clean up and restock in January. I am hoping for smooth sailing and great heights in 2013. Lets do this.

GO!