Occasionally, I dabble in the art world to challenge my creativity and hone my aesthetic skills. My sister’s always been the one with artistic talent in the family, and though I’ve filled a few sketchbooks and taken an oil painting class in college I never thought much of pursuing my own potential. After I quit smoking in December, I realized the best way to keep off the cigs at night was to keep my hands busy with something else. I chose a paintbrush. Here are some projects I’ve done in the past few months. Please note: most of these pictures were taken on my cell phone camera, so they’re a little low quality.

Noor’s Lunar Eclipse: I’ll be Seeing You

This was the first work I did, it was my return to the world of oil-on-canvas. I painted it for my boyfriend who was home in Saudi Arabia for the holiday season. He’s always had an affinity for the moon (his nickname is Noor which means ‘Light’ in arabic) , and missed the full lunar eclipse that happened over my south Florida. The day of the eclipse I was driving out of my neighborhood watching the sky turn into a seashell pink backdrop for the enormous heavenly body.  I was gently harrassed by the idea that the person who would appreciate the eclipse the most was on the other side of the world, not to mention seven hours ahead and incommunicado. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, my phone began to ring with a strange number. It was my dear boy calling to eagerly remind me to watch the eclipse for him. The idea to paint the eclipse itself hit me like a lightening bolt. Voila: a painted moon.

The title is taken from the song ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’, which ends with “I’ll find you in the morning sun/ And when the night is new,/ I’ll be looking at the moon/ But I’ll be seeing you.”

Leigh Rose Meditative

If any of you have recognized this as a take off of Salvador Dali’s Rose Meditative, you get +10 Life Points and level up. Dali is one of my favorite artists, though I had never previously dared to attempt anything like his work. I painted this as a gift for my friend and former roommate Leigh Rose, who is obsessed with the flower that bears her name and, as you may also ascertain, penguins.  I think it pulled together pretty nicely.

Stacey Love’s Awake

This was a gift for my roommate- artist, body painter, entrepreneur, dancer, spiritual explorer and all around beloved-tiny-hippie Stacey ‘Love’ Coon. My work is kindergarten stuff compared to hers, but I wanted to make her something anyway. I made an attempt to turn her into a yogi meditating on a lotus thinking pure thoughts. The frame to the left is the first ‘finished’ attempt, but after sitting there staring into the drying paint inspired by the turpentine fumes, I added the blue flames. They represent creative inspiration and her vibes of pure awesomeness. To see what I mean, check out her website here! She’s incredibly talented.

A Cake by a Bear for a Bear

Ok, so it’s not a painting. Wanna fight about it?

For those readers who don’t know me personally, I am a co-Bear. I have a best friend that I nicknamed Bear and  name stuck, mainly because Bear developed into a term of endearment between us. In short, if we’re walking down the street and you shouted ‘BEAR!’ we would both turn our head. This can get pretty confusing (as I’m sure you can imagine) but I digress.  My most Beloved Neon Electro-Bear turned 21 last January and I put myself in charge of making the cake. I stumbled upon a recipe for one of the loveliest things I’ve ever seen: a rainbow cake. The above picture is phase 1 of development. It was SO EASY! The recipe can be found here. I made the icing turquoise with the rest of the food coloring. Check out the sweet results!

Ciao for now!