G. Peine Toomalatai

Why Beauty Matters

2012-01-28T03:07:00.000-07:00

This video is very thought provoking in regards to beauty and why it matters. Just a warning there are some disturbing images in parts of the film. But overall he does a great job in asking Why Beauty Matters?

Here are some of the things that I wrote down from Roger Scruton:

"Through the pursuit of beauty we shape the world as a home. We also come to understand our own nature as spiritual beings. But our world has turned its back on beauty and because of that we find ourselves surrounded by ugliness and alienation. I want to pesuade you that beauty matters. That its not just a subjective thing, but an universal need of human beings. If we ignore this need, we find ourselves in a spiritual desert. I want to show you the path out of that desert. It is a path that leads to home."

"Remedy of chaos and suffering is BEAUTY!

"The beautiful work of art brings consolation in sorrow and affirmation in joy. It shows human life to be worthwhile."

I am on a Quest!

2012-01-28T02:56:00.000-07:00

I have had inspiration this week and some resolution to some questions that I have had for a very long time. It is so amazing when you finally receive resolution to a question that you have had for so long. You want to jump up and down and dance and sing and hug and smile. Can't say I have done all of these, but I am smiling inside with the knowledge that has come to me.

You may wonder what my question has been? It's about my work and why I paint? What is my purpose as an artist? Does it have a purpose?

I have always believed that there is purpose in everything we do. We come with talents and gifts and we have purpose with our lives. Yet why is it that we struggle to find that purpose? I am a mother that is a given, because I chose to have children. Yet how we mother would then be the question? My mother job is very important to me as is my art world, which really isn't separated at all. I mother along with painting because my children exist with my paintings. They do art around me while I am working or with other people teaching them. So art is around us all, as is our lives and it is what we make of these experiences that then become what we chose to make them. So as I think of my role as mother and I am mainly mother without the wife connected to it, although I still see myself as wife, just that my husband isn't visible anymore, except in dreams and oh I love it when he comes in my dreams. They are such tender memories. So I am a mother trying to make the most of my situation and to help my sons become great men. For the last soooo many years it seems that we just exist in so many ways and that is alright, but I can't live like this, I have to have deeper roots and deeper feelings about things.

So this week I received that spark that answered my question as to why art and why am I gifted in this area? I love nature and I love sunsets and sunrises and bursts of clouds. I love light and how so many colors come out of different times of day and the reflections and the intensity and all the wonderful creations. I love the palette of nature, whether it be the muted browns and umbers of winter or the brilliant colors of late summer and fall. Nature is the grandest of all in her display of so many BEAUTIFUL things and colors. This is what I have tried to paint for so long, but didn't see it in the way that I see it now. I was longing for our eternal home where light and life is in abundance. I found and find myself on a journey in search of this more and more. Spiritually and physically I am searching for greater knowledge and understanding of how we can be filled with more light and life and come to know this light and life. Beauty! My next post will talk more about this.

These are pictures from the week.

These are pictures taken by my young son. I like his perspective on our two dogs.

Lots of soggy ground.

Raspberry patch.

I'm looking for things that are beautiful. I like how the pinecones grow.

We were in the mist of a snowball fight as I was taking pictures. I kept avoiding them until.......

this one.....He hit my camera lense right on. Good aim! Wet lense!

My Watercolor/Acrylic Animals

2012-01-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

A New Start

2012-01-18T02:44:00.000-07:00

Writing on my blog is different for me than writing in my journal........Why? Well one thing, there is this feeling that what I write here isn't in my private space just for me. There is this feeling that no one really reads this blog anyway so why would it matter. Yet people do read this blog. So where am I going with this.........to the fact that it is a new year and I want to do more with this space I have taken up residence in blogosphere. But the question is for me is that it means more commitment on my part. I struggle with that C word, maybe because I never had follow through as a child, another thing maybe which I have learned recently is our type of personality.....carol tuttle describes 4 types of people.......I believe I am more a type 1, just because I like to have fun, am not detailed oriented at all and my biggest thing is I am an idea factory. I can come up with the most amazing ideas, but a lot of them stay just that ideas. I struggle with that C word and also with follow through to finish. Yet I am working more on those two things. I love coming up with fabulous ideas and then to see them into action is even a better excitement for me.

One of my failings or lack of follow through was my daily drawing. I have more that haven't been posted, but just to add here that drawing was hard for me to fit into my day. I don't sit for very long and to sit and draw required more time than I wanted to invest at this point. I loved where the drawings were headed and hope to continue on that journey. Still there.

One thing that I notice with my life is that I don't get a lot of creative feedback from those I am around. I thrive on creativity of any kind. I have turned into Bob the Builder the last few weeks. I think of something and it just comes and happens. So we live with my parents to help with my Alzheimer dad (I don't like that reference but it is what it is) I love my dad and mom and it is sad to see them get old. So we live here and they don't have a huge home so we have remodeled the garage which is actually a stand alone garage. Well anyway its not the home I desire, but it is a place as we are in this chapter of our lives to help and in doing that we end up sacrificing some of the nicety's of life. But the neet thing has been is that my boys and I are closer and they are blooming into great young men. (blooming really isn't a great descriptor word for young men,.....;] So anyway we are transforming our tiny space into more useable space that the boys have individual space and can then make it there own. I have found that I love power tools and I love building my ideas into realities. Started with a desire, received revelation of what to do, came up with a plan, acted on that plan, got stumped for a bit and then another idea came, acted and now it is a reality blessing our lives.

Do you believe in revelation and inspiration? I do! I know that we have a Heavenly Father that loves us and is very concerned about what we do here on this earth. I know that we are agents who have the ability to make choices. God gives us the ability to make choices whether they are good or bad. He doesn't control us, we control us by our thoughts and our desires. So what does this have to do with creativity? Tons and tons! Heavenly Father wants us to be happy individuals and to find joy here, now! It is our divine nature to have joy and happiness.

Day 5 - 8 of my Figure drawings

2011-10-26T03:06:00.000-06:00

Drawing is such an excellent exercise to clarify and to view weak areas. I am noticing some things as I have been working on these drawings.

I have come to love drawing my sons...they are BEAUTIUL!

Have you taken time to draw your children?

Have you taken time to look for what your child is good at?

Children live in the NOW!

They are such marvelous teachers.

Are we Humble enough to see how they are our teachers...

I have to tell you about an experience with this son.

Monday this week, I was painting, and I asked my son what do you think?

He said, "It's pretty good, but it's not finished."

I was thinking I was pretty much done -- although I knew I could do more, but I'm always wanting to move things out so I can paint other things.

Well he proceeded to tell me exactly what was needed in the painting.

I just smiled and said, "Good Job!"

He was right on, on what was needed.

So I had to keep working on the paintings.

He reminded me of his dad and how my husband would continually tell me where my problems were and I would always get annoyed because I was the one who had a masters degree in art yet he was always right.

Like Father, like Son!

Finished paintings

2011-10-26T02:46:00.001-06:00

These are paintings that I just finished yesterday and end of the last week. It is so exciting to finish more and more work. Someone suggested that I write something about what I am doing on the backs of my work....what do you think? Do you think that would create more connection to the work and to my message?

Day 4

2011-10-22T00:45:00.000-06:00

"Ninja Boy"

To draw children = drawing play

Children = Play

I read somewhere that when we PLAY, we are the most alive!

Wow! I so like that. Children are alive and maybe that is why we are told to become like them.

PLAY isn't always convenient or doesn't always appeal to our grown up ways, yet it makes a huge difference in our lives.

The best complement I have ever recieved is from my youngest son, who said, "mom you ar so fun".

I was surprised with this because I don't always feel like playing.

Go out and play with a child, they will teach you to love life!

New little painting that I finished today.

I found a quote the other day that describes my desire with my art.

"To send LIGHT into the darkness of men's hearts --

such is the duty of the artist."

Schumann

My 30 day challenge ---- FIGURES

2011-10-21T02:46:00.001-06:00

I'm involved in an online "WakeUp Academy" with Heather Madder and Garrett J. White and the challenge there has been to record videos everyday. I did a few, but have not been successful in that medium, still plan to, just need to flesh out my ideas in ink first, which is where this challenge somewhat arises from. Mainly I needed to be in the ACTION mode and not still wondering.

But what really happened to start these drawings is I picked up one of my books

"The Story of Painting" by Sister Wendy Beckett

and I saw these incredibly nice enlargements of paintings and the faces of the individuals in these old paintings which I so dearly love and remember the times that I got to travel to Rome, Florence, Paris, Amsterdam, Brugge to see some of these incredible paintings and sculptures in person.

I couldn't just look at them.....I needed to draw them in my nice sketchbook that I made.

Before when my husband was still alive and he was continuously encouraging me to do figurative work, I couldn't conceive the idea of doing anything other than landscapes which I love and connect with, but in the last year I have been having this feeling that I need to paint and draw more figuratively (maybe my husband is nudging me to still do this) So before I can paint figures, I need to become reacquainted with them through drawings, thus the drawings.

So I started....

Day 1 first drawing

This is a figure from Pontormo's Deposition 1525/28

I remember this painting from which this guy comes from. In Florence, Italy and siting there with my great friend and professor, Bruce Smith. He was sharing his enthusiasm for the color and the painting.

Day 2

This drawing comes from Robert Campin, "Portrait of a Woman" 1420-30

Still Day 2

I found this one of the Madonna and Child

by Gerard David titled "The Rest on the Flight into Egypt" 1510

From this drawing some sparks are shooting out and some ideas are coming into my mind.

Can't really divulge them but I'm sure you will start to see the evolution in what I start drawing.

Day 3

So today I've been thinking about having models come and pose for me, but I remember some insight I received last summer, that I needed to draw my sons and through drawing them direction and insight would come. At the time I tried, but didn't persist.

So this is a picture of my husband Ben and my oldest son who was only 17 months when my husband died. They were in the water in this picture.

This is a rough drying and the pen I am using isn't working out, but

Day 3 drawing #2

I dug up some more photo's of myself with my two sons.

I think of where my life was at this time...I had just had my youngest son, two months prior to this, alone. I was three months pregnant when my husband died. So here I was a single mom raising two small children. Wow, it was a major change.

Yet it is these two boys that kept me going.

Now I look back and am grateful for this huge learning curve. Learning about what I believe I can do and what I still struggle with. Yet I am learning more and more that

we are powerful and called to be great!

We are incredible and able to chose how we handle our earth school.

As I draw my sons and myself, I feel an incredible love for my Heavenly Father for blessing me with two wonderful sons and a wonderful husband who shared so much with me for the short time we had together. Now he continues to teach me and help me, if I will only believe and ask.

Finished paintings and other stuff

2011-09-27T22:22:00.000-06:00

We had a fire close to where we live

More cows!

2011-08-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the new things. I love seeing finished pieces. It brings smiles to my face.

The books aren't new, but took some new photos of them.

This past week we entered items into the county fair. The boys enter all their lego creations and what artwork we do. They did really well.

Thanks!

Look how many paintings I have done in my new studio!

2011-08-02T01:11:00.001-06:00

This isn't all of them since I got my new studio space. How exciting. Makes a huge difference when I go somewhere and work instead of getting distracted by something else at home.

I am so thankful for the ability to paint and have a great space.

Now it is time to start some lessons and have fun sharing how wonderful it is to see life this way.

New Paintings and Trip up to the Pines to the top!

2011-07-20T22:29:00.000-06:00

Stopping along the road to play in the water.

We just kept going higher and higher and the road got narrower and narrower. We were all getting a bit nervous and anxious to turn around and go back. It was beautiful but my boys actually got scared of heights and kinda messed with my brain too. We made it out safe.

Beautiful views from close to the top of Sturgill mountain in the Payette National Forest.

This is looking back up to Sturgill after we had come down, looking across Mann's Creek Reservoir.

Cows and Clocks

2011-07-14T18:16:00.000-06:00

More finished pieces.

I've hesitated for a long time to put my clocks on this blog. This blog has mainly been my fine art and all my ins and outs with my life. Yet my sister in law told me that I should add my clocks to this blog. I also do word saying boards with my background painted on the boards. Just another thing I do. The colors are colors I use in my paintings along with the organic texture. I've started adding sayings to my clocks and they are happy clocks to me.

18"

12"

24"

12"

14"

This clock immerged when a person asked if I had my cows on my clocks. So I started one.

The above photo was where I was going with the clock, the doorway look, but I asked my young son, my apprentice, what he thought I needed to do to the painting/clock. He told me to get rid of the sides and have it open. So I did that and I like it a lot more. Just need to put it all together now.

We Have Light!

2011-07-05T23:58:00.000-06:00

The view out the windows.

The idea with this space is to display my work, but not always have it up. I want to start teaching art lessons more and then part of those art lessons have a monthly showing of the students work completed for the month. Also invite others to show too from the community. It will be fun to have gallery events. I just want a way to meet more people and do something different for the community.

Still trying to make the space work the way it needs to.

Messy tables after moving things around today. This is work space and place to teach art lessons.

Looking back to the studio. This is the main focus of this incredible space, the studio, so I can work!!!!

I am so grateful I found this space and am so happy and motivated with it.

So much fun!

Sumpter Oregon Train Ride for 4th of July

2011-07-05T23:41:00.000-06:00

We had a fun excursion into Oregon. The drive to McEwen was nice until we got closer then you only see the remains of the mining or what they call the Dredge. Miles of rocks. The train ride was fun.

As we were leaving the station we saw these birds nesting. Pretty cool.

Little cows

2011-07-01T00:32:00.000-06:00

Here is another new little painting.

I'm loving seeing more work completed. It feels awesome to have a place to work and to go there specifically to work. I don't get distracted like I do when I work at home. I will work and then get pulled by something else when I worked in my home back in Utah and here in Idaho, I simply have not had a good space at all until now. So so so happy am I to have a real studio and with real hours to paint.

My boys go to the studio with me too and we usually listen to a book. We're into the Hardy Boys right now, but we're listening to others. Today we started listening to Swiss Family Robinson. It's a lot of fun. They made their space in the big room out of the black panels.

The other day we brought our dogs down to the studio to show them. They were so funny. They ran around just like they would do when we came home from a long trip. Maybe this studio place smells like our home did in Utah. They went to the back door waiting to be let out into our beautiful backyard that we had in Utah but there wasn't a backyard to the studio, so we didn't let them out. Funny experience.

Another new painting.

New Paintings

2011-06-29T18:48:00.000-06:00

Last week the windows were removed and all was boarded up. So almost two weeks later hopefully I will get windows this week. I love the space. Last week my sons and I helped a friend sell ice cream so I didn't get a lot of painting done last week, but here are a few for this week.

Daily Paintings

2011-06-18T20:34:00.001-06:00

So I was working in my nice, new studio and thought I would count how many paintings are started and in progress.....I was completely amazed and realized that without space an artist (at least me) seems to drindle without completed works. I don't think I will tell you how many there are still on the walls and little pieces. You will have to guess or add up in the next few months how many I complete. I will tell you that I completed 9 pieces this week. WOW for me.

I am just so grateful for the space to paint and regain ground that I've seemed to have lost. Good things are to come from this new studio and my quest to complete all the many paintings that I have started.

A quote that has stood out in my path today is:

Kindness is the essence of greatness. Joseph B. Wirthlin

2011-06-16T22:14:00.000-06:00

We set up some panels to separate the room for private use and work space from showroom. I have plans to start art openings once a month in this small little town. The population here is 3300 people about. I want to start teaching more art classes and then have place for the students to display their completed projects and create a gathering place of sorts. The building is perfect for this. Then in the back is my studio.

Painting of the Day

2011-06-15T18:28:00.000-06:00

I spent more time rearranging panels to separate my big room in the show room today, so I finished two little paintings again, one of the photo's didn't turn out so I will post tomorrow.

Did I say that I LOVE MY STUDIO!

Before

After

Paintings

2011-06-15T00:14:00.000-06:00

Before

After

Before

After

Progress!

2011-06-13T19:55:00.000-06:00

These are the paintings I worked on today. They are almost done.

Before

After

We set up some art panels today.

Can I tell you that I love my new space and the ability to spread things out. Amazing!

I Have A New Studio!!!!!

2011-06-11T22:06:00.000-06:00

I am excited!!! I finally have a studio that is big enough to paint like I need to. I've been painting these small little paintings for a while now, and since I have been in this new space this week, I can't wait to start some large pieces. So great things are coming. So this new place has great things coming. I need a place to teach art classes and a place to paint and then other things will come in the near future. Little by little.....But to say the least I am EXCITED!

I'm not crazy about the red floor and it will change sometime soon. Maybe it will bring more reds into my work....:)

This just may be the biggest studio/gallery I've ever worked in.

This is another room in the back.

This is the showroom/class instruction room. The carpet is great and it has track lighting which when I saw this place, I knew immediately it was the place for me. Great place!

Nice neutral walls and did I say it is BIG!

I have a lot of pieces started, and as my youngest son told me that I can not start any new work until these all are finished. So I have a lot of work to get done.

My youngest son has been named my "Apprentice" and is starting to learn how to do things. My oldest son was climbing on tables (we had forgotten the ladder) trying to adjust the track lighting.

My youngest son was capturing me painting and kept saying that I was too fast painting. Those are the kind of words one of my professors said were good words... PAINT ART FASTER!

I am really excited about this space and know that great things will come of this change. I can't wait to get to some large paintings.

My sons activites

2011-06-11T21:42:00.000-06:00

Soccer! They were both on the same team. They had a lot of fun.

My oldest son received his Arrow of Light in cubscouts.

Oil Pastels Drawings

2011-06-11T19:35:00.000-06:00