Jolie Guillebeau

We’re two weeks in to this– can you believe it? I’m having a blast. What about you?

Sunday Series: 2

In an old life, I was an English teacher. One of the best parts of that job was that people had to listen to me when I read poetry aloud. I miss that.

I’ve found a few new poets lately that I love. People around me can only take so much poetry, so I had to figure out a way to share it with someone, so every Sunday I’m going to take a quote from a favorite poem and put it with a watercolor painting. Why watercolor? Because for some reason, I think it works better with words, and just for a little variety.

Here’s the second one:

4×6 Watercolor on Cotton Fiber Paper. $14

Special rules apply to today’s painting. Everyone wins. Today only, I’ll paint a version of this for everyone that emails me, because I think if the quote speaks to you then you should have it. Each painting will be an original and slightly different from the others I send out, but based on the painting you see above. The only rule is that I must receive your email by 8pm Pacific time today, in order to paint one just for you.

Luck.

Today is day 13 of this project. Perhaps it’s going to be unlucky– I don’t know.

We think a lot about luck, or chance, or fate– at least I do. A friend and I have a deep conversation at least twice a year when we end up on the topic of how lucky we are. Then we spend at least 20 minutes talking about how we don’t deserve our lives or that we were born in a place that gives us a chance to get an education, or access to healthcare, or even just basic nutrition.

I think about my life sometimes and wonder why I’m so lucky. Is it all just a big craps shoot? Did I just get a good roll of the dice? I doubt it. Though I also know I don’t deserve the chances I’ve been given anymore than all the wonderful women I’ve encountered in poorer places in the world.

Maybe it’s a little more like Yahtzee– you roll and then pick the good dice, take the useless parts and put them back in the cup to roll again. For another chance.

Maybe I should stop worrying about the why behind my lot and just make sure I’m making the most of the chance I’ve been given.

6×6 Oil on Masonite Panel $13 Sold. Click here to join the newsletter list and get the daily painting delivered to your inbox every morning  before anyone else.

I love Ikea. It brings back good memories. I know that everything from that store looks the same, but it looks good, so I don’t care.

Ikea in Portland is near the airport, so I go there fairly often. I rarely spend more than 10 dollars, but I love walking through the showrooms and looking at all the options and possibilities. It inspires me.

A few weeks ago, I was there for candles. And I saw these three little vases. And I had no use for them, but I bought them anyway. They were useless, but they made me smile. I pictured them in a painting with a red flower.

I love the way this looks. You’ll see this flower (and vase) again. Because it makes me happy.

8×8 Oil on Masonite Panel $12 Sold. Join the newsletter list here to get the daily painting delivered to your inbox first thing each morning.

Shoes.

I’m a complete sucker for shoes. I love them. But I refuse to wear uncomfortable shoes. Which is why I own 11 pairs of what is essentially the same shoe in different colors.

Lately, I’ve been drooling over a pair of green sneakers in the Boden catalog. They have pink laces. The problem is that I have little patience for tying shoes. So I don’t really wear sneakers that often. So I decided to paint a pair of green sneakers– maybe then I won’t need to buy them.

It worked. And I decided to spend my money on painting supplies. After all, I’ve got 89 more of these to do.

8×8 Oil on Masonite Panel $11 Sold. Join the newsletter list here to have each day’s painting delivered to your inbox every morning.

Toys: the Reality
Someone pointed out to me that when I paint toys, they’re always neatly arranged. For example, the Rock-A-Stack I painted a few months ago had all the rings placed carefully on the base– they were all in order and stacked just right. But in reality, that’s not the way toys really look most of the time. They look like this:

I thought she had a point, so I decided to paint them that way.

8×10 Oil on Masonite Panel $10 Sold. Join the newsletter list here to have the daily painting delivered to your inbox first thing each morning.

Brownies. I love them. Especially with Chocolate Chips.

6×6 Oil on Masonite. $9 Sold. Join the newsletter list here to get the daily painting in your inbox every morning.

The holiest of all holidays are those
Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;
The secret anniversaries of the heart.

– Longfellow

Ten years ago this week I made an important phone call. I’ll spare you the details, but it’s a call I’m glad I made many times over.

Hence, a phone today.

6×6 Oil on Masonite Panel Sold. Join the newsletter list here to see paintings before anyone else.

In an old life, I was an English teacher. One of the best parts of that job was that people had to listen to me when I read poetry aloud. I miss that.

I’ve found a few new poets lately that I love. Chris can only take so much poetry, so I had to figure out a way to share it with someone, so every Sunday I’m going to take a quote from a favorite poem and put it with a watercolor painting. Why watercolor? Because for some reason, I think it works better with words, and just for a little variety.

Here’s the first one:

Hafiz uses the metaphor of God as an ocean often, and reading this poem made me happy. I’m guessing you’ll see a few more quotes from Hafiz in weeks to come.

4×6 Watercolor on Cotton Fiber Paper. $7 Sold. Join the newsletter list here to see paintings before anyone else.

For awhile, I had a big collection of cookie cutters. I love them. But I never actually make cookies that often. Chris likes pie, and I’d rather have cupcakes. So they’ve gradually left the house when I declutter.

Last week, I decluttered a bit more and decided to get rid of all of them– except one. Then the dilemma was: Which one? The star? The butterfly? The flower? But it was Valentine’s Day, so I kept the heart. Here it is.

If you want me to bake cookies from now on, you’ll have to be happy with heart shapes.

5×7 Oil on Masonite Panel $6. Sold. Join the newsletter list here to see paintings before anyone else.

I’m picky about toothbrushes. Chris just uses whatever toothbrush is the cheapest. But I must have soft bristles, small size, and I’m not really happy unless it’s orange. Hey, I know what I like.

Don’t forget to floss!

5×7 Oil on Masonite Panel $5. Sold. Join the newsletter list here to see paintings before anyone else.

Commissions:

A few weeks ago, when I sent out the announcement for this project, I included a picture of what was on the easel at the moment. (By the way, that Kermit painting went up in my etsy shop yesterday.) A friend saw it and decided he wanted his own version of Kermit. I’m delivering this painting to him this afternoon.

That means I’ll have a little extra time for a new commission– is there a painting you really want?