Seventeen...Santana Luz ♥ Fourteen..Sienna Rosa♥

Photos of our gorgeous girl Santana by her talented friend Adam Michael Roberson

Just a little footnote to my earlier post today...thank you for those who have reached out with advice...so nice to know I'm not alone...both of our girls are super creative and Santana has a heavy load with majors to complete in both textiles and art..... I know this stage will pass and that its all part of life and the lessons we all have to learn....I'm super grateful for both of our daughters and love the young women that they are becoming....hope you excuse me while I brag just a little...these are a few of Santana's photos that she will be working on for her art major....








and these are some of 14 year old Sienna's little ink sketches inspired by Carol Griggs beautiful book The Singing Snowbear....


Self portrait of cutey Sienna with her new teeth..braces just taken off last week :)





Have a blissful day♥

mothers and daughters....

Good morning beautiful friends..just a quick note to share today as I have lots on my to do list...thinking very hard about being 17..not me obviously but my beautiful first born who is stressing out big time about assessments, money and life in general...being a parent is so hard sometimes...trying to know the right thing to say, trying to be a role model, trying to be strong enough to put guidelines in place when necessary...this morning I had to tell her that she's just not managing her time well and her reactions and overreactions to everything are stressing the whole family out....on the one hand I just want to hold her while she cries and tell her everything will be ok and that she's beautiful and perfect and the world is just waiting for her to shine...on the other hand I have to be stern and tell her that she'll have to cut back on coffees with friends, parties, going to the gym because she's just not managing to fit it all in and with only three months left of high school she needs to prioritise her activities....this sounds very calm and rational when I type it but imagine it to the backdrop of tears and yelling and "I'm just not good enough and I'll never be organised, thats just me, I cant change etc etc" Any advice? Anything? I'm struggling here....
On a happier note I started working on some paintings using the cropped images from my last post....here's the first titled " Some Enchanted Evening" 20 x20cm on plywood


and here's another on a little 10x20cm piece of ply that was being used as a palette until I decided I had to put the luscious texture to good use...."The elevated state of bliss"


Enjoy your Tuesday...I'm off to tackle that list! :)

Inspiration is Endless or Paint and Possibilities!

Good morning my beautiful bloggy friends!

So much to share today...its been a bit of a whirlwind these past couple of weeks with new possibilities opening up everywhere...I'm absolutely thrilled to have been accepted to teach at Art Is in Sydney 2012 and also my first international teaching gig at Art Is in Petaluma, California in Sept 2012...somebody pinch me!!!!Anyways I'm still kinda processing all of that but will post more later...today I just wanted to share some tips with you on inspiration and the endless possibilities of finding inspiration in your own works..even ones you don't think were very successful!
This morning I took 3 images of paintings that no longer exist, meaning I've painted over them, added to them cos' I didnt really think they were working OR I was just playing around anyways and not looking for a finished product BUT each one of them had elements I really LOVED....enter my trusty computer!!!



with this first image I really was just playing around having fun and now it has all kinds of other layers over it now but there were things about it that I loved...here's what you do...just open your image in whatever editing software you love..I used Picasa to rotate and find these images from the larger work....



What is that strange creature falling from the sky?



an elephant in front of her house?



a cool abstract with great composition and colour!



I actually didn't mind this little painting but one night in a fit of "not good enoughedness" I tried to fix what I thought was wrong with it..now its gone ...forever, but lets see what can come now....


The original image




Oh I like that composition!



or you could invert the colours...I seriously have no idea how to use Photoshop..its on my endless list of things to learn but I figured out just now how to invert the colours and wow, now a whole other bunch of possibilities have opened up! Try it!



heres the little vase cropped in



and here it is in blue with a sunset behind..amazing!!



I painted this one in Feb trying to channel the amazing Miss Flora Bowley..this was before Flora actually came and stayed at my house and shared with us her wonderful soulful style and techniques in April...after this I didnt love it so much and right now this work is in my studio with paint splattered over it ready to be reworked.....once again there are bits that I love..



I loved this little elephant but wasnt sure what he was doing there...he looks so much better as the centre of attention :)



or cute in blue with that curious bird peeking in....



Heres another section...



or inverted colours again


getting the picture?? The possibilities really are endless aren't they..now what to do with them..if you sell prints of your artworks you have instant new images to share..fantastic leveraging of your art or you can do what I'm going to do and use these images as starting points for a whole host of new original works...or do both!!
Be sure to check back in a couple of weeks or sign up and follow my blog for more ideas on how to make the most of your creative life...until next time....wishing you hugs, rainbows and creative bliss
Tracy ♥♥♥

rainy days

cup of peppermint tea
fluffy cat on lap
silence...empty house
rain has stopped
think I'll go hang out
out there....
♥♥♥

My arty life...a stroll down memory lane

2002 "Still life with maracas" oil pastel on paper by Tracy Verdugo

I remember the article clearly...the year 2000, turn of the century...the local newspaper and a story about an artist (the beautiful Chere le Page) giving classes at the Berry School of Arts one morning a week...with one daughter in school and the other beginning preschool I decided it was time for some "me" time.....and my creative life began....the beauty is that it feels like it begins again each day, each moment...new discoveries, new ways of seeing, new directions...every day is a buzz...11 years down the track and my creative world is overflowing with happiness....thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane and revisit some old friends..not sure if I can find any really old ones as I'm pretty sure we lost a hard drive somewhere between then and now but let me see what I can muster up.....


2001 one of my very first paintings....



from my first solo exhibition in 2002 a local scene inspired by Mexican amate paintings...


2003 "across the universe"


2003 "An Eagle Flies By"


circa 2004 I love that this one depicts a view of the bay in which we live and it now hangs in a home close by overlooking the same bay :)


around 2003 "Everyday Angels" pastel and ink on paper


around 2004..my first attempts at mixed media...playing with fabric and paint..


One of my faves from 2006 "Birth of a Song"


also from 2006 "Estefania Dances" the first time I actually asked an online(MySpace days) friend if I could use her photo as an inspiration for a painting...


at some point I even ventured into pet portraits but realised this wasn't my path (as cute as my furry subjects were :)


2007 inspired by our beautiful beaches


2008 Garden of Delights series


2008 Dreaming...Tree of Life series


2008 "Where Inspiration Lives"


2008 "The Edge of Similarity"


2008 "Summer Song"



2009 Fiesta


2009 "Behind Closed Doors"


2010 "Joyride"


2011 "Grow Love"


2011 "Keeper of Secrets"

Hope you've enjoyed this teensy sample of my works over the years...always love to share a little of myself in hopes of inspiring you to new and true levels of your own loveliness ♥