December 2010 Newsletter

A Lost Painting

December can be such a joyous time of the year. For me it is a time of reflection, looking back on the past year to see how I might better the coming year and to make peace with all the things left undone, for whatever reason.

Sometimes I lament the passing of a lost watercolor. You know, the one that’s been on my mind throughout the year waiting until I have more time, the one I put behind everyone else’ paintings because real life forces us into prudence. Some were to be evocative watercolors and others were screaming to be painted in acrylics or included in a glorious collage.

For me I find painting can be simply romantic. When left unpainted it’s like a lost love. The one that was taken much too soon, the one you were afraid to express, the one you hesitated just long enough that it never had a chance to grow and blossom.

The difference between a lost love and a lost painting . . . the lost love isn’t taken to try our souls but to enlarge them. The lost painting – they’re never really lost so long as you have them in your head, are they? There is still a good chance it will come to life.

A Cause for Celebration
How fun to finish a big project before the holidays! The installation didn’t happen this week as I had planned and will have to wait until after the New Year but my client stopped by to take a peek. As she rounded the landing of the staircase to my studio she was greeted by seven foot tall Uno Bear. The other ten characters. 5′- 6.5′ tall, were lined up along the wall to welcome her. She giggled and said, “Oh, I love them!.” Nothing pleases me more than a happy
client. It makes all the hard work worth it. Here are pics of seven of the eleven finished characters.

A little something for you. I have enjoyed The Publicity Hound’s information for a few years now and thought I would share this with you. If you are in business I’m sure you will find something useful.

“The Best of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week of 2010” includes the best 25 tips from this year’s newsletter, or tips that generated the most response from readers. You don’t even need to opt-in with an email address. Just click on this link:
http://Ez.com/bestof2010

Bella’s Insights

The Adventure I don’t want to repeat

Happy Holidays Everyone! This is my friend Mitzie. We had a sleep-over last weekend while her mom went skiing. We get along Great!

Last week started off on an interesting note. Mom had an appointment. Before leaving she thought it would be a good idea to take me out so I might “do my duty” (as she puts it). Since I had been out earlier and we were going to stay in our yard she didn’t put on my leash. This was of no concern to me because I know I’m not to leave the yard.

As we came out of the house mom stopped to unplug our Christmas lights. I knew the routine so I pranced down the sidewalk toward my little grassy spot. It was a beautiful morning for being the middle of December. The sun was shining and NO wind – Yea, NO WIND! (The wind makes me shake.)

As I came to the end of the sidewalk I turned to cross the driveway to my grassy spot and low and behold I was face to face with a humungous (to me) black and white dog standing in my grassy spot. Well, I decided to bark to let him know mom was right behind me and that he should be on his way. It seems he didn’t care about territorial procedures. He barked back at me and started tugging at his leash. Low and behold his mom let go of the leash. Yikes! The adventure began.

I took off running, he came after me dragging his leash all the time trying to bite my neck. He onnected a couple of times and I let out a “Yelp!” and decided I had better zig when he zagged. I hear his mom yelling “NO!” Then my mom is running after us and she definitely didn’t have her running shoes on. I ran around our lighted pine tree in the front yard then around the shrubs trying to keep something between me and my aggressor. I thought I was doing pretty good until I realized I had been herded into a corner with only a leafless shrub, barely bigger than me, separating me and you-know-who.

“Aaaargh”, I was shuddering, tail between my legs, head down, really wishing I could become invisible. Then, just as he was going to grab my neck . . . there was my mom! She grabbed his leash and pulled him away from me – he did seem rather upset about that though and tried to bite
mom. His mom finally appeared and grabbed the leash from mom just in time to keep him from biting her. It was a good thing his mom got there. I’m not sure what mom would have done to that bad boy. You see, I have never seen that look on her face before and I hope I never see it again. Whew, what a way to start your day. Mom still has that movie running in her head. “Eeeegads!” That is an adventure I never want to repeat.

This Christmas mom and I have a lot to be thankful for – including me having all of my fur intact. If you are reading this it means you are probably warm and safe. That’s a lot to be thankful for. Hope you are having the Best Holiday Season Ever! Merry Christmas and I’ll see you next year.

~Bella, the Slightly more Cautious
Adventurer