Your Art Inspired by Strength & Hope

We all need a little Strength & Hope during this time of global pandemic.

Sharing encouragement through our art.

(You can see the Inspiration Image at the bottom of this page.)

Julie Brandt: Statue of Liberty

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JujuBeePaints

Oil on Canvas, 11"x 14"

In response to Sara’s Strength and Hope, I would like to submit my weary Statue of Liberty who is trying to stay strong during our country’s political and environmental tragedies.

Deidre Townsend: Pink Roses 
Acrylic on Canvas

When I think of roses, I think of home. We had a big rose garden at my home where I grew up. I remember my parents building it and planting it. My dad even built a bird bath for it.  It was right below my mom’s bedroom window. She fought breast cancer with strength and hope. Those roses and her windows always make me think of her fight. I painted them pink because that’s the color of breast cancer awareness ribbons. Julie Brandt’s Red Buds inspired me as well.

Julie Brandt: Red Buds

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JujuBeePaints 

Oil on Canvas

Who ever named redbuds?  They are pink! Every spring my redbud tree just thrills me.  I get so tickled that the blossoms grow up and down the trunk and all along each branch in little bunches.  One year we had a late ice storm, and ice encased each blossom.  It was beautiful, but I didn't want to paint something that felt so cold in this time when I needed sunshine and hope.  This painting made me very happy.

Lynn Hanousek: New York Strong
Facebook: Lynn Hanousek Designs
Acrylic and Permanent Marker on Canvas,  8"x 10"

Every evening at 7:00 PM New Yorkers open their windows, go to their balconies and stand at their front doors to clap, cheer, sing, ring bells and bang on pots to cheer our heroes: healthcare workers, first responders and all those essential services who keep our city safe and running while we isolate due to covid-19. On April 13, after the 2 minute daily cheering, a rainbow arched its way across the entire city. All who saw it were amazed and filled with hope. My inspiration was drawn from the beautiful sky in Sara’s photograph, Strength and Hope.

Helen Eaton: Spring Comes
https://wordweaverart.blogspot.com/
Oil on Canvas,  8"x 10"

Winter is cold, gray... but... spring comes.
The news is sad, scary... but spring comes.
Coronavirus occupies thought, conversations... but spring comes.

We begin our fourth week of being home.  It's been even longer for my daughter's family in the East where numbers are staggering.  She sent me a photo from outside their apartment and said, "The cherry blossoms are blooming anyway."

Sara says, "... there is always some beauty to be found, some hope to carry on."
Blossoms bring hope of fruits and the coming green.  Nest eggs bring hope for new life and  song.
Spring comes... and brings hope.

March Inspiration 4: Strength and Hope by Sara Harley

In our present state of the Covid-19 pandemic, I wanted to create an image of strength and hope. This image is a combination of two photographs I took on a recent walk while "social distancing". Trees have always been a symbol of strength for me. The group of birch trees are standing together, symbolizing that we may be physically apart, but if we stand together, we can be strong. The background is from a rusted car, symbolizing that there is always some beauty to be found, some hope to carry on.

Your Art Inspired by Two By Two

Enjoy these works of art inspired by Sara's Two by Two photograph 

(The inspiration image is at the bottom of this post..)

Darlene Awalt: Forget-Me-Not and Be Strong on the Wave of Change

Instagram: @dream.imagine.believe

Nelvia McGrath: Let Me In...

Instagram: @nelviamcgrath

Acrylic 11"x 14"

Water reflections let you see things from a different perspective

A child views the world through fresh eyes

Each experience fascinates

Underwater views pulse with life and colors

Remove the glass so I can touch

Let me in ...

Helen Eaton: Grace Reflected

https://wordweaverart.blogspot.com/

Oil on Canvas, 11"x 14"

Coronavirus controls and consumes our conversation, activities, thoughts, and lives. 

It's a good time to be reflective and to practice grace - give it, ask for it, watch for it.

Grace: /ɡrās/ noun   1. simple elegance  2. courteous goodwill. 

3. beauty of form 4. unmerited favor 5. refined movement

Reflection: /ri-flek-shuhn/ noun  1. mirroring 2. careful consideration

3. serious thought of a subject, idea or purpose

April Inspiration 3: Two By Two by Sara Harley

This image is a combination of several of my favourite things to photograph, all captured in one image when walking along the river one morning. Reflections, century old homes, trees, and birds...all in one snap of the shutter. I could also have titled this image "Reflections", because that is what many of us are doing right now. Life has changed, and many of us have more time on our hands to ponder and re-evaluate what things are important to us.

Your Art Inspired by Mother's Hands

Here is our first response to "Mother's Hands".
 

Sara Harley: A Bird In The Hand

@saraharley.photos

photographic art

"Stay at home" conditions are challenging and people are amusing themselves creatively. Everyone is longing for freedom.
I looked online to learn how to make a bird with hand shadows and photographed my hands using my tripod and self timer.
A little creative work on my computer added the flying crow. My title is inspired by the proverb "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," - having something, even if it is a lesser quantity, is better than taking the chance of losing it in order to attain something else that seems more desirable.

April Inspiration 4: Mother's Hands by Helen Eaton

How many stitches have these hands sewn? How many dishes have they washed? How many ears of corn have they shucked, pods of peas have they shelled, or green beans have they snapped?  How many babies' bottoms have they patted or storybook pages have they turned?
Aren't they lovely hands?

Your Art Inspired by That's Just Ducky

Enjoy these responses to That's Just Ducky. 
The diversity of ways art is created never ceases to amaze!

(You can see the Inspiration Image at the bottom of this page.)

Deidre Townsend: A Man and His Duck
Acrylic on Canvas

My father had a mallard duck that he cared for since it hatched. His name was “Peeper”. He would follow Dad everywhere. He would even walk with him down the driveway. After Peeper grew up, he flew off to join a group of other mallards, but he would come back every year. Dad would hear the ducks coming and yell “Peeper!!” And Peeper would fly in and land right beside him. Your painting made me think of them, and I could picture in my mind them walking down the driveway.

Whitney Eaton: Cleared for Landing

Instagram: @whitneykay93
Oil on Board

Man, I really struggled with this painting! When given opportunities to paint, I would drag my feet or try to find something else to do. My handsome mallard went through multiple size changes... was painted over a few times... (poor guy) Little by little, and with lots of help from Helen, this painting came together. The image I used was one taken on a trip to Lisbon, Portugal with my husband! We were sitting on a bench outside a museum with a big, open cobblestone walkway. And this guy thought it was a pretty good runway that was clear to land on.

Nelvia McGrath: Geese Gaggle

@nelviamcgrath 

art journaling

Recently I started daily box journaling, and part of that is adding blotches of color with paint, marker, colored pencil, etc. Doing this doodle daily has kept me doing the practice of daily writing.  Just add a blob of color(s) somewhere on the page.  Each day you look at the blob and turn it around until you see something to doodle about.
I'd been looking at this month's photos, playing with ideas of what to paint.  One was to paint a gaggle of geese based on Helen's duck painting.  Imagine my surprise when I pulled out my journal and saw these various fingerprint blobs.  Immediately this congregation of marks were the geese, right there ready to come out!

Sara Harley: Grackle Cackle

@saraharley.photos

photographic art

Like most of the world, we are currently under a state of emergency, with instructions to stay at home.
Although I can't get out and about with my camera, I do have a lot of time to play with my photographic library. This month, I decided to construct an image very closely based on Helen’s inspiration painting, and used a series of photos taken in my backyard. The final result is a combination of elements from four photos, attempting to recreate the inspiration image with a twist.

April Inspiration 2: That's Just Ducky by Helen Eaton

I first "met" these ducks through the blog Chickens in the Road.
Don't you just want to listen in on their conversation!!

Bottom Right just asked a simple question.
Middle can't believe she'd even ask such a thing!
Front Left agrees with everything Middle says.
Top Right does not want to get involved this time!
Back Left is late to the meeting... again!

April Inspiration

Which of these new images inspires you?  Pick one as our inspiration and create art of your own to share.  It can be needlework, woodwork, pen and ink, charcoal, photography, mixed media, poetry, watercolor... Whatever is your favorite!  We look forward to seeing your art!

Click HERE for instructions on how to submit your work.

What fun it is to scroll through and see the submissions.  Each work of art is a testament to the power of inspiration. We hope to see your artwork alongside ours this month!  Join us!

April Inspiration 1: Strength & Hope by Sara Harley

In our present state of the Covid-19 pandemic, I wanted to create an image of strength and hope. This image is a combination of two photographs I took on a recent walk while "social distancing". Trees have always been a symbol of strength for me. The group of birch trees are standing together, symbolizing that we may be physically apart, but if we stand together, we can be strong. The background is from a rusted car, symbolizing that there is always some beauty to be found, some hope to carry on.

April Inspiration 2: That's Just Ducky by Helen Eaton

I first "met" these ducks through Chickens in the Road.
Don't you just want to listen in on their conversation!!

Bottom Right just asked a simple question.
Middle can't believe she'd even ask such a thing!
Front Left agrees with everything Middle says.
Top Right does not want to get involved this time!
Back Left is late to the meeting... again!

April Inspiration 3: Two By Two by Sara Harley

This image is a combination of several of my favourite things to photograph, all captured in one image when walking along the river one morning. Reflections, century old homes, trees, and birds...all in one snap of the shutter. I could also have titled this image "Reflections", because that is what many of us are doing right now. Life has changed, and many of us have more time on our hands to ponder and re-evaluate what things are important to us.

April Inspiration 4: Mother's Hands by Helen Eaton

How many stitches have these hands sewn? How many dishes have they washed? How many ears of corn have they shucked, pods of peas have they shelled, or green beans have they snapped?  How many babies' bottoms have they patted or storybook pages have they turned?
Aren't they lovely hands?