Sunday Sketches

HELLO and welcome to another Sunday Sketches. There's still a lot happening here but I did manage to get some sketching/painting completed for this week. Phew! Above are the finished paintings of the doodles I posted yesterday.

I think my customer will be pleased once these little watercolours are attached to their own card and a few embellishments added. =)

This week's participants: Please sign-up below to submit your sketch for this week, which will also allow others to stop and visit.

Grab the Sunday Sketches button here.

Time to cope

I made my way to the doctor's office again today for a number of reasons. One of them was just feeling like I have now reached the point of needing to talk about all that is currently on my plate. It's a lot trying to simply deal with the diagnosis of my father, but add to that the responsibility of things from making sure everything else is taken care of is another.

Instead of coping with things, I have been compartmentalizing my emotions over the last two weeks in order to keep any sort of composure for my father and other distant relatives. I start to cry and then quickly pull myself together, all the while feeling guilty, because of this sense of duty to be strong for everyone.

(Big sigh here)

I told my doctor today I knew it was time to begin to cope somehow because I'm fully aware from previous situations I've been through that one can only compartmentalize for so long before the "crash" cycle begins - and that is the last thing I want/need to do right now. I need to take some time for me for a few days or more and simply cope with my father's condition...

Sunday Sketches

UPDATE: I apologize for the delay in visiting everyone. I plan to start popping by throughout the day today. :)

Good morning and welcome to another super fun Sunday Sketches! I'm so happy that each of you have joined in. :)

The sketch/watercolour above was meant to be for a small greeting card but ended up much larger than anticipated. Either or, I think my Chickie turned out quite cute. Don't you?

Happy SS! I'm off to visit everyone else this beautiful Sunday morning.

This week's participants:
Please sign-up below to submit your sketch for this week, which will also allow others to stop and visit.

Grab the Sunday Sketches button here.

Egg-cellent Morning

Although it is a bit chilly this morning, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the air smells amazing. Besides a perfect hot cuppa, what a wonderful way to start a Friday morning after a long week of being sick and dealing with life stresses.

Pictured above is the first of three Easter cards I have been commissioned to do for a dear friend in Tennessee. I'm discovering that I enjoy watercolour painting the most and am working to improve/sharpen my skills. Can anyone recommend a fairly affordable book or two that would help me on my journey?

Thank you to Kristin and Eva at Paint Party Friday, as it really kept me motivated in getting something started on this project. Their button can be found here - grab it and join us for some weekly fun!

Being creative really is helping me cope with the stress of my father's condition and makes him smile when he sees what I've sketched/painted. :)

The Life of Owls

Being creative on a regular basis is really helping me to cope with my father's recent diagnosis of cancer, let alone all of the other things that come along with it, such as endless paperwork and phone calls.

On top of that, I'm trying to recover from my own infection/cold brought on by the stress of everything. I'm starting to feel the affects of the antibiotics today and finally feeling some relief phyiscally. I will continue to use this time to rest as much as possible for my physical and mental well-being.

Cozy Tea Time

Well, here it is...Tea Time in color. I really love it and how cozy it feels. Won't you pull up a chair, sit down, and enjoy a hot cuppa with me? Lord knows I could use one or two after another somewhat stressful day of phone calls, doctor appointments, etc. :)

Sunday Sketches

Photo sadly lost...

Good morning and welcome to Sunday Sketches!

My father continues to recover and was recently moved from the hospital to a nursing home for rehabilitation/daily radiation treatments. Please, please continue to lift him up in your thoughts and prayers. I haven't been able to talk with him much the past day or so and it makes me sad. :(

Sigh...deep breath....OK....Posted above are my two latest (very raw) sketches, hence the smudges and erase marks. What do you think? Right now, I'm working on a watercolour of Tea Time and look forward to sharing it with you.

Happy SS my wonderful friends!

This week's participants:
Please sign-up below to submit your sketch for this week, which will also allow others to stop and visit.

Grab the Sunday Sketches button here.

Think happy thoughts

Today was easier on dad, which was comforting in many ways. It was good to hear a smile in his voice as we briefly chatted about his morning and upcoming plans/treatment. The coming days will be challenging but we'll get through them one way or another. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. It really means a lot.

Well, my bloggie friend Nelly recently inspired me to step out of my comfort zone just a little with my art and simply have fun. Today's challenge for me? Sketching with a pen and leaving behind any expectations of it having to be perfect. I'm actually quite pleased with the results and look forward to doodling again tomorrow.

Sunday Sketches

(Photo sadly lost...)

The days continue to be long and tiring, but I'm still pressing through. My father made it through his second major surgery in less than a week and continues to recover from both. Today was an afternoon of checking in, paperwork and discussing hard topics such as "What do you want to have done if..." Ugh!

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

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It was a challenge getting back into Sunday Sketches this week with feeling mentally tired and all, but glad I pushed myself to do so. This little watercolour is for my father - a musical genius and who can pick a guitar like you wouldn't believe.

Happy SS!

This week's participants:
Please sign-up below to submit your sketch for this week, which will also allow others to stop and visit.

Grab the Sunday Sketches button here.

More Hurdles

Photo: Pinterest

So, here I sit at a local coffee shop, coat draped over my shoulders and red scarf wrapped snug around my neck. A lot has been going on lately and tonight I'm trying to relax/rejuvenate myself for more hurdles tomorrow. My father is officially scheduled for a second major surgery where they will be placing a shunt in his chest for chemo and removing part of his colon.

Tears well up writing this as I recall the brief conversation I had with dad earlier this evening. It was heartbreaking listening to him express his fears through sobs, declaring his love for me and what a great daughter I am. There's a rushing river of extreme emotions going on inside me, but I'm doing my best to push through everything in order to be the strong one right now.

So, how about helping me by pulling up a chair here at the table, sharing a hot cup of tea and listening as I read one of my favourite children's books, Frog and Toad Together? Even Mr. Frog loves hot cuppas! How fun is that?!

Coping through creativity

Photo: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

The last few days have been difficult in dealing with my father's surgery and recent diagnosis of cancer. I find myself tucking away the tears/heartache in order to provide strength and encouragement to my father (lives in another state). Compartmentalizing is not easy, let me tell you!

I knew it would not be conducive or healthy for me to keep my own emotions bottled up for long, so I reached out into my creativity zone a little yesterday and tonight to help me "cope". As you can see, I've revamped my blog and even designed my own header. You will also find the [completed] doodles I featured a few days ago to the right on my sidebar.

There is one other thing I've challenged myself to do and that is to take my own personal, creative journey through "A Daily Creativity Journal - 365". So, keep an eye out for more details.

For now, my father needs me. So, I pray for your patience here in the blog world over the next few days/weeks as there are still a lot of unknowns that need to be determined.

Again, thank you for all of your amazing, sweet and tender comments.