And the Winner is...

Alexandra of Sunday Sketches!  Congratulations for winning my giveaway!  Thank you, dear blog friends, for your encouragement and for participating in my giveaway!

Easter Blessings and a Giveaway!

Jesus is Risen!  
(This giveaway has ended.  Thank you to all those who joined.)

St. Alphosus de Ligouri, in "The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ," commented, "St. Laurence Justinian remarks: 'We have seen Him who is wise infatuated through an excess of love.' We have beheld Him who is eternal wisdom itself, the Son of God, become a fool for us, by reason of the too great love which he bore toward us."

I celebrate God's great love and saving work for me!  Oh, what he was willing to go through for me!  

Blessed John Henry Newman, as quoted in Evangelizo,  comments:

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118[117],24)...

This is Easter Day. Let us say this again and again to ourselves with fear and great joy. As children say to themselves, "This is the spring," or "This is the sea," trying to grasp the thought..., let us say, “This is the Day of Days, the Royal Day, the Lord's Day (Rv 1,10 Gk.). This is the Day on which Christ arose from the dead; the Day which brought us salvation”. It is a Day which has made us greater than we know...

We have had enough of weariness, and dreariness, and listlessness, and sorrow, and remorse. We have had enough of this troublesome world. We have had enough of its noise and din...But now there is stillness; and it is a stillness that speaks... such is our blessedness now. Calm and serene days have begun; and Christ is heard in them, and His “still small voice” (1Kgs 19,12), because the world speaks not. Let us only put off the world, and we put on Christ (Eph 4,22; Rm 13,14)... May that unclothing be unto us a clothing upon of things invisible and imperishable! May we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, season after season, year after year, till He takes us to Himself... into the kingdom of His Father and our Father, His God and our God (Jn 20,17). 

And to celebrate this "Day which has made us greater than we know..." I'm having an Easter giveaway!  Celebrate with me and let me know if you would like to have the chance to win "Easter Angel," this original  5" x 7" mixed media painting (watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil on paper).  I made it especially for you, my visitors and blog friends.  If you follow my blog through Google Friends Connect (in the sidebar) or Google+ (top of the page) or if you shared about my giveaway, let me know in separate comments and get extra entries to the giveaway.  My giveaway ends on May 19, Pentecost Sunday, which marks the end of the Easter Season this year.

A blessed Easter season, dearest visitors and blog friends!  "May we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, season after season, year after year, till He takes us to Himself... into the kingdom of His Father and our Father, His God and our God (Jn 20,17)."

Linking up with Paint Party Friday, Faith Filled Friday, Spiritual Sundays, Inspire Me Monday, Share the Shelter and Word Art Wednesday.

WOYWW: Easter Greetings!

Happy Easter greetings to you, my dear blog friends!  Even if you don't celebrate Easter, I think greetings of happiness are always good to give and receive!

On my desk today for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday is an illustration I am working on from yesterday's bible reading..  Sometimes when life is full of challenges, we wonder why our prayers seem unheard and God seems to be hiding.  The reflection about John 20, from an anonymous 13th century monastic homily says...

“She turned around and saw Jesus standing there but did not recognize him.” A touching scene, filled with goodness, in which he who is desired and sought reveals himself while hiding himself. He hides himself so as to be sought even more ardently, found with even more joy, held even more carefully until he is brought, so as to remain there, into the dwelling place of love (cf Sg 3,4)...

“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Do you have him you are looking for and not know him? The true, eternal joy and you weep? You have within you the one you are looking for without. In truth, you are standing outside in floods of tears beside a tomb. My tomb is your heart. I am not dead in it but resting, alive for eternity. Your soul is my garden and you are right to think I am the gardener. The new Adam, I tend and keep my paradise. Your tears, your love and your desire are my work. You possess me within you without knowing it and that is why you seek me without. So I am going to appear to you there, too, to make you return to yourself so as to find within what you are looking for without.

To celebrate Easter, I'm having a giveaway!  If you would like a chance to win this original mixed media piece, please leave a comment in my giveaway post (not this post).  Don't forget to leave me separate comments if you are a follower or if you share my giveaway.

Sharing this in Word Art Wednesday, Paint Party Friday and Faith Filled Friday!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Back to a Mess

Ribbons, tape, scissors - I've been gift wrapping!  But I've also been trading ATCs at ATCs for ALL so my desk is also filled with ATCs I'm trying to finish.  Here is one of them...

Last weekend, I printed out some copies of a Madonna and Child to sell in a charity event and this one printed out in portrait orientation on landscape paper so her halo is cropped.  Anyone interested in a cropped print?  Let me know in your comment!

And for those of you who enjoy it, here is a page from my prayer journal...

This Advent season, we can reflect on the mystery of God's love for us.  As the beautiful song Emmanuel says "What are we that you have loved us so well?"

Look up the WOYWW list and take a peek at other desks and look for more paintings at Paint Party Friday!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: ATCs

Happy Wednesday, or whatever day you happen to drop by!

I managed to get some ATCs done and Mr Random Number Generator picked out Carolyn Phillips to win one of them.  And since I would love an ATC from JoZart and she offered to swap, she gets one, too.  Please send me your addresses, ladies, and I will get an ATC to you!

Have I shown you this little doll I bought in Seoul?  Isn't she so cute?  I want to make something like her.

Here's a bit of encouragement from my prayer journal for those challenging times in life...

See how I drew a crown on her head?  The daughter of the King knows her Father will always take care of her and so she is confident and unafraid.  This is how I want to be!  Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate this wonderful celebration!

For more desks, visit Julia and for more words of encouragement, visit Word Art Wednesday! Or why not join Paint Party Friday?

Paint Party Friday: Madonna

Happy Paint Party Friday, my dear blog friends! Here's a Studio Sneak Peek at my latest Madonna painting.   She is one of my favorite subjects in my art because she is an example to me in the way she said "Yes" to God.  Have a Faith Filled Friday!

I'm giving away one of my artist trading cards.  Please let me know in a comment  in my previous post if you would like a chance to join my giveaway! I will pick a winner by November 20.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Signs of Christmas

It's that time of the week again and here is my desk showing my attempt at getting some Christmas gifts wrapped.  All throughout the year, I buy presents and put them away somewhere and sometimes I can't find them so I have decided to start wrapping early (or at least to try).

I'm using kraft paper, recycled bond paper and ribbon I bought on sale last week, together with all sorts of other craft materials.  These are some I haven't found a place for yet...

My latest Madonna is done and although the picture doesn't show it, her halo, veil and dress and the flowers have bits of gold that my daughter says makes a big difference in how it looks...

And here are some flowers made by an inmate in the jail we visit every Friday.  They are woven out of paper covered in cellophane.  Aren't they amazing?

Julia, who hosts the WOYWW link party says "Reciprocal visits are polite" and I am so sorry to say, I haven't been polite.  The internet connection inside my room is (again) not working so it's been challenging to go visiting.  The week just seems to go by so quickly.  My sister Patsy gives out an ATC to make up for not visiting and I've decided to give one out this week as well.  Let me know if you want an ATC from me and I'll pick a name from my visitors this week.  And as always, I will also try to visit back.  Hope springs eternal!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Back to Normal

For WOYWW this week, gone is the spotless desk and it's back to normal after my trip to Korea last week (and this is after I already tried to tidy it up).  Today's prayer journal page in progress is about the Fruit of the Spirit.  As I drew and colored, I reflected in the ways I have grown in these areas and in the many other ways I still need to grow...

Here are some cheap paint brushes from Korea...

and as promised, I had Mr. Random pick a winner for my giveaway and he picked...

Gill , who said... "I love the first one - 'seek and ye shall find'" and so I will be sending her this painting as soon as I get her address...

In case you are interested, here are some photos from Korea (with apologies to Julia for my long post)...

It happened to be the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Festival and there were a lot of performances and exhibits.  Here is a booth where you could paint some masks...

and here is a Korean felting artist in her studio in Bukchon...

I went to the artsy "Free Market"near the Hongik University where artists and crafters display and sell their original works on Saturday afternoons from March to November.

From October 1 to 7, it was also the Hi Seoul Festival 2012, "a spectacular assortment of outdoor performances by Korean and overseas street art groups."

Happy WOYWW, dear blog friends!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: WIP and a Giveaway

On my desk today is a Low-Carb cookbook I bought for the equivalent of £ 0.30 or $ 0.48 (has anyone tried this and does it work?), a WIP and a clearbook binder filled with letters I've collected honoring a friend who is celebrating his birthday soon.  Here's a closer look at the mother and child I started.

I finally got to make my giveaway post and if you would like a chance to win one of these paintings, leave me a comment on my giveaway post (not on this WOYWW post).

For a peek at more desks or to show off your own, Julia has the WOYWW list!

Giveaway Girls

I have finished my giveaway girls!  Each one of them is an original mixed media piece (5 3/4" x 9") painted on book paper coated with gesso, with text I added using the direct image transfer method.  The first one reminds us - "Seek and you will find."   

As we seek, let us "Find joy in the journey."  This painting has book paper circles and a shawl made of real lace. 

And for me, "The joy of the Lord is my strength."  This one also has a shawl made of real lace.

If  you would like a chance to win one of these three paintings simply leave a comment on this post telling me which one you would choose.

For more chances to win, please leave a separate comment if...

1.  You are a follower,

2.  You posted about this giveaway or posted a picture on the sidebar of your blog (linked to this post). 

I will be using the random number generator, so please make sure you leave me a comment for each entry you make.  I will pick the winner after a month.

Linking this up in Paint Party Friday!

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday: Goodies

Every Wednesday, Julia has a WOYWW link party and we show off our desks, whatever state it's in.  Because of the rains (I suppose), our internet connection hasn't been behaving so I've hardly been able to go visiting.  Sorry about that!  

On my desk today are some goodies I received in the mail.  A lovely zentangle seahorse ATC and fan tag from Shoshi...

and a wonderful butterfly themed screen card that I won from Cindy.  Wow, am I not soooo blessed?!

My giveaway paintings are almost done.  Just a fixative spray and as soon as I scan them, I will make a giveaway post.  Make sure to come back and visit if you want to have a chance to win one of them.

Okay, Julia's post is up and it's time to link up.  Have a great week, my dear blog friends!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: A Jumble of Projects

If ever there was a time when I was tempted to do a bit of tidying up before I took my weekly WOYWW picture, it was this week!  There's been very little progress on my Giveaway girls (I will have a giveaway soon and will let the winner pick one!)  because I have been busy learning Adobe Photoshop and making a poster for a prayer rally in November.

For those of you who enjoy a peek into my prayer journal, here is a page illustrating Psalm 147...

And beside it I copied out a quotation about prayer from John Tauler, a German preacher from the Middle Ages, "For my part, I tell you only this: truly detach yourself from yourself and from all created things and raise your soul wholly to God above all creatures, into the deep abyss. There, immerse your spirit in God’s spirit in true abandonment…, in a real union with God…, Ask God there for everything he wants us to ask him, what you desire and what other people desire from you. And hold this as certain: what a tiny, little coin is with regard to a hundred thousand gold pieces, that is what all external prayer is with regard to this prayer, which is a real union with God, and with regard to this inflowing and fusion of the created spirit in the uncreated spirit of God…"

Check out other desks and join in the fun of WOYWW! And I'm also planning to link up to Word Art Wednesday,  Random Journal Day, Heartprint Hallelujahs,  Faith-filled Friday, Paint Party Friday, Art Journal Every Day and Spiritual Sundays.


Ingvild Bolme is having an amazing giveaway to celebrate her new blog design.  I'm crossing my fingers!

Giveaway Girl WIP

I've decided to get ready for a giveaway so here is one of my UFOs (UnFinished Objects) that I'm trying to finish.  She's collaged on to a painted background, with book paper leaves on the tree and real lace for her shawl.

I'm sharing this with blog friends in Paint Party Friday and Studio Sneak Peek!

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday: Giveaway Girls

Whooosh!  The week seems to have whizzed past me and it's Wednesday again - time for the weekly show and tell, WOYWW.  A heartfelt thank you for all your lovely comments!  I think it's time I got ready for a thank you giveaway and so I am finishing some paintings that have been UFOs (UnFinished Objects) long enough!  

And, because it is the 25th of the month, it's Orange Day!  Please wear orange if you would like to participate in the UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, raising awareness about the issue of violence against women and girls.  I'm wearing orange today!

Have a lovely week, dear blog friends!

A Panda Giveaway

What a cutie!  For a chance to win her, visit Catherine's blog (although, of course, I want to win her!) The giveaway ends on July 20.