983 Untroubled

Oh how I would love to be on that boat right now.  It looks so peaceful and tranquil and, well, untroubled.  My daughter took the reference photo for this painting a Mazomanie, Wisconsin.  

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/983-untroubled/818911

982 Heyday

I needed a break from some other paintings in the works, so this was a nice reprieve.

It is one of my paint splat paintings in which I paint the image from imagination.  It's lots of fun and a nice escape.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/982-heyday/818526

981 Freshly Picked

It is very exciting for me to grow my own vegetables in my garden.  In this case, these went directly into my studio for my still life set up.  I couldn't dawdle because the fresh vegetables don't stay fresh for very long.

Gardening and painting are my two favorite pastimes, as if you couldn't tell.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/981-freshly-picked/817548 

980 Up On The Roof

Without her knowing it, my daughter shamed me into painting outdoors today.  "It would be a great plein air painting day, Mom.  What's stopping you?" to which I replied with a number of excuses.  I have a new easel and I'm just not ready to paint in the city since I'm  (enter any one of many excuses here).  So I decided to paint on the roof to ease on into it.  My little flower garden on the roof is in full bloom and it wasn't too hot up there today.  There was a nice breeze and only once did my canvas blow off before I bungie corded it down.

My Art Ladies group went on several painting trips to beautiful places--New Mexico, California, Door County, Hilton Head----all were wonderful experiences.  That was many years ago.  Plein air painting is "NOT for sissies" as someone in our group described it, loads of fun but really hard work.  

I will promise myself to scope out places I am comfortable with to paint.  I have my eye on a charming little yellow house with a nice garden and a white picket fence not too far from my home.  There is an active group of Plein Air Painters Chicago, so someday maybe I will join them one day.  I did signed up to paint at the Chicago Botanical Gardens in late August, so I better get busy preparing so as not to embarrass myself.  

979 Be Still My Heart

I fell in love with nasturtiums 3 years ago when my garden club was scoping out gardens for our Quilts In The Garden Walk, which by the way was a crazy wild success.  We found the cutest little backyard garden completely filled with nasturtiums, spilling over sidewalks and their little pond, and that's the moment I fell in love with their beautiful leaves and flowers.  We planned the entire winter for quilts to accompany this beautiful garden.  The following spring, we visited the garden and discovered the homeowner had ripped out all the nasturtiums.  I was devastated, BUT their replacement garden was equally as beautiful and we went to Plan B.  Lesson learned.

978 Powerful Forces

If you have been following my painting journey, you know a few things about me.  Surely you must know that I am not a portrait artist and that I am self taught in that genre.  You also must know that I passionately paint Palestinian refugee children's portraits to bring awareness and attention to a non-profit, non-political organization, ANERA,  American Near East Refugee Aid.  This is my 27th portrait in the series of The Innocence Project.

I was prepared to write about women and girls in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria being a powerful force in their communities as breadwinners, providers, and role models---areas that ANERA serves.

But if we think we have it bad here in the United States, it is absolutely a walk in the park compared to Palestinian refugees in any of these countries, particularly in Lebanon.  Here is a quote from ANERA'S blog about the conditions in Lebanon:

"All of Lebanon is now on two hours of electricity per day. Randomly coming on and off. It used to be more scheduled. Morale is down in the whole country. There continue to be demonstrations in the streets. The army is more visible. The value of the Lebanese pound continues its downward slide. There are shortages in basics, like medicines. Many shops are not even selling items because they don’t know what price to charge. It’s chaotic. People are rushing to buy stuff and stock up in their homes."

The situation is worsening every day for the 1.7 million Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Lebanon.  Conditions have been terrible, unemployments rates are high and people have very little access to education and health care.  The ANERA Country Director in Lebanon reports that despite the resiliency of the people, there is a sense of despair, fear, and hopelessness.  The World Food Program estimates that 83% of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon are living in crushing poverty.  

Thankfully the virus hasn't spiked in Lebanon but the numbers are rising.  ANERA provides valuable disinfection kits with bleach, soap and laundry detergent, as well as hygiene kits.  They also provide food, and important medicines like cancer and chronic disease medications.

There is SO much more I could tell you about ANERA and the great work they do to bring dignity and improved living conditions, education, educational programs, etc. but I know you would gain much more by looking at their website, www.ANERA.org.  I know you will be impressed.  If you are so moved, please make a donation to ANERA and I promise you it will be well spent.  If possible, mention The Innocents Project 

Thanks for your consideration.

https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/978-powerful-forces/812905