cedar’s blog

Cedar August 28th, 2008

I have lots and lots of great news, but not much time to write at the moment.

My sick dog, Clara, has finally gotten a diagnosis from the doctors, we have started a new treatment, and she is rapidly improving.  (More on that later.)

I just got home from a wonderful week in Ohio & Indiana, and I’m getting ready to leave town again, this time for a white water rafting weekend with my hubby & friends. I have been blessed with many art sales this past couple of weeks, and I am giddy about all the possibilities for new art in the coming months.

I’ll write a longer post to fill you in on recent happenings next week, but for now I just have 2 announcements.

Announcement #1:

I’ve been interviewed by Didi Menendez, author of Oranges & Sardines, a publication featuring contemporary artists and poets.

My interview is now published online, and you can Click here to read it!

Announcement #2:

Art By Cedar 2009 Calendars are now available for purchase!

Last year’s calendar was a spur-of-the-moment decision made in early December, when many people had already filled all their calendar needs.  But the calendar generated a lot of interest, and I got many requests for another in 2009.  This year I am making sure to release my calendar early in the year, before everyone starts their Christmas shopping.

This calendar features my cat & dog portraits.  Each month has one of my animal portrait paintings alongside a quote about pets and their importance in our lives.

Click on the picture to get yours now!  (If you click on “View Calendar Pages” on the bottom left, you can see what the inside looks like.)

I may eventually offer a second calendar design as well, with different paintings–but that depends on whether I can find the time.  For now, I’m extremely pleased with the Cats & Dogs design.

To all my U.S. friends, have a happy Labor Day weekend, and I will catch you in September!

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Cedar August 28th, 2008

Tree of Life

Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 30″

This painting was commissioned by a wife as an anniversary gift for her husband.  All she requested was that the painting should depict a Tree of Life, which they used as a symbol at their wedding.

So I began reading about the Tree of Life and what it is–virtually every culture in the history of the world mentions a “Tree of Life,” and the specific meanings of this symbol vary quite a bit.  Some of the consistent themes include life and death, birth and rebirth, and eternity.  So it’s a very spiritual and thought-provoking symbol.

In Chinese mythology, depictions of the Tree of Life often include images of dragons and phoenixes.

According to Wikipedia,

A phoenix is a mythical bird with a tail of beautiful gold and red plumage (or purple and blue, by some sources. It has a 1,000 year life-cycle, and near the end the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises. The new phoenix is destined to live, usually, as long as the old one. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of the old phoenix in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egypt city of Heliopolis (sun city in Greek). The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible — it is also said that it can heal a person with a tear from its eyes and give him/her temporary immortality; a symbol of fire and divinity.

The phoenix is a beautiful metaphor for how we live on in our children.  (The couple in question is about to have their second.)  Also, the fire theme brings to mind romantic love and passion.  So I added two phoenixes to the painting–to represent the two people that are joined by the life they have created together.

Details:

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Cedar August 15th, 2008

What an honor!  I have been selected by a fellow artist, Dean H., for this award!  This is very much like Tag. It helps us to become familiar with previously undiscovered blogs.

The rules are that if the person receiving the award decides to participate, he or she must:
1 - Put the logo on their blog
2 - Add a link to the person who gave them the award
3 - Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4 - Add links to those blogs on yours
5 - Leave a message on each of the blogs nominated.

My nominees are:

1. Morgan aka The Paint Eater

2. Karen Yee

3. Heather Brown Truman of Bad! Kitty Art Studio

4. Corrine aka Jafabrit

5. Melissa Fallon

6. Varvara Harmon

7. Lauren Mitchell (a food blog, not an art blog, but I had to include this one!)

Thank you, Deano, for the honor!  It is always so nice to connect in this way with other artists–to be recognized by others and also show my support for others.

No new work to show you just yet.  But I’m working on a painting I’m really excited about, and have lots of plans for new artwork.  My constant traveling this summer is really making a dent in my productivity.  I promise I’ll make up for it in September.

Speaking of which, I have a show coming up next month at Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills, MD.  Details are forthcoming.

My garden, as always, continues to amaze me.

The only other big thing that’s going on with me right now is that my sweet 3-year-old black lab, Clara, is very very sick, and I’m having a hard time with it.  Click here to read more.

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