Today on my jog...

...I saw an instant of kindness. An obviously athletic man was jogging towards me on the sea wall, and a plump-ish type lady was jogging just towards him. As they passed each other, he looked at her, smiled, and gave her the biggest thumbs up. It made me so entirely happy. So naturally I had to draw it.

Life is too short. Life is so incredibly short. Don't be afraid to be too kind, or too compassionate, or too encouraging - because what else are we here for? To make money? To buy more things? To become the type of people who leave a legacy of kindness. That is something I, for one, would love to do.

Let Your Life Speak

I finally finished the first painting for our new house we get possession of end of May! SO excited!! This simple quote has been swimming around in my heart and soul for a long time, and for me, it sums up how I want to live my life.

It's not about saying what you believe, it's about living it.

It's HOW we live.

It's HOW we love.

I want my life to speak for itself. What my friends and loved ones say about me when I am not in the room. And after I am gone, how will my life have made an impact in others? If I live authentically - in the good and the bad, and love the absolute best I can.... then I will just let my life speak for itself.

There is beauty everywhere.

I walk through Gastown on my way to the studio here in downtown Vancouver twice a day, Monday to Friday. Many of those days, I see people who are just wandering through the streets, wearing the same worn outfit every day. They all tug at my heart, as I become more and more painfully aware that I am fortunate enough to wear a clean, dry and almost new outfit every day, under a warm jacket, carrying a backpack with a lunch, on my way to a job which pays me quite well in the scheme of things.

There is one man in particular who has captured my heart. I usually see him either sitting in Starbucks to warm up as I walk by the window, or slowly making his way up the street, just to keep moving. I believe God is opening my eyes to see true and simple beauty, in that there is such beauty in all of these wandering souls that we so easily pass by and try not to make eye contact.

This morning I walked by him once again, always attempting to look him right in the eyes so I can at least give him a smile. At least acknowledge that he is a beautiful soul, perfectly made by God, and not forgotten like he may feel. I couldn't get him out of my head, so I drew him when I got to work.

I am thankful for him, for walking by him everyday to remind me of my own humanity, and to redefine my definition of beauty.

I will be drawing more often.

That time change...

The time changed last weekend, and I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made! Now when I leave work at 5pm, it feels like 9:30pm.

Sneaky time change!!

Yesterday we were outside and a little woodpecker did this next door to our house. Tee-hee.

Love to Cora.

A good friend of ours just had a precious little girl this week who was born with a hole in her heart. Today she is having open heart surgery, and we are sending our prayers and love to her!!

Bowling mishaps.

So, myself and a few friends decided we should go good old-fashioned bowling last Friday - with REAL pins and balls, not just on the Wii! So we ventured out, donned a fresh pair of glowing bowling shoes, and got our 10-pin on!

However, not everyone knew that my middle name was "Gimpy". Yes, Stacey Gimpy Chomiak, that is me! I did my first frame fine, threw the ball down the alley or whatever it's called, but for SOME reason, the next frame, I COMPLETELY forgot how to bowl!

I kept grasping the ball with only 2 fingers, and every time I went to throw it, it just fell out of my hand! Then I topped myself - I accidentally hurled it backwards into the path of this elderly gentleman in the alley next to us... all the while my 3 friends behind me were scared for their lives and YET laughing their heads off!! Tams then yelled "STACE, put your THUMB in the HOLE!!"

Oh. Right. I knew it felt wrong!

I couldn't resist sketching the moment.

I am very glad I could provide a good portion of the entertainment :)
Onto the next adventure! Thanks for a good time Gals!

At Christmas, love is all around.

"Across the years, I will walk with you in deep green forests and shores of sand, and when our time on earth is through, in heaven too, I will hold your hand. xoxo"



About a week ago, I found this amazing quote whilst on my searches through the neverending net. It immediately made me think of the amazing woman in my life that I will marry in five short months, and how much she truly means to me.

So, of course, I thought of designing a painting around this quote and surprising her for Christmas. I could only work on it while she was at work, and made sure to clean up all my painting jazz every day before she got home, so she would be none the wiser! I designed it around our bedroom colours, so it could hang above our bed. All the text took me quite a while to paint, but I was very happy to finish in time!! I think it was a success...see pics for proof. :)

The final painting; 12" x 36", acrylic on canvas.

I am in awe at the blessings in my life.
Merry Christmas to one and all!

I'm a-BC Boundin'!

So... life changes, and mine will be a lot in a few short weeks! We have decided to make the leap and move to Vancouver as of November 1st. As I always say, life is too short, and ya gotta take risks! I will miss my family and close friends of course the most, but Tams and I are ready for a new adventure!

Stay tuned..... :)

"Tah-Dah" wins its' first award!

I received some great news today from the folks at the Canada International Film Festival, hosted in Vancouver, BC in March, 2010! Read some of the email below the poster :)


"Congratulations! Your film has been chosen to receive the Royal Reel Award for Excellence in Filmmaking at the 2010 Canada International Film Festival.

The Festival will take place March 19 - 21, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.

Our judges felt that your film was among the very best of the several hundreds of films submitted from over 30 countries around the world and deserving of special recognition. Only a maximum of 10 films per competition category are selected to be honored with this prestigious award.

You are invited to accept your award in person at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony at the 2010 Canada International Film Festival."

Yahoo! I won in the Best Animation category, which is superfab. I'd love to go in person to accept the award... who knows, perhaps I'll find myself around there in March :)