Whitney Houston - Rest in Peace

Hi Everyone!  I know I've been a little behind with my blog postings of late. I had eye surgery last month, so I'll attribute my absence to that. I had a new lens put in my left eye.  I can see again!  I guess my art might change a little?  Also, I'm back into the swing of working seven days a week.  Oh when am I going to win that darn lottery so that I can once again focus my time on my creativity rather than paying the bills. Okay, attitude of gratitude at least I'm not living on the streets.  I'm also happy that I'm not chained to playing bar gigs for now.
I don't mind the first two hours (at least when I'm playing with good musicians, and I can solo and/or I can sing a few songs), but the last two hours are so intolerably boring.  There is just so much spit I can wipe off my face from the conversations with drunks.
   I held my artist 'Meet and Greet' last month at The Scotch and Vine.  Some fabulous musicians came and played the event including; Tim Turner, Rod Cook, Ronnda Cadle, Heidi Swan, Gary, and my band mates: Carol Howe (percussion, back up singer), and Michael Wittenbrink (violin).  Thank you all for making the event a wonderful evening, and thanks to everyone who came to the event. We had a nice full house, and it was the first time I had a chance to enjoy the tantalizing food. The Big Blue Peacock drink that Drew created was also a hit.  My abstract feather series is featured till April at The Scotch and Vine.  20% off all art at the show, and I have signed art cards of any art from my site for $2.50 a card www.lauriemillermodernart.com.  A portion of all sales is donated to NCADV - Helping Women who have been abused by domestic violence - www.ncadv.org. In addition, I will be selling signed prints of my Whitney Houston picture at $10.00 plus postage fees. If anyone is interested you can email me at: bassnlegs@aol.com.  Thank you for your support!  It is much appreciated.  I have written a few new songs (music and lyrics).  I shall be sharing them soon.  In the meantime, I wrote the song Whitney R.I.P. (featured on this blog posting) on my guitar the other night.  It is a simple melody, but I wanted to write something.  I also created the art dedicated to Whitney last week. I will try my best to post more frequently.
Nighty night. xxoo Laurie

Red Dress

Hi Friends near and far,
I had a wonderful time playing at the Bellevue Arts Festival last weekend. Carol was great playing percussion, as well as Michael was great playing the electric violin. We had a stranger wanting to hire us for a private party, so we must have sounded okay.
It was very soul pleasing to play my original songs once again. Full circle. Back to where I belong. : ). Here are links to my music sites, Laurie Miller at Reverbnation, and my Facebook Fan page. Thanks for looking and listening, and adding as a friend if you chose. My son, Michael, won first place for photography at the Magnolia Arts Festival this past weekend too. You can look at his picture under this link - Run Down Gas Station. I'm including a miniature acrylic painting (I painted last night) called - Red Dress with this blog, and a link to my 'I Like You' song. I'm off to get my oil changed and teach. Have a Nice Day! xxoo Laurie

Charcoal Drawing - Bellevue Arts Festival

Hi everyone, I will be playing my first acoustic original gig with Michael, my son, playing violin, and Carol on percussion in five years. It should be fun. It is a nice sunny day here in the Seattle area, so I'm ready to burn. We will be playing at the Bellevue Arts Festival Saturday (today) July 30th from 4 - 5 pm. Here are two sites where you can here my music and fan me if you like - Reverbnation - Laurie Miller Band, and my Facebook fan page - Laurie Miller band.. My son finished the layout of my art site, Laurie Miller Modern Art, and he did a great job! Off to get ready for the gig!! Have a Nice Day! xxoo Laurie

Green Hills

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lauriemiller2dd
Hi everyone, time flies when you're having fun. Okay, when you are still working 24/7/365. Currently Michael is a tremendous help when it comes to getting my Facebook Fan page promoted, updating my art site, and helping to get my music out in general. He is also going to play violin with me at the Bellevue Arts Festival - Saturday, July 30th at 4 pm. Carol will be joining us on percussion. It should be fun. This will be the first original gig I've played in awhile.
Here is the link to my Facebook fanpage: Laurie Miller Facebook fanpage. To become a fan, go to the page, and PUSH the 'Like' button. Thanks for the support.
I'm also getting all of my art prices reposted to my new art web site that Michael is building for me too. www.lauriemillermodernart.com. We are still building the site, and we have four more categories to complete. We are also going to include a new category of miniature acrylic paintings - $20.00 each. The art with this posting - Green Hills is one of the miniatures for sell.
I know I have more to say, but I'm fading. I'll post sooner next time I promise. Nighty night. xxooo Laurie
My song Take My Hand is linked to this blog posting.

Happpppy Fourth of July!!!

Hi Everyone! Happy Fourth of July! I had a lovely 15 hour day of working yesterday, so I'm a bit out of it. I taught music lessons all day, and then I played a gig (with Tim Turner and Billy Spaulding at The Lighthouse) in the evening. Off to play a private party Fourth of July gig soon. I guess I should take a bath? I painted this quick acrylic painting this morning. Michael and I are making great progress and getting things organized around the house, so I should probably have my studio up by next week for sure (odds 10 - 1). Oh yeah, Michael and I had a wonderful trip to Mount Rainer on Friday. One thing we didn't expect though was how much snow was still there. We drove to the Paradise area to take a hike, but there was a need for snow shoes to commence on any hiking. Snow was still about 12 feet high. Gotta get going! Have a nice day!!!

Reflecting Life

Hi Everyone! Okay, so it has been more than a few weeks since I've posted. I admit that I've been procrastinating with this blog posting because it deals with the death of my Uncle Bill. He was my only older blood relative left. My Uncle Bill was my mother's brother. He was the biggest influence on my life concerning playing music and pursuing the arts. My uncle had received a scholarship to Juilliard, but instead he studied mathematics graduating Phi Beta Kappa and became an actuary. He left his piano at my mother's house, and I played the piano every chance I could. I loved playing classical music, Joplin, Debussy, and writing my own music. My uncle also painted, but he never painted when people were around. We had some of his amazing paintings hanging in our house however. Thank you Uncle Bill for all your gifts you shared.
This weekend my awesome son, Michael, is graduating from college (Central Washington University) - double major - Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with Honors, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration Specialization Finance, and a Minor in Economics. Also, this weekend, on Sunday to be exact, I will present my music students recital. I'm trying to breathe a little right now. Next week I'm taking a day off no matter what! I've linked Frédéric Chopin - Prelude in E-Minor (op.28 no. 4) to this blog, because my Uncle Bill loved to play Chopin. The painting posted with this blog is a quick five minute acrylic painting I created last night. xxxoo Nighty night.


Reflecting Life
Trying to remember
A life that once was
Always remembering
To take back my life
To reflect who I really am and how I feel
Because, life will reflect back
How I feel about myself
Copyright 2011 - LAM

Christmas Roses

Hi Everyone! Even though technically it is still December 26th here on the west coast, it is three hours ahead on the east coast where my sister lives, so it is now December 27th. Kristie's birthday!!! Happy Birthday! Vegas trip coming up in 2011. I feel that aftershock! Cover, duck, and hide!
I had a fun gig with Tim at the Wild Vine in Mill Creek. It was a special gig because my son, Michael, sat in on the congas with us. He did a great job. Stephanie, Michael's fiance, also played a couple of songs on the congas too, and Marky Mark played the jingle bells. Saturday was a fun Christmas gig with Tim Turner and Billy Spaulding at the Rimrock in Lake City. Today, as in Sunday, December 26th, Michael, Carol, and I had our christmas dinner. Michael cooked most of it (ham, beans, sweet potatoes, etc.), and it tasted great! I have a little bit of extra time this week to plan, organize, and paint a few large scale pictures. Hopefully starting tonight, but I am feeling a little full. I might have to take a nap!
The art piece for this blog is a colored pencil sketch I did of some roses. I've linked Marilyn Monroe to this posting singing Santa Baby. Nighty night. xxoo


Christmas Roses
Christmas roses
Singing sweet songs
Harmonic melodies
None too long
Beautifying the world
Hope for warmer days
Christmas roses
Waiting to perform
Their last ballet
Copyright 2010 - LAM

Man and Woman in a Vase

Hi everyone! Today was an awesome day, even though I was a wee bit tired and sleep deprived. My wonderful son, Michael, treated me and his fiance, Stephanie, to tickets to see the Picasso show at SAM. It was the Masterpieces from the Musee National in Picasso, Paris to be exact. This series of Picasso's paintings spanned from 1906 - 1972. The show was very inspiring to me. I created a piece about 18" x 30" using the medium of oil pastels and chalk, which I have a limited amount of experience with, in response to the Picasso show. The piece is called, 'Man and Woman in a Vase.' I've linked Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to this posting. Nighty night.




Man and Woman in a Vase
Man and woman in a vase
What sort of love
Shall you embrace?
A love incrusted in harmony and peace
Or a love coated in strife and decrease
The answer it seems is to realize
In the end love is experienced uniquely
Through what you create
With your soul’s eye
Copyright 2010 - LAM

Michael Archangel - Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone! Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. My son and I had a nice quiet thanksgiving this evening. We had ham for dinner instead of turkey, since neither one of us really likes turkey. I painted this quick watercolor of my son, unbeknownst to him, while he was working on a project an hour ago. Well, I just realized that I have a lot of paper work to complete by tomorrow, so nighty night. xxoo


Michael - Archangel
Michael, my son
Named after Michael the archangel
Field commander of the
Army of God
In Hebrew Michael means
“who is God like”
This describes my son Michael completely
Always thoughtful, sweet and kind
I’m glad you’ve chosen to be
Part of my family this time

Copyright 2010 - LAM