dove – Heni's Happy Paintings

Soaring Dove of Peace

Published on September 19, 2020 by henishappypaintings19 Comments

Monday, September 21st is the International Day of Peace. I’ve painted a white dove of peace to honor the day for seven years now. Soaring Dove of Peace is this year’s painting, my first dove on the larger paper. With the extra space I decided to play with my new abstract style. I like the way it almost looks like stained glass

International Day of Peace is observed by people all over the world to encourage peace within and among nations. This year is the 75th year anniversary and the is theme “Shaping Peace Together.” The UN invited millions of people throughout the world to join in a global conversation on building a peaceful and prosperous future which has become even more important with the global pandemic. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. There are activities going on all weekend leading up to Monday.

If you are interested in learning more about the International Day of Peace and events occurring check out this link: International Day of Peace 2020

Through the Storm

Published on September 16, 2017September 16, 2017 by henishappypaintings1 Comment

Through the Storm - acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval Each year around this time I paint a white dove in honor of International Peace Day which occurs on September 21st. On Monday as Tropical Storm Irma was blowing through Atlanta I decided to paint a new dove.

It was a stressful day for my husband as he was in the last stages of finishing up a big job and couldn’t afford to lose time in a power outage. I have a large studio window upstairs and watched the big trees in the back yard sway back and forth. The winds felt relentless, with big gusts coming through every few hours. In our neighborhood alone around seven or so large trees came down; many of our neighbors lost power. Half of our county lost power, with the children just returning to school yesterday. We were very, very lucky to have kept our power and also the internet service which was equally as important for my husband. It was quite a storm and my heart goes out to all that suffered loss.

I was pondering why the dove is a symbol of peace and thought one reason is the beautiful curves it has, the rounded head and nicely feminine, curved form. I tried to accent that in this painting. I then kept painting curving colors around and through the dove. I starting seeing all the curves that I was painting as the wind that I was hearing. It was a good distraction from our fears of losing power.

I liked the way it turned out. When I look at this dove it makes me think of these powerful natural events that touch us and in some ways bring our humanity out as we come together to help and renew.

Spring Break and a Thank you

Published on April 9, 2014 by henishappypaintings6 Comments

Red Dove on a Bowl - acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval — Red Dove on a Bowl – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

I chose to put up Red Dove on a Bowl today since I think the colors are fun and springlike. I’ve always liked this dove painting because instead of my usual complimentary colors, I used a primary color theme which really pops. It’s Spring break here in Atlanta, my daughter and I will be heading down to visit my twin sister and her family for a few days. We haven’t seen each other since the new year so we are really looking forward to our visit. Plus they have a very nice naturalistic backyard pool that I’m sure my daughter will brave to swim some while I’ll enjoy sipping wine and relaxing with my sister!

My blogger friend Renate Bell has a thoughtful blog that I enjoy following for creative inspiration: Pisces, Where Dreams Become Real. I was honored that she chose to interview me for her monthly column where she interviews “creative souls”. I very much enjoyed her interview questions, they got me thinking and I also appreciated her kind generosity and support! Please go visit and take a look around her site and check out the interview. Here is the Link: Where Dreams Become Real: Interview with Artist Heni Sandoval. Thank you again Renate!