Calling it Quits

Pencil portrait, 4  by 6 inches.  It seems I never know when to 

stop working on a piece.  It is hard to abandon a work of 

art and calling it quits.

This had started out innocently as a 

sketch and then became more detailed .....

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Halloween House Scene

A little Halloween vignette I put together on a small table for Halloween 2015.  The horror holographic photos were fun and got lots of comments and questions.  The beautiful woman portrait turned into a Medusa figure ... it all depended on how you viewed it!  :-D

Washed Out Spider

 This morning we noticed a raindrop covered spider web attached to our hummingbird feeder.  At first glance it reminded me of a shattered window pane.

The old nursery rhyme song came to mind with the lyrics  "...  down came the rain and washed the spider out."  A spider can't be safe anywhere!  A spout could have been more dangerous with the rushing rain water entering it. 

May we now have some sunshine in our lives!  Rain, rain, go away!

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The Blues and Old Ink Bottles

The good news for me is that I don't have "the blues".  I have always been fond of old ink bottles and any old cobalt blue glass.  Old fountain pens have also had a place in my heart.  This past winter I spent three months taking a photography class.  My goal was to retire "auto green" for the rest of my life.  What a challenge!  I had thought it would be a piece of cake!  Not!  I received excellent instruction and spent many winter days on my aperture, shutter speeds, f stops and the list is endless. Blood, sweat and tears!  Yes, on some days.  Several times I would announce to my husband (poor guy) that I couldn't do it.  "Bracketing" was something else!  Such it is with pain ... I had such gain! Finally I got it, have been using my Nikon SLR 3200 manually ever since.  Good bye auto green forever!

This photo was actually part of an assignment of dealing with back lit light.  I realized I should have exposed the scene more, giving it more light.  Still, the cobalt blue glass made me happy when I saw it illuminated by the sun.


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Boiling Bubbles

Last night I was making ravioli, boiling water and added a little extra virgin olive oil.  It looked like sparkling diamonds. One would probably never guess from where scene originated.  I did turn the image into black and white using Picassa.

(I am trying to learn how to remove the borders from the images on this blog.  Not fond of them, I want them to disappear! )


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The Gnarly Arms

Her gnarled arms reaching out ...

Wisp of a Moon

A wisp of a moon this morning. 

What is it about clouds?

I saw a face in this cloud, a face with a lopsided smile.  The eyes appear
to be looking to the left and up.

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Birds at Rest

A couple of weeks ago in Atlanta,  I capured these two birds in the topmost

branches of a weeping willow tree.

After cropping and making this color photo

into a silhouette, I was quite pleased with this black and white composition.

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Fun With Morning Shadows

It takes so little to makes me happy.  I can even have fun with shadows on the wall.  The above photo was made two days ago.  These unique shadows were from the morning sun peeking behind a window treatment and landing on a vintage prism lamp and a crystal cross.  These two items were sitting on a buffet in our dining room.  In the mornings, I can't help but be stopped in my tracks when I see these unique wall shadows.  After stopping, I run and grab my camera.  I posted the above photo on Facebook the other day.  One FB friend mentioned he saw the Wicked Witch of the West on the left. :-)  I had mentioned the photo had a science fiction appeal to it having used the lomo-ish setting and cross process on it.  At first I had

seen the figure on the right as a Martian-like creature.  Later I looked at it and ... egads!  It was a

Teletubby!

The next day's shadows, how different they appeared.  I had not touched  or staged one thing and there was a totally different look.  The light and shadows are as unique as each sunrise and sunset.



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Niobe Mourning

I made this photo at the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia.  We visited this beautiful cemetery in April.  This sculpture is of Niobe, known as the "prototype of the bereaved mother."



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Make Me Smile

Make Me Smile

2.5" by 3.5"

A small whimsical painting, an Artist Trading Card, the mediums used on this are watercolor and ink on cold pressed 140 lb watercolor paper. It is an imaginary portrait and is one of a kind.

Where do birds go when they die?




Several months ago on my daily walk,
the bird was by the curb as though it had just laid down to rest.  I have
a feeling it had been injured by a passing car on the
busy street beside the parking lot.

 

The thought has occured to me at different times in my life, where did birds go when they died?  I had never seen a dead bird fall from the sky.  I wondered if I was the only one who had ever wondered this, thanks to Google, I know I join the ranks of many others who have had similar thoughts and questions.

I read it is the opinion of "bird experts" that birds sometimes roost in trees when they are feeling sickly.  They seek out secluded places where hopefully they won't be discovered by prey.  I also read that sick woodpeckers crawl into tree holes.

A sick or injured bird is often discovered by predators, that accounts for there not being many found on the ground.  As a result of the bird's light body mass, their bodies decompose quickly.

I feel now I have a better understanding of where birds go when they die.

Harsh Reality ... portrait of a woman

She had a good heart but ...

The title of Harsh Reality kept coming to me as a title for this woman's portrait.  Of course, an imaginary portrait of mine. It measures 5" by 6" and the mediums used on yupo paper are watercolor, ink, graphite and china marker.

In an attempt to paint some in a different method, this was my first time painting on yupo paper.

Those Haunting Stage Eyes

Those dark and haunting eyes from the stage pierced

even those sitting on the back row.

Can you imagine being face to face?

 

This painting done on yupo paper measures 3.75" by 7.25 ".

"Show Time" ACEO Portrait

This watercolor and ink portrait, 2.5" by 3.5", is painted on watercolor paper.  An artist trading card, it is also known as an ACEO.  It is original and one of a kind, it is not a print.

It looks like the show is about to begin!

Midnight Stroll



Midnight Stroll

A whimsical little watercolor, pen and ink, 2.5" x 3.5", known as an artist trading card.

A quick painting in my attempt to "loosen" up after doing some recent intense portrait commissions.



My Magical Art Case

My antique art case, one of my favorite things!
I left the portrait there, it came with the box.

(Please double click to enlarge images)

Why is it things seem to quickly escalate right around Thanksgiving?  By "things" I mean commitments, work, social events, shopping, Christmas preparations, just life in general.  This time period between Thanksgiving and New Years Day will soon be a past blur.  What I'm truly getting at is I have not posted anything new on this blog in a long time.  I have been working on some portrait commissions and it was time to drag out a treasure of mine.

Some of the treasures found inside!

The label from one wooden box of pastels ...

This treasure is my "art box", I think officially it is called an art case.  The lid locks on with wing nuts and I fell in love with this old wooden box the minute I laid eyes on it in an antique store about thirteen years ago.  It is from England and was full of different art supplies but my favorite things were these boxes of old pastels.  I know they were a jumbled mess with many colors used and gone, but oh so charming.  I imagine this belonged to an art student many years ago. The portrait shown tacked to the inside of the box is still there.  I haven't had to heart to remove it, I just like the idea of someone long ago taking the time to paint it.  So, I have just left it there as I found it.

Whoever heard of "witch" pens?

I had not heard of them until I opened this wonderful box.

As you can tell, I have used them.

Visit to Dr. Baker's Lounge

Clint and I in Dr. Baker's Bistro at the Crescent Hotel
in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Clint and I had a wonderful week, we went on a little vacation in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Branson, Missouri.  Wednesday evening we ate at Dr. Bakers's Lounge on the 4th floor of the historic Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs.  What a place!  There were so many blog ideas and I made a ton of pictures.

The painting at the Crescent Hotel done in a "Klimt" style.  I loved the painting
and the use of gold leaf, swirls and spirals.

The painting behind us in the photograph was painted in the style of Gustav Klimt 1862-1918, an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement.  Klimt's primary subject was the female body.  He used gold leaf in his paintings and often a motif of spirals and swirls.  I really liked this painting in the bistro.



"The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt,
1862-1918.



"Adele Bloch-Bauer" by Klimt sold for $135 million in 2006.

 

The Other Girl from Ipanema

"The Other Girl from Ipanema"
4.5" x 7" micro pen sketch with watercolor
November Virtual Paintout submission

                                                               

Today I completed a little Micro Pen sketch with watercolor for this month's Virtual Paintout, the blog of Bill Guffey.  I actually got something submitted early (don't go into shock, Bill :-))  I usually get my submission in on the very last day, the last few hours.

Using Google Street Map, I could see the image of a girl crossing a busy intersection in the Ipanema district of Rio de Janeiro.  Bill selected this month's city of Rio de Janeiro for the November Virtual Paintout.  It is such fun!  It is quite amazing how much I am learning about different cities around the world.

We have the option to change what we would like when we paint a scene. I gave this girl long hair and a different print skirt.  Can't wait to see the ideas of the other Virtual Paintout artists.