From the Garden

A wonderfully scented gift from the garden.....ahhhh.....not too many more!

New Face......

....again! I am loving drawing these with my non-dominant hand, btw.

 But this time I did not chose carefully well at all the page from the old French Almanach (1948) that I was going to draw on! So I am posting a close-up for you to check it up...ha..ha..ha...Some words are similar to the English ones so even if you do not know French you'll get a good laugh!

New Face

5"x11", watercolors, oil pastels, gouache, pencil on old ledger page

I had not intended to do another one right away but I am stuck right now on the plaster work so...she happened!

Since I was not seriously engaged I picked a sheet from a very old ledger and started to draw...soon it was too late and I did not want to stop. The paper was just about disintegrating but mostly the edges so I kept on.....I painted a coat of matte medium to give it some protection and soon enough I noticed that it had stuck to the white paper underneath, oh well.

I love the burnt sienna color of this ledger, just gorgeous.
"Liatris" will be ephemeral!

Beautiful autumn day today.

Her Name is Protea

5x7, watercolor, casein, pencil, oil pastels and gouache on a vintage book page
(on geology and fossils)

Yes, inspired by Lynne Hoppe, (a wonderful, wonderful artist who is a precious being) I decided to draw with my left hand (non-dominant) and use all kinds of media so here is my first one, called "Protea" in the footsteps of my "Botanical Women" series. I have this bad tendency to overwork my paintings and this "non-dominant" thing is exquisitely liberating!!!
I am reading  "The Power of Your Other Hand",  as a result and have been doing some of the exercises, like writing with my left hand.....interesting!

In The Studio, work in progress

Finished the face, I need to do the background

My plaster substrate composed of plaster gauze layers on a piece of muslin type fabric. 3 coats of acrylic paint have been added , first a mixture of burnt umber and yellow ochre, then white.

A Package from Italy

Fine fine watercolors from Firenze!......just like Lynne Hoppe's ...hee...hee..

Work in Progress in the Studio

Substrate: cloth covered with plaster gauze

Small painting on a vintage page which may or may not be glued on this background (journal page)

I'm having fun these days, not doing what I'm supposed to do....ha..ha..ha

Quote for Today

There are some days when I think I'm going to die 

from an overdose of satisfaction. 

~Salvador Dali-

Does this feel familiar? 

PS: So far not today, and you?

Right?

Something to Ponder About...

Read this on the blog  "love you...Up to the Moon", author unknown:

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can get going without pep pills,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on

you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no

prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics,

Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog!

 

Think about this!

A Package on its Way to Paris

You might be wondering "for whom"?

Plaster Work

About 7,5" x 9,5", plaster on board, hand made stencil from my photo of a dragonfly, commercial stencil, acrylics, copic marker, watercolor, Distress Inks.

Dragonfly Kanji

Interesting

This is from the newsletter "The Finish Line" published by the Arizona Senior Olympics:

Old Person Pride
I’m an old person. Actually, it’s not a bad
thing to be called, as you will see.
Old people are easy to spot at sporting
events. While the National Anthem is
playing, old people remove their caps, stand
at attention and sing without embarrassment.
They know the words and believe in them.
Old people remember World War II,
Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Normandy and
Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age, the
Korean War, the Cold War, the Jet Age and
the moon landing. They remember the 50-
plus peacekeeping missions from 1945 to
2005, not to mention Vietnam.
If you bump into an old person on the
sidewalk, he will apologize. If you pass an
old person on the street, he will nod or tip
his cap to a lady. Old people trust strangers
and are courtly to women.
Old people hold the door for the next
person and when walking down the street,
make certain the lady is on the inside for
protection. Old people get embarrassed
if someone curses in front of women and
children, and they don’t like any filth or
dirty language on TV or in movies.
Old people have moral courage and
personal integrity. They seldom brag, unless
it’s about their children or grandchildren.
Old people know our great country is
protected, not by politicians, but by the
young men and women in the military
serving their country.
Th is country needs old people with their
work ethic, sense of responsibility, pride in
their country and decent values. We need
them now more than ever.
Thank God for old people.
I am saying " Amen!

Quote for the Day

                           

 "We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.ANAIS NIN


I hate this white background above but somehow could not change it:(