My Cup of Tea

Junk Mail Book....The End

2012-01-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

watercolors, chinese white, on junk mail paper

detail

Finally......done! Pursuing the work until the end was, quite frankly, difficult as my head was on other things by then....but i said i would finish it and i am very stubborn! quite happy actually .... learned a lot while working on these pages. As i said before watercolor is not a medium i am familiar with. Before starting on this i was working on a woman's face so now i will happily go back to it, it's been staring at me from the corner of the room.
PS: More dots...dots...dots....dots.. d....zzzzz....

Junk Mail Book Pages 16 and 17

2012-01-11T17:20:00.003-07:00

watercolors, liquid acrylics on junk papers

Okay, i'll admit, this time i knew no boundaries, i just "let it all hang out" and while i know that i have gone mad, i feel rather good about it and i had so much fun. No one has been hurt! i know close to nothing about watercolors and so i made so many mistakes and had to learn the hard way but learned i have...a thing or two.
Our roof is being redone and my studio walls, furniture and mess have been covered with plastic sheeting, weird feeling when i go in.. So since it will stay that way until late Friday, no working in the studio on the remaining pages for now, i will see this weekend.
PS: The funny looking blue "thing" on the right page with a funny stripey tail is the continuation of the cheetah's tail (previous page), did not take much time thinking about it...

Pages 12 Trough 15

2012-01-05T17:27:00.002-07:00

The fish on the right is a box fish and if you look closely you will see who is lurking on the next page

Watercolors, liquid acrylics on junk mail papers

i tell you, friends, it's getting worse, my "maximalism", i mean. Now i sometimes use a magnifying glass even! But the truth is that i am having fun, so where is the sin? Go ahead, shoot me is that if your inclination, but, hee...hee...you're too far from me....i have been asking myself whether i will finish this book or not and the answer came today: yes, i will. i do not like unfinished business. Mariesel, my sisterette in Paris has closed her book, done, finished, here for your perusal. But i am stubborn, very stubborn.
So to the left more strange sea creatures and facing them the fastest land animal, Sir Cheetah who seems to have had a slab of the box fish transplanted on the rear of his back:)

2011-12-27T14:12:00.002-07:00

Christmas Reflection by Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the king and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

    To heal the broken,
    To feed the hungry,
    To release the prisoner,
    To rebuild the nations,
    To bring peace among all,
    To make music in the heart.

PS: someone asked about this picture, it is my photograph. i always give credit if if not my original work.....until i forget due to my advanced age:)

Pages 8 through 11

2011-12-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

i do not practice minimalism but maximalism......so frustrating when i want to follow the principle that sometimes less is more....ahhh.... Now you will want to ask me "But why don't you?" and i will answer with 2 round eyes and a blank look on my face! Fortunately for me and those around me i still have my sense of humor...grrrr....The fish, well, the fish is a lost case, it never started lightly but the iris i had started it gently, yes, in a sort of minimalist way...but something took over me and i went at this poor flower with a vengeance......
The creature from page 6 keeps appearing and so i keep having to make up a new image: it becomes a strange fin for the fish and then an even stranger moth-type winged creature.

Next Pages: 4, 5, 6 and 7

2011-12-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

The strange flowers/plants on page 5 continue on page 7 to become....whatever:) That was one of the purposes of the book but i quickly found out that this was quite difficult for me! The drawings are very much inspired by the book Art Forms in Nature by Ernst Haeckel (you can find it at Amazon), if you don't already own it. What a genius this man! By the way when Lynne will see these little paintings she will no doubt chuckle when she will think of my recent comment on her blog and her response:)

First Pages of The Book.....

2011-12-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

.....done!

i am finishing the next ones (4,5,6,and 7) which i will post soon. i decided that i did not like the heaviness of the acrylic paint on this type of background so for the next pages i switched to watercolors, much more satisfying.

Working On Junk Mail Book

2011-12-02T09:15:00.000-07:00


(Picasa is giving me lots of trouble these days , very frustrating.)	My sister and i are taking Carla Sonheim's fun class "Junk Mail Artist Book" and in spite of my very hectic life right now i have been able to finish the pages and bind them (the easiest way possible) into this book. Now onto the drawing part The junk mail were first heavily gessoed then several coats of watercolors were applied followed by a slight buffing.....to be followed

Once More from the Garden

2011-11-16T21:41:00.001-07:00

Too bad the red of the maple leaves got lost in translation from my picture to the blog, bummer! It was a much more fiery red.

44 Years Ago Today

2011-11-11T18:23:00.001-07:00

i arrived in New York City from Paris. So today my son David gave me a beautiful postcard to celebrate this anniversary...along with a bottle of Champagne....from France, of course!
But that being said, here is my demi-grapefruit finished, including pics of the process. Once the rind is removed (deliciously useful in our Cosmopolitans btw) i let it dry out and then slice it in half to eat it (i have to use a sharp serrated knife at this point because it has become VERY hard)

This is what it looks like at this point, after a very brief stay in the oven.

A couple of layers of Golden medium later...

Now is the time to collage little bits of my handpainted papers inside...

Now on the outside

Done!

Cute little container, nice gift!

Plaster Exercise

2011-11-10T15:44:00.001-07:00

5"x6", plaster , acrylics, with transfers and wax layer

Sunlight on a golden hosta leaf.

The marabou is a transfer on plaster while the left drawing is a transfer on wax. i had problems with both but especially the left one: when i was fusing it, i started losing the lines and details which were moving in the direction of the air flow from the heat gun. i am a newbie at that, a lot to learn as i keep practicing. My drawings were kinda lost in the process, oh well! Sisterette says it's fine!♥♥♥

L'Inconnue

2011-11-07T13:51:00.002-07:00

6"x10", oil pastels, casein, graphite, watercolors on a page from my vintage book "Encyclopedia of Chinese painting",. The Universal Book Company, pub.

i wonder how many of us have been inspired by Lynne Hoppe.....i have found a couple of folks out there but is that all? i think not! i hesitated about my "Inconnue" because, well you know, because of the strangeness, but both Steve and i liked her instantly so she feels secure now, part of the family.
Now working on some plaster piece in the studio and thinking about what i could do to the empty rind of a half grapefruit which has now hardened beautifully....whew, a mouthful:)

A few hours later:
i am reading over my post and i realize that with my pathetic English i poorly expressed myself (misleading): when i wrote "a couple of folks", i meant people who were inspired to actually draw/paint faces in the manner of Lynne...we all know what an inspiration she is to so many people in so many different ways.

In the Garden

2011-11-05T11:38:00.005-06:00

Still beautiful! As for these amazing maple leaves, i stand in silence and humility.

Quickie Face

2011-11-02T16:35:00.004-06:00

i was experimenting with this Chinese paper (book) on calligraphy. i have always loved these characters and find them totally beautiful. This was very quickly done especially when i noticed that i had not painted a layer of medium to protect the paper which is very fragile....made a couple holes...these characters are like rubons , showing quite a bit of relief. i love this paper and i intend to do more like this one but i will prepare my paper before hand!

Halloween

2011-10-31T15:17:00.003-06:00

Re-Post, I think, of a journal page from a couple years back. Original drawing, commercial stamps of birds.
PS: Monday Nov 1, I edited this post to change the pic from scanner to photography, much more accurate! My drawing of the little pumpkin was poorly rendered by the scanner.

Salvia is Here

2011-10-30T16:12:00.001-06:00

9"x12" watercolors,gouache, casein, graphite, oil pastels on vintage book page on watercolor paper and YES, these are my stamps used for stamping the border.

Detail to show relief (colors off)

i took countless pictures but could not achieve the real colors. i like the real thing much better. for some reason i was seeing red and fell into the lure of all the different delectable reds of my Sennelier oil pastels box. i was in a frenzy of red reds, rose, pinkish reds, purplish reds, maroonish reds, orangish reds. By the time i was done it was a bloody disaster so i started darkening the borders and practically worked my little finger....to a blister:) In the end i like it pretty well but, who knows, i might put a slight coat of whitish over the border after all this! Poor little pinky!

Another Face From the Studio

2011-10-22T12:06:00.000-06:00

Laelia, watercolors, graphite, oil pastels, gouache on vintage Chinese book, 9" x 12"

Her name is Laelia, (beautiful Autumn flower). This paper is gorgeous but oh so fragile! i had to handle it with great care, collaging it using Golden medium onto a 300lb Arches watercolor paper. One can see worm holes to the right of her neck, very decorative:) The designs shown in and around her head are patterns for bound feet shoes.

We Love Our.......

2011-10-21T13:40:00.000-06:00

......D I A B L O !...
just a reminder, pure ART!

Plaster Experiment # 5

2011-10-19T15:52:00.001-06:00


6" x 8", watercolor, oil pastels, casein graphite on plaster on wrapped canvas

i call her "La Reine Folle", just came to me....That was an interesting experience, kind of fun, cracking and re-cracking the plaster, you know, the opposite of "Oh, don't touch it, you might break it" kind of thing.......or perhaps, dear readers, you were the type of children well-behaved and polite, always saying "yes, mother", "no, mother"......unlike this one, I might add:)
PS: i know, i know, my blog has been put in the washing machine with a gallon of bleach.

An Apple a Day?

2011-10-18T10:42:00.002-06:00

left apple: 4,5" diameter, 13" circumference, right apple is a normal medium size apple

Not like this one! This is more like an apple for a family of 4...

Plaster

2011-10-13T07:24:00.004-06:00

i started our next project, cracked plaster applied on a substrate using burlap. Because i am an idiot i quickly applied the wrong surface (plaster) down on my canvas heavily covered with glue! i went into panic mode but was able to remove most of the glue. The plaster is not yet fully dry. You can see some yellowish glue spots still. Talk about a humbling moment.....

Pebbles in our Pond

2011-10-12T09:56:00.004-06:00

Finished Works

2011-10-10T17:34:00.001-06:00

i went back to Protea and collaged her onto a watercolor sheet and filled in the borders with oil pastels (a lot!). Then i stamped a few areas with my hand carved stamps. To soften these i put a layer of oil pastels on top, thicker in some areas than others. i liked the results. The new face on the block is Aster whose borders are treated in the same manner. i have not been able to get good pictures!

I exaggerated the light to show you the texture of the oil pastels

A Glimpse ......

2011-10-08T10:22:00.002-06:00

...at the work in progress. Yes I know it's a very tiny glimpse, don't want to reveal too much, keeping you on your toes... so you'll come back! lol

Hello Woodpecker

2011-10-05T11:00:00.001-06:00

This type of bird seeds in a netting bag has worked beautifully for us!

Plaster Work # 4

2011-10-04T17:55:00.002-06:00

Plaster gauze on fabric, collage, acrylics. The more I worked on this one the more I became frustrated and the worse it started loooking. It's only later that I realized that I spent way too much time on it and that this was not the point , it should have been just an exercise!Grrrrr.....OK, you get the good, the bad and the ugly, why just keep the latter just for myself?

From the Garden

2011-09-30T14:18:00.001-06:00

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

New Face......

2011-09-30T10:51:00.003-06:00

....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

2011-09-26T17:13:00.001-06:00

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

2011-09-25T14:49:00.000-06:00

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

2011-09-24T17:19:00.000-06:00

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

2011-09-24T17:11:00.000-06:00

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

Work in Progress in the Studio

2011-09-20T18:31:00.002-06:00

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

2011-09-19T09:44:00.002-06:00

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?

2011-09-18T16:50:00.005-06:00

Right?

Something to Ponder About...

2011-09-14T18:36:00.001-06:00

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

2011-09-13T13:13:00.002-06:00

You might be wondering "for whom"?

Plaster Work

2011-09-12T14:37:00.000-06:00

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

2011-09-09T18:14:00.001-06:00

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

2011-09-05T11:53:00.002-06:00

"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:(

Flowers........

2011-08-25T16:44:00.000-06:00

.........you know about my love affair with them, don't you?

Well these appeared, already beautifully arranged in the vase, in the hand of my dear visitor today, Carol!

THANK YOU so much, I am peeking at them regularly and they bring me so much joy.

btw, from her garden, how generous!

Plaster Painting

2011-08-23T21:43:00.003-06:00

The first one I dare show (other than to my sisterette).

Title:" Made in China"

8" x 8"

Plaster on board, collage of original drawing, acrylic paints.

Colors are softer than in pic!

Our Trip to Ouray, Colorado

2011-08-21T22:29:00.001-06:00

Right next door, eating the Padre's plantations

this one should have gone to confession.....

Our little heaven in Ouray

Our favorite Ouray house

Glad we were not staying in THIS house!

Amazingly tall flowers, queen anne's lace

The Blue Lake

David is climbing this mountain of gravel

Trees are watching us...

Add caption

A bit of procrastination, given the fact that we came back on July 26th!

Last carved stamps and Studio table ready!

2011-08-08T14:24:00.000-06:00

M I A, Lately... but Back and Bragging a little....

2011-08-04T13:34:00.006-06:00

....here are the 4 Gold medals I won in the 2011 New Mexico Senior Games:

1500m

800m

400m
I am changing color here so that this might be more noticeable: I have forgotten to mention that Steve got 2 golds and one silver at these games, shame, shame, shame on me:(

Women Distance Festival 2011

2011-07-12T18:59:00.002-06:00

Steve was the official photographer and did an outstanding job. Bravo Steve!

Start, Marion darting off!

At the Finish, she is relaxed, her time was terrific

This is me, almost done! Good time too!

More stamps

2011-06-14T16:25:00.001-06:00

Large stamp flower: 5"

I know, they start to look alike. The flower, although the same design, is however, a new one, larger than the first one which measured a bit over 4"

A Flower for You

2011-06-10T22:06:00.000-06:00

A sort of honeysuckle

Stamps

2011-06-07T15:48:00.002-06:00

OK, so I have been carving stamps for the last couple of weeks, here are some of them: some pics are of the image after proofing, some show both before and after proofing. I think that I now have 22 new stamps but I am not done yet:). As you will notice, a lot of foliage/plant designs which I need for my next painting. (BW7)

Oriole?

2011-05-27T11:49:00.001-06:00

Is this an oriole? not sure but it is so pretty. I have an oriole feeder and I could install it but I'm thinking that perhaps it is already a bit late to attract them. Sorry about the bad pic, it was taken in a hurry through the window(and screen)

The New "Grandkit"

2011-05-23T18:21:00.001-06:00

Here is Bijou next to Em

Yes, DavEm have adopted a kitten:

Botanical Woman #6....

2011-05-19T16:54:00.010-06:00

10" x 10", mixed media collage

...or "from Tibet with love"!

I have been fussing and fussing over the colors trying to get them as accurately as possible......to to avail, so I give up.

I used acrylics, papers printed with my stamps, commercial stamps and acrylics..

Meconopsis Horridula (picture from One Stop Poppy Shoppe)

I had planned to include in this picture a "Papaver Meconopsis Horridula" (a drop-dead gorgeous blue poppy from the Himalayas) but could not find a way to do so: I became so lost in the background details that I eventually found it impossible to include it, no more room:) I could have painted it in the bottom left corner but it would not work as I needed something transparent there! Instead and O, so much easier, I used one of my stamps. Voila, done!

Announcement.....

2011-05-18T08:24:00.000-06:00

BW6 is arriving shortly!

Botanical Woman 6, for the non-initiated:)

Attention:

2011-04-26T16:18:00.004-06:00

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

My very artistic/creative sister in Paris is participating in a competition and votes count. The goal was to create a box (any material) utilizing in some way the brand of markers, Posca, which is sponsoring it.
Her creation is a magnificent orange/red poppy whose heart, is actually a box, beautifully disguised /decorated as its pod. SO,

to all of you who might be interested in something artistic, something delectable to the eyes, go to: http://posca.canalblog.com/archives/2011/04/26/20982852.html

You can vote by clicking on the "J'aime" button.

Majestic Amaryllis

2011-03-29T20:38:00.000-06:00