" A Toast..."

...To the unofficial end of a bountiful summer
and
to the fast approaching beginning of a magical fall.

Happy Labor Day weekend, all!
Hope these upcoming days find your art re-energized
and
your spirits happy. :)

Oooh! Almost forgot...
My little travel sketchbook is getting quite full,
and
I can't wait to share it with you...
it will be VERY SOON!
I promise!
WooHoo!

"Location, Location..."

...Location!!!
I imagined that when I returned to the midwest this summer
my favorite wildflower garden would greet me
with hundreds of Indian Blanket flower blooms...
just like it seasonally did every summer
year after year...with out fail...

Until now...

Apparently, when I wasn't "looking"
there had been some kind of an early summer "territorial battle"
over prime garden real estate in my flowerbed.
My Siberian irises and yarrow had multiplied this spring
beyond belief
and
along with bountiful heaps of weeds
shut out any ground space for my faithful
flowering Indian Blankets.

So...in honor of their gorgeous gold and deep red-orange blossoms...
I post these similarly colored "fantasy blooms" which were
drawn and painted from my imagination
and then preposted before my trip
to now celebrate "what might have been".

Ah, yes..."Location, Location, Location..."
Guess what they say is true...
even if it's simply a teensy bit of a space in one's garden!:)

"Cactus Monday Blues..."

...On Tuesday!!!
Well,
in a nutshell,
remote posting is NOT for me!
Plain and simple...
I have been drawing like a mad woman
and have no way to share it all with you until I return to the desert!

I missed a Cactus Monday post entirely...
and it really made me blue! :(
(Hence, today's post of the blue wildflowers
drawn from my imagination before my trip)
BUT...
I did celebrate the day by doing yard work...
SEVEN LONG HOURS OF YARDWORK...
14 huge compost bags full of my results!!!
And
I have the typical battle wounds...so many scratches and cuts
it appears I really did fall into a spiny cactus patch.

I know this is a stretch for a Cactus Monday post...

I promise good things when I return! :)
I do...I really do!!!

Back in the Midwest

...for a break from the Arizona Heat...
I am illustrating a travel journal of this trip which I shall post when I return to the desert in Arizona.

This is a piece I preposted before my travels...
but is very typical of what I see in Illinois.
The contrasts between the fertile midwest and the desert are blowing my mind.
I have not been back here for at least a year...
AND
my mind has totally forgotton what the color green looks like!
I am absolutely stunned by its rich magnificence!

I guess trips like this are good for the soul...they make you appreciate what you have.

Enjoy your day and the richness in the world around YOU! :)

Oh! One more thing...My sketchbook has arrived in Maine and is with Jennifer Lawson. Thank goodness! She has posted Nina Johannson's gorgeous artwork in my Maruman sketchbook..."Journey" Click here if you woulfd like to take a peek! :)

They're BAA...ACK..."

...My Night Blooming Cereus is at it again...
for the second time this season!

Here is another drawing...
...of another bloom...
...for another Cactus Monday celebration!

Have a great Monday...
AND
take time to enjoy nature's beauty where ever you may be! :)

Finally...!!!

Ta...DA...After a long trip overseas...I can finally post my artwork in Anita's Maruman entitled A Taste Of Home."

Hope you enjoy my taste of The United States Desert Southwest!

Click on images to enlarge view...:)

"Charmed...?"

...Oh, for SURE...

by the sheer anticipation

and

joyfulness of every Cactus Monday!

This is a drawing of a favorite bracelet of mine purchased

from a local artisan

the first year I moved to Arizona.

Can you name all these Arizona "charmed" plants?

ANSWERS from L-R:

* Senita or Organ Pipe-cactus

* Saguaro-cactus

*Agave-succulent-used for making Tequila

*Ocotillo-tree

*Prickly Pear-cactus

Well, how did you do? LOL:)

A Final Note:

CONGRATS to the U.S. Men's Olympic Gold Medal winning

World Record smashing, Freestyle Relay Swim Team!

You guys ROCKED the house!

A big WooHoo for each of you!

You are simply charming, too!

"Yin and Yang..."

They say...

"One World, One Dream"

and

"It's not the Triumph...it's the Struggle"

and

"The Time to Dream is Now."

But why then

are there so very few who "have" so very much ...

and so very many who "have" so very little?

Why

is balance and equality not achieved?

Can it ever be?

Why

are millions starving while millionaires play games with hoops

and orange balls?

Why...

after the uplifting opening ceremonines of Beijing 2008

do I feel blue?

"There can be no peace as long as there is grinding poverty,

social injustice, inequality, oppression, environmental degradation,

and

as long as the weak and small

continue to be trodden by the mighty and powerful."
~Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

"One World, One Dream..."

08.08.08

This day...is considered very powerful by some...

and,

I tend to totally agree.

...Today

my MIND feasted

on a banquet of color, and rhythm, and precision, and imagination.

...Today

my HEART became re-energized

with childlike wonder, and sparkle, and anticipation.

...Today

my SPIRIT was strengthened

by observing the simplest and smallest acts

contributing to the greatness of the whole,

and

...Today my little "WORLD"

became truly magical

intrinsically decorated by the beauty of

ART

and the possibilities and promise of the all that is around me.

"One World...One Dream"

Beijing 2008

"I Go To Nature..."

...to be soothed and healed...

and to have my senses put in tune once again."

-John Burroughs

This columbine drawing is dedicated to my brother Jack....

and

is posted to wish each of you a day of

serenity.

"Imagine..."

...Visualize and Perceive...

Only positive things.

"In the midst of movement and chaos,

keep stillness inside of you."

-Deepak Chopra

For JWS on this day...Love you!

"Monday, Monday..."

... so good to me,

Bah-da, bah-da, da, da

Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be

Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee

Bah-da, bah-da, da, da

That Monday evening you would still be here with me."

-The Mamas and The Papas, circa 1966 ;)

Thanks for being here

all these Cactus Monday mornings

and evenings!

Bah-da, bah-da, da, da!

112 Degrees Today...

...Ahhhh...much better!

I "flipped out" again...I'll blame it on the heat!

See the original here.