Thursday, October 2, 2008

A Girl's Gotta Do..."


... What a Girl's gotta do...
and usually there is some form of shopping involved!
Herein lies the last of my full page views of art
completed in Jennifer Lawson's little Maruman sketchbook
"Transitions."
(Click on images to enlarge)

The top photo shows Jennifer Lawson's art
from the wild roses to the high heel to the clothing store...
"Spoil Me Rotten"...
then comes Anita Davies art...
two purchases made...an new outfit and some fun flowers...
...and the scent of a woman :)
then my art...
a art emporium sale and a day of plein air in a courtyard.

My portion above was inspired by a quaint and lovely artisan
shopping destination in Sedona, Arizona
known as Tlaquepaque.
(Check out this link...supremely well worth it.
The word "Tlaquepaque" means the "best of everything."
Tlaquepaque was once a lovely tree nursery sporting gorgeous specimens.
The trees are still there and form an enveloping canopy of coolness
and a softened foreground
to views of crimson red rock formations of the Sedona area.
As the years went by
A quaint Mexican style artisan village was then constructed on the property
amongst the towering trees.
It was
complete with romantic courtyards, colorfully tiled stairways,
balconies overflowing with luscious flowers,
bougainvillea climbing along stuccoed arches and tiled roofs,
bubbling fountains, wrought iron gates,
cozy peaceful courtyards,
high end galleries filled to the brim with treasures,
and intriguing brick passageways.
It is a shopper's delight and a photographer's heaven...
For years
I spent time and money browsing the shops
and
zillions of rolls of film photographing
any, and every, thing in sight...until seemingly out of nowhere
it occured!
Poof! Shazamm! Pazowie!
a wonderful magical transformation happened...
We had planned to be in Sedona
for bit of an extended getaway and a friend's wedding.
Prior to that, I had completed a workshop with Grace Haverty
all about keeeping a sketchbook travel journal.
The change to come was to be meteoric!
A backpack replaced my purse...and
my sketchbook and plein air goodies replaced my credit cards.
Roaming from shop to shop
was replaced by sitting in a cobblestone courtyard
breathing in the "Ahhhs" of the day.
Moments in time became vibrant memories
on my sketchbook journal pages.
My spirit became revitalized...my imagination invigorated.
And
I have been a "new woman" ever since!
I am
that girl above in Jen's book! :)

Now, that's what you call a Transition! :)

"Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life." ~Oscar Wilde
Hmmm...Don't quite know about that...:)

HAPPY 63rd ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!
We love you! :)

8 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Beautiful sketches and an inspiring story.

Many congrats to Mom and Dad. 62years WOW.

Teri said...

More beautiful pages!!
Can you believe I have never been to Sedona and after reading this I think I see a trip there in my future!!

Unknown said...

Lovely!!

BARBARA WEEKS said...

Wonderful. I really love how each of you handled the transitions- beautifully done.

Timaree said...

Good story to go with some wonderful painting. I have never been to Sedona. Maybe I should try to get my sister to come to Kingman and we could go as my husband would never make that trip. I never thought to myself but it's only a couple hours away and you make it look and sound so wonderful.

kazumiwannabe said...

Great painting and story! I love that I travel and learn when I come here!

Clare said...

Your story and painting transported me to that delightful place. I think I am in love with Sedona, sadly I will probably never get there. But I know and have felt that same transition you describe and I can go anywhere and appreciate real beauty. Thank you.

Margaret Ann said...

Thanks for such lovely comments...and for bearing through my long-winded explanations! :)LOL