Tuesday, March 31, 2009

"The Zen of Three..."



...Zendala ATC cards, that is...(Yep! It's another new series!)

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.”
~
Lao Tzu

Monday, March 30, 2009

"Roll Out the Barrels...!

...Happy Cactus Monday all!
May each of you have a barrel of fun today!

"Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel."
~William J. Clinton

Sunday, March 29, 2009

"Layers and Threads..."


...Woven together by pen...then stamped with calligraphy..
...Cards #3 and #4

“We all should know that diversity
makes for a rich tapestry,
and
we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry
are equal in value
no matter what their color.”
~Maya Angelou

Saturday, March 28, 2009

"The Intersection Of..."

...Main Street and Brown...
...wild, wonky, and whimsical...just like this drawing!
The area is a
riotous conglomeration of color, tourist attractions, shops, food, art,
music, carriage rides, trinkets, and treasures...
and it is all dressed up
in "old west kitch" with a splash of contemporary savvy
and a hint of old Mexican soul!
Drawn "lead free" while waiting for Scott.

"The traveler sees what he sees,
the tourist sees what he has come to see."
~
G. K. Chesterton

Friday, March 27, 2009

"Really Wired..."


...all over my chest with sticky pads...electrodes attached...
...a gown "open to the front"...
waiting for my cardio stress echo to begin...
each resting heartbeat monitored
while
juggling my illustration watercolor journal in my lap,
...lines being drawn all funky and askew
with a pen running out of ink.
The sketch was made "lead free"...drawn in under 10 minutes...
and with no real pressure...right?! :)
It was then
painted at home..."barefoot, braless and blissful"...
with my BP back to normal...
on a gorgeous, but windy, sunny Arizona day
while
watching the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" Basketball coverage on TV
broadcasted from the Cardinal's Stadium
in Glendale Arizona.
Last, of course,
the image had to be "digitally" flipped here...
just to go along with the theme of my totally high tech digital exam...
and...
"just because" it's fun...(the exam...not so much!)

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat
match the beat of the universe,
to match your nature with Nature."
~
Joseph Campbell

"Mission accomplished...in a heartbeat!"
~Me :)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

"Waiting...X 2..."

Two different days...
Two different Doctors...both on time...
Two locations on opposites sides of the valley...
Two weeks apart.
Two sketches...one journal spread...
Spending too much time waiting?
NOPE...
just not getting enough waiting time to sketch! :)

"How much of human life is lost in waiting."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

"A Bit of LOVE..."

...written in Chinese calligraphy
on a little bitty ATC card...
...The first in the "China Bloom" series...:)

I cannot stop designing these little treasures...
My brain does not turn off...
It is playing full speed and overtime in Fantasyland!
The "plan", as it now stands, is to design several series of cards...
with six cards to a series.
After that...I don't quite know what I will do with them!
(Some may be sent to Zazzle and made into cards or stickers...???)
Several people have offered to trade...
and I see that to be a wonderful summer possibility!
So...Stay tuned, if interested...:)

You can see all of them all here on Flickr...
Or, as a series...with # of cards completed thus far below:
Sunlight Series...3/6 completed
Branching Out Series...6/6 completed
Ancient Floral Design...2/6 completed
Desert Whimsy...2/6 completed
Time Zones...1/6 completed
China Blooms...1/6 completed
Blooming Desert...4/6 completed...1 gifted

"I like nonsense,
it wakes up the brain cells.
Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,
It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.
Which is what I do,
And that enables you to laugh at life's realities."
~
Dr. Seuss

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

"Resting Buddha..."

...inspired by Serena's statue in Australia
(see the actual photo here)
and reinterpreted here as the Illustration Friday challenge:
"Legendary."

“Look famous.
Be legendary.
Appear Complex. Act easy.
Radiate presence.
Travel light.
Seem a dream. Prove real.”
~Author Unknown

"Happy 50th Birthday Serena...You Go Girl!!..."
~Me :)

Monday, March 23, 2009

"Cactus ATC Fun..."


"Artists
are just children
who refuse to put down their crayons."
~Al Hirschfeld

Have a blissful Cactus Monday...use ALL your colors today!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

"New ATCS..."


...inspired by ancient Chinese floral design
and stamped
with a red dragon for a bit of fiery punch.

"The man who fights too long against dragons
becomes a dragon himself."
~
Friedrich Nietzsche

Saturday, March 21, 2009

"SURPRISE...!!!..."

...hey there, "SISTA"!!!
...an award from the "Queen of Blogging Soul" herself...
Soulbrush in London...
WooHoo!!!...How fun is this???!!!

And then...arriving last Monday via "snail mail"...


...was a delightfully lovely Cactus Monday ATC surprise
( L*O*V*E !!!)
received from Laurel at Studio Lolo.
She individually designed a special little 'Somethin' something"
for each
tried and true Cactus Monday
participant!
Now I ask you...how cool is that!!!???!!!

The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise.
It is not that we seize them,
but that they seize us.”
~
Ashley Montagu

"...Ain't Life Grand !???"
~Me

Friday, March 20, 2009

"At 4:44 Am...AZ Time..."

..."Spring has returned.
The Earth is like a child that knows poems."
~Rainer Maria Rilke

"If you've never been thrilled
to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom,
maybe your soul
has never been in bloom."
~Audra Foveo

"In springtime,
love is carried on the breeze.
Watch out for flying passion or kisses whizzing by your head."
~Emma Racine deFleur

Thursday, March 19, 2009

"Spring Fling #7..."

"Everything has rhythm. Everything dances."
~Maya Angelou

"Spring...An experience in immortality."
~Henry David Thoreau

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

"Spring Fling #6..."

...Take a breath...and exhale a long glorious "Ahhhh!"

"Spring won't let me stay in this house any longer!
I must get out
and breathe the air deeply again."
~Gustav Mahler

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

"Spring Fling #5..."

...Spreading creative wings...paint first...then ink! :)

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time -
a day to begin transforming winter's dreams
into summer's magic."
~Adrienne Cook

Monday, March 16, 2009

"Spring Fling #4..."

...and this time...it's "Desert style"...:)

"I stuck my head out the window this morning
and spring kissed me bang in the face. "
~Langston Hughes

Hope your Cactus Monday is filled with kisses! XO
Happy day all! :)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

"Spring Fling #3..."

...Branching out...


"If I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies."
~Nadine Stair

Saturday, March 14, 2009

"Spring Fling #2..."

There aren't enough days in the weekend.” :)
~
Rod Schmidt

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
~Hal Borland

Friday, March 13, 2009

"Springtime is Blingtime..."

...so how about a whole week...full of...

...Bits of nature...all bejeweled for our fanciful fling...
each and every day...and all night long! :)

"Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn."

~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard
in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

Thursday, March 12, 2009

"What a Treat...!"

Coming all the way from Dubai...to the Valley of the Sun...
...my name "Peg" in Arabic...
along with some very humbling descriptors
written around it which translated read:
"artist, sensitive, humane, beautiful, creative."
This stunningly lovely and generous gift of calligraphic art
was beautifully written by
Fadwa....in Dubai.
Click here to visit her site...it is an inspirational delight!
I love her unique journal pages...and the way she
alters books to write stories.
She also designs gorgeous beaded jewelry...
and you can check that out here. :)
Thanks, again, Fadwa...I am on "cloud nine"!

Blogging is a unique way to share one's little corner of the world.
I think its richness and diversity makes each of us
better citizens of this planet.
I cherish the openness of hearts in our artistic blogging world.
There is a lot of beauty to see, and inspiration to find,
and fabulous people to meet
in this world...
and the best thing about it is that they are all simply
one little mouse click away!

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful,
for beauty is God's handwriting."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

"Petaled Patterns..."

...drawn especially
for my sister-in-law Sue and my niece Kelly
who visited today here yesterday
and "tickled my heart"
with their enjoyment of my little Maruman sketchbook
as we sat in the warm sun
with Doug, Dan, Cole and Scott
experiencing a glorious Arizona spring day.
Love you!

"When angels visit us,
we do not hear the rustle of wings,
nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove;
but we know their presence
by the love they create in our hearts."
~Author Unknown

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

"Peaceful Thoughts..."

sought a refuge...in his spirit to land...while...
"The night walked down the sky with the
moon
in her hand."
~Frederic Lawrence Knowles

Monday, March 9, 2009

"I've Got The Fever..."

...Spring Fever, that is...
The Sonoran Desert
...is alive and well...and SOON to burst into bloom!
I love this time of year!!!!


And...to top things off...drum roll please...
it's time for the long awaited...
Spring Plant Sale!!!
March 20-21st
Simply click HERE for the info...
and then
scroll to the very bottom of the page
and
click on the plant availability list...it will blow your mind!!!
Wouldn't it be a hoot for all of us to meet here for this...
sketchbooks in hand...
charge cards in pockets...not a care in the world...
Simply
sketching, shopping, and smiling the whole day long...
Ahhh! What a Cactus Monday concept!
Wishes...
wishes...wishes!
:)
Have a
delightfully fabulous
"Spring is in the Air"..."Burst into Bloom"

"It's spring fever....
You don't quite know what it is you DO want,
but it just fairly makes your heart ache,
you want it so!"
~Mark Twain

Sunday, March 8, 2009

"Magical Drugs..."

Saturday...March 7th, 2009...marked the 2nd week
of dealing with over the counter
remedies for
my miserable "head-cold-throat-ear-sinus-thingy."
It also marked
the day I "went in" for the SERIOUS drugs!
Our local Walgreens has a "Take Care Clinic"
staffed 7 days a week
by nurse practitioners who are most efficient and very professional!
Plus...get this...it was the weekend...and...NO LINES!!!
(I can't even imagine
how long it would have taken to get an appointment
with my doctor!!!)
I got checked over and prescribed an antibiotic
and I went home happy as a lamb.
I sat outside in the brilliant Arizona sun
with my sketchbook and started drawing away.
I feel like a new woman!
I think that the warm penetrating sun,
(to me a natural drug in itself)
the fresh lemon blossom scented air,
my new Rx,
and a few artsy "Ahhh..." moments enjoying the day
were just the 4 magical drugs I needed
to turn this mess around.
Fingers
and toes crossed!

Now...speaking of "magical drugs"...
and
if you are in the mood for a bit of a irreverent medical "spoof"...
click here
for a hysterical You Tube clip
regarding a new "FDA" approved drug for "cheeriness"...
only two minutes...its worth the time...:)

"You shouldn't be sick
a moment longer than it takes
to get well."
~from the Walgreens Take Care Clinic booklet

Saturday, March 7, 2009

"Yet Another..."

... ATC set...my newest...entitled: "Time Zones"
The first of a series 0f 6 cards...

Reminder:
Here in the United States..."Daylight Savings Time" begins
at 2:00 AM Sunday morning...March 8, 2009
Turn your clock ahead one hour
everywhere...
Except here in Arizona...leave your clock alone!
Go figure! :)

“I want to shake off the dust of this one-horse town.
I want to explore the world.
I want to watch TV in a different time zone.
I want to visit strange, exotic malls...
I want to live, Marge!
Won't you let me live?”
~Homer Simpson

Friday, March 6, 2009

"Baubles-n-Baskets..."

"Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket,
then counting your blessings
before they hatch."
~
Ramona C. Carroll

Thursday, March 5, 2009

"Striking Gold..."

...My newest paint order from Daniel Smith
arrived yesterday!!!
I chose some really fun
amazing colors...some are very granulating ...
some are very iridescent!

Here are some color tests...

This first one is scanned...

This one was photographed...Paper too large for the scanner...
(What!? Pre measure my paper???
Now that's a novel idea! )
LOL :)
This one is the digital flip of the one above it.

Even though
most people prefer the colors of my original pieces best...
I still decided to flip one view
to more deeply portray the layering and glazing of color
that happened here....
(Click on the images to enlarge for the best effect.)
The iridescent colors
float magically...like sheer veils...over the base colors.
They shimmer and sparkle and glisten
and take on a life of their own.
Interesting
how it's the little things make
us smile!
I really struck it "color rich" for sure.

"Some people weave burlap into the fabric of our lives,
and some weave gold thread.
Both contribute to make the whole picture
beautiful and unique."
~Author Unknown

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

"Deep Purple..."

...Dreams...
...all throughout the stillness of the desert Night.

For:
Lillian Mae Krahenbuhl
June 14, 1920...February 26, 2007
We love you and miss you each and every day.

"Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth.
~Joseph Addison