Tuesday, May 31, 2011

"Colored Memories..."


Here she is...
"Seeds, Sprouts, Stems, and Swirls"
all blinged up with color just as you all suggested!
The original B/W illo can be seen here...:)

I am posting this here specially today
in memory of my
Uncle Al...my mom's brother...who passed away
when I was only 10.
Today would have been his 85th birthday!
I find this fact VERY hard to to wrap my head around.
I remember him as a really cool young man...
an adventursome favorite uncle,
filled with wanderlust...
who had an avid love of trains, music,
and
the romance of the old west.
He was someone who trusted me
to play with his phenomenal model train set
all by myself
when
I was just a very little girl.
And, of course, he spoiled me like no other. :)
I remember taking a special train trip,
just he and I,
on the Milwaukee Road train Hiawatha route
to Milwaukee.
We sat in the domed train car,
had lunch in the "fancy smanchy" dining car,
and took pictures from
the special curved glass club car
at the end of the train.
What an adventure for my young imagination.
Now, as I reflect back I simply wonder
in astonishment...
where have all those years gone?
They have passed by in a blur...like colorful scenery
viewed out of an old train window...
unstoppable,
and, yet forever impressed in one's memory.

So...today
let's celebrate those favorite family members,
those unforgettable experiences,
those bright, colorful impressions of our youth,
and
even those flips in our perspectives.
May these kinds of experiences
continue to enhance the chapters of our lives
and help our spirits bloom.
Happy Blooming Tuesday All! :)

Monday, May 30, 2011

"Remembering..."

...with love, honor...and gratitude...
those brave souls who have
fought courageously
guarding the rights and freedoms of
the men, women, and children of our country
for generation upon generation.

"Honor
is the inner garment of the Soul;
the first thing put on by it with the flesh,
and
the last it layeth down
at its separation
from it."
~Akhenaton quotes
(King of Egypt, 14th century BC)

Friday, May 27, 2011

"Seeds, Sprouts..."

...Stems and Swirls...drawn "ink straight in"...
lead free,
classic in black and white.
Now..."to color?"...or..."not to color?"...
That is the question! :)
Any thoughts?

"Drawing is feeling.
Color is an act of reason. "
~Pierre Bonnard

Thursday, May 26, 2011

"We are all Energy..."

...my school girl style notes and doodles...flipped digitally
(for a chalkboard style effect)
from the final Oprah show which aired yesterday.
Did you happen to watch?
What was the idea
that seemed to strike home with you the most?
Among other things
I loved the phrase "listen to the whispers of your life..."
What a career!
As always, you can click on image to enlarge...:)

"We all have a calling...
It lights you up and let's you know
that
you are doing what you were meant to do..."
~Oprah Winfrey

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

"Stickin' it to my Moleskine..."






I just love doing this...but, if asked "Why???"...
I haven't a clue! :)

“The more you reason the less you create.”
~Raymond Chandler

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

"More Blooming Hearts..."

...in both Daylight...
...and Midnight hour versions...:)

"We need society,
and we need solitude also,
as we need summer and winter,
day and night,
exercise and rest.”
~
Philip Gilbert Hamerton

Monday, May 23, 2011

"Southwest Serenity..."

Monument Valley...prickly pear guardian...:)
Happy Cactus Monday!
“These things
I warmly wish for you...
Someone to love, some work to do,
A bit o' sun, a bit o' cheer,
And a guardian angel
always near.”
~Irish Blessings

Friday, May 20, 2011

"Spring Fragrances..."

I breathe them all in...
deeply.
Blossom-laden orchard boughs,
sweet and fluttery yet strong and rich with
promise...
Old fashioned flower gardens,
palettes now popping awake with cheeriness and
hues of hope...
Endless acreages of country fields,
freshly plowed,
moist clumps of bountiful blackness
greeting each sunrise...
Each of these
is pure aromatherapy for my spirit.
A potpourri of these memories will remain
safely bottled away forever
in my Midwest heart of hearts.
Ahhh!

“A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extremely rare.
For the most part
we miss the hue and fragrance of the thought;
as if
we could be satisfied
with the dews of the morning or evening
without their colors,
or
the heavens without their azure.”
~Henry David Thoreau

Thursday, May 19, 2011

"Some Midwest Musing..."


I was thinking about springtime in Illinois
and
remembering how I once planted my Jonquil bulbs
upside down. :)
It was such a long, long time ago...
in a place which now seems
so very far, far away.
It still
makes me chuckle each time I think about it...:)
Yesterday in the desert
we had rain,
cloudy skies, and temps in the mid seventies...
and, we even landed
a couple of inches of snow up in Flagstaff.
Go figure...It's May!!!
Weather is "off kilter" everywhere it seems!
So, in like form...
I felt like flipping my image today...
no reason...
just must be the season!
:)

“In the Spring,
I have counted 136 different kinds of weather
inside of 24 hours.”
~Mark Twain

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

"Delightful Doubles..."








"All who would win joy, must share it;
happiness was born a twin.”
~Lord Byron

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

"Sakura Blossoms..."

...my ATC size take on a springtime view of
Mt. Fuji
is now residing in Germany with Nadine.
Living here in the desert
I really miss
my cherry trees back in Illinois.
There was something magical in their lacy petals
that made my spirits dance.
For now...
I will have to rely on my watercolors and brush
to record memories of
their fluttery light blossoms...mmmm...:)
So...
regardless of whatever spring delight
you might choose to view today
I hope you enjoy a
Happy Blooming Tuesday!

“Nature will bear the closest inspection.
She invites us
to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf,
and take an insect view
of its plain.”
~Henry David Thoreau

Sunday, May 15, 2011

"Seriously, Cereus..."








...night blooming in all their glory
these 8+ inch diameter blossoms decorate our
front garden...
blooming on slender cactus arms they stretch 9 feet
into the star studded velvety desert sky.
The next day they vanish...
living on only in digital format patiently awaiting
an artistic transformation
into some watercolored brush strokes
by my ever present Muse.
Ahhh!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

"The Thought Process..."

...as scribbled
in my Artful Musings journal/sketchbook.
Click on images to enlarge...:)

"An artist
is a sketchbook with a person attached."
~Irwin Greenberg

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

"Currents of Starlight..."

..."Sargasso Sea"...
..."Polynesian Reef"...
...and lastly, "Oceania Pacifica"...:)
A new series of
cards made and traded during Artapalooza
at Illustrated ATCs last week.

“On matters of style, swim with the current,
on matters of principle,
stand like a rock.”
~Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

"Neighborhood Bling..."



...a few Joshua Trees in full bloom!
Mother Nature
surely knows how to decorate the 'hood
in right fine style!!
Happy Blooming Tuesday!

Monday, May 9, 2011

"Bloomin' Beauty..."





Gentle giants
with lush white flower bouquets in hand
stand tall and proud and gallant....
steadfastly guarding their wild desert kingdoms
with a rugged type of kindness
providing perches
and safe havens for those in need.
Sentinels of the sand
they remind us that even in the most austere
moments of life
we can find beauty blossoming.
Happy Cactus Monday!

Click on any image to enlarge...:)

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day...Mom! ♥

...with love from
Susan, Dave, Joya and Jillian...
Mark, Katie,
Christopher, Courtney and Corey...
Jack, Sharon,
Vanessa, Lauren, Steve and Myles...
and
Peg and Scott!
We love you!

"A mother is a person
who seeing there are only four pieces of pie
for five people,
promptly announces
she never did care for pie. "
~Tenneva Jordan
(Thanks JGL for quote...:)

Monday, May 2, 2011

"From the Vault..."

...My favorite silver cactus charm bracelet makes
an encore this Cactus Monday.

In two decades
I've lost a total of 789 pounds.
I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.”
~Erma Bombeck