"Sending Some Desert Love..."

...your way.

May your artistic Muse be energized...

and

your heart sparkle with thanks.

Have a most rewarding Thanksgiving Day!

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart."

~Seneca

"Being Thankful.."

for those "little" things in life.

I found this on a friend's post on Facebook.

It is filled with exquisite, breathtaking photography...

and worth every second of viewing.

So grab a cuppa,

turn up the sound, then sit back and enjoy.

Thanks, Caroline...

♥

"I would maintain

that thanks are the highest form of thought,

and

that gratitude is happiness doubled

by wonder."
~G. K. Chesterton

"I Love Rust..."

...and things with

coppery green patinas and creaky handles.

Things that are so loving worn

and filled to the brim with silent storied lives

touch my heart.

Hmmm...wait a minute...

I could very well be describing myself!

♥
“A determined soul

will do more with a rusty monkey wrench

than a loafer

will accomplish with all the tools

in a machine shop.”
~Robert Hughes

Remembering...

...my Uncle Al...

who passed away over 50 years ago..

this day.

Some days, I feel he has never left me.

“May you never forget what is worth remembering,

nor

ever remember what is best

forgotten.”
~Irish Blessing

"Seasonal Fabric Design..."

...inspired from an ad I saw

this summer in Chicago magazine.

Drawn ink straight in...

and flipped into the negative format with

Microsoft Digital Editor.

Looks like a snowy branch...doesn't it?

Hmmm...

a rather an appropriate flip

(if I do say so myself)

as it is almost the winter season

and

I am just now posting

this quirky little summer drawing...

LOL :)

"To be interested in the changing seasons

is a happier state of mind

than to be hopelessly in love

with spring."
~George Santayana

Drawn Lead Free...

...without glasses on...

while waiting in a doctor's office this summer.

And, yes, it's another

from my "backtracking" vault of illustrated memories.

:)

“The supreme accomplishment

is to blur the line between work and play.”
~Arnold Toynbee

"Backtracking..."

...in an attempt to catch up...

with all my summer journal drawings

so

I am ready for new art

for the holidays!

This was drawn "ink straight in"...lead free...

while awaiting an

optometry appointment this summer back in Illinois.

This was my view

from where I was seated in the waiting room.

I actually added watercolor just about a week later...

then

flipped it into the "negative" with Microsoft Digital Editor

a few seconds ago

and finally posted it just now...

almost 4 months

later.

Backtracking...at its finest!

"Never forget

the power of silence,

that massively disconcerting pause

which

goes on and on

and may at last induce an opponent

to babble and backtrack

nervously."
~Lance Morrow

"Yeeuup...Some More..."

A "Cosmic Offerenda" (altar)...
...a tribute to "Pink Warrior" women...

..."Hera"...

..."Persephone"...

...and, finally, "Bones, Braids, and Bling"

...Dia De Los Muertos art.

I made and traded 25 such themed cards

last weekend

during Illustrated ATCs online

Halloween artathon.

(If you like...you can check them out

by simply clicking on the pomegranate heart

graphic on my side bar.)

My Muse has a serious addiction to these...

but...

I seriously think it's about time

to move on. :)

"Just cause you got the monkey off your back

doesn't mean the circus

has left town."
~George Carlin

"In Celebration..."

...of loved ones who have gone before us.

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos)

is a Mexican holiday

celebrated throughout Mexico

and around the world in many cultures.

Here in the desert southwest United States

it is a very popular holiday indeed.

The holiday focuses

on gatherings of family and friends

to pray for

and remember loved ones

who have died.

In Mexico it is like a national holiday.

The celebration takes place on November 1–2,

in connection with

the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1)

and All Souls' Day (November 2).

Traditions connected with this holiday

include building private altars

honoring the deceased using sugar skulls,

marigolds,

and the favorite foods and beverages.

It also includes

visiting the graves of the departed

with these as gifts.

♥

During the next several days I will be sharing

with you some of my own

Dia De Los Muertos art cards

as well as some photos of offerendas (altars)

made by professional artists

as part of a Dia de Los Muertos

celebration at the Desert Botanical Gardens

in Phoenix.

They were so beautiful and soulful...

they actually took my breath

away.