Thursday, November 24, 2011

"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

Monday, November 21, 2011

"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

Saturday, November 19, 2011

"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

Thursday, November 17, 2011

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

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

"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

Saturday, November 12, 2011

"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

Thursday, November 3, 2011

"Yeeuup...Some More..."

A "Cosmic Offerenda" (altar)...
...a tribute to "Pink Warrior" women...
..."Hera"...
..."Persephone"...
...and, finally, "Bones, Braids, and Bling"
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

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

"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.