"A Springy ATC Revamp..."

#1... "Aqua Branches"

#2..."Scarlet Buds"
#3..."Magenta Blossoms"
#4... "Purple Blooms"

...the "Buds, Blossoms, and Branches" ATC series...

If you are interested in a trade...

drop me a line....with the card # you wish to have...:)

"And the day came

when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful

than the risk it took to blossom.”
~Anais Nin

Zapped and Thankful!

Thanks for all your kinds words and thoughts...

I've taken up slacking for a bit.

I promise..really I do...that I will get back to blogging pronto.

I am beginning to see

the artistic light at the end of the tunnel...LOL :)

A happy "post blast" Blooming Tuesday to All!

“Politicians are people who,

when they see light at the end of the tunnel,

go out and buy some more tunnel.”
~John Quinton

"The Sky Rained Mail Today..."

...and created a multicolored rainbow of ATC delight!

...From Cris in Oregon...
...From Soulbrush in England...

...From Lynn in California...

...and from Teri in Wisconsin...

What an imaginative garden of artistic blooms!

Believe me...

I watered it well, too, with joyful tears upon opening each envelope!

Each card is simply spectacular in detail and

exquisitely joyful in color.

OOOOH MY!

I cannot even begin to tell you enough

how rich an experience it is for me to hold another's original art

in my very own hand...it energizes my spirit.

Thanks for sharing your JOY

dear ATC friends!

What a "Thankful Thursday" indeed!

Tomorrow morning

I head over to the hospital for a bit of out-patient "surgery"

...more specifically entitled a

"Left Extra Corporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy"

in which water, sound waves, anesthesia, and a bit of "voodoo magic"

will all combine to hopefully

smash my kidney stone to "smitherines"...

I am thinking of leaving my sketchbook home for this one...

But...one never knows what one will do...

...does one! :)

(Written while rather nervously LOL ...:)

“Joy is the feeling of grinning inside.”
~Melba Colgrove

"In The Beginning..."

...God created COLOR...

then Cathy "Kate" Johnson discovered WC Pencils...

then I enrolled in

her online W/C Pencil class!
Our First "Assignment...Color Charts. Here goes...:)

Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Set of 24 (above)

(Click on images to enlarge)

...Then how about
some Derwent Graphitint Pencils...and some Derwent Inktense Pencils
side by side...
Next...Prismcolor WC Pencils...a set of 24 ...and then finally...
Prismacolor Pencils on Strathmore Black Field Journal Paper.

“Blue flower, red thorns! Blue flower, red thorns! Blue flower, red thorns!
Oh, this would be so much easier if I wasn't color-blind!”
~Donkey
(From the movie Shrek)

"A Final Bow..."

...for the last 4 ladies in my China Bloom ATC series

Each has been taken...and has been given with "LOVE"

but

since they had not been formally revealed on my blog

I thought that a "group post" on a Blooming Tuesday would be

a perfect way to let them "take a final curtain call."

Personally, I am "over the moon" in delight with your enthusiasm

for this little card series.

They have truly been a lot of fun to make...

and...with that being said...

I have wonderful plans for designing MORE

China Bloom sets..."Ta DAAA"

...the next set will be revealed mid June

(fingers crossed...)

"Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June."
~Al Bernstein

"Desert Treasure..."

...I just HAD to paint something larger than an ATC!!!

140 lb cold press paper...7" x 11"

(Click on images to enlarge)

Have a "cooool" Cactus Monday All...

We are expecting a sizzling 108+ degrees in the desert today!!

"The world, indeed, is like a dream

and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage!

Like the apparent distances in a picture,

things have no reality in themselves,

but they are like heat haze."
~Buddha

"And Yet More Lace..."

..."Midnight Lace" that is...the last three of six

in this ATC parade!

Card #4

right below...

...Card #5 right below...

and lastly, Card #6 right below...Enjoy!

"It is difficult

to see why lace should be so expensive; it is mostly holes."
~ Mary Wilson Little

"Midnight Lace..."

...my newest ATC Series posted today at midnight...
Card # 1...below...

Card #2...below...

...and finally...Card #3...below...

Each
ATC is drawn "lead free" with black Pitt pen
on printed decorative paper.
For your viewing pleasure
three more "lacy ladies" will be posted tomorrow at midnight! :)
Anyone interested in trading??

"Tomorrow
is the most important thing in life.
Comes into us at midnight very clean.
It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands.
It hopes
we've learned something from yesterday."
~John Wayne

"IF: HIERARCHY..."

...the evolution of cosmic star stuff into cellular life...

drawn here in my Moly with my Pitt pen.

Tell me what you see. :)

"The ground we walk on, the plants and creatures,

the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations-

each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy,

bound together by cosmic harmony."
~Ruth Bernhard

"As Promised..."

...last week on Blooming Tuesday...

...four more beauties to brighten your day!

Enjoy all the fragrances of this Blooming Tuesday! :)

"The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses."
~Hanna Rion

"Another Series Introduction..."

...my "Au Natural Desert Series" ATC cards...

#1..."Chain Fruit Cholla" and...#2..."Prickly Pear"...

shown for the first time here

for your Cactus Monday viewing pleasure.

Both cards are painted with lots of luscious metallic colors

on paper handmade from crushed sugar cane fibers.

Open for trade if anyone is interested...with more to come

next Cactus Monday!

Enjoy! :)

Have a Happy...Cactus Loving...Monday All!

"Great things

are not done by impulse,

but by a series of small things brought together."
~Vincent van Gogh

"A Fantasy Flower..."

...Painted while feeling a bit frisky and playful a long while back.

She was then scanned, flipped using digital editor

and posted

for the first time today...

...all while waiting

for the energetic version of my artistic Muse to at long last reappear!

Have you seen her???

"Often the Muse will not respond to direct and logical requests.

She must be lured in with the playful and gentle."

~Jill Badonsky

"Another 'All Coiled Up'..."

...Coiled Basket Mandala #2 of 3...but this time all in dark browns...

(The first of the coiled series can be seen here.)

7" x 7" Bristol Board...Pitt Pen

"Our humanity rests

upon a series of learned behaviors,

woven together into patterns

that are infinitely fragile and never directly inherited."
~Margaret Mead

"Art Au Natural..."

...2 new ATC cards from my "Au Natural " Series...

These are painted with watercolors

on paper handmade from crushed sugar cane fibers!

Sweet...and Oh! So "green"! :)

The one above has been gifted...

This one is open for trade...(plus 4 others which I will show next Tuesday!

The crayon drawing above is from Joya...
made Sunday at dinner just for this "Blooming Tuesday" post...

...And this one is made by Jillian...also on Sunday for HBT!
Quite a pair of blooming 7 year old artists
don't you agree?
And...
You KNOW it tickles me to no end that they love to draw! :)
May you find something wonderful blooming
to tickle your fancy today too!

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature
is that all of us tend to put off living.
We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden
over the horizon-
instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today."
~Dale Carnegie

"Stumbling Upon..."

...some golden Barrel Cactus fruit...

(click on images to enlarge)

found on the grounds of the Westward Look Resort

(...advertised as the "Soul of the Southwest"...)

where we stayed

during our delightful getaway in Tucson

a couple of weeks ago.

The brown tops are actually the dried cactus flowers

of the plant.

These pots of gold popped right out at us...not difficult to spot at all!

Don't these little fruity gems remind you

of tiny pineapples?

Now, according to Wikipedia:

"The flowers are pollinated by cactus bees.

Mule deer, birds, and javelina eat the fruit.

The birds especially like the seeds.

The people of the Sonoran desert use the fruit for candy and jelly.

The Seri eat the flowers and the O'odham use the fruit,

which is sour, as emergency food.

Tradition says that the barrel cactus

is a source of water for people lost without water in the desert.

There are records

of the southwestern Native Americans using it for that purpose,

but the water contains oxalic acid

and is likely

to cause diarrhea if ingested on an empty stomach."

(Ewww...okay...

Waaaay too much information...)

Here's hoping that you

"stumble upon" something wonderful this Cactus Monday ! :)

"Don't miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow

looking for that pot of gold."

~Author unknown

"Partying in the Desert..."

Today

is my brother Jack's birthday!

(His wife, Sharon, celebrates her birthday later this week.)

The birthday card

Scott and I are giving them is shown above...front and back.

We found it in Tubac, Arizona on our recent trip.

I had no intention of embellishing it...

but my hand and colored pencils felt differently!

Our family...

Mom, Dad, Susan, David, Joya, Jillian

Sharon, Jack, Scott and I

are meeting for dinner at Grayhawk Golf Club tonight

to celebrate.

(Click on the link above to check out the place...it beautiful!)

This is the first adventure "out " for me

after "getting stoned" last week!

Can't wait! LOL :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK AND SHARON!!!

A May Day Bouquet...

...of well wishes...

snail mail...

and delightful little bits of recognition.

I am so deeply touched by your kind words and sweet wishes

and am

so very thankful that you enjoy...what I love to do!

Today...My heart simply swells with smiles!

First of all...a cactus ATC!!!...from Lolo...
It arrived "Snail Mail" style today...this was a fave of mine!
LOVE it!
(...also, see the beautiful award Lolo designed further down on this page.)

This was received from Aimee...in Texas...

via email...just today also...

and now passed along to each of you who pop in for a visit

everyday...or every now and then.

Pass on the love! :)

This was received from Lolo...in California.
Laurel is a brilliant writer and a deeply soulful artist.
Her pieces are always a treat for me to see...
filled with imagination and uniqueness.
The marriage of her words and her brushstrokes take my breath away.
I feel good about the world around me each time I visit her.
Laurel not only designed this beautiful award
but who also wrote these heartfelt descriptors
gracing it:
"This award goes to fellow bloggers who visit frequently
and raise my spirits with their kind words of encouragement,

their beautiful images

and their wonderful outlook on life.

They make blogging a positive experience

and

continue to make my life richer."

Please feel free to pass this award along to your friends.

Thanks to all of you who raise me up! xox

Laurel...

you know this means the world to me! :)

This was received from Caroline...in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

If ever you wanted to do a bit of armchair travelling...

visit Caroline.

You will be in for a big treat.

Her posts are filled with exotic photographs and beautiful artwork.

I love stopping by regularly

and seeing what she is doing in her little corner of the world.

She is amazing!

This beautiful award was created and designed by the talented Peter Breese.

So, in the true spirit of the award

I pass this on to each of you "even keeled" friends

who through thick or thin

always seem to artistically cheer me on

to do my best

and have joy in my heart.

And...

if you are reading this...that means YOU!!!

Thank you all for sharing your art/photography/writing

and being such an inspiration!

Finally, this was received from Rhonda in Kentucky...

An amazing and talented artist

whose blog is filled to the brim with glorious artistic expression.

Her photography always interesting and engaging...

Her paintbrush an extension of her heart.

Her words lift one up.

I feel I always learn something new about our craft

when I visit her.

The actual "guidelines" for this award are

to list seven things

one is passionate about

and then

to pass this award on to seven others.

Tonight...I am gently tweaking the rules a bit...

my intentions in doing so are

to simply spread the joy I felt in receiving this

and pass this on

to those of you who also deeply love what you artistically do...

To those of you

who live your artistic life

with passion

and who, like Rhonda, paint it with the colors of your soul.