Keeping Track...

A bit of zen inspired illos

in my

"Tangle-a-Day

calendar.

A whole bunch of us in the art club

purchased these little books this spring

after seeing those of my Canadian friends

Lise and Evelyn.

The idea behind the book

 is to learn a different tangle each day...

and

document it in the space provided.

At first...that is what I attempted to do...

but, alas, my interest level waned and my over zealous Muse

stepped in and took control.

She saw the beautifully illustrated daily journal

my art friend Barb W. was making

and pushed me into keeping

a tangled version

 of a daily journal...as mundane as my daily

life encounters may be.

Actually this suites me sooooo much better...

just don't let my muse know

I told you.

Sometimes, she gets a bit testy...hee hee!

All entries are drawn ink straight in...lead free.

Click on images to enlarge...:)

“When my journal appears, many statues must come down.”

~Arthur Wellesley 

An Elven Princess...

...the full reveal of Matt's moleskine...as promised.:)

The first photo is my completed spread...

the second photo is the transition

page between Audrey's art

and mine.

The third photo is the whole enchilada...

only one more artist to go before she returns home to Matt

in September.

Here is a bit of the back story to my pages:

She is an elven princess

of transformation and growth...

and

she is holding in her hand a crystal orb

reflecting the rebirth of Audrey's "heavenly phoenix"

from a ball of flames.

 She also brings with her

the magical auras of the changing seasons

as well as

the mysteries and starlight wonders of nightfall

to the elven forest lands.

Please click on images to enlarge...

especially the last one.

“The magic is inside you. There ain’t no crystal ball.”

~Dolly Parton

Yep...Another Work In Progress...:)

These are some working photos

I took while designing

my 4 page spread in Matt's Elven themed moleskine.

This is for a international sketchbook project which

I am involved in over at

Illustrated ATCs.

Feel free to click on images to enlarge them.

Here's a bit of the process:

After deciding on my artistic direction

and

how I will link my art with the artist before me...

(which takes quite a bit of thought and time) 

I jump in and add

my first layer in pencil...

usually on blank printer paper first...

then, after I am satisfied with my decision,

into the actual moleskine itself.

 The next layer involves the inking of my illustration...

scary, but great fun...no place for erasures!

This is shown in the first photo above.

After that, I begin working with my color palette...

blocking in colors here and in the book.

Once that process is complete

I begin to lay in the color in the book...

and for me...that's

 when all the magic begins to happen.

I will post the final reveal of my work here for you

tomorrow...

Come on back

for a peek if you are out and about.

:) 

“If you reveal your secrets to the wind

you should not blame the wind

for revealing them

to the trees.”

~Kahlil Gibran

One Thousand...

...velvety black starry nights

decorated with artistic dreams.

1000 desert days

brimming with a sea of endless possibilities.

One thousand chances to stretch and feed my imagination.

1000 art works,

uploads,

and commentaries.

One thousand opportunities to share my world

and my Muse's view of it.

1000!!!

My! The time seems to have flown by.

Who would have ever thought

it a possibility

when

I

took my first step in this blogging journey of mine.

Thanks to each of you

for stopping by and being there...

whether it be popping in for a minute...

or staying around for awhile.

1000 times over...

I am indeed so very grateful

we have met and that our artistic paths have crossed

My world is richer because you are all in it!

XOXO times 1000!

:)

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

~Lao Tzu

HABOOB!

One may as well stir in a hearty

"Haboob-bala...Mischkoo-bala"...and an "Abracadabra" too!

 It is extremely fascinating to me how

this billowing brew of desert dust

quickly becomes

a visual feast for hungry desert photographers!

(Myself, included...)

Yes,

'tis the season

of the amazing Arizona monsoons!

(Click on images to enlarge...)

“You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.”

~Maya Angelou 

A Little Midnight Magic...

...artist trading card style.
This year

I have be making lots of art...I really have...really.
But...
for some reason though
my late night midnight art mojo
has not translated well into daily energetic
blog updates.
I apologize to all of you for that...
I cannot even offer any concrete reasons why either.
I just know it is happening.
It is my intent to become a more faithful
partner...
and not let our artistic good times fade away.
Hang in there with me...
I feel that soon that old familiar art magic
we once shared
will soon reenergize me when I least
expect it.
My fingers and toes are doubly crossed.
:)

“That's the thing with magic.
You've got to know it's still here, all around us,
or it just stays invisible for you.”

~Charles de Lint

"The Visitors..."

Above is the finished spread

of the WIP (Work In Progress) I posted yesterday.
You can click on image to enlarge...:)

And below is the back story

to accompany the art.

I attached a copy of the story to the backside
of my spread.

This book has only two more artists to go

before it returns home to

Elaine

in New Zealand.

And, now...the story:

Behind the “Back Of Beyond”…

floating above and between

all that is known and yet to be known…

is a sacred place

where

“Those Who Came Before All" live.

These beings are like no other.

Invisible and ethereal

they appear merely for an instant

as a

twinkle in the mind’s eye.

On occasion

they might visit human life forms

in the mysterious guise of

“Deja Vous”.

They dance on velvety black skies

creating shimmering auroras

and twinkling stars.

They slide through slivers of time

leaving stardust trails

in their wake.

They bring gifts of

imagination, inspiration, insight,

and

individuality

to those who are ready to receive.

They expertly guide newcomers to the

lands past the

“Back of Beyond”.

Cloaked in rainbow hued mists,

they have been known to reveal themselves

in the presence of

collaborative artistic promise.

And…such a spectacular event

has, indeed, occurred.

Hence…

let it be written

on this warm summer’s eve

that I,

Margaret Storer Roche,

an appointed rememberancer

of the years 200-230 of the Flutterby era,

have artistically documented

the appearance of these magical visitors

for all to remember

now

and for all of the time yet to come.

...And, Yet, Another WIP...

..."Work In Progress".

This time it is my 4 page spread in Elaine's

Japanese Fold Moleskine.

Elaine's theme is "People of the Village"...

who live in a special and unique place

"past the back of beyond".

In her own words Elaine wanted to create a place that

" is not on any map...

 it has attracted the type of individuals who are very individual

and haven’t found a fit anywhere else."

She was hoping for

"A great mix of fun characters –

from your imagination, fiction, mythology, sci-fi, real life –

hippies, different nationalities, occupations.

Characters can be humanoid or animals.

Anything goes except morbid."

Above is my start...tomorrow I will post the finished page.
Please click on any image to enlarge it.
Pop on back for a peek...

I promise

I will be here.:)

Happy 90th Birthday, Dad!

90 years!

What a treat and a privilege for me...

to have you hold my hand as I walked by your side

down life's pathways...

for most of them!

Happy, Happy Day, Dad...with love to you from me. :)

"If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.

Angels whisper to a man

when he

goes for a walk."

~Raymond Inmon

The Long...

 ...and short of it...

Above are a few of the watercolored bookmarks I made

as art favors

for the 18 participants in my

Whimsical Watercolor Botanical Design class

Thursday, June 7th 2012

held in our local art club studio here in Arizona.

Click on any image to enlarge if you like...:)

 We worked on leaves in the morning ...

 ...then we all took a break for lunch and ice cream cones...

 ...and designed whimsical watercolor flowers in the afternoon. :)

My students...new friends...Studio 2...and lots of smiles.

Wheee!

"Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."

~Pablo Picasso

"As Promised..."

..the final reveal of my 4 page watery green-blue spread

in Jen's rainbow themed Moly.
Please click on any image for better viewing...:)
In a spark of simultaneous serendipity

 as I posted this today

 (...just a bit after the noon time hour in

blazing hot Arizona...)

Jan is in flight crossing the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian

coast.

Next stop...for both this book and my girlfriend...

is New Zealand.

Both my art and my dear friend are really seeing

the world in all its glory.

Life is...
as it should be...:)

Another Work In Progress...:)

Just a couple of peeks of my 4 page spread in Jen's

rainbow themed Moly.

My color was

green!

This book is part of the international G8 Moleskine exchange

I am in over at Illustrated ATCs.

As of this past Saturday this book is

en route from the burning hot Arizona desert to

art studio of Elaine in New Zealand.

My dear friend Jan was also en route to NZ Saturday...

but due to a delayed flight out of Chicago...

her Qantas connection was missed!

She will try again tonight.

An adventure? or and Inconvenience?

Knowing Jan...it will be a memorable adventure!

I wonder who will arrive first???

Please click on images for detail.

I will post the full reveal of the final pages

tomorrow...I Promise!

For Jan:

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.

An inconvenience

is only an adventure wrongly considered."

G.K. Chesterton

"Artistic Play..."

...made by

simply splashing on some watercolor

and

allowing my pen to dance and my soul to sing.

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot.

In your soul

are infinitely precious things

that cannot

be taken from you."

~Oscar Wilde

"My Chemical Romance..."

...some "lyrics based" art I made in

Audrey's "My Chemical Romance" themed moleskine.

This is part of the 2012 G8 Moly exchange

over at

Illustrated ATCs.
Honestly,
I had never heard of the band before...
and
was a bit bummed out about this theme.
Plus...
the lyrics of their songs did not set well in my mind.
So, I asked
a couple of "younger generation" acquaintances
what they would suggest
I do.
With big smiles and "Ooooh COOL!" commentaries
they pointed me in the right direction.
The music is not half bad...really.
It was simply
the battling of the graphic lyrics and subject matter
with my Muse's artistic preferences
 that had me bamboozled.

The song lyrics I ended up choosing are from the band's hit

"Cemetery Drive".

The cemetery gate drawn here was

inspired by

the style of the east gate of the Elmwood Cemetery in

back in my hometown of

Sycamore, Illinois.
I went back to my roots...and drew what I knew.
Audrey's book has already been passed along

to the next artist and is

expected to return home to her in Quebec, Canada

early this fall.

This Moly exchange is packed with artistic challenge and fun....
and has absolutely opened my eyes
to many new things.

 It keeps that flighty Muse of mine in her toes...:)
Click on image to enlarge...:)

"This night walk the dead...in a solitary style
and crash the cemetery gates
in a dress
your husband hates."
~Cemetery Drive
My Chemical Romance

A Bit of Flower Styling...

...going back to my Waterblossoms roots...as they say.

My shapes

were drawn in first with lightly tinted water...

then came along the fun part.

I dropped in color wherever my little ol' Muse desired.

The inking came last.

This was wonderful therapy for my slightly bruised spirit.

I hope you enjoy her!

"Suck it up, Buttercup!"

~A bit of advice just absolutely perfect for me

 found on Juli's Hand Project for iATCs.

"A Run for the Roses..."

...Waterblossoms style, that is...:)

These ATCs were made batik style...using masking fluid and ink

straight in...no pencil.

Hope today brings you some winning smiles...as for me...

I am artfully spending this day at the races

in my "studio".

Hmmmm...

I think..."I'll Have Another One"...:) 

Si!

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby Day!

"I have often said

there is nothing better for the inside of a man

than the outside of a horse."

~Will Rogers

Someone's in The Kitchen With Dinah...

...and they are NOT "Strummin' on the ol' banjo"!!!

This is my 4 page spread in Juli's Moly

"In the Kitchen"

for the 2012 Illustrated ATC G8 Moleskine exchange.

Sometime in late summer

"she" will make her way home to Juli

 in Canada...:)

"Fee Fi...Fiddlily Aye Oh"...:)

Click on images to enlarge...especially the last one.

Enjoy!

If you can't stand the heat...

get out of the kitchen."

~Harry S. Truman

I Have Been "Chromed" Under Protest...

...and I am absolutely hating every minute of it!!!

It has taken me over an hour this afternoon to upload

this new blog page today.

Why, you might ask???

Well,

I just have come find out that,

during my latest blog world absence,

Blogger has changed.

Errrgh!

Let me tell you...in my current "blog slug" persona

this is not being accepted as a

positive change.

Sooo...

I was first required to install to "Google Chrome"

to add this page.

This was it not easy on my sporadic and unreliable

internet connection.

But,

after a call to Cox cable...and a modem reboot...

I was soon halfway to success.

Next, was to tackle the newness of Blogger format.

(Which may actually not be all that bad...)

Get this...

I spent the morning getting all zen like...

painting...relaxing...meditating...

accompanied

by the sweet strains and haunting melodies

of

R. Carlos Nakai"s flute

and

William Eaton's harp guitar

enchantingly playing

in the background.

Life was mellow....the pen just flowed.

Then came those unstoppable changes to the norm.

Glad to be over the hump.

Hopefully,

no surprises next upload...fingers and toes crossed.

"Change is the only constant."

~Proverbs

"Breaking Free..."

from sadness,

grief,

confusion,

worry,

guilt,

preconceived notions,

disenchantment,

lethargy,

the blurring of time,

unhealthiness,

and

disorder.

I have no other choice...I must do this!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
~Pablo Picasso

"In Loving Memory..."

Susan V. Krahenbuhl

November 26,1960...March 23, 2012

♥

After Glow

"I'd like the memory of me

to be a happy one.

I'd like to leave an after glow

of smiles when the day is done.

I'd like to leave an echo

whispering softly down the ways,

Of happy times and laughing times

and bright and

sunny days.

I'd like the hearts, of those who grieve,

to dry before the sun

Of happy memories that I leave

When life is done."

~Helen Lowrie Marshall
(From her book of poetry, Close to the Heart)