Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Flutter of an Angel's Wings...

Heaven holds one more angel tonight...my dearest aunt Gretchen.
Knowing her made one feel blessed.
Sending thoughts of peace and love to my uncle Skip
and
their beautiful family.

"May we live in peace without weeping.
May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing.
And may our love fill the world,
angel wings tenderly beating.”
~An Irish Blessing

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Happy 91st Birthday, Dad!


We love you dad...each and every day.
I feel so privileged to have walked life's pathways with you
my entire life...:)

“The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune.”
~Pope Paul V

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Desert Heat...

...requires a fully operational A/C system in one's vehicle!
Gosh! It's hot here...
and..it's not even officially summer...yet!
Drawn completely lead free...several weeks ago...
in the customer waiting area...
enjoying tasty tidbits from a buffet of yummy snacks...
while keeping all cool and comfy.

“One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty counsels.
The thing to do is to supply light
and not heat.”
~Woodrow T. Wilson

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Father's Day...

...to the man I have been in love with
for over 65 years...:)

"I love my father
as the stars...he's a bright shining example
and
a happy twinkling in my heart."
~Terri Guillemets

Friday, June 7, 2013

A Woven Prayer Basket...

 to gather healing thoughts...peaceful, serene spirits...
positive energies...and love filled wishes
for my dear aunt,
her loving husband, and her beautiful family. 

"God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom
to know the difference.”
~Reinhold Niebuhr

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

An Extra Th-Th-Thumpity...


...in my normally hearty routine of "thump thumps"
was just enough to cause concern
and send me to the ER a couple of weeks ago
just to be cautious.
After keeping me under observation for 24 hours
(and the administration
of multiple scans, x-rays, blood tests, and 
an a 24 hour heart monitor)
I was discharged and sent home
with instructions to eliminate caffeine and chocolate
and to follow up with my PCP
and my cardiologist within the following week.
That being done...I am feeling pretty good at this writing
and my symptoms have seemed to cease.
To be on the safe side...
I will be issued an "event monitor"
to have for the next 30 days in case an episode
arises again.
It is really cool and being somewhat "sci fi" in scope
it will record any pertinent heart data
which, in turn, will be directly uploaded to my cardiologist!
Go figure...:)
The drawing above was done in stages
...ink straight in...lead free...
starting in my room at 3:00am when I couldn't get to sleep
and then continuing the next day
well into the late evening hours while waiting to be discharged.
I added watercolor paint
for a bit of colorful spice this week at home.
Finally, it was flipped using Microsoft Digital Editor
as a nod to my late night/early morning 
artistic efforts.
If you like...click on images to enlarge. :)

"A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running."
~Groucho Marx

Monday, June 3, 2013

Dangles and Twigs...

A bit of sketchbook "ink dancing"
spread out over a couple of pages in my red Hand.Book...
involving several days of 
playfulness.
Definitely a bare bone approach:  ink straight in...
no color. :)

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing
that does everybody a great deal of good."
~Edwin Denby

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Feathered Brocade...

...a midweek mandala...just to tickle your fancy.
Watercolor first,
then ink straight in...lead free...:)

“Those who tickle themselves may laugh when they please."
~German Proverb”

Monday, May 27, 2013

Inward Thinking...


...Another waiting room sketch I made last month...
ink straight in...
no anatomical accuracy whatsoever.
It is the result of some imaginative inward visualization used
to keep my waiting room mind occupied.
I then flipped it in Microsoft Digital Editor for a more
skeletal x-ray vibe.

“If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet,
you'd best teach it to dance.”

~George Bernard Shaw

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

My Travel Sketchbook...

...and my sketches from our "Cowgirl Up!"
It was a "girls out" kind of day
complete with art, laughs, and a trip to
Anita's Cocina in Wickenburg, Arizona for lunch.
Photos are posted here.
(As always, you may click on any image to enlarge
for better viewing.)
 .
 A bit of epherma and the my impression of the official
"Cowgirl Up!"
signature cowgirl artist boot logo
are shown above.
What glorious, beautiful, intense pieces of art we saw from...
"the other half of the west!"
A sketch of the door lock from the museum door
and some more bits of
lovely leather tooling round out
my pages from that day.:)
All drawing were made ink straight in...
lead free...
with watercolor added at the end for some extra zip.

"Drawing is a frame of mind, a loving embrace if you will."
~Susan Avishai

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day,
for no matter how little it is,
it will be well worth while,
and it will do you a world of good."
~Cennino Cennini

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Catching Up...

 Lunch at Anita's Cocina in Wickenburg...


after spending the morning seeing
the "Cowgirls Up" exhibit at
the Desert Caballeros Western Museum
in Wickenburg.
Spicy salsa, artsy friends, lots of laughs, lost and found jewelry,
a couple of margaritas, some tall cool ones..
all a great combination for
making the day
one the all time "faves" in my memory book.
Oooh, and...Yes,
I did some sketching in my travel sketchbook...
will be posted soon...:)

"Never pass anyone on the trail without saying 'Howdy'."
~Author unknown

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Needing to Chill...

 ...in a secretive, refreshingly fluid paradise
hidden away from reality...
a place
full of clear light, whimsical thoughts, beautiful patterns and
soft, soothing colors.
This place is worlds away from
frustration,
worrisome issues, and emotional whirlpools.
This place is full of wonder and decorated with magical bubbles,
cushioned in frothy sea foam, 
and fueled by gentle ripples of serendipity.
The life giving energy of this place ebbs and flows with
serenity and zen and wisdom...
 gently buffing away
the jagged edges of troubling thoughts.
This place 
renews and validates the intentions of my spirit
and
 invigorates the peace within my soul.
This place is special and unique...and known only to
my Muse and I.
It gives us life. It helps us grow.
It enables us to hope...and be joyful...and be whole.
This place is my (he)ART.

"It is not down in any map; true places never are."
~Herman Melville

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

We Are Off and Running!

 A few of my art girlfriends...
actually 21 of us...
unofficially kicked off our first ever Artist Trading Card
summer art project today.
We will each design 20 cards
 this summer and fall
and get back together February 1, 2014 and trade
them with each other.
Knowing this group...I am certain that
ice cream cones,
wine, good eats, and lots of laughs will be involved...
almost every step of the way.
My mandala shown here
is entitled "Circle of Friends"...and was made
quite some time ago...
way before this project was even
in the wind.
I thought it a perfect complement
to the spirit, 
enthusiasm, and positive wide-eyed anticipation
 that bound
our little group together today.
I am delighted and tickled pink that my artistic Muse
has found
so many kindred spirits with which to artfully play...
a "Circle of Friends"...indeed!

"A desire to share creative expression with others
and to find
peace, joy, and perspective
in mining the depths of my internal world …
makes me an artist."
~D.A. Hickman

Monday, April 22, 2013

Happy Earth Day...

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect."
~Chief Seattle, 1855

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Pattern Play...

..."Geisha style"...
made by laying paint straight in...
following up with black inked pattern work...topped of with
white ink from my brand new Uni-ball Signo pen.
This whole piece is totally lead free.
I think geishas may become an obsession...
two more still to reveal...:)
Sayonara!

"It is not for Geisha to want.
It is not for Geisha to feel.
Geisha is an artist of the floating world.
She dances.
She sings. She entertains you.
Whatever you want.
The rest is shadows. The rest is secret."
~Sayuri (as an elderly woman)
 Memoirs of a Geisha
(a 2005 film...directed by Rob Marshall)

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Intuitive Faces...

...drawn in my red Hand.Book sketchbook
on watercolor Thursday...last week in studio one 
while painting with 
 my Arizona art club girlfriends...:)
Each smaller face was drawn lead free...fast and intuitively...
five minutes or so start to finish...
paint first...then ink.
There is more depth to them than shown here...
the scanner
seems to have dissolved much of the color.
BTW...
the larger face was made ink first...then color...
still no pencil...anywhere...:)

“You use a glass mirror to see your face;
you use works of art to see
your soul.”
~George Bernard Shaw

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Amidst the Haste to Escalate Situations...

...should be this powerful thought to ponder:
 
"Peace is not a relationship of nations.
It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul.
Peace is not merely the absence of war.
It is also a state of mind.
Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people."
~Jawaharlal Nehru

Monday, April 1, 2013

A Foolish Thought to Ponder...

They say that
"A rose...is a rose..is a rose..."
or...is it just me...
doodling and dallying...having some zen filled
sloshing, splashing, fiddling, diddling,
water coloring playtime???
Quite possibly 
it might be a whimsical bit of both...Happy April all!
And...
Happy 7th Birthday sweet Myles!!!

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”
~William Shakespeare

Friday, March 29, 2013

Some Moonlit Zen...

...drawn during the day...
while thinking about the night to come...:)

"I often think that the night is more alive
and more richly colored
than the day."
~Vincent Van Gogh