"Ancient Petroglyphs..."

...with a contemporary, watercolor-batik style twist!

"Sky Visitors Dawn"...

...and..."Sky Visitors Dusk"...:)

Ummm...

Yes, I must admit I was glued to the television last night

watching the last new episode of "Lost"

(setting the tone for the 2 hour series finale event Sunday)

and the season finale of "V".

However,

as planned as it may seem...

might

this extraterrestrial posting merely be

an ''unplanned coincidence"...

from a

"sideways/parallel" universe...

or...

not???

Hmmmmmmmm...
:)

"We are all visitors to this time, this place.

We are just passing through.

Our purpose here is to observe, to learn,

to grow, to love...

and then we return home."

~Australian Aboriginal Proverb

"What a Twavelin' Wabbit..."

...and

that would be the infamous Sunset Jack, of course,

out "on the road"

wishing you a butterfly-filled Happy Blooming Tuesday!

(Click on images to enlarge...no cropping options

available for Jack

while away from his "studio"...Dwats! :)

"Ideas are like rabbits.

You get a couple...and learn how to handle them...

and

pretty soon you have a dozen."

~John Steinbeck

"Arroyo Gold..."

Hmmm...

What's "Arroyo Gold"???

Well... It's not a brand of tequila...

nor is it some street jargon for an illegal drug...:)

It is just the name

I gave

a sweet little cactus

drawn totally from my imagination

and

splashed by my Muse with some juicy watercolor.

She appears here simply to wish

everyone

Happy Cactus Monday! :)

Have a golden day!

"More gold

has been mined from the thoughts of men

than has been taken

from the earth."
~Napoleon Hill

(American author, 1883-1970)

"Some Sunday Thoughts..."

...along with some simple zen inspired art for you!

“Perhaps middle-age is,
or should be,
a period of shedding shells;
the shell of ambition,
the shell of material accumulations and possessions,
the shell of the ego.”
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh
(American writer and aviation pioneer, 1906-2001)

"Six Word Saturday..."

Tiny feet...vivid imaginations...

awaiting life...:)

See other Six Word Saturdays here...:)

"A Delightful Duo..."

First, yet another geisha from the "Geisha Queen" herself...

Janet in Texas...
And second, a masterful "OM"mantra card
made entirely in ball point pen
from Lisa in Arizona.
Lisa and I have made plans to do a Moly_X art trade...
(a.k.a. Moleskine Sketchbook Exchange)
Can't wait!
What fun it is to continue to receive
such tiny treasures
and trade talents with
kindred spirits from all over the world.
I am very thankful indeed!
(As always...click on any image to enlarge...)

"Care For A Cuppa...?"

This is my "Me Time" mug.

I use it when I am feeling in a really

100% "zen-good" mood.

It was made in an artists' co-op in Nepal...

and

I found it at the Ten Thousand Villages boutique

not far from where I live.

Artisans whose merchandise is sold in this store

are paid fair trade wages.

I think that is so cool.

Hence, this mug has super great karma.

I love the feel and heft of it.
In reality it is actually more pale, pale stone gray in color...

but somehow when I painted her

my silver blue Daniel Smith iridescent paint

kept jumping on my brush.

Go figure! :)

EDinMay...EDM #04..."Draw a Mug..."

"A Little Black Purse..."

...every girl needs one, right?

Mine is made of black tooled leather

with silver studs and a silver center button.

I bought it on a lark

while playing tourist up in Wickenburg, Arizona

at a western leather goods store.

It happens to be one of my fave "Go-To" pieces.

EDinMay...EDM #03..."Draw a Purse..."

BTW...

as of this posting, I am currently

9 days of sketching behind

the rest of "y'all" in completing

an EDM every day in May.

I feel like

I have been flung hard from my horse

and am now

tumbling deeply into the thorny ravine of "Need to Do's."

I still have one more drawing in my sketchbook

done and ready to share.

Sadly though,

as far as keeping up with the group

and the future EDM sketches... I will honestly attempt to

"catch as catch can..."(whatever that means!)

I don't mean to disappoint...I'm just facing the facts.

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do..."

~Mindy McCready

"In the Pink..."

...I'm feeling in the pink. :)

Well,

let's say I'm in the light pink...

not anywhere near even half as powerfully pink as these

bougainvillea beauties...

but definitely I am no longer in the

yucky gray zone.

Thanks for all your well wishes...

It was a looong five days.

:)

"Feeling Bleh..."

...with a vicious attack of the stomach flu bug.

Blogging not very high on my to do list...

Hopefully, soon.!

"Shedding Some Light..."

...on the subject. :)

This little lamp

stands only about a foot tall

and was one of the first purchases

we made when we moved to Arizona.

We had no furniture or TV

but

we had this little lamp!

It originally lit our front hall table

(once we purchased one)

but she now resides on the kitchen bar counter

and serves

as a sweet bit of a night light.

Every Day in May ♥ EDM #02: "Draw A Lamp"

"An apt quotation

is like a lamp which flings its light

over the whole sentence."

~Letitia Landon

"More Mail Art...YAY!"

...some swirly pink sand dunes and clouds

from Pam in Oregon...

...some funky cool modern art from Joss in the U.K....
...Pandora and her mysterious Grecian urn
from Erin in California...

...a suprise package

from Bonnie in Pennsylvania...

a wooden charm with my own artwork on it!

...a "Chasing Butterflies" geisha from Janet in Texas...

...the sweetest little violet fairy

from Renske in the Netherlands...

... and lastly, from Carey in California...

an teeny oragami crane on a hand painted background.

What treats galore!

If you haven't already checked out these artists

and their work

pop in on them if time allows.

You will find some wonderful artfilled delights!
Thanks to all!

"Foot Loose and Fancy Free..."

Since moving to Arizona several years ago...

I hardly wear shoes any longer.

Now, my closet is filled with sandals

of all shapes and sizes...

and a huge variety of flip flops.

This pair of HotFlops is totally outrageous

and is great fun to wear whenever

I want to feel like

Chiquita Banana...:)

Liz Steel (aka Borromini Bear)

proposed the idea

to do the EDM challenges 1-31 for "Everyday in May".

Since I have really been feeling the urge to

go back to my roots lately...

(illustrated watercolor journaling )

I felt this might just be what the art doctor ordered

to set me back on the right path.

I hope you pop back in every now and again

and

enjoy my adventure this month...:)

"Turning Gray..."

...and then snowy white...

while

fiddling around a bit with tonal values in my

2010 Zen Journal....(and Microsoft Editor.)

Hmmm...

That actually reminds me...

I think I may need to make a salon appointment

later this week. :)

“Gray hairs

are signs of wisdom if you hold your tongue.

Speak...

and they are but hairs,

as

in the young.”
~Rabindranath Tagore

Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist,

Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913,

1861-1941

"Sending Zen-Filled..."

...Calla lillies, Butterflies, Cacti, and Sparkles

in the form of a

Happy Birthday Zendala

to my younger brother Jack...

as he celebrates his "something-something" birthday

this first Cactus Monday

in May!

(Me, Mom, Jack...on his 1st Birthday)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!!

We LOVE You!

XO♥:)

“And in the end,

it's not the years in your life that count.

It's the life in your years.”
~Abraham Lincoln

"Happy May...!"

"The air is like a butterfly

With frail blue wings.

The happy earth looks at the sky

And sings."

~Joyce Kilmer, Spring

"Six Word Saturday..."

"Drug Bust...

Art addictions start early! "

This stash (x's 2)

was recovered as part of some Christmas goodies

smuggled into Surprise, Arizona

in 2009

by the infamous and notorious "Eleanor the Elf".

Eleanor's addictive gifts

are on children's most wanted list

internationally.

The contraband is secretly brought into the country

direct from the North Pole...

so the street value of the items is

ranked in the upper reaches of one's imagination.

Beware of the addiction to similar items

in your own cupboards

and drawers...

they are known to cause spontaneous 'Art Attacks."

Also, be on the lookout

for various male counterparts to Eleanor.

Allegedly, they go by the names of

Jerry (Artarama),

Dick (Blick),

Daniel (Smith),

and Michael.

See other "Six Word Saturdays" HERE.

"My Four Contributions..."

...to the Louis Comfort Tiffany
Stained Glass Window ATC Swap

at Illustrated ATCs.

Domestic landscape triptych with hollyhock detail.

"Landscape with Birches"

"Rest"

One of 5 window panels depicting the four seasons

Battel Chapel...Church of Christ

Norfolk, Connecticut.

Wisteria transom detail...

Tiffany's personal residence...Laurelton Hall

Long Island, New York.

Lastly...the whole ATC swap package...

totally signed...sealed...and delivered...well ahead

of today's April 30th deadline.

Whew! :)

I will post my swap returns as soon as I receive them.

I cannot wait!

“People are like stained-glass windows.

They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,

but when the darkness sets in,

their true beauty is revealed

only

if there is a light from within.”
~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

"I Could Not Stop Myself..."

It all started in my Canson sketchbook

with a simple circle...
then it blossomed into cactus inspired buds...

and blooms.

Then my mind told my hand

to keep adding layers upon layers of color. Finally,

I was forced into

double dipping within my

Microsoft Digital Editor options menu

choosing both

a delightful color flip and a textured mosaic

all rolled into one!

Wheeeee!
I just couldn't help it!!! LOL :)

I love days like this!

(My Muse does too.)

(BTW...Original is approx. 6.5" square...images enlarge with a click.)

"95 Degrees..."

...in the "Valley of the Sun" yesterday.

Yep! It's true...

things here in the Sonoran desert are definitely

beginning to sizzle!

Fortunately, the nights are still cooling down

with at least a refreshing 30 degree

drop in temperature.

And...

it really is a dry heat...and that is a blessing.

The "snowbirds" are now flocking

homeward in droves.

Daily, enormous RVs with cars in tow

parade northbound in their seasonal migration.

This is a fairly accurate sign

that

our delightfully beautiful desert spring days

are about to be history.

However...

a significant "Low" pressure system

off the coast of California

promises a drop of 20 degress in temps

by the weekend.

Relief for a bit...but I still know what lies ahead.

I just have to mentally adjust! :)

(NOTE TO SELF: Dry heat...remember it's a dry heat!)