11 Friday Mar 2022
Posted in Art, Reflections, Relationships
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The most valuable thing one can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of a room. – May Sarton
I needed a rest this afternoon – and thought about you at my side.
14 Monday Feb 2022
Posted in Art, Domenico del Ghirlandaio, Red, Renaissance, Valentine's Day
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All of my life I’ve pursued the perfect red. I can never get painters to mix it for me. It’s exactly as if I’d said, “I want Rococo with a spot of Gothic in it and a bit of Buddhist temple” – they have no idea what I’m talking about. About the best red is to copy the color of a child’s cap in any Renaissance portrait.
-Diana Vreeland
Pursuing my perfect Valentine’s red.
Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥️
27 Thursday Jan 2022
Posted in Art, Daily Life, Reflections
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Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I have a wonderful feeling,
Everything’s going my way.
from Oklahoma by Rodgers and Hammerstein
I am a morning person. I like to get up with the sun and make a definite start to the day.
But some mornings, especially when it is cold outside, I am completely seduced by the
warmth of my own bed and the feeling of the covers around me. So I decide not to get up
but to stay in bed and enjoy the moment.
01 Wednesday Dec 2021
Posted in 10 Beautiful Things, Art, Books
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Berthe Morisot, Emily Carr, Georgia O'Keeffe, Helene Schjerfbeck, Joan Eardley, Mary Cassatt, Vanessa Bell
In art, what we want is the certainty that one spark of original genius shall not be extinguished.
Mary Cassatt.
My favorite women artists are Emily Carr and Mary Cassatt: the former for her landscapes and the latter for her portraits. It was difficult to narrow it down to just two as Berthe Morisot, Cecilia Beaux, Frida Kahlo, Marlene Dumas, Joan Brown, and Cecily Brown are also contenders. What I love is the great volume of work these artists have produced and in many different mediums.
The books pictured above:
Joan Eardley by Fiona Pearson (exhibition catalogue)
Berthe Morisot by Jean-Dominique Rey
Berthe Morisot Impressionist by Charles F. Stuckey and William P. Scott
Helene Schjerfbeck by the Royal Academy of Arts (exhibition catalogue)
Vanessa Bell edited by Sarah Milroy and Ian A. C. Dejardin
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum edited by Peter H. Hassrick
Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman organized by Judith A. Barter, Art Institute of Chicago
The Art of Emily Carr by Doris Shadbolt
American Women Artists 1830-1930 by Eleanor Tufts, The National Museum of Women in the Arts
Women Artists by Margaret Barlow (1999 edition cover shown below with painting by Mary Cassatt, The Loge)
16 Tuesday Nov 2021
Posted in Art, Books, Ten Beautiful Things
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Andrew Wyeth, Art books, Dutch Landscape painting, Hudson River School, Jean-Francois Millet, John Constable, Landscape art, Turner
It will be difficult to name a class of landscape in which the sky is not the key note,
the standard of scale, and the chief organ of sentiment. John Constable
I decided to begin painting landscapes in earnest this past summer, and challenged myself to complete fifty landscape paintings by the end of 2021. To date, I have completed twenty-five, mostly in watercolor and acrylic, but two in oil. I have enjoyed the project so much that my 2022 New Year’s Resolution List will have to include another landscape challenge: twenty-five seascape and twenty-five cityscape paintings.
The books pictured above and listed below have served as wonderful sources of inspiration. I found most of them in the library or online. I like buying used books, especially art books. New art books are beautiful, but very expensive, and if they are too precious, I tend not to open them. So my second personal challenge has been to find instructive art books in the various used-book sales that the surrounding libraries and bookstores have, and never to spend more than $10 on any book.
05 Wednesday May 2021
Posted in 10 Beautiful Things, Art, Reflections, Ten Beautiful Things
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Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 KJV
31 Wednesday Mar 2021
Posted in Art, Reflections
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There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty. – Steve Maraboli
When I renewed my driver’s license recently, I was surprised at the weight listed on the new license. I had made no changes during the renewal process, so all of the information was the same as it was several years ago. Was the weight listed my true weight at the time or an aspirational weight? If it were an aspirational weight, I wonder by how much? Short of requisitioning my medical records, I truly have no idea!
10 Wednesday Mar 2021
Posted in Art, Photography, Reflections
≈ Comments Off on Making do with what you have…
Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.
Over the last several years I have taken many online and in-person art and craft classes. Instructors routinely have provided students with a list of materials needed for each class. At first I thought it was necessary to buy everything on the list, but unfortunately, practically every instructor had a different set of material preferences so the cost of the more expensive supplies became prohibitive. I finally decided to start making do with what I had.
One of my favorite mop brushes came from the town of Saluda, South Carolina. I was walking along the side of a dirt road when I noticed a very large, and thankfully dead, rattlesnake in my path. Oddly, next to the rattlesnake lay a watercolor mop brush. Although it had seen better times – the wooden handle was chipped in many places and the ferrule was dented, the bristles appeared intact. I snatched it up and quickly moved on! On closer examination, the bristles were soft and full, and it has turned out to be the best brush in my stash for doing large color washes.
I have made similar but not so exciting finds at Goodwill, garage sales, and in nature. Not having all the designated workshop supplies has not been a barrier to entry for my creative pursuits. In fact, sometimes the found supplies have been the most enjoyable to use!
26 Friday Feb 2021
Posted in Art
≈ Comments Off on Welcoming My Muse…
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I had only to open my bedroom window, and blue air, love, and flowers entered with her. – Marc Chagall
Merely opening the window does not ensure that my Muse will arrive – she is attracted by genuine intent. So when she appears, I am truly grateful. And if she appears after my opus is complete, she still guides me on my creative journey, which is never-ending.
One of my favorite Chagall paintings, Les Amoureux (1928), is discussed https://youtu.be/5v7C2nMnZjc
23 Wednesday Dec 2020
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography
I am dreaming tonight of a place I love
Even more than I usually do
And although I know it’s a long road back
I promise you
I’ll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree.
from I’ll be Home for Christmas by Gannon, Kent, and Ram
sung here by Michael Bublé
Best wishes to those who have been in lockdown and have perhaps spent too much time at home this year.
And Godspeed to those finding their way home in time for Christmas.
Satin & Sand 