Beautiful Sea Eagle…

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© Joan Currie – My watercolor and gouache painting of a Sea Eagle

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

From The Eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Until recently, I have not been a fan of eagles. I think I associated them with my father’s emphatic mantra, “You can’t fly with the eagles if you hoot with the owls.”

I wasn’t sure I even wanted to fly with the eagles – their sharp, hooked beaks and talons looked very scary! Rather, I loved the reassuring sound of owls hooting in the stillness of the night (even though they are birds of prey, like eagles, but I didn’t know that then). I wanted to hoot, too, but alas, that was not permitted as long as I lived under my father’s roof.

P.S. I finally finished the watercolor of our Akita, Kimmie. Please see my August 26th updated post.

Beautiful sailboats…

Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly. – Van Morrison – Into the Mystic

I have had an amazing summer traveling in the Pacific Northwest. This charming fleet of sailing camp boats on Puget Sound caught my attention. I, too, learned how to sail at a very young age and the knowledge garnered about points of sailing and wind, helmsmanship, racing, knot tying, tides, currents, and weather has served me well. I have been inexplicably drawn to the sea my whole life and these lessons learned have helped keep me safe in some very challenging and even treacherous waters.

Beautiful Japanese Akita…

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© Joan Currie – My watercolor and gouache painting of Kimmie

Known as a symbol of protection, Japanese parents often receive a small statue of an Akita when their child is born. The Akita is not only a symbol of protection, but also one of health, happiness, and long life. – hillspet.com

Meet our newest family member, Kimiko – but we call her Kimmie! She is a beautiful Japanese Akita rescue dog who is nearly two years old. She weighs about 65 pounds and has a fluffy, thick coat of fur. She is a devoted guard dog and very affectionate to those she knows and accepts.

© Lauren DiMarco – Kimmie’s regal pose.
© Lauren DiMarco – Kimmie after bath.

Beautiful Kröller-Müller Museum…

© Joan Currie – Café Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh

Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it. – Vincent van Gogh

The Kröller-Müller Museum is located in Otterlo, the Netherlands in the Hoge Veluwe National Park. I have wanted to visit this museum for many years because of its stunning collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, particularly those of van Gogh. However, the trip there appeared to be somewhat daunting – one train to Ede-Wageningen station, two bus rides, plus an additional walk, bike, or bus ride after arriving at the National Park gate. This trip I was determined to visit and it was well worth the effort!

© Joan Currie – Four Withered Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh
© Joan Currie – Detail of Flowering Peach Trees

If you are able, be sure to ride one of the hundreds of bikes, provided free of charge, to get to the museum from the National Park’s front gate. Great fun!

© Joan Currie – Free white bikes at the Home Veluwe National Park

Beautiful Vermeer Exhibit at the Rijksmuseum…

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© Joan Currie – The Milkmaid by Vermeer

The wonderful, serene paintings of Jan [Johannes] Vermeer – although sadly few in number – show a world of Dutch order and domestic calm. His work illuminates the quiet life of ordinary Dutch men and, particularly, women going about their lives: cleaning, chatting, cooking, drinking, playing music, and quietly contemplating life. Their existence is shown as measured and predictable, comfortable but not glamorous, unhurried and orderly with nothing out of place. from Vermeer by Sandra Forty

I just returned from Amsterdam having had the good fortune to see the sold-out Vermeer exhibit at the Rijksmuseum twice, while I was there. In addition, I traveled to The Hague to see the Girl with a Pearl Earring, as the painting was removed from the Rijksmuseum on March 30, 2023 to return home to the Mauritshuis.

Johannes Vermeer is my favorite painter. The Rijksmuseum’s retrospective exhibit (until June 4, 2023) features 28 of 37 known Vermeer paintings. It is the first time since the Dissius Auction in 1696 (when, allegedly, 21 Vermeer paintings were put up for sale), that so many of his paintings have been on display at one time.

Although I have seen several of Vermeer’s works before, the exhibit lighting was spectacular and it allowed me to see details of the paint texture and layering that I had not noticed in the past. Below are some my favorite Vermeer paintings.

© Joan Currie – Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
© Joan Currie – The Glass of Wine
© Joan Currie – Detail of Girl Interrupted at Her Music
© Joan Currie – Detail of Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window

Beautiful Toil…

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© Joan Currie – Detail of A Bunch of Spring Flowers Needlepoint

The toughest wood with brightest blaze will greet:
The hardest nut contains the sweetest meat;
So wisdom, gained by light of midnight oil,
Gives richest recompense to patient toil.

From Industry By Charles Eugene Banks

I came across a half-finished needlepoint canvas while looking through my tapestry wool stash. I began it over a decade ago and decided at the time that I just didn’t have it in me to finish it – much like when I started reading the 1,072-page classic, Don Quixote, and decided enough was enough and put it back on the shelf.

After examining the needlepoint canvas further and determining that I had just enough wool to complete it, I resolved to push through and finish it. It took me just over a month of incessant work. It is, hands down, my favorite needlepoint piece to date. I sewed it into a pillow using silk fabric backing and velvet piping from Chennai and wool stuffing from a sheep farm in Pennsylvania. I love it and it was well worth the effort!

Beautiful Taking Flight…

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© Joan Currie – Detail of my watercolor of a Grosbeak

When a bird, takes flight
Wings, sail on air
Silhouettes of time
Upon clouds, inspire
No height, inconceivable
Nor dream, unreachable
Fear, no longer, an obstacle
Hunger, no more, high I soar
Tears retreat, from, the earths floor
The sky, stretches out, its arms and opens its door
from A Bird Takes Flight by Bernard E. Harris

After months of contemplation, I awoke this morning and knew it was time to move. Although I haven’t settled on the exact location for my new home, I am ready to take flight!

Beautiful Do What You Say You Are Going To Do…

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© Joan Currie – My self-portrait in acrylic on canvas


If you don’t mean it with every bone in your body, then just don’t say it. – Danielle LaPorte

I have learned over the years that beguiling promises, theatrical proclamations, and seductive statements of intent mean absolutely nothing without action, follow-through, stepping up to the plate, becoming a stakeholder, and/or demonstrating observable results. So please, no more talk – take action!

Beautiful Bugs…

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© Joan Currie – Fun watercolor bugs from my sketchbook.

It‘s a children’s book…It’s mostly about very small animals; the hero is a moss beetle. – Noël Coward.

For several months I have been utterly enchanted with the animal world and now insects, in particular, are capturing my attention. Previously, I associated insects with mostly the stinging kind; yes, occasionally a monarch butterfly or ladybug would land on me, but mostly I was a target for anything that would bite, be it mosquitoes, bees, wasps, deer flies, fleas, spiders, fire ants, etc. So my relationship with bugs has not been the best over the years.

But last October that all changed when I attended an exhibition called Crawly Creatures at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and became fascinated with the images of bugs on the pages of illuminated manuscripts, oil paintings, and ornaments. Since then I have discovered the beauty of these small creatures – be it their colors, textures, and/or intricate body parts- especially the wings!

Last week, as I walked around my neighborhood, I starting noticing insects everywhere- lurking on the edges of branches, flower greenery, and flying through the air. They have transmuted in my mind from being creatures of nuisance, to be cast off (or squashed!) to being fellow creatures to adore and to behold for their sheer beauty!

© Rijksmuseum

Beautiful Primroses and Kaffe Fassett…

© Joan Currie. My newly completed Lichen Auriculus needlepoint designed by Kaffe Fassett

Welcome pale primrose, starting up between,
Dead matted leaves of oak and ash, that strew
The every lawn, the wood, and spinney through
‘Mid creeping moss and ivy’s darker green,
How much thy presence beautifies the ground!
How sweet thy modest, unaffected pride
Glows on the sunny bank, and wood’s warm side!
And where thy fairy flowers in groups are found
The schoolboy roams enchantedly along,
Plucking the fairest with a rude delight,
While the meek shepherd stops his simple song,
To gaze a moment on the pleasing sight,
O’erjoyed to see the flowers that truly bring
The welcome news of sweet returning Spring.

From the sonnet To a Primrose by John Clare

The Primula auricula, common name Primrose, is one of my favorite flowers! When I was a child, my mother would take me to tea parties at her friend Dorothy’s house. Dorothy had a reputation as the local green thumb and garden queen. I loved going there because this lady had a magnificently fecund display of primrose plants. They were housed in a jumble of assorted clay pots sitting on exquisite porcelain saucers lined up along the sill of a huge picture window. The plants’ petals were enormous and each plant boasted a unique two-toned color combination. My favorite colors were: magenta, fuchsia, violet, and sap green. The centers of the petals were a very deep yellow. Those wonderful colors have remained in my memory and although I have never been able to grow primroses with the same success as Dorothy, I take time to admire them whenever I get the chance!

Bloemenstudie by Maria Margaretha van Os at the Rijksmuseum