Happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Last Chance to See...
I just wanted to remind you that I have a show up at Miro Tea in Seattle, Washington. I am taking it down this week so your last chance to see it is tomorrow, the 30th:
Miro Tea
5405 Ballard Avenue N.W
Seattle, WA 98107.
• Monday through Saturday from 8:00 A.M. until 10:00 P.M.
• Sunday from 8:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M.
Miro Tea
5405 Ballard Avenue N.W
Seattle, WA 98107.
• Monday through Saturday from 8:00 A.M. until 10:00 P.M.
• Sunday from 8:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Selkies
I am quite fond of Selkies - seal creatures who become women when they remove their skins to dance on the sand. If you steal a selkie's skin she will be trapped in human form and have to stay with you on land - but she will never stop looking for her seal skin and eventually she will always find it and return to the sea.
Selkies
8x8"
Watercolor, ink, and colored pencil
Available on Etsy.
It's a cold rainy day in Seattle and I am staying indoors to paint. Here is some inspiration for you!
Crows!
and
Grey and Gray (very appropriate in Seattle today.)
Monday, October 22, 2012
Autumn Gold, My Taos Shawl, & a Glimpse of a Ghost Town
A few years ago I took a trip to Taos with my mother and sister. I'd always wanted to go to Taos, and I sort of dreamed of moving there - which is odd, I'd never even been there. But I guess people dream of moving to Paris who have never been there. I guess I just set my sights a bit closer to home.
We went just this time of year, late October, and the colors were gorgeous. All gold with some dusty green and the brilliant blue sky. I took quite a few pictures but of course you can't really capture a place. I think this picture was taken in a field near the San Geronimo Lodge, where we stayed for 2 nights. I hope I can go back soon!
One of the shops we visited was La Lana Wool. I got hand dyed yarns in Taos colors and when I came home I knitted a Taos Shawl.
When we left New Mexico, we went North on I-25 to Denver. I was in the back seat so I was able to watch the scenery, the desert merging into the Prairie. There were lots of horses and sheep grazing. As it got darker I realized that some of those creatures I was seeing by the last light were deer creeping out in the evening. We passed a beautiful ruined building up on a bluff over the highway - with a little research I determined that it was St. Aloysius Church -- about all that is left of Morley, Colorado.
Wikipedia has this to say:
"Morley was a town in Las Animas County, Colorado, that existed between 1878 and 1956. The town was located near the summit of Raton Pass and was originally a railroad stop before being developed into a coal mining town by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I). Morley was a CF&I company town for fifty years until in 1956 the mine was closed and the town demolished. [ed. the church was not completely destroyed and foundations of other buildings can also be seen.] The site of the town was originally named Cima, which means "summit" or "high place", by Spanish traders who traveled through the region in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
The church is beautiful and a little eerie, seen by moonlight. It still looks holy but in a barren and stripped down sort of way. I wish I had gotten a picture. You can see some beautiful photosa Here at Image Whisperer Photography
We went just this time of year, late October, and the colors were gorgeous. All gold with some dusty green and the brilliant blue sky. I took quite a few pictures but of course you can't really capture a place. I think this picture was taken in a field near the San Geronimo Lodge, where we stayed for 2 nights. I hope I can go back soon!
One of the shops we visited was La Lana Wool. I got hand dyed yarns in Taos colors and when I came home I knitted a Taos Shawl.
When we left New Mexico, we went North on I-25 to Denver. I was in the back seat so I was able to watch the scenery, the desert merging into the Prairie. There were lots of horses and sheep grazing. As it got darker I realized that some of those creatures I was seeing by the last light were deer creeping out in the evening. We passed a beautiful ruined building up on a bluff over the highway - with a little research I determined that it was St. Aloysius Church -- about all that is left of Morley, Colorado.
Wikipedia has this to say:
"Morley was a town in Las Animas County, Colorado, that existed between 1878 and 1956. The town was located near the summit of Raton Pass and was originally a railroad stop before being developed into a coal mining town by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I). Morley was a CF&I company town for fifty years until in 1956 the mine was closed and the town demolished. [ed. the church was not completely destroyed and foundations of other buildings can also be seen.] The site of the town was originally named Cima, which means "summit" or "high place", by Spanish traders who traveled through the region in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
The church is beautiful and a little eerie, seen by moonlight. It still looks holy but in a barren and stripped down sort of way. I wish I had gotten a picture. You can see some beautiful photosa Here at Image Whisperer Photography
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Black and White & White and Black
Oh I meant to post something.. anything .. earlier this week. The opening went well on Saturday, but I needed a break afterwards! The show will be up until 10/31/2012 if you want to check it out. It's at Miro Tea in Seattle; 5405 Ballard Ave. N.W.
I've come down with my first cold of the season. I was hoping to make it till November. I went out in search of thera-flu today and had to settle for wall-flu. No, I did not go to Walmart, I've never been.. I went to Wallgreens. I am not sure that it is too much better but it's close to my house and I did not feel like wandering farther in my delicate state.
I was playing with black and white earlier this week... And here are the results. The Whispers painting is also on Etsy. Also, I am taking commissions for the holiday season, just send me an email if you have any questions.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Autumn Glory & Some Inspiration
Autumn Glory
8x8"
Watercolor & Ink
Available on Etsy
some inspiration for you:
amazing color palettes:
at Stitch Diva
eerie dreamy manipulated photos:
by Chris Anthony
and i pinned a bunch of dreamy dave mcKean last night:
on Pinterest
and artsy plush and dolls:
also on Pinterest
inspiration for some fairy- tale inspired paintings i want to do:
on Pinterest
what is your favorite fairy tale?
i've pinned some gorgeous paintings lately:
yet again on pinteresst!
happy saturday, i hope you get some good art time in. do it. even if it's only for 15 minutes. even if it's doodling on the back of an envelope. just do it. maybe you'll make a little doodle and later use it in a painting or collage. maybe you'll draw on fabric and turn it into a mini quilt or cool doll.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
River Voyage & Polar Exhibition
This is one of my recent paintings -- a river voyage. Or perhaps a river drift - I've left off oars OR a sail. Perhaps this dapper bird can use his wings as a sail. He could adjust them at will.
River Voyage
8x8"
Watercolor & Ink
Available on Etsy
I am currently listening to the audio book of The Worst Voyage in the World
by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard, which is the story of Terra Nova Expedition of 1910. This was one of Robert Falcon Scott's attempt to reach the South Pole.
It certainly has a bit of the Victorian pluck - particularly given how the expedition ended-- The narrator, one of the survivors, seems to take everything in robust stride - "The dogs are trying to eat the ponies? Jolly good." etc.
It also amuses me just what they considered necessities on such a voyage -- real silver cutlery, a phonograph, hot cocoa (ok, I agree with them that one.) Shackleton, on his earlier expedition, brought among other things 252 pounds of honey, several oil paintings, and just about every variety of tinned fruit you could imagine. Though I suppose that was practical for preventing scurvy. They brought tea of course, Lipton (odd choice?) though there is no record how much tea they brought. They brought at least 2 teapots.
Another thing that amuses me is that it seems that the polar explorers of that era thought nothing of abandoning food in camps (where it would later be found at eaten by another party, who cares if it sat open for months or years? It's in a giant icebox.) Having been that careless about food, they still took the time to stop and bury any dogs who died, with cairns and one supposes full military honors.
I clearly do not have what it takes to be an arctic explorer..
River Voyage
8x8"
Watercolor & Ink
Available on Etsy
I am currently listening to the audio book of The Worst Voyage in the World
by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard, which is the story of Terra Nova Expedition of 1910. This was one of Robert Falcon Scott's attempt to reach the South Pole.
It certainly has a bit of the Victorian pluck - particularly given how the expedition ended-- The narrator, one of the survivors, seems to take everything in robust stride - "The dogs are trying to eat the ponies? Jolly good." etc.
It also amuses me just what they considered necessities on such a voyage -- real silver cutlery, a phonograph, hot cocoa (ok, I agree with them that one.) Shackleton, on his earlier expedition, brought among other things 252 pounds of honey, several oil paintings, and just about every variety of tinned fruit you could imagine. Though I suppose that was practical for preventing scurvy. They brought tea of course, Lipton (odd choice?) though there is no record how much tea they brought. They brought at least 2 teapots.
Another thing that amuses me is that it seems that the polar explorers of that era thought nothing of abandoning food in camps (where it would later be found at eaten by another party, who cares if it sat open for months or years? It's in a giant icebox.) Having been that careless about food, they still took the time to stop and bury any dogs who died, with cairns and one supposes full military honors.
I clearly do not have what it takes to be an arctic explorer..
Monday, October 8, 2012
A Fun Acorn Project for Autumn
more acorns!, a photo by megan_n_smith_99 on Flickr.
I made these acorns using the tutorial at Resurrection Fern. You can make a whole bunch of these in just a short time and They would make quite fetching holiday ornaments!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Ballard Sunday Market
I had such a nice afternoon, strolling through the Ballard Sunday Market. I got some apples, and peaches, and cauliflower. And some gluten free cookies. And I sat on the curb for a while, in the sun, with tiny golden leaves raining down on me, drawing and watching people. Well, mostly watching small children and dogs, because they were at my level and sometimes more interesting than adults.
This photo is of a pair of street musicians. I do love an upright bass. The bridges are the size of a kitten.
Theo Ellsworth
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Two Falling Leaves
It is turning out to be a beautiful autumn. Crisp days with occasional morning fog and cool nights. The sunsets have been gorgeous, though unfortunately that's more to do with particulates in the air. I have been watching the sun set over the Olympic Mountains every evening. I wish I could capture it - maybe one could with a good camera, a long exposure, and for that matter a tripod - but really you'd never quite capture it. Every night and it still feels like a luxury. I think I am banking light, like most people in Seattle. We know it isn't going to last much longer. If you can sit in the sun and drink a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, then you know its a mild autumn.
I leave you with a quote:
“Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine groves and long melon fields; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgandy red, the fields the color of love and Spanish mysteries.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Today's painting:
Two
5 x 5"
Watercolor & Ink
Available on Etsy.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
New! Luxury Shawls
I've launched a new project. I've been working on knitting one-of-a-kind luxury shawls. These are wearable works of art! They'd be great for weddings, holiday parties, prom, and any special occasion. I think they'd be perfect for bridesmaids. I have several in my Etsy Shop and I can also take custom orders.
Show at Miro Tea in Seattle Washington
I just wanted to remind you that I have a show up at Miro Tea in Seattle, Washington:5405 Ballard Avenue N.W
Seattle, WA 98107.
• Monday through Saturday from 8:00 A.M. until 10:00 P.M.
• Sunday from 8:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M.
There will be a reception as part of Ballard Art Walk:
Saturday October 13th, 6pm to 9pm.
My artwork will be on display until October 31st.
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