Little Pink Shoes

“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”
– Bertrand Russell

Boy, isn’t that the truth!

 

Little Pink Shoes
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC


Anyone have a feeling that I’m stuck on pink mode? 

I am going to ban myself from the internet today.  OMG!!  Yes, I am so busy at work and I can always find too many things that interest me.  I get some really good email.  One quick check of my email can lead to an hour of blog browsing or art cruising.  A glance at who’s writing on my facebook wall can distract me, too.  It’s so easy to pop over to see what my niece has been up to, or my big brother.  *sigh*

Just for one day, I am going to resist.  Well, I have pending sign quotes, so I will check email for sign related messages…. but that’s it!!  ha ha ha

I’m going to buckle down and find my reserve of self discipline. 

I’m missing you already!

About Bertrand Russell

British philosopher Bertrand Russell was greatly responsible for the shift toward logical analysis among philosophers; he introduced rigorous scientific methodology to the field and was best known for his books Principia Mathematica and The Principles of Mathematics. He was born in 1872 to an aristocratic English family but raised by a strict paternal grandmother after his parents died young. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. Albert Einstein collaborated with him on a manifesto calling for nuclear disarmament. He died in 1970.

Princess Castle

“When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.”
– Tuli Kupferberg




Princess Castle
4″ x 6″ Watercolor Postcard

I painted this little castle from a photo of Disney World, posted by RubyRedDog at WetCanvas.  I really had fun with all the detail on this itty bitty card.  I did the outlines with a Prismacolor fine liner pen.

Doesn’t every princess need a pink castle? 

About Tuli Kupferberg

Tuli Kupferberg, the American Beat poet and musician, was 42 when he cofounded the Fugs, a satirical, politically pointed rock band that became an integral part of the 60′s countercultural movement. He was born in 1923 in Brooklyn. Before forming the Fugs, he had no formal training in music; he had edited the underground magazines Birth and Yeah, and his poetry was featured in anthologies, including The Beat Scene. He died on July 12, 2010.

Little Pink House II

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
– Truman Capote

Yay!  It’s finished! 



Little Pink House II
24″ x 48″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

The painting continues around the edges of the canvas, eliminating the need for a frame.



I took this picture with my Little Pink House II painting leaning up against my real pink house.  he he   This painting has been quite an adventure!  It’s like 10 times larger than I usually paint, so every square inch was a totally new experience for me.  I’m ready to do another one.   

You may remember that the first Little Pink House is 4″ x 8″.  It is painted from a Barbados photo by Valri Ary.  It was Valri, who originally inspired me to go bigger with this one.  A progress shot is here.

Valri and I went to Barbados back in September of 2008.  I remember seeing a lot of these wonderful little houses.  That makes this painting even more fun.

About Truman Capote

The flamboyant American author Truman Capote is best known for his book In Cold Blood, the true story of the murder of a wealthy Kansas family. Written in a literary style, it spawned the creative nonfiction genre. Born in New Orleans in 1924 and raised by relatives in Alabama, Capote moved to New York when he was nine to live with his mother. He was a larger-than-life personality, known for his colorful attire, his lisping voice, and his outrageous statements. He died in 1984.

Turkeys and Lizards Galore!

“Since no one is perfect, it follows that all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection. Yet they were accomplished, somehow, all the same.”
– Lois McMaster Bujold



Shoe Shopping Turkeys
4″ x 6″ Watercolor Postcard

This is a painting I did in 2008 for a WetCanvas WDE.  The same photo reference was posted for this weekend.  This image started a back and forth animated play between Eyepaint and myself, that went on for months.  Thelma the Wonder Turkey and Bert the Lizard.  Eyepaint even went on to write two little books about these characters.  What fun we had!

Bert and Thelma shared a lot of fascinating times and met a lot of interesting characters.



And it landed them in hot water on a regular basis.   




Yes, they even got involved in some cow tipping with a rascally frog!



We added frogs, eventually.  Bud, Weiser and Er.
 





I have a lot more, but I didn’t think to put them in a single journal most of the time, so many have been scattered here and there.  Each week, they went to whatever country or town the host lived in and they had adventures revolving around the host’s references.   Fun, fun, fun!!!

**clapping with glee**

About Lois McMaster Bujold

Lois McMaster Bujold, the award-winning American science fiction and fantasy writer, is best known for her “Vorkosigan Saga” space opera, a series of novels and short stories which blend action with strong character development. She was born in 1949 in Ohio and began writing seriously in her thirties. When her best friend began publishing novels, Bujold thought, “If she can do it, I can too.” She has won the prestigious Hugo Award four times. She lives in Minneapolis and has two children.

Pear Basket and a Sneak Peek at Large Painting

“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work — and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”
– Lucille Ball



Pear Basket
4″ x 4″ Acrylic on Ampersand Artist Panel

I stopped while this resembled a block print, before I gave it too much form and detail.  It still may get something, but I don’t know what.

Would you like a sneak peek at my 2′ x 4′ painting?  Here is one small square…



This was taken in my studio with no natural light, so it’s not a very good likeness, but it does give you a small glimpse of a small corner of the bigger painting.  I am having so much fun! 

About Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball, the beloved redheaded comedian, was born in 1911 in New York. She enrolled in drama school — where she was told she had no acting talent, so she became a model. That career led to her discovery by Hollywood. Ball and her bandleader husband, Desi Arnaz, pitched a sitcom to CBS, which refused it, but they went on the road with it as a vaudeville act. The act — about a ditzy housewife and her bandleader husband — was a success, as was the ensuing TV show, I Love Lucy. The show made TV history when Lucy’s sitcom character was pregnant on the air. She died in 1989.

Dave the Blue Cat

“It is not enough to have great qualities;  We should also have the management of them.”
– La Rochefoucauld



Dave the Blue Cat
4″ x 4″ Acrylic on Ampersand Artist Panel

I enjoyed doing this very much.  It was all done by loading my brush and squiggling the paint onto the black panel.

Hey, I am impressed that spell-check didn’t bust me on squiggling! hahaha 

La Rochefoucauld

(born Sept. 15, 1613, Paris, France — died March 16/17, 1680, Paris) French writer. Of a noble family, he joined the army at an early age and was wounded several times. He later played a leading part in the Fronde but gradually won his way back into royal favour. He turned his energies to intellectual pursuits and became the leading exponent of the maxime, a French form of epigram that concisely expresses a harsh or paradoxical truth. Maximes (five eds., 1665 – 78), his principal achievement, consists of 500 reflections on human behaviour. His Mémoires (1664) recount the plots and campaigns of mutinous nobles during the Fronde.

Computer Generated Clipart Collage

“Courage is the human virtue that counts most — courage to act on limited knowledge and insufficient evidence. That’s all any of us have.”
– Robert Frost




The Essence of Me
Computer Generated Clipart Collage

Linda Halcomb posted an End of Summer Self Portrait Challenge on her blog. Today is the day we are supposed to post our self portrait.


I tried to paint myself, three times.  I can’t capture the resemblance, so  I decided to do what I call a clipart collage.

Starting from the top….

1. The little business card  is a logo I use on a lot of paperwork, like quotes or letters.  It’s being held by a stock clipart lady from Printmaster Platinum 17.

2. Of course I have to add a lady at the computer.  So much of my work is done on a computer and then I do all the blogging, website, wetcanvas, etc. (stock clipart)

3. I need a boat in there, since I live on a lake. (stock clipart)

 4. The books are front and center.  They are my motivational books.  I made this part from boxes and text.

 5. Purple cow is there, because it makes me smile! (stock clipart)

6. We have to have the woman in the plane.  Wheeeeeeeee! (stock clipart)

 7. And of course, the painter-lady.  (stock clipart)

All of this is “welded” together, pixel by pixel, so that it could even be cut from vinyl, if I wanted to make a sign from it. 


For more self-portraits of various artists click here and go to the comments section. Other artists, who participated, have left their links there.

About Robert Frost

Robert Frost, the influential American poet known for his rural settings, uncluttered language, and meditative themes, wrote the poems, “A Road Not Taken” and “Mending Walls,” among many others. He was born in San Francisco in 1874 and moved to Massachusetts at age 11. He ran a farm for ten years, selling it to move to England and become a full-time poet. After achieving his goal, he moved back to New Hampshire. His ambition was to write “a few poems it will be hard to get rid of.” He died in 1963.

Dave in Pink

“What we hope ever to do with ease we may learn first to do with diligence.”
– Samuel Johnson



Dave in Pink

5″ x 7″ Watercolor

I spent a lot of time on my big 2′ x 4′ painting, but I did manage a few little bitty paintings.  This one is Dave, the cat of OldRockChick at WetCanvas.  She said he may not approve of being pink.  He’s quite a manly man!  hehehe

About Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson, the sharp-witted British essayist, wrote the first English language dictionary; his definitions still form the backbone of current dictionaries. He was born in Staffordshire in 1709. Johnson married a widow 20 years his senior and lived in poverty before achieving success with his essays when he was in his forties. Later in life, he befriended the young James Boswell, whose Life of Johnson became the quintessential English biography. Johnson died in 1784.

Mr. & Mrs. Parker

“Artists must be sacrificed to their art. Like bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson





Mr & Mrs Parker
Ambergris Caye, Belize
September 17, 2002

What a beautiful day that was, on the day I married Mr. Right.  I just wanted to take a moment to be grateful for all I have been blessed with.   




Have a great weekend!

Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Born: 25 May 1803

• Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
• Died: 27 April 1882
• Best Known As: A founder of Transcendentalism

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s father was the seventh in an unbroken line of ministers dating back to Puritan days, and after attending Harvard Emerson himself became a Unitarian minister. After the death of his young wife and two elder brothers, Emerson began to doubt his faith and in 1832 resigned his ministry. Eventually he settled in Concord, Massachusetts, where he lived most of the rest of his life thinking, writing and speaking. Emerson remains important in American history as a founder of the school of thought known as Transcendentalism. Its chief features were a reliance on intuition over cold scientific reason, a belief that the natural world held spiritual truths, and an optimistic view of the human spirit. Emerson was known as a stirring speaker, eventually earning the sobriquet “the Sage of Concord.”

White Sands Cove Resort
Ambergris Caye, Belize

Shoes for Two

“Success seems to be connected with action.  Successful people keep moving.  They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”
–Conrad Hilton



Shoes for Two
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

Another little shoe ATC.   I really must paint more this weekend.  Digging into the archives is fun, but it’s not as fresh and lively as a brand new painting.

“Oh look, another shoe.”  

Okay…. how about a frog? 




Lime Green Frog
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC


Conrad Hilton

(born Dec. 25, 1887, San Antonio, N.M., U.S. — died Jan. 3, 1979, Santa Monica, Calif.) U.S. businessman, founder of one of the world’s largest hotel organizations. As a boy he helped his father turn the family’s adobe house into an inn for traveling salesmen. After his father’s death in 1918 he bought several hotels in Texas, and by 1939 he was building, leasing, and buying hotels in California, New York, Illinois, and elsewhere. In 1946 the Hilton Hotels Corp. was organized; in 1948, as the business expanded overseas, the company was renamed Hilton International Co. Later diversification included a credit card company and a car-rental firm. His son Barron succeeded him as president in 1966.

For more information on Conrad Nicholson Hilton, visit Britannica.com.

Baby Shoes

“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that is my religion.”
– Abraham Lincoln



Baby Shoes
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

Awwww, those are some itty bitty shoes. 


Is anybody working on their self portrait  for Linda Halcomb’s End of Summer Challenge?  I have painted 3 little attempts and the public opinion is that they do NOT look like me at all.  I need to re-think this and maybe paint my foot. 

About Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, the American president remembered as Honest Abe, is renowned for his strong leadership during the Civil War and for ending slavery in the United States. He was born in a Kentucky cabin in 1809. He taught himself law and passed the Illinois bar in 1837, the same year he first spoke out against slavery. The Southern states seceded in response to his election to the presidency in 1860. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, mere days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered to end the war.

Very Fine Shoes

“Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the control of fear, mastery of fear.”
–Mark Twain

I didn’t know until now that Mark Twain and I share a birthday.  Cool!



Very Fine Shoes
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

I spent so much time on my Banty, that I didn’t get to paint anything else over the weekend.   I  guess we’ll tip toe through the shoe pile this week and see what else is hiding in there.  When I look at some of these shoes, it amazes me that I put so much detail in that itty bitty little space.  Fun!!! 






Last night, I made it to my flight lesson in McAlester, ready to go up with the remnants of my cold.  I did the pre-flight, the run-up,  and taxied onto runway 02, announcing my intentions on the radio.    All is well.  I begin the takeoff roll, when I notice the airspeed indicator is not working.  I pulled the throttle all the way back and slowly brought the plane to a stop.  No airspeed indicator, no takeoff.  So…. I taxied back to the hangar and we stowed the plane.

Even though it was sad that I didn’t get to fly, it was a great lesson.  It’s not often that a student gets to experience equipment failure in real-time.  We read about it and we are taught about it, but when it really happens, it is burned into our brain cells.  If I hadn’t noticed the airspeed indicator (yeah… like that would happen!),  my instructor was going to let me take off and then we’d learn about how to handle the failure in the air and get the plane safely back.    Maybe next time we can pretend. 


Mark Twain

• Born: 30 November 1835
• Birthplace: Florida, Missouri
• Died: 21 April 1910 (heart failure)
• Best Known As: The author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

Name at birth: Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Mark Twain is on nearly everyone’s list of all-time great American authors. Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri and as a young man held a series of jobs which included work as a printer’s apprentice, a Mississippi riverboat pilot, and a newspaperman in Nevada and San Francisco. He moved gradually from journalism to travel writing and then to fiction, aided by the success of his 1869 travel memoir The Innocents Abroad. His humorous tales of human nature, especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Huckleberry Finn (1885), remain standard texts in high school and college literature classes. In his own day Twain was a tremendously popular figure and a celebrated public speaker who toured widely. Other Twain classics include Life on the Mississippi (1883) and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) and the short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1867).

Twain was born and died in years in which Halley’s Comet passed by Earth: 1835 and 1910… His pseudonym, Mark Twain, was taken from Mississippi riverboat terminology; it’s a measure of depth… Twain married the former Olivia Langdon in 1870; she died in 1904, and the melancholy tone of Twain’s later writings is often attributed to his depression over her death.

What Was I Thinking?

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak… because in your life you will have been all of these.”
– George Washington Carver



“What Was I Thinking?”
8″ x 10″ Acrylic on Yes! Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I know, I know….. Must be because I’m sick.  I spent more hours than I can count on this.  I spent 4 hours on the Banty, before I ever added the quilt.  Huh???



This second photo is a little truer to the color.  I added a half a dozen blue glazes to the quilt to try to knock it back.

I know…. “What was I thinking?” 


I fell off into a folk art mode.  I really must shake this cold.  It’s messing with my head.  hahaha 

George Washington Carver

• Born: c. 1860
• Birthplace: Diamond Grove, Missouri
• Died: 5 January 1943
• Best Known As: America’s great peanut innovator

George Washington Carver was a celebrated botanist and inventor at a time when it was still rare for African-Americans to reach those heights. The son of a Missouri slave, Carver grew up to attend Iowa State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1894 and a master’s in 1896. He then joined the faculty of Booker T. Washington‘s Tuskegee Institute. His attempts to find crop alternatives to cotton led him to the peanut; eventually he created more than 325 products from the humble legume, helping to create demand for the plant and establish it as a major American crop. Carver also worked with sweet potatoes, soybeans and pecans, among other plants, and is often credited with changing the face of agriculture in the American south.

Carver’s exact birthdate is unknown; a Missouri census record from 1870 lists George Carver as 10 years old; a photo of that record can be found here… He was an accomplished artist who displayed paintings at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair… Carver is often credited with inventing peanut butter, but it seems others had created that product before Carver began his work with peanuts… He is no relation to President George Washington. According to the Wikipedia, Carver began to use the name George Washington Carver at Iowa State “to avoid confusion with another George Carver in his classes”… Carver was posthumously awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Iowa State in 1994… Another brilliant botanist of the same era was Luther Burbank.

Purple Shoelaces

“It’s tempting to sit and wait for life to come to you, but it can’t.  It’s too busy.  Life is out there.  You have to go for it.”
–Harry Beckwith



Purple Shoe Laces
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC

Another painting from the archives.  I have noticed that when I paint larger, I don’t have time to do as many.  *sigh*

I have been battling a cold since Sunday.  I even declined an opportunity to go fly last night, so I must be sick.  **gasp!**  I somehow make it through my work days, but I’m exhausted!   Anybody have any good cold remedies?  I’m scheduled to fly on Monday and Tuesday, and I’d like to be cured by then. 


Harry Beckwith

Harry has addressed or advised 31 Fortune 200 companies in 17 countries, including Target, Wells Fargo, and Microsoft, and over sixty startups.

His four books have earned over $21 million in sales in 24 translations. His first, Selling the Invisible, spent 36 consecutive months on the Business Week best seller list, and appears on numerous “best business books of all time” lists. He also is featured in The Ten Secrets of World’s Best Business Communicators and dozens of other business books.

Harry graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University and from University of Oregon School of Law.  This led to a law clerkship to a federal judge , followed a brief career as a fish out of water, practicing law.

The fish then found his water in the most logical place: The land of 10,000 lakes, where he began his advertising career in 1982. Just over three years later, he was named creative supervisor of Carmichael-Lynch, four times Advertising Age’s choice as America’s most creative midsized agency.

Harry serves on the Board of Directors for the Stanford University Department of Athletics and teaches second grade part-time. He co-founded one of the world’s premier road races, the Cascade RunOff, and since 1975 has run or walked more than two-and-a-half times around the world

He is the thrilled father of four and currently lives with the world’s only flying cat.

Little Pink House II

“Just don’t give up on trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
– Ella Fitzgerald



Little Pink House II
24″ x 48″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Well, I have started.  This is so huge for me.  I was intimidated by the large size, but once I started it, I was fine.  All I have here is the blocked-in base coat.  If you look close, you can see the original 4″ x 8″ painting at the top of the easel.  The reference photo by Valri Ary is at the bottom.



Here is how well it fits into my studio.  I think it’s going to be okay.  My studio is an odd shape and not very big, but the painting is right behind my desk, so I can use my wheely chair or stand comfortably.

Check out that jar of gray goop that the brushes are in.  That is a bar of Ivory soap and water.  I soak my brushes for a bit before I clean them at the end of a painting session, and they come out sparkly clean and baby soft.   I learned that on a blog somewhere and I wish I could remember who to thank.  *sigh*

The commission for this painting was withdrawn before I even got the deposit, due to a financial emergency in the buyer’s life.  I decided to paint it anyway and grow from the experience.  In fact, being the optimist I am, I bought a three pack of these large canvases.

**doing a happy-dance** 

About Ella Fitzgerald

With her three-octave range, a purity of tone, and a wonderfully expressive voice, singer Ella Fitzgerald has been called the voice of American jazz. She was born in 1917 in Virginia and began singing professionally at age 16. Her rendition of the nursery rhyme “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” launched her stardom. Her best known recordings include the Cole Porter and George Gershwin songbooks; she also toured with Duke Ellington’s band. She died in 1996.

Lasting Love

“Laughter is the closest distance between two people.”
– Victor Borge

I LOVE that!!!




Lasting Love
4″ x 6″ Watercolor Postcard

This is the same couple that I made Mr. & Mrs. Claus from, that I posted yesterday.  The photo is from Katju at WetCanvas.    The man reminds me of my Dad a little bit, in his later years.  Everybody at WetCanvas loved this couple and a lot of people painted them.

I hope Katju does a gallery so I can see them all together.  A gallery is optional for each host and most don’t do it, because it is a lot of work.  It shows every painting done over the weekend, grouped by subject.  I always do the gallery when I host.  Here is the one I did last time.

About Victor Borge

Danish pianist Victor Borge was affectionately known as the Clown Prince of Denmark. Born as Børge Rosenbaum in 1909 to musician parents, he began playing piano at age three. After a stint as a classical pianist, he began combining music and jokes. His anti-Nazi jokes landed him on Hitler’s enemies list. In 1942, he was named Best New Radio Performer by the American press. His Comedy in Music show on Broadway was the longest running one-man show in the 1950′s. He died in 2000.

Santa at Cape Cod

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
– Annie Dillard

 

Santa at Cape Cod
10″ x 14″ Watercolor and Sharpie on 240# Cold Press

Did you see all the little elves?  It’s a vacation getaway for the North Pole crew.   Mr. & Mrs. Clause have lost some weight over the summer, too. 


This was fun.  I drew the whole thing with a Sharpie, before I painted in the watercolors.  When I did “Montreal in Color”, I painted all the lines in with black acrylic.  I got much smoother lines with the acrylic, than I did with the Sharpie.   It takes a little longer, but the quality is better.    If I wanted even better lines, I guess I’d have to change the paper to a hot press.   As much as I experiment with mediums, I really don’t play around much with different papers.   Perhaps it’s time? 

About Annie Dillard

American author Annie Dillard rose to fame with her first book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which weaves theology and meditations on nature into an account of a year spent in the country recovering from pneumonia. Writing the book so fully absorbed her that she forgot everything else; she lost 30 pounds and all her plants died. She was born in Pittsburgh in 1945. She married her college writing teacher but later divorced him. She remarried and lives in Connecticut.

Flip Flops

“When the same problem comes up again and again, I remind myself that it is my thinking that is flawed, not my life.”
Richard Carlson, Ph.D.
from The Don’t Sweat Affirmations”



Flip Flops
2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor ATC on Strathmore Textured Paper

 Flip flop season is about over.  It was 66 degrees this morning when I went for a flying lesson.  It’s amazing how much more responsive the plane is when it’s cool.  I have had all my lessons in really hot weather and it’s like the plane woke up.  That little Cessna 172 got downright zippy!  It was windy and bumpy, but waaaaay fun!!!  Too windy to solo, but I’m oh so close.  Maybe next week. 


About Richard Carlson
Richard Carlson, Ph.D. (5-16-61 to 12-13-06) was considered to be one of the foremost experts on happiness and stress reduction in the United States and around the world. As the author of thirty popular books including the runaway bestseller, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff, he showed millions of people how not to let the small things in life get the best of them.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff made publishing history as the USA Today’s #1 bestselling book for two consecutive years. The title spent over one hundred consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and is considered one of the fastest selling books of all time. In 2004, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff was voted one of the top ten most read books in the past decade! Richard is one of the few authors in history to have two different titles at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list at the same time: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, in soft cover and Don’t Worry, Make Money, in hardcover.

More…..