Christmas Dingy - December 8, 2009

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
– e. e. cummings

Christmas Dingy

5″ x 7″ Watercolor & Ink

This one was purely for fun! Santa needed a little help getting toys from the Christmas Ship to the kids on the island. Snowman was nice enough to offer to take the dingy over and deliver the toys. (Santa has a multitude of toy delivery methods that he wants to try out, since the reindeer wages keep going up every year.) Never forget how much fun it is to play outside the box now and then!

About e. e. cummings

The writer who became known as e. e. cummings was an experimental poet whose idiosyncratic typography complements the music of his poetry; he published more than 900 poems, two novels, and four plays. He was also an accomplished painter. He was born in Massachusetts in 1894 and entered the ambulance corps in World War I but ended up in a detention camp after expressing his pacifist views. He died in 1962. “In Just-” was his most famous poem.

Technicolor Kitty - November 30, 2009

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."

– Vincent van Gogh

Technicolor Kitty

Watercolor

5" x 7" Greeting Card

Today is my birthday, so my husband and I have a lunch date and an appointment with a flight instructor. ( Oh My! Did she say flight instructor?) Yes, I'm going to learn to fly. Did I mention that my 50's are my favorite years, so far? Life is a great big gift, just waiting for us to revel in it every day. I hope yours is a good one!

About Vincent van Gogh

The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh worked as an artist for only ten years, but he had a profound and lasting effect on the art world. He was born in 1853 in Zundert. He briefly became a minister but was dismissed for caring too much about his impoverished parishioners. His brother, Theo, was a close friend and supporter. He only sold one painting during his lifetime. He is known for his heavy brushstrokes and strong colors. He died in 1890 of suicide.

Monarch Migration - August 27, 2009

Believe more deeply. Hold your face up to the light, even though for the moment you do not see.
--Bill Wilson

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This is a Whiskey Transfer, done on an open 5" x 7" greeting card, then painted with watercolor.






The Monarchs are going to be migrating through Oklahoma in another month. (Our latitude is 35.287) We love when it happens, although the numbers have been fewer the last few years. On the peak days, we try to spend as much time on the lake as we can. It's so beautiful when you're floating around out there, surrounded by Monarchs! You can find your latitude on the internet, if you don't know it. They may be visiting you any day!

MonarchWatch.org

Quiet Street - August 21, 2009

"Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."
– James Bryant Conant

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Quiet Street

5" x 7" Watercolor

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About James Bryant Conant

James Bryant Conant, the American chemist and educator, is known both for his role in the Manhattan Project — which developed the first nuclear weapons — and for his innovative tenure as president of Harvard University. Harvard had been a finishing school for the rich; Conant turned it into a world-class research university and created aptitude tests to choose students by ability. These tests became the basis for the SAT. He was born in Massachusetts in 1893 and died in New Hampshire in 1978

Pink Trees - August 18, 2009

"The Noah rule: Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does."
– Warren Buffett

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Pink Trees

5" x 7" Watercolor

Whiskey Transfer

If you haven't tried it, a whiskey transfer is a lot of fun! You start with an ink jet print. Turn it face down onto your watercolor paper. Liberally brush whiskey onto the back. The whiskey will transfer the ink to the paper. Then, just paint! (well, let it dry first) Remember to reverse the image in your computer before you print it, or it'll be backwards. Have fun!

About Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, the legendary American financier known as the Oracle of Omaha, is the world's richest man. He was born in Nebraska in 1930. As a youngster, he sold six-packs of Coke for a profit and first invested in the stock market at age 11. His first limited partnership reaped dividends up to 30 percent. He follows the simple but powerful principle that you should learn about the intrinsic value of a company before you invest. He is now the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company.

Purple Owl - August 12, 2009

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
– Theodore Seuss Giesel

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Purple Owl

5" x 7" Watercolor

About Theodore Seuss Giesel

Theodor Seuss Geisel, the beloved Dr. Seuss, is renowned to generations of children as the author of Green Eggs and Ham and other deliciously absurd picture books. He was born in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times. He wrote The Cat in the Hat after Houghton Mifflin asked him to write a children's primer using fewer than 250 easy-reader words. He died in 1991.

Can you imagine that? 27 rejections? I'm not sure I'd have his persistence. I'm really glad he hung in there.

Coffee for Two - August 10, 2009

Lost warriors have only to open their eyes to find the right and good path.
-- Chief Red Mountain


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Coffee for Two
5" x 7" Watercolor

I am tickled with the way this one turned out. The photo I used came from the WetCanvas - Reference Image Library and is by tanianault.

The Dancing Raven - August 3, 2009

"Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
– Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr

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The Dancing Raven
5" x 7"
Watercolor & Ink