I haven't gone anywhere to take interesting photos lately. Sorry about that. Mike had a few tough weeks at work, my allergies have been awful, it's been so hot lately, and last week it was dark and overcast every day (but still hot and humid). Sssooo ... due to all those reasons and half a dozen more, I've spent most of my time in the house. I took Isabella for a long walk late last night and again this evening- now every time I blink it feels like sandpaper is being rubbed against my eyeballs. I've taken some allergy meds and put eye drops in my eyes, so hopefully the irritation will ease. There seems to be so many people now days that have allergies. And have you seen all the OTC meds there are? Lots and lots, but none yet that relieve all the symptoms of all allergies. Doesn't say much for the vigor and fitness of the human species when so many of us are allergic to the natural world, does it?
Being inside so much meant I spent a lot of time in the studio and computer room. I really need to move my computer to my studio or get a laptop so I don't have to run back and forth between rooms. But then again, going from room to room gets me off my ass for a few seconds- a total of 16 steps. Yes, I counted them. Why? I have no idea. Just a little bit of trivia from the land of Linda.
In addition to working on Mike's blues collage and some other things, I made some art magnets. I finally got some light weight water color paper and was able to print out some backgrounds. The backgrounds were created in Paint Shop Pro using actual sunset photos I've taken on Anna Maria Island beaches. I then used water color pencils, pens, colored pencils, and markers to add details and shading plus intensify the colors. After several coats of a matte water based varnish, I mounted the images on a magnetic sheet and cut them out. I love that they originated from one of the many beautiful sunsets I have been blessed to witness on the beaches of Anna Maria Island.
When I was a kid, every Sat. was the same- catechism and then confession. Which always started with "Forgive me Father for I have sinned" followed by a list of the evil deeds I had done or thought since my last confession. Then the trick was to not commit any new sins before I received communion on Sunday morning. Wasn't so hard when I was younger, but as a teenage it was a bitch trying not to think any impure thoughts. Have you ever tried NOT to think of something? Ha! Especially when you're 16 and drowning in a flood of teenage hormones. There isn't enough catechism, fear of hell, or lectures in the confessional to keep impure thought out of the minds of teenagers.
I think I was 16 the last time I went to confession. I parted ways with organized religion of any kind some time ago. But at my age I wouldn't have much to confess- all the tantalizing temptations of my youth are no longer so appealing. I'm now too old and lazy to commit any big juicy sins. Except for one- lust.
I have an unquenchable, throbbing, all consuming lust for art supplies. Pencils, paints, clay, textures, canvases, pens, markers, papers, tools, brushes, heat guns, beads, wire, metal.... I WANT IT ALL! I try to control my unholy lust for art supplies, but when you have a group of art friends that have to tell you about every new art product they try, I sometimes cave to temptation. Okay, that's a big fat lie.... I often cave to tempation. And art technique books, oh lordy they lead me astray, and I find myself ordering any and all supplies they mention. I can go a year without buying a new piece of clothing, a couple years with no new shoes, years and years with no new jewelry. With most things I am frugal, and not really into materialistic things. It's just my lust for art supplies.
When the Dick Blick 2009/2010 catalog appeared in my mailbox last week, I had the same reaction a porn addict might have finding his annual Best Of Porn edition waiting in his mailbox. (I detest porn so have no idea what the annual edition of ultimate porn might be called) I couldn't wait to get in the house and pour over every page. And here are some images of the object of my lust and adoration properly displayed on my St. Dick Blick altar-
Isn't that wood carved bust lovely? I can't remember when or where I got it. The signature on the bottom says "Maria Clara" but no date. And it has two holes in the bottom, as if it had been mounted on something.
Today is my sweetheart's birthday- the big 60th! He's been dreading it, like he did his 40th. He moped for weeks before his 40th birthday, lamenting all the things he hadn't done and places he'd never been. But he seemed to handle today's milestone with ease. I think he's just relieved to make it to 60 without having a joint replaced, all his own teeth, and still have bladder control. Actually, he's in damn good shape and just as handsome as the day I married him 25 years ago. He still makes my heart sing and pulse race.
We decided to go out to eat tonight, and of all the places to choose from in the Sarasota/Bradenton area, he picked Red Lobster for his birthday dinner. The man just loves Red Lobster seafood! Here he is giving his just delivered platter some serious consideration- what to taste first?
And here he is, just as his eyes began to roll back in his head with his first bite of lobster...( You must click this to see the close up detail of his rolling eyes and the food he's shoveling into his mouth- WARNING: May not be suitable for sensitive people)
I quickly smacked him and brought him back before he went into a full blown seizure. And notice how he has food in both hands. Watching him eat seafood is scary.
I had planned on having photos of Mike blowing out candles on his birthday cake, but he cut into it this morning and started eating it before I was even up.
Evidently, he's decided since he is now 60 he doesn't have to follow any rules anymore. And by gawd if he wants birthday cake for breakfast, he's going to have it! I say- Go Mike! Live with gusto and eat cake any damn time you want!
Happy birthday, Mike. I hope the next 25 birthdays we spend together are as good as the past 25. Love you!
There's been a lot of local buzz recently concerning the display of "Unconditional Surrender" (nicknamed The Kiss) in Sarasota's bayfront. Though it is popular with the public, the Sarasota art committee recently decided it isn't art and they want it gone. The committee was quoted in the Sarasota Herald: "Members of the public art committee say the "Unconditional Surrender" sculpture is "ornamental and decorative," which disqualifies it from being in the city's collection of public art." You can read the entire article here.
When it was first displayed on the bayfront several years ago, Isabella and I had our picture taken in front of it (and no, we weren't kissing-LOL) . I can't find that pic- somewhere buried in a folder on my computer, but here is a photo that was in the newspaper with the article.
Is it art? It was sculpted from a photograph, so does that mean it isn't art? If that were true, portrait paintings wouldn't be considered art, or still life painting and sketches. So I'm not sure I buy the argument it isn't art because it was sculpted from a photo. It certainly isn't one of a kind because there are several others on display in other areas of the country. But is it art? I've seen this topic discussed so many times in art and doll makers forums, and there seems to be a variety of opinions. I do have to wonder about the wisdom of something this size on permanent display in a hurricane prone area.
In my own little world, what I produce with my own hands (or camera) and my own creative vision is art, and what I make using things created by others is crafting. The Anna Maria canvases I consider art because everything, other than the shells, I created myself. And Mike's blues canvas? To me, it's crafting. All of the images I am using were created by someone else- the photos were taken from old album covers and the sheet music came from a book of music I bought. I'm taking images that already existed and embellishing them, then arranging them together on a canvas. I would never consider selling this canvas because of copy write issues.
Here are some photos of materials I've altered for Mike's blues canvas. All these strips of music that I've painted and splattered will be the background for the photos of the blues artists.
But here is some original one of kind art that appears weekly on my patio glass sliding door - nose art...
I used to clean it several times a day but finally gave up and only clean it once a week now. I have no idea why dogs have to put their noses directly on the glass. I could see them doing it once or twice thinking perhaps they could get through the glass. But don't you think they would figure out there was no way to go through? Having one tall dog and a short one, a large area of the glass gets "painted", with many interesting designs. Too bad paint doesn't come out their noses- I could get them to do some abstract paintings to sell on EBay. Remember a while back the elephant that painted canvases? Those sold for a pretty penny. Now if I could just think of a way to make this weekly nose art into a money maker....
This weekend was sure a change from the weekend before. Long gone were the sunny skies and gentle surf at the beach. This weekend we had heavy cloud cover, wind, periods of rain and choppy waters. So not a weekend to spend playing on the beach.
I spent most of Sat. messing around on the computer looking for personal information. I found more than I expected and am now putting the pieces together, trying to make sense of things.
Sunday I played in the studio, finally feeling a spark for Mike's blues collage. I started painting strips of sheet music, using Golden fluid medium to thin the paint.
And I even got one layer of paint on the aging bathing beauty nude.
I also spent some time rough housing and playing with Isabella to try to keep her mind off the weather in between storm squalls. She loves to chase me through rooms, hide around the corners and wait for me, and then she changes the rules and I have to chase her and hide. I can only keep up with her for so long before I'm wheezing and coughing- right about the time she's just getting warmed up. I bet she and Emmy wish they had younger and healthier humans-LOL
I don't know how much Bella will feel like playing during this coming week.
After an unusually quiet hurricane season, we went from having no named storms to suddenly having 3- Claudette, Ana, and Bill. I listened to the Sat. 11 p.m. weather and at that time, Claudette didn't have a name, she was just a tropical wave. And they said there was very little chance she could turn into a named storm. Just before going to bed about 4 a.m. Sunday morning, I checked the National Hurricane Center and was shocked to see that Claudette had been born. At that time Claudette was moving up the Gulf and was a little south of us. Isabella was freaking, so I gave her a xanax and went to bed. All we were getting was a stiff breeze and heavy clouds.
At the moment, Claudette is moving into the panhandle area where she will dump a lot of rain. Actually Claudette would have been good for my area- we could used the rain. And now we wait to see what Ana and Bill decide to do. The current prediction is that Bill will start to turn north and stay out in the Atlantic. I don't think I'll have to run out and buy hurricane supplies in preparation for Ana and Bill, but hurricane season is far from over. I'm sure I will have to stay close to home for Isabella's sake. She will be sensing all these storm systems- fronts, low and high pressures or whatever the hell it is she reacts to.
(The pink X is my location)
To those of you that made suggestions about the wc paper- yes, I intend to buy a lighter weight of wc paper and trying again. I've also been looking at printers that can take heavier papers and print larger images than the standard paper size. I really don't need a new printer, but I couldn't help looking, dontcha' know? ;)
I hope you all had a great weekend, regardless of the weather.
I didn't accomplish much in the studio this week, played around with a little of this and a little of that. Just couldn't stay focused on one thing for any length of time. So I decided to do some simple projects that didn't take a lot of thought or effort. My intent was to create some basic little designs in my graphics art program, print them out on watercolor paper, then add details and shadings with water color pencils. Why is nothing ever as simple and easy to do as I think it's going to be?
I could not get my printer to take the water color paper. I tried repeatedly, changed settings, attempted to shove the paper in, did a lot of cursing, and even sweet talking- aw come on, try it you'll like it, just try it once for mama? Nope. My printer wanted nothing to do with that heavy paper. I did a search on the internet looking for any tricks I could find that might fool her into accepting the wc paper. Finally found a page that explained how you could feed the paper in from the back. Full of hope, I took the back off my printer and offered her a lovely piece of wc paper. No way. She wasn't falling for it. Each time I tried, she came to a halt and flashed a message that there was a paper jam. What a shameless liar- how could there be a paper jam when the picky bitch wouldn't even touch the paper?
So I ended up printing the images out on plain card stock, and doodled on them with colored pencils, markers and pens. As you look at them, the ones on the right are the original graphic and the on the left are the ones I doodled on. Still wish I could have printed them on wc paper and finished them with water color pencils.
I sketched a face, but lost interest in her before I gave her hair...
All I did with Mike's blues collage was lay out some images of his favorite blues artists and quotes on a blank canvas. Just haven't gotten a feel for it yet.
Our skies were mostly cloud covered and gloomy this week. Lots of storms all around us, and though we could hear the thunder and heavy clouds hung over us, very little rain fell. Just 2 or 3 miles away, the storm would dump an inch a day, but not enough right here to even dampen the sidewalk. Unfortunately, Isabella's inner barometer was telling her every day that the sky was going to fall on her any minute. Poor girl. If I could, I think I would place her in a home in a desert state that has very few storms. I can't imagine the stress she goes through living in an area that has a 5-6 month rainy season. Though it would break my heart to give her up, I hate seeing her so miserable all summer.
After a dark cloudy day, this evening just before sunset the sun came out and lit up my copper disk lamp sitting in the window.
The lamp sits in a bay window in the dining room. The sun streaming into the room lights up the yummy gold color I recently painted on the new beadboard walls. And how was your week? I hope it had more sunshine than clouds... and enjoy your weekend doing what you love and makes you happy. Peace- Linda
... go to the beach. And that's what we did. As for the lemons... Have you ever had a dream, something you wished for with all your might? Something so important to you that you were willing to wait years for it to happen? And then one day that dream comes true. But instead of being the dream you thought it would be, it turned into your worse nightmare. That's what happened for me yesterday. I spent the evening watching something unfold that I never ever wanted to happen. Instead of the dream I had held on to for so many years, I discovered all my darkest fears and worries had come true.
What has happened is completely out of my control. There's nothing I can do to stop it or change it. So after spending last night alternating from hyperventilating, crying, and feeling as though someone had ripped my heart out, Mike and I decided we needed a dose of the island- sand, surf, and sun. After a day on the beach, warmed by the sun, soothed by the sound of the surf, and caressed by warm Gulf water, I came home relaxed and for now have put the my dream that turned into a nightmare aside.
I remembered to take my Flip camcorder today and shot some video. The first one is me babbling, but the second on is just the the sight and sound of the surf. Is there anything more relaxing than the sound of the surf lapping at the beach? Oh- and I found some more sea rocks, but no pics of them.
If you know me at all, you know that my favorite place on earth is Anna Maria Island. Of course, like most finer things in life, you have to be seriously wealthy to live there. But living just a few miles away, and being able to go to the Island anytime I want, is fine with me.
When I started practicing on a couple of canvas boards with the Golden art mediums, without even thinking about it, the theme became Anna Maria Island. The text reads:
Weary of the long cold winters, she gave her snowboots away, packed her flip flops and drove south.She kept driving until she reached a stretch of powder white beach, where she sat and gazed with wonder at the Gulf of Mexico. She had found her paradise. A magical place of mermaids, seahorses, dolphins, manatees, star fish, sand dollars, and palm trees. And warm sunny days that end with bold splashes of color across the sky as the sun drops below the sea... vivid blues, violets, reds and golds.She found her bliss on Anna Maria Island...
Click photos to see full size images-
Since I had another canvas board available, I just had to do another one. I love working with the Golden mediums, and think I am ready to do one on a real canvas, to which I could even add beading and wire.
And just because they make me smile, I have to throw in a photo of my Keepers of the Shells- the old sailor I sculpted on a gourd, and the cute little wooden flamingo I bought in a shop soon after we moved to FL. And no, I don't have a collection of tacky flamingos- this is my one and only. Doesn't he look darling sitting on the box Hoppa and Bruce sent me?
... are good for only one thing- playing on the beach. And that's exactly what we did last weekend. We are just reaching midsummer here in Florida, and it's hot. And humid, of course. Florida summers are best spent on the beach looking for sea treasures and floating around in the Gulf water.
I have baskets, boxes, bowls, and baggies full of perfect seashells we have gathered over the years. So this year I decided to collect only the imperfect. The pieces of shells and rocks that have traveled with the tides and currents year after year. Washed up with the tides on countless beaches, and washed back out to sea over and over again. Some are pitted by time and the constant movement of the ocean, and some are polished smooth. And some shells merge together to create a collage of lives that once lived in the sea.
This sea rock is about 7 1/2" long and when you look at it closely, you can see that there are hundreds of tiny shells melded together. It feels surreal to gaze at this rock of shells and realize that at one time each of the shells held a living creature. As soon as I saw this rock on the beach I knew I wanted to sculpt a mermaid to sit on it. Click pictures to see full size and details:
This sea rock caught my eye because of the streak of turquoise color on one side of it.
Mike went on vacation to Sanibal Island in July and brought back bags of shells. When he showed me the following pieces, I feel in love and claimed them for my art material stash. Aren't they gorgeous and amazing?
I wasn't feeling well in July, and decided to spend that month putting some order in my life. I'd been spending too much time on-line, and not enough time in the studio and taking care of myself. So I'm eating better, taking vitamins and nutritional supplements, trying do get more low impact exercise (walking and swimming), and spending more time in the studio. And I'm repainting the dining and living room in bolder colors.
I finished sculpting the nude aging beauty but she still needs painted and hair applied. I also finished two practice canvas boards using the new (to me) Golden art mediums. Now that I've played with these new materials, I'm ready now to try playing on a real canvas.
I hope you all had a wonderful July. I'll be visiting all your blogs this week and try to catch up.
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