Rose Coloured Glasses

I like looking at the world through rose coloured glasses to filter out all the nasty images we get from TV and other media. There should also be rose coloured hearing aides to filter out all the hurtful things people say. And what about rose coloured dampeners so we don't think too hard or rose coloured softeners to protect us from a broken heart.

I think I'm onto something here.

Stain glass.....Hardass.....Harass.....Surpass.....Outclass

Freeze Frame

A voice captured on tape,
a smile conserved on film,
Letters written long ago...
It all has meaning still.

A hint of laughter,
a glimpse of yesteryear--
Our lives embraced
only a moment's time...

And I still remember,
please don't forget,
the moment, the embrace
the silent talk,
and we, gone by(e).

written???by me 1974? 1975?

Freeze Frame.....Reclaim.....Acclaim.....Misname.....Endgame

Enough Already

Sometimes I don't know when to stop. It's like that old joke. A young child asks "where did I come from?" And parents go on and on with a long explanation of anatomy, birds, bees and love and life and mummy's tummy. Then the kid asks again, and says, "but where did I come from? Daddy was born in Toronto, where was I born?" You answer, "La Junta, Colorado." The child says, "okay." But do you stop there? No. You proceed to get out the maps, and go to the computer and go on and on about getting info from the chamber of commerce and you just don't know when to stop. Sometimes if we all listen very carefully to some of life's questions, the answers are pretty simple. And that's all people want. Simple "yes" or "no." A 500-page essay with footnotes is not necessary.

When I was working on the picture below, I just kept going on and on. I knew I was going to stop at one point, but I just kept adding layers and colors and I couldn't stop. But what the heck. Sometimes I like to give long convoluted explanations, just to watch them squirm.

Erode.....Rough Road.....Outmode.....Decode.....Expose

Pineapple

I remember writing that I could not see myself painting a still life of fruit. It was too cliche. Yet when I look upon this particular piece, that's what I see. I didn't start off with the intention of fruit, but as the picture grew, that's what happened.

Alas, my art has reached to a low level which I consider mundane and average. Even the poetic phrasing is contrived, forced and with less depth. You will note that there are two separate phrases for this piece. The words are chosen more for their gimmickry than the feeling. I also couldn't make up my mind which I liked better.

The series of "psychedelic" abstracts are done using Prismacolor Markers. My doodling art comes from the use of these markers. The lines are definite and do not blend or bleed the way watercolors can.

Reacting to life is sometimes like choosing your medium for a piece of art. Do you choose watercolor or do you choose markers? With watercolors, I try to go with the flow and see how the watercolors run and blend together. After it dries, I sometimes choose to give it a little structure by means of an outline.

But when working with markers I almost have to plan lines and strokes and there is very little blending. The colors are bold and definite and the shapes are quite defined.

So again like life, sometimes you have to plan and be definite about where you are headed and what you are doing. Be bold with your color choices and stick with a plan so that everything works together. Watercolor is a little more forgiving. There is a freedom of correction, blending and redirecting what might initially appear as a mistake.

So with this piece I didn't plan to see fruit, but there it was, when I was done, a pineapple, and cherries, and kiwi and whatever else you want to see.

Pine.....Appeal.....Appease.....Applause.....Aptitude
OR
Frustrate.....Relegate......Underrate......Initiate.....not Too late

Truth

What does the truth look like? It is colorful, tearful, restful, stressful and happy. Sometimes one cannot hear or understand the truth until one experiences the lies. Hence the expression "therein lies the truth." (Ha ! Ha!)
Enjoy!

Twicetold.....Roothold.....Uphold......Threshold.....Household

Dream

Dream.....Scheme.....Gleam.....Theme.....Supreme

Dare to dream.

Emily

Good morning. Today this is for Emily. Featured below is a piece I specifically did for her. Most of my current watercolor pieces are abstract. When I think of Emily and the words she gave me I had to draw flowers. And Emily likes purple. I have fond memories going to JoAnn's and helping her while she chooses from the dried flowers. And then I remember those glass flowers. This blog is about friendship. It seems funny to thank someone for their friendship. And perhaps we don't say thank you enough to our spouses and our children and our family.

Emily's words are filled with optimism and good things. She is a kind and generous soul. Thank you Emily.

Emily's
Peace.....Love.....Hope.....Joy.....Appreciation

Doodle

Have you ever found yourself "doodling" while on the phone or during a lecture? I think there is even a book published featuring doodles of well-known persons. I am not an avid doodler but I have on occasion noticed a doodle or two on a piece of paper after being on the phone. Some doodles can be quite telling depending on what task is stimming the doodling.

I will digress a moment. I looked up doodle in my Little Oxford dictionary, and it said scrawl. Now please, "scrawl," just say it for me a few times. "Scrawl... scrawl." No, it does not feel or sound right. It actually sounds quite harsh. "Doodle" is much more pleasant, happy, almost musical. Our daughter sometimes refers to her uncle ( my brother) as "Uncle Doodle." She named him that for a reason, which has more to do with word association. Though, I just gave myself a good laugh when I consulted my larger Collegiate dictionary and looked up the word "doodle" and well, I'll go no further.

Where was I? I digress too much. So I usually go to my art table and begin a picture for whatever reason. Sometimes the TV or music is on in the background to keep me company, but there are no other distractions. This time, with purpose, I decided to begin a picture during a phone conversation, just to see where the brush strokes take me. The result is below. I like it very much. I showed it to my neighbor/friend and talked about it with her. Thank you Caryn. The more I look into this piece, the more it tells me about myself and how I am feeling. "Wow!"

How Low?.....Hollow.....Howl "Oh!".....Hallow.....Hello

Fruit

I have generated a lot of watercolor pieces in the last few months. Today I am posting one of my favourite pictures below. Everything about it is pleasing to me. I like the colors and shapes and the way it sits in a plain black frame in my hallway.

I remember putting the first blob of yellow on the paper. Don't ask me which yellow. Several shades of yellow came in my watercolor tube set. As I was saying, I started with a blob of yellow and the picture just grew, until I stopped. After the paint dried, I took my fine tip drawing pen (I have several pens ranging in size .01 - .07 microns) to outline some of the aspects of the picture. Then I looked at it and went through my notes on Quinary Poetry. I decided upon the words, signed and dated it and voila, it was finished.

When I look at this painting, sometimes I think I see a pear or some exotic fruit. It makes me think about all those "How to Watercolor Books," where you follow the step-by-step photos. I have yet to sit down with the intention of painting a still life of fruit. Knowing me, I would become very frustrated.

Other times I look at this same picture, I see oversized tear drops. Actually, if I were to acknowledge a theme in some of my pictures, I would say it is the tear drop shape. In this painting, the little tear drop in the upper right corner is emulating the big tear drop. Lately, I have been questioning my own parenting methods. Like many other parents, I hope that my child would emulate the best of the best of me and figure out how to filter out the not so good stuff.

Elevate Escalate Evaluate Estimate Emulate

Surreally?

I thought I made up the word surreally. You don't believe me? So really, I did make it up and I did think it was original. But so really, "surreally" is really in the dictionary. I can't take credit for the word, but I still like it.

Life is looking a little distorted these days. Happiness is fleeting. Challenges pervail. Routine and the mundane are comforting. Note the picture below. Happinesses are abound. Happiness is flee(t)ing or rather flowing and floating. I did this picture on a happy day. Lots of smiles. What do you see?

Sleepy Slippery Slowly Slyly Surreally

Lollipop

We have started counselling. I find my biggest challenge in a counselling session is to keep my mouth shut. By this I mean, don't go speaking for other people. Yes, when it's my turn, and the attention is focused on me, I may speak.

When it is time for others to speak, I take on the role of editor and explainer. Perhaps you know the feeling. It's when someone you don't know well, tells you a story about themselves and they talk about George and Gracie, you don't know if George and Gracie are alive or dead, friend or foe, dog or bird. And if I know that George and Gracie are a couple of basset hounds, I will tell the audience/listener when I see the puzzled look on their face.

So as I opened my big editing mouth, I thought our therapist was going to have me excuse myself from the room. He did not. Instead he got up, went to a corner of the room where he keeps a package of lollipops. He offered me one. He said "any time I feel I had something to say, that I should stick this in my mouth." It worked beautifully. Our therapist is a miracle worker. I hope he has such easy fixes for my husband and daughter.

Rede..... Redress ..... Redeem..... Reduce..... Redo

Wave

Life sometimes comes at you like a giant wave as you stand safely on the beach shore. Out in the distance you can see it grow. As it travels to shore, it sometimes builds in strength and height. Standing at the shore's edge you have a choice to remain there and be enveloped by its force or move back a little so that it barely tickles your toes. Others may turn away and leave with the just the crashing of the waves echoing in the air.

However, you experience your wave, you cannot ignore its pull nor its power. But take a moment after the noise, when the air resonates with a great quiet and stillness and anticipation, before it starts all over again.

Volume Venture Vastness Vacuum Void