Art in My World

While working on the beach photos for the annual album I couldn't help but laugh at all the faces people made while battling the wild waves this year, especially Jarmon's dear friend Kristin...priceless!

  Suffering from a cold the past few days, so I haven't felt like leaving my chair too often. It has been a good time to edit beach photos for the annual picture album. Somehow, one was never done last year, so I am going to try and combine the two years. The photo company Blurb has caught my eye of late so I am going to do a very simple format of just pictures and text. Things have gotten so fancy that it is so easy to want and design each page with all the bells and whistles. Been there, done it many of time, and I like the results; but sometimes you just want the simple approach. Sort of like the simple black dress--elegant. Less can be best when designing. Well, I got all the pictures edited, now it is time to place them on the page! The above group picture is our annual shot of attendees. Kayaking was our sport of choice this year. It was a wild ride....

Texas Wildflowers 9x12 Water Color and Pastel   When I was young, around high school age, I began painting in water color. All through high school and college I struggled to learn that medium on my own. There were a few times I could afford lessons, so I took them, pleased to make a little progress. When photography took center stage in my life, I left painting behind. When my children came along and homeschooling entered into the picture I tried to paint again in journals documenting the flowers along our country road. But life kept getting busier and busier and the paints went away again. Now that the children are all but grown I find a little window of opportunity opening up and I am taking it!    What I love about this new world we live in is that we have access to all kinds of knowledge and tools just a click away. We can shop for supplies, watch a video or two about a problem we may encounter in our work and just spend some time learning! One ...

Death Valley Reds 8x10 oil in canvas board  Death Valley was a beautiful place. Full of many extremes, it was loaded with color: red hills against white sand. Lavender mountains against sage green bushes and yellow dirt--all begging to be put in a painting. We only spent a day there, but I took many pictures that I hope to add to my collection of paintings.    

Taco Pie   Taco Pie has been a family favorite of mine growing up. I am not sure where this quick dinner originated, but I keep bringing it back into my family's life when we want a little Mexican treat. Here is a rough recipe. I say rough, because it all depends what size pie you want to make and really, how much of each ingredient you would like to add. With each layer of this pie, I just keep adding the ingredient until it covers the pie circle. So here goes... Taco Pie 1 pound of ground beef 1 packet of taco seasoning sour cream salsa grated cheese (choose the cheese of your choice) crescent rolls fritos Brown ground beef and then add taco seasoning according to package directions. Line the pie plate with the instant crescent rolls. Crush some of the fritos and line the bottom of the pie plate. Add the cooled ground beef and then on top add a layer of sour cream, then salsa, then grated cheese and top with some more crushed fritos. Bake in a 350 degree oven u...

A Gardener's Tools  I love gardening. I love getting my hands in the soil. I love potting plants. I love the potter's shed where one can go and be away from it all, and plant a few dreams. There is something beautiful about the tools, the pots, and all the extra's that I collect in hopes of using them "one day." Today I spent a couple of hours potting up some herbs for fall use: a little mint, some rosemary, chives, and even some lavendar. I haven't had much luck with lavendar, but I keep trying. I read somewhere that if you add gravel to the soil, since lavendar likes dry, rocky soil, you will have better luck with mold. Mold seems to get my plants each time. Or I think its mold.   I dream of building a real shed/workshop/painting area one day and so my present shed has a collection of various items I have picked up over the years in hopes of using them in my new place. I also hope to build a small kitches garden in my backyard, there rea...

Art can be found in many forms. I always admire a person who can capture a sunset, or a mountain scene in a well crafted painting or photograph. I love a writer who can tell a good story where I fall in love with the characters in such a way, that I miss them when the story ends. But what is most beneficial to my soul is a preacher who can open up the scriptures and bring Jesus Christ to light my heart. Mike McKelvey is an artist preacher indeed. God has gifted him with a rare talent in crafting a sermon. Here is a link to a sermon he preached to First Baptist Church, Clinton, LA about two weeks ago. Mark 4:35-41 "A Clearer Picture of Jesus"

Death Valley Abstract Photograph taken in Death Valley, 2011  This is not a painting yet, though I think it begs to be painted. When I see things like this, I take a picture, knowing I won't be happy until I do paint it. The photo is nice, but a painting is better. I have hundreds of such shots begging to be put on canvas. It is now time to try.     I was going through various painters blogs recently and one caught my eye. Looking at his paintings, I say, "Now that is how I would like to paint--how ever does he do it?" He lives in Vermont, but i would love to visit and take a course or two. But then I think, "Can you teach abstract art? Or is it just a "part" of you?"     Here is his link and an example of his work: http://www.spgoodman.blogspot.com/               I can't help it! I love the abstract quality, color and expressive brush strokes in his work---beautiful!      ...

Pounders Beach, Hawaii     It is a wonderful new day where we can learn to paint using some wonderful websites. This past few months I have been using one done by Richard Robinson. He is an artist who lives in New Zealand and for a small fee you have access to his monthly workshops. Each month he has a new skill for us to try. He will paint a painting for us and provide a video of this along with reference material and pictures. Then we upload our paintings for others to critique and we get to see how others painted. This month we are working on a scene from Hawaii and our skill is how to vary our brushstrokes to add interest to a painting. For me another challenge is painting waves! I have never painted waves thus far and so I spent a week or so watching various artist paint waves... and then I took the plunge. My goal for my work is to be able to paint landscapes in a impressionistic-abstract style. I want it to be very loose. I want to create an image that you...

We can find friends in the strangest places. While uncovering my herb garden today from several bags of weeds and overgrowth he wasn't all too happy that I was leaving him exposed. But after three hours of hard work I can see my rock path again! After the sun went down he was still there, ready to eat his weight in bugs.

The Yosemite we saw the day we were there was cloudy and full of threatening storms, but the grass seemed to have a glow about it bathed in the pre-storm light. There was a meadow walk that had you meandering through the grasses towards a bridge over the Merced River. It reminded me of home a bit with the marshes. The river was not  rushing so much here, but still and quiet.  Yosemite Valley The hardest part about painting large spaces is what to do with it to make it interesting. I cut the meadow short because of it and regret it, but I just couldn't figure how to break it up. Maybe one day, after many hours of doing landscapes and studying thousounds of paintings.... This month, with my online painting group, we are doing a seascape scene. I have been watching videos and trying to get up the nerve to give it a try. All that green and white and movement!

This basil has begun to take over my garden so...      I have found something wonderful this summer: Basil Pesto! In our household we began using a Panini Press and a Quesadia Press to make sandwiches for lunches, and we found adding pesto to these instead of mayo gave our sandwiches a wonderful new flavor and aroma. We now add it to not only sandwiches but pasta, french bread and even eggs! So, cut down some of that basil and let's make some pesto.   Basil Pesto 2 cups of basil leaves, packed 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/2 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts 3 garlic cloves   Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times. Then scrape down with spatula and pulse a few more times until it looks like this:   You can store pesto in glass jars in the fridge. A little note: pesto will turn dark when exposed to oxygen, so as you use it, the top layer will turn dark brown. Don't worry! This does...

We are fortunate here in the South to get a second chance at our gardens. If your garden dies in the heat of the summer, you can bring it back to life again for the Fall. That's what I did a little of today. I repotted my lemon grass, added an oregano plant--I lost my favorite Italian oregano plant in the midst of a summer vacation--and I watered and fertilized some of my pepper plants. It was a beautiful bit of an afternoon. I also noticed my nice looking poinsetta plant all green and full. It survived hurricane Isaac. I need to look up how to get it to bloom for Christmas!

Joshua Tree Rendition There was something strange about the trees out West: they seemed out of place and from some other planet. Joshua Tree National Park was full of these odd cactus like trees, each with a story to tell. This whole landscape begs to be painted in the Impressionistic style with carefree brush strokes and plenty of color. From our 2010 trip and 2011 trip I returned with thousands of photographs. There are at least a hundred of them that say: "Paint Me!" 

  Colors of the West Discovering the West a few years ago was an amazing adventure.  I loved everything about that wild land.  But the artist in me loved the colors! Oh, the colors! The artist in me wanted to photograph them, paint them and bottle them to take home with me to the South. It hasn't been until recently that I have a little time to begin my painting journey. Pictures were ok, but there was something missing in them that only paint could capture. This idea was not my own, but the old masters copied from the best and so why not me? Without a teacher, and only the internet for a guide, I begin to paint.....     

It is a wonderful world we live in: to be able to share our lives in words and pictures with others around the world. Documenting my life has always held a fascination for me and as far back as I can remember I have kept journals (lots of them), taken pictures and created albums, and kept notebooks full of magazine clippings, favorite quotes, ideas....oh it is endless! So I think blogging should be the next step for me. I know I am late getting into the game. I have seen blogs for photography, and painting and gardening and cooking and just about every aspect of life.  Which blog type to use? Where do I concentrate? What will be my focus? I do all those things and more! And so I thought, why not just blog my life like I do my journals? And so my blog will be eclectic, like I am eclectic. Life is a journey, so come alone and join me on mine.....