CHALLENGE #12...GOLD...

ALL THAT GLITTERS...

Wikimedia...Coins & gold brocade quilt

Google Images...Burial mask, girl in hat, sunset landscape & Compass.

CHALLENGE #100...SECRETS...

 REVELATION...
All components are from Wikimedia...with exception of small gargoyle from Google Images and the rainbow is my own photograph.

CHALLENGE #32...NIGHT...

NIGHT MAGIC...

Google Images...Night sky, lace, tree, owl & John Waterhouse painting.

IMAGINARY REALISM...

Michael Parks one of my favorite artists in the Imaginary Realism category. His beautiful washed colors and combination of subjects both real and imaginary is always intriguing.

HOME SWEET HOME...

Here are some visually delightful homes painted by Daniel Merriam...one of my favorite artists. These are really great houses but it's a long drop to get to the car.

Speaking of homes I am going to be moving my creative blog home to my new blog site The Whimsy Asylum...  I will post all my cyber art there. I hope you will all stop by for a peek...and feel free to move right in.

A WHITER SHADE OF PALE...

She said, 'I'm home on shore leave,'
though in truth we were at sea
so I took her by the looking glass
and forced her to agree

saying, 'You must be the mermaid
who took Neptune for a ride.'
But she smiled at me so sadly
that my anger straightway died

If music be the food of love
then laughter is its queen
and likewise if behind is in front
then dirt in truth is clean

My mouth by then like cardboard
seemed to slip straight through my head
So we crash-dived straightway quickly
and attacked the ocean bed

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale

MOTHER LOVE...

Mother Love

Some say his sins surpass belief,
Some that he was devoid of sense;
They call him coward, fool and thief
And damn him for his insolence.

But she, employing all the proud
Defenses of her woman’s art,
Preserved him from the hostile crowd
Behind the bulwark of her heart.
by Dorothy Davis

YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE...

Here's my latest project...a 40 year old totally dark olive green lamp that I rescued from a truck headed to the dump...I just loved all the detail and curlycue's. So I removed the shade and the top light...reworked the design...completely rewired it and painted it in my usual demented bohemian style...with hearts of course...and tah dah...light for our dark old playroom. I am particularly proud of the electrical work...it even has an off and on switch on the cord and it actually works.

A LETTER FROM PAPA...

I have been reading about the the battle of Waterloo lately and thinking how horrible it is to have someone you love fighting a war far away. It is hard enough having someone in Iraq or Afghanistan...even though you might talk to them everyday. Imagine having a husband, father, son, or other loved one leave for war and not hear from them for weeks or months at a time...not knowing if they are dead or injured and even worse like my distant Grandmother having him not return and never knowing what happened to him.

This is a new natural color version of a picture I've done before...I love that beautiful little face. I combined four other pictures with it to get the portrait of a very worried little girl with a letter from her Papa...an English Officer waiting on the battlefield at Waterloo.

CRY ME A RIVER...

Now you say you're sorry
For being so untrue
Well, you can cry me a river
Cry me a river
I cried a river over you.

This is what happens when you listen to a Diana Krall CD while you paint. Inspiration is everywhere if only there was enough time and enough material to carry out everything one is want to do. Music and lyrics are my favorite source of inspiration...I think because they touch my emotions so profoundly.

HOLD BACK TIME...

Time gallops on day into night...night into day...weeks...months...and years fly by...headlong and heedless despite our hapless attempts to hold back time in it's mad rush to eternity.

DEFYING GRAVITY...

Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by
The rules of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes
And leap...

It's time to try defying gravity
I think I'll try defying gravity
And you can't pull me down
~

Lyrics from the Broadway show "Wicked"

DRAGONFLY DREAMS...

Is it only we foolish humans that look at others and wish to be something we are not...Do you think dragonflies dream of being butterflies...or maybe it's the other way around. Who's to say the butterfly hasn't always wanted transparent wings.

DEAD THOUGH FATED NOT TO DIE...

This is my bloodless ode to Vampires everywhere. I have to admit to falling prey to the Twilight book series. But generally I am not attracted to the little blood suckers...I think they're kind of a pain in the neck...and I've never wanted to live forever anyway.

THE WEB OF LIFE...

I just had to make something with this marvelous spiderweb. Spiderwebs are awesome little pieces of architecture...so delicate and beautiful. There are so many amazing things in the world butterfly wings...spiderwebs...fire...water...life.

A LITTLE MORE OF ME...

You have seen these all before I just want them posted on my art blog.

HOW GREAT THOU ART...

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

~

Amen.

MY GYPSY DREAMS...

A while ago I was watching the movie "The Man Who Cried" when Johnny Depp rode into the scene on a Gypsy Vanner Horse it was love at first sight...the most beautiful horse I have ever seen...and Johnny Depp wasn't bad either. But since I don't want the care of a horse especially one who requires more hair care then myself...I decided to own him in a creative way. He fits right in with all the romance and gaiety that is legend in dreams of being a Gypsy. I fear that like Gypsies...Vanner horses are best left that way too...in my dreams.

GLITTER IN THE AIR...

I get a lot of inspiration from lyrics of songs and poems. These particular lyrics are from the song by Pink called "Glitter in the Air". It is a song that could have many different meanings...one of them struck a chord with me.

CELESTIAL NIGHT DISPLAY...

So after creating this Altered Art piece I was inspired to think about a great future job for myself...

The job I want in the next life "Celestial Night Display Manager"...don't you think the stars would look much better in decorative groupings rather the spread out willy nilly all over the place. And the moon I definitely think we need one more moon...no two more...things display better in three's. Yes three moons one in each phase...full...half and crescent. Plus Northern Lights and comets for everyone...and more planets with rings...very cool LOL.

INTERIORS...

"Interiors" a favorite poem by Dorothy Parker inspired the piece of Altered Art. I have long been a fan of Parker's acerbic wit and often naughty humor...she was a very gifted though troubled woman.

FITTING IN...

This is my latest Photoshop altered art it is called Fitting In... It expresses a way I have always felt in my life...as far back as I can remember. I suppose we all feel this way once in awhile...like not knowing the steps to the dance everyone else is doing...or life from the outside looking in.

~
The original picture is not mine but I was unable to find out the artist to give him credit.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST...

These are just a few of the myriad of illustrations inspired by one of my favorite tales "Beauty and the Beast". It was first printed as a traditional French fairytale "La Belle et la Bête" by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, in 1740. The story became very popular and has been re-printed, illustrated and retold in many forms throughout the years. I think it is interesting to see the different persona's the beast takes in the hands of each artist. I personally prefer a warm and fuzzy beast myself... and more lioness or kanine then porcine please. What do you look for in a beast?

LET FREEDOM RING...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

to our wonderful nation...

and best wishes to everyone for a safe and fabulous

Forth of July!!!

THE ANGEL & THE SEEKER...

Once upon a time an angel traveled the road with a man who was seeking wisdom. They passed the gates of a big city and just outside the gate sat a small devil. "Look at that" the man said "This must be a very righteous city they have pushed the devil outside their gates." Further down the road they passed a woman who was put upon by seven devils who provoked her and whispered to her constantly. The man spoke..."this woman must be very evil she keeps company with many devils...she should be shunned". The angel smiled and said "Friend be careful where with you judge...for this city is so wicked that it is kept in bond by one pitiful little imp...and this woman is so righteous that seven devils tempt her day and night and still she does not succumb. It is wisdom in you to withhold judgement and seek understanding.

~

I like this fable and wanted to illustrate it...I especially like the face of the woman in the painting she looks so innocent. Thanks to Hieronymus Bosch for the devils.

SISTERS FOREVER, FRIENDS FOREVER...

The little girl in the blue is my Grandma Hilda with her sister Laura in pink. That is the way they were their whole lives hand in hand...friends forever through thick and thin...in pink and blue. That's them down life's road eighty years later...just before my Grandma passed away.
The lilacs were a favorite of both sisters and the pansies are for the song "little Purple Pansies" also a favorite. The box of bottles is a curious thing it represents a story Grandma used to tell of how she and Laura went to the park and collected bottles all day for the few precious pennies they would earn to buy themselves something special. When their father arrived home from work and they weren't there he was not happy...he found them in the park and made them leave all the bottles they had collected...and go home to bed without supper. The next day they ran back to the park but of course their box of bottles was gone.

AUDIE'S TREASURE...

Here is the collage I finished today it's called Audie's Treasure...I think I like it the best because it has more details and I like the colors better. I remember when Grandma showed me this photo the first time she told how she had loved that watch and had insisted on tying it to her blouse to have her picture taken. The broach is a picture of her mother who she loved dearly. I mentioned before her love of roses...she also enjoyed music and taught herself to play several instruments. The lace is for her love of crafts and her ability to create things to beautify her home. The sprig of green leaves is peppermint...as peppermint tea was her cure all for any ailment. The butterfly represents her deep faith in God and her gifts of the spirit.

Grandma never had much in her life but she was blessed with wisdom and talents that she used and expanded on and a singular trust in God that saw her through many trials...these were her treasures.

AUDIE'S ROSES...

This is a picture of my Grandma Audie. It is the only picture I have of her as a child. I wanted to do something special with it to reflect her life. She loved flowers especially roses...her yard was full of them...and she spent many hours in her old age drawing roses. She would type a poem or story on a page and then illustrate it with a rose. These she gave as gifts to her family and friends.

I am working on another version of this picture today...I think I will have the one I like best framed.

THE FABULOUS CRAFT OF CRAFT...

A fabulous new artist I just discovered. Love the whimsical beauty and intricate design of these extraordinary paintings by Kinuko Craft...wonderful stuff.

SARGENT PEPPER'S PAPA...

Of course you probably all recognize the top picture as the cover of The Beatles famous Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Album...the bottom collage was created by the same gentleman...English artist Peter Blake. It is always a joy to discover a new artist even though he has had a long and distinguished career right under my nose.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS...

This is an experiment in color that turned out way different then I thought it would...but I liked it so I finished it up as an altered art piece. She reminds me of Estella from Dickens "Great Expectations" hence the title.

GRANDFATHERS VIOLIN...

I absolutely fell in love with this picture and had to work it into an altered art piece. The hardest part is making the glasses look like glass...but what doesn't kill you make you smarter...at least that's what they keep telling me.

I love its tender nostalgic feel.

FACE IT...

This is a small sample of a number of plates created by Piero Fornasetti. He created more than 11,000 items, many featuring the face of a woman...operatic soprano Lina Cavalieri, as a motif. Fornasetti found her face in a 19th century magazine.
“What inspired me to create more than 500 variations on the face of a woman?” asks Italian designer, Piero Fornasetti of himself. “I don’t know,” he admits, “I began to make them and I never stopped.” The “Tema e Variazioni” (theme and variation) plate series based on Cavalieri's face numbered more than 350.
I have always like these plates the idea of doing the same picture with a different theme is interesting... it's fun just to see the number of variations he came up with.

SWEET BABY JAMES...

This is an example of the work of James Christensen. He is my favorite artist and I have several of his print...that make me smile on a daily basis. The bottom picture is "Jonah" don't miss the little man in the window. Christensen feeds my need for whimsy...his imagination and detail are amazing.