The Start of "Catbird Etc"

Since I have packed most of my art supplies in the car for a

summer on the north coast of Maine... I have

but pencils to work with and an idea I want to

pursue..so here is the first cartoonish sketch

on canvas--at this point I am making all sorts of

choices and will probably change my mind

umpteen times. At first it was just the

Catbird then it started to grow into "my" catbird

with personal symbols
--will I have a crown?....will I add the

jewels?...is that the light to dark

life cycle in there?...which brushes

will I paint or will the tools change?

And what pray tell is one of the

seven veils doing in there? Am I going

to use subdued colors?

All the questions swirl around and will

be settled when I' am settled in Eastport.

I will be off the computer for awhile

when the trip begins shortly and

will be pretty far behind in seeing

your inspiring works...

See Oh Rita !

A sketch done on a day where I could

not concentrate well with some sort of

creative block--but I liked how it looked

so here it is---I decided I will finally

get into a book I always wanted to re

read and that is mighty unusual for me--

it is fruitless to bang my head up against

this rock bound block---many years

has taught me that the book

is the best way for me

to unfrustrate myself..
Rita is a great Border Collie---you may know

how they can be--

so eager to do what they do best.

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The 1927 Stage Musical Rio Rita

brought the title to mind---you can Google

Rio Rita Lyrics and see ol timey UTube

with dance steps...

nice old tinny sounding music

THREE STAGES

Left click on photo to see larger

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The flower gardens in this north central part of

Connecticut right now.....

are often in three stages of development

..the budding, the flowering and the demise
I see a lot of symbolism

in many aspecs of life in these Peonys....

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Take note of the Art Blog sites to visit on the

left of the site now--they are cool to see and read

for their creative work and minds...

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I Didn't Know That.....

This started as an all pencil journal spread but I

could not handle there not being any color on this one so added

bits of paper collage---
Over 6,000 years ago the Belly dance began as a dance for women

alone. Young girls were taught it to prepare for childbirth.

The motions helped to strengthen the abdominal muscles.

And here I always thought it was quite seductive ---live and learn..

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it's always extra special when doing

a journal page to misspell a word

such as Goddess :-)

On Cheat Day

each week I allow one cheat day for the foods I eat

and don't overdo that hardly ever. I've wanted

to make a banana wrap for awhile so here it is--

I ate all but two bites and should have stopped

sooner. The flat wrap is low cal.... the cream cheese spread

is weight watchers with sweet and low..the

chopped walnuts are alright---the sinful part

is a drizzle of maple syrup and a bit of Fig jam..

as good as it was, I thought immediately

after, that the banana all by itself would

have been enough with maybe some

oatmeal...live and learn.

MUSE VISIT #3 "BLUE 226876 "

left click to see large

I knew immediately I wanted to use blues and browns..

the watercolor background may look helter skelter

but a lot of time was spent on it and before I was

through I became more experienced with blowing

the paint around. Then I looked for a picture

in old magazines this time---and what I picked

was nothing I had in mind--they just said, "hey

take me, I'm what you want."---after they were

glued on, the meaning of the page became

clear to me-- it varies from time to time

when I look at the page---from words missed

by someone gone, to words that feel good to hear.

I almost titled it "The Right Touch Of Blue"

because that ticket was found in a hunt for a

blue 'thing' to go in that spot..

MUSE VISITS #2 Handy Advice

(left click on photo to see larger)

My 2nd loose journal page 9 by 12 on watercolor

cold press pad. It jump started with the

urge to use some of my white stuff on the mantel...
and seeing a color scheme in the photos I took

due to whatever lighting conditions were present

when I shot them--I do think the

side mantel lights were on, casting a glow.

Having a color scheme in mind set things

into motion---pictures are my photos of my cherished

collections , colors added are watercolor from

old small grade school tin, lettering with Pitt pens and

finally used the blob stamp from a massive

stamp collection thru the years...adding the

bird was something I do alot..the words

I wrote may have much meaning (ask my

Muse) or be quite

nonsensical !