last one

I must say I'm going way out of my comfort zone by showing the watercolor and the photograph together.

You get to see how much I left out, added in or just completely changed.

But I guess I don't aim for realism at all.

I just try to play with shapes and textures that when put together give an adequate representation of what I saw.

Anyway, this is the last one from my trip.

It's another "out the window of the moving car" photograph of a sugar cane field. This shot really shows the edge of the rain forest coming down to meet the edge of cleared land and sugar cane. The agricultural run off from the sugar cane is damaging the reef (the Great Barrier Reef) because it feeds fast growing algae and crown of thorns sea urchins. It's a sad collision between humans and the ocean. The same thing plagues us at home here in the Pacific Northwest. We lose orca and salmon ..... and gain fast growing algae that thrives on all the fertilizer pouring into our waterways. Algae that is happy to live along side motor oil and plastic. Just like us. A peaceful co-existence? Yuk.

taking liberties

Sugar Cane Field (by the side of the road)

I painted this one after I got home from my trip.

It was one of those "out the side of the moving car" photos.

I'm showing you the photo too ....

not because I did a great job copying the photo ....

but to show you it doesn't HAVE to look "just like it."

I was looking at the movement and entanglement of super long grass blades

and layers of colors.

I tried capturing that more than anything else.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments on this series.

I appreciate the feedback :)

pushing color

This little series I've been showing you in the past week is all from my traveling sketchbook.

I brought it with me on my recent trip to Australia to capture more purposefully (than with a camera alone) what I saw there.

I have learned that the visual memories go straight to the hard drive of my brain when I sit and draw or paint what I see.

I experience a more purposeful type of observing than with a camera alone.

This painting depicts the early evening sky in Byron Bay, New South Wales.

I've mentioned earlier how the light has a golden quality in Australia.

The clear air and angle of the sun (it's in the north of the sky) and perhaps the reflection of both a vast body of blue water and a vast body of red earth abiding peacefully side by side and cushioned with a belt of pure green .... these are my un-scientific explanations for the difference in the quality of light.

Whatever it may be .... the place is called Oz for good reason.

It's over the rainbow.

August Time and Tea

Yesterday was a perfect August Day ....

iced tea and mint in the backyard

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under the sunbrella

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in the company of hopeful tomatoes

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and a sleepy maple tree

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and a rose no longer bashful

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and abandoned toys

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and forsaken webs

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and glorious coneflowers.

I think the loveliest thing about an August afternoon is the lack of urgency.

Summer is no longer a thing to hoard and jealously guard for fear of missing something.

It is here in fulness and a tired sort of humming energy that says, "sit a spell."

Today, however, it rains ....

Thank you for joining me for tea on tuesday ....

please also drop in on:

Magpie's Nest

and

Ooglebloops

for a lovely "sit a spell" time.

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Thank you Nancy for the MeMe award. Does that mean "me me?"

or does it mean:

meme (pronounced /'mi:m/ , rhyming with "cream") is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena. (wikipedia)

The rules require that I give 7 facts about myself and give the award 7 times .... here goes :)

1. I actually like coffee more than tea if given a choice

2. I'm the same age as Michelle Obama and, like her, also have 2nd and 6th grade girls (a 4th grader too)

3. I'm afraid of flying and cope with it by touching the outside of the plane before boarding (it helps calm me somehow)

4. I love a good nap

5. I'd rather have 90 degree weather than 30 degree weather

6. I'm not afraid of spiders - I try to save them if I can

7. I never learned to swim the "Australian Crawl" also known as the "Front Stroke."

And 7 blogs I particularly enjoy ....

spain daily

Magpie's Nest

a moon, worn as if it had been a shell

Lost River Alpacas

Artfully Ooglebloop's

Red or Gray

Plant M Files

for a complete list, see my sidebar .....

romeo and juliet

Julian Rocks, Byron Bay, NSW

.... a story told in 4 lines and 4 colors ....

2 lovers from 2 different tribes ran away together and were turned to stone

the aboriginal, universal tale of Romeo and Juliet

I wonder if they have a Cinderella story too?

shells collected

collected shells - Myall Beach, Cape Tribulation

I'm posting these in the chronological order of when they were done. There were a few days of rain - not suitable for sitting out capturing something - even if they are "water" colors :)

So this was a simple sampling of some shells I had collected.

I had heard that the spiral type shells would go in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere. Not true - they spiral the same way.

I thought the moon looked the same too.

The stars were very different though.

The Southern Cross looks like a kite lost on the wind and soaring to the Milky Way.

rainforest ridge

In this picture, I tried to capture the way the rainforest coated the hills and came down like a tide to an abrupt edge of land cleared for a resort.

The earth is red under all that green and the edge of rainforest trees stand like a hardwood fence. Silently declaring: "Private Property No Trespassing."

One lone and magnificent tree stood on the edge of all that red dirt. I assume that lonely tree was preserved by the resort contracting bigwigs as some sort of an ornament for the future golf course or "green belt."

Two tides. One green tide flowing peacefully down. One red tide rushing upwards. And one witness to it all. An old and magnificent tree standing alone.

travel pictures of a different sort

palm in the grass

cairns, au

08/09

one of my favorite things to pack for a trip is my traveling art journal and portable paint set from my dad.

Coffee and Puzzling

... well the puzzle swap is nearly complete! Just getting pkges ready to mail back to folks (and a gift of Montana Spice Company tea perched atop each one) ...

here's my caffeine for today :)

Tony's Songbird Blend

shade grown, fair trade, organic and yummy

... and here's my beautiful and complete puzzle ...

I love it!!!

Are you having Tea on Tuesday over at your blog? Say so when you leave a comment .... I'm going to organize a Tea on Tuesday link list in my sidebar for future Tuesdays ..... cheers!

I am reminded ...

... that there are 2 sides to every story.

The Unexpected Moments

I learned, very quickly, just how boring travel pictures can be. Even I was getting bored from the other side of the lens. I had to make an effort to not be gah gah over every cool building and landmark - but be a child/artist behind the lens - keeping an eye out for the unexpected moments happening in famous and overly photographed places.

... like this ...

... maybe you know where these photos were taken without having to scroll down .....

... what I think I captured here was a magical moment in time at a magical place ...

... that also happens to be a world famous city landmark ...

The Sydney Opera House

photos nicked without my permission are a sad commentary on your own lack of imagination

I say this tongue in cheek

but seriously .... just ask first

A Land of Golden Light

Before my trip to Australia, a friend who had been there described the golden light.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the light can best be described as pearly.

A sort of silvery blueish greyish cast over everything.

The contrast was absolutely striking to me.

I felt as though it were The middle of October - which is our only golden time.

Here, it's only the season of the turning color of leaves and bright sunshine that gives everything a golden bath of light.

July in Australia is the dead of winter for them.

But the light is golden and warm and alive.

These pictures were taken at a very old seaside cemetery south of Bondi Beach in Sydney.

The sky is an amazing blue.

The statuary shows off the golden and warm sun.

See if you can find the moon in two of the pictures ....

Where am I?

I'm back from my trip to Oz, but still jet lagged .... which the feeling is best described as discumbuberated.

... or ... "where am I? what time is it?"

I'm easing my way back into bloggerland .... next stop - the disintegration collaboration gang ...

Disintegration Project - August 1st Reveal

Seth Apter at the Altered Page is the catalyst for this amazing project.

Please visit his blog for the complete listing of all the artists from around the globe who have "disintegration projects" of their own - the big reveal is today August 1st.

Thank you Seth for your inspiration and encouragement!

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This is mine:

January 27th 2009

... the original bundle before disintegration.

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May 1st 2009

... after a long winter of weathering.

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August 1st 2009

... the final piece: "Page 161 - Alice's Evidence."

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(at the top of the board)

This is the last page of Alice in Wonderland. It wanted to remain stuck to the board so I let it be. Rather than scrape it off, I added beeswax to further solidify the attachment of paper to wood and paint.

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(in the middle of the board)

I used the lace to make a "tea" sachet.

It is filled with the Santa Maria Novella herbs and still has a beautiful, subtle and gently lingering fragrance.

It is tied together with the SMN tag and hung on a twig left behind by the sheltering maple tree.

It hangs just perfectly centered within the circle of stain left by the herb filled cup and saucer that was sitting there all winter long.

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(at the bottom of the board)

These are the rusted nails pulled from the book and the board.

The paper has clung to the nails so as to resemble flowers.

I assembled them into a bouquet of steel, rust, wire and stained paper - all dipped into beeswax.

The pictures really don't do it justice. Especially with trying to get the entire piece framed in one shot. I've hung this up in the house and am very very pleased with how it has so quickly become part of the home landscape. My husband loves it and doesn't quite exactly know why. I love it and I do know exactly why. It was born out of my heart.

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I am on vacation and will not be able to respond to comments or questions until after Aug 10.

I've actually written this July 24th and have set it to post on Seth's reveal date of Aug 1st.

So it's not like I don't care - I'm just not here.

Hugs until then :)