A Bit of Greenery...

...serenely on the lookout for springtime.
The Arizona desert is just about ready to burst
with its floral colors...
the desert floor
is already a velvety carpet of green!
Ahhh!

 "Springtime is the land awakening.

The March winds are the morning yawn."

~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard

in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

Barbara's Bistro Book...

First,

the rough draft is completed on copy paper...

and

is then followed by drawing the illustration

using graphite

in the actual Maruman Japanese fold sketchbook.

This step is always sooo messy for me...

lots of erasing

along with fingers and hand clean up to follow.

 Next comes laying in the ink...my favorite part.

Here is where I get to add details

and begin to carve out the finished product.

Ahhh!

So...now, at long last...

here is the reveal of the final book in our exchange.
Ta...Daaaa...

presenting to all of blogland...Barbara's book...

my entry is at the very end.

Click on any image to enlarge for better viewing...:)

 Barbara's pages 1 and 2...officially

opening the bistro for business and a world of artistic encounters.

 Her pages are followed

 by Paulette's bountiful Italian inspired pages 3 and 4...

I absolutely LOVE that quote...:)

 ...and then we go "South of the Border"

for Jan's zesty "Killer Guacamole" illustration

and recipe on pages 5 and 6.

 Next comes a familiar laid back reference to the king

of Key West...Jimmy Buffett...

on Char's pages 7 and 8...

 ...followed by Carolle's fresh and healthy market inspired

bistro take

on pages 9 and 10.

 Cindy's pages 11 and 12 follow with a country inspiration,
some fresh seasonal ingredients,
multiple cookbooks, and bright flowers...

...only to be topped of with

a traditional banana split (ZIA style) for dessert

on pages 13 and 14

"yummiliciously" drawn by Barb W.

Thanksgiving occurred during the time Judy designed pages

15 and 16...and as you can see

she included a favorite family recipe

for turkey dressing.

I received Barbara's book in December...

so I thought it best

to personally research typical desserts one might find

during this time of year.

It was a hard job..."but somebody had to do it"...

...Right???  :)

I included my version of a beautiful "Blitz Torte"

which

Barbara remembers her mother making.

The chocolate "Black Russian" bundt cake on the pedestal stand

was inspired by the lovely dessert

Barbara made for my birthday gathering this year.

The cookies and other treats

were a nod

to the delectable home made goodies found

in the wonderful traditional

Polish and German and Italian bakeries

of the city of Chicago...

where Barbara and I both lived

in our youth.

Lastly,

here is the "whole enchilada."

I hope you can appreciate the fact that

from start to finish

it was

a work of culinary and artistic love...

and also a wonderful trip for many of us down

memory lane.

“A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand..

and my artistic Muse

hovering over my shoulder.”

~Author Unknown

A Thistle...

and a hummingbird...

a card

specially requested by an artist friend in

New Zealand.

"There are no days in life

so memorable

as those which vibrated

to some stroke of the imagination."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"My Chemical Romance..."

...some "lyrics based" art I made in

Audrey's "My Chemical Romance" themed moleskine.

This is part of the 2012 G8 Moly exchange

over at

Illustrated ATCs.
Honestly,
I had never heard of the band before...
and
was a bit bummed out about this theme.
Plus...
the lyrics of their songs did not set well in my mind.
So, I asked
a couple of "younger generation" acquaintances
what they would suggest
I do.
With big smiles and "Ooooh COOL!" commentaries
they pointed me in the right direction.
The music is not half bad...really.
It was simply
the battling of the graphic lyrics and subject matter
with my Muse's artistic preferences
 that had me bamboozled.

The song lyrics I ended up choosing are from the band's hit

"Cemetery Drive".

The cemetery gate drawn here was

inspired by

the style of the east gate of the Elmwood Cemetery in

back in my hometown of

Sycamore, Illinois.
I went back to my roots...and drew what I knew.
Audrey's book has already been passed along

to the next artist and is

expected to return home to her in Quebec, Canada

early this fall.

This Moly exchange is packed with artistic challenge and fun....
and has absolutely opened my eyes
to many new things.

 It keeps that flighty Muse of mine in her toes...:)
Click on image to enlarge...:)

"This night walk the dead...in a solitary style
and crash the cemetery gates
in a dress
your husband hates."
~Cemetery Drive
My Chemical Romance

Someone's in The Kitchen With Dinah...

...and they are NOT "Strummin' on the ol' banjo"!!!

This is my 4 page spread in Juli's Moly

"In the Kitchen"

for the 2012 Illustrated ATC G8 Moleskine exchange.

Sometime in late summer

"she" will make her way home to Juli

 in Canada...:)

"Fee Fi...Fiddlily Aye Oh"...:)

Click on images to enlarge...especially the last one.

Enjoy!

If you can't stand the heat...

get out of the kitchen."

~Harry S. Truman

"The Finished Product..."

...my four and a half page spread in

Cathy's "Undersea Cave" themed Moly...Yippeeee!

Be sure to click on the image to enlarge

for better viewing! :)

This book flew from the desert Friday

and

is currently winging her way through the postal cosmos

to the artistic hands of Audrey

in Quebec, Canada.

Oui!

"The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish.”
~Jacques Cousteau

"Book Two..."

...my work in progress on Cathy's

"Under Sea Caves" themed Moleskine sketchbook.

I promise to show

the completely finished reveal tomorrow...:)

♥

"The Gathering..."

...posted today in honor of the large gathering of artists

at Illustrated ATCs this weekend

for the 3 day 2011 Labor Day Weekend Artathon!

Pop over for a peek in our gallery!

Just click here!

Wheeeeeeee!

"True wisdom
lies in gathering the precious things out of each day
as it goes by.”
~Author unknown

My Entries...

...for the 2011 "I Love Japan" swap at Illustrated ATCs.

First, a Gion Matsuri Festival Lantern...
...followed by a "Cherry Blossom Geisha"...
then, an "Uchiwa Flat Fan"...

and finally, an "Uchiwa Folded Fan"..."

“Do not follow the ideas of others,
but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.
Your body and mind will become clear
and
you will realize the unity of all things.”
~Dogen
Japanese Buddhist monk and philosopher
1200-1253

"A Funky Fly Trap..."

...with a smidge of zentangling for an edgy, exotic look...:)

Something different...for sure!

Have a funky and happy "Bloomin' Tuesday" all!

Celebrate

the unique world of art blossoming all around you.

"The artist is not a different kind of person...

but every person

is a different kind of artist."

~Eric Gill

"Spring Fragrances..."

I breathe them all in...
deeply.

Blossom-laden orchard boughs,

sweet and fluttery yet strong and rich with

promise...

Old fashioned flower gardens,

palettes now popping awake with cheeriness and

hues of hope...

Endless acreages of country fields,

freshly plowed,

moist clumps of bountiful blackness

greeting each sunrise...

Each of these

is pure aromatherapy for my spirit.

A potpourri of these memories will remain
safely bottled away forever

in my Midwest heart of hearts.

Ahhh!

“A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extremely rare.

For the most part

we miss the hue and fragrance of the thought;

as if

we could be satisfied

with the dews of the morning or evening

without their colors,

or

the heavens without their azure.”
~Henry David Thoreau

"Currents of Starlight..."

..."Sargasso Sea"...
..."Polynesian Reef"...
...and lastly, "Oceania Pacifica"...:)
A new series of
cards made and traded during Artapalooza
at Illustrated ATCs last week.

“On matters of style, swim with the current,

on matters of principle,

stand like a rock.”
~Thomas Jefferson

"'Tis Time To Float..."

...in a soft sea of powdery cherry blossom petals...:)

Happy Blooming Tuesday all!

"A Bit of a Blossom..."

...dusted with dots.

I was inspired by the Oaxacan folk painting style

used to decorate

beautiful and intricate wood carvings.

Methods of painting

Oaxacan carvings are uniquely localized

to the particular village from which they originate.

As this art form evolved

these carvers

incorporated geometric rug patterns

and

mosaic floral designs into their work.

You can check out

some authentic art from Oaxaca, Mexico here

and

some of the various village painting patterns here.

Enjoy! :)

Happy Blooming Tuesday!

"Full Moonglow..."

...and Mother Nature will paint the Sonoran Desert tonight

gently dressing her

in a palette of silvery blue magic

so soft and serene.

I made my little painting here

by using a base wash

of Chinese White with dabs of iridescent blue

purple, green, and coral DS paint...

then added

lettering and a bit of "border zen" with a silver gel pen...

all to bling out

a small sheet of Strathmore black paper

ripped from my field journal.

Hmmm...

"Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby

Ain't nothing

like the real thing..."

~Marvin Gaye

:)