Collage Museum (France)

More information here.

Purple Oxalis

Several weeks ago,  I got stranded on the Rileyville Diner's porch during a torrential storm.  Never having been on the porch for more than a few seconds, I hadn't noticed the amazing Oxalis growing by one of the built in benches.  It was breathtaking, more so considering the dark sky just inches away.

Credit: Guide to House Plants

It is not quite shamrock shaped nor is it a true shamrock, but it is often used at St. Patrick Day events.  It is also a house plant, and one that grows well in the shade.

The next time I am at the cafe, I'll take a photograph of that particular Oxalis, with yellow blooms, cascading freely on the porch.

Artist Wish List

Category 1: Items that you can buy at any time

These might be art materials you don’t really need but would like to have anyway, just to experiment with.
Or, they could be small things which feel too frivolous or unnecessary to spend money on. (For instance, a subscription to an art-related magazine, or a visit to an art gallery or exhibition.)

Category 2: Items that require some “input”

These are things that would cost you a little more, either financially or in time. That’s why I use the word input. . . these items will require you to put in a little extra effort if you want to attain them.

 

 

Category 3: When “all your dreams have come true”

These are the items dreams are made of, the things you’ll probably need to save hard for, work hard for and dream big for.

Soltek easel

Ten recommended digital cameras here.

Macbook Pro 15" screen

Wish list concept via Empty Easel

The Canteo goes to rest with photos

Canteo at rest

 Canteo interior, paint samples

It's been a terribly long time since I received and preliminarily reviewed the Canteo journal, but now after all this time, the journal is filled to the brim with notations, dots and dashes, colour notes, and even watercolour tests.

It ran a long mile and succeeded far better than one would imagine and held up nicely.  In fact it held up better than many other journals that traveled a path this long and hard with me.  The cover is intact, and shows little to no wear.  The elastic pulled and pushed hundreds of times is perfect, the pages remained flat, and content as I tortured them with different inks, pens, and splashes of art media.

I'd give it a high mark and think about another one in the future.

I believe Nota Bene in Canada are stocking these.

Reposted with photographs; retired Canteo 11 July 2011

A journal forever: Do you remember, when?

Photo: US. Holocaust Museum

Although he didn't survive, his journal did.

Ellen Glasgow coming to my mailbox this week

 Ellen Glasgow 1909

After thinking and writing about Maine and female writers, I searched out Ellen Glasgow and found a copy of her novel Barren Ground for a buck on ebay and snatched it up.

PS - She arrived on 25 July and as I finished up Diane Johnson's book, I started Barren Ground on 26 July.

A gift at the foot of the mail box

 Fish painted with vintage Daler Rowney watercolor paint palette (upper right)

and lower left corner the making of a mini-palette from an old J. Herbin nib container (it holds 6 half pans)

Last week I saw a small glistening creature at the foot of the mail box.  At first I actually thought it was a living creature, but as I leaned closer to it I knew it wasn't alive.  I picked it up.  It was a small, dirt splattered soft rubber toy fish.

I wondered, but more on an unconscious level, why a small toy fish would be on my country road, laying at my feet.  We have many farmers living on or near my road but no children young enough to have such a prize fish.

Its symbolism:
Several religions have used the fish to symbolize life, spiritual change and motion: Fish were considered sacred to the Greeks and Romans. The first Christians represented trinity by three fishes. The icthus is used today as a symbol for christian community. Fish is also one of the eight sacred symbols of the Buddha. Throughout history fish have been associated with religion and worship.
The fish moves freely through water - a symbol of life which is honored in many cultures. Water is constantly flowing and the fish totem is an excellent teacher of transitions through life.
The flowing energy of the fish can also be applied to money matters - since money can be viewed as energy that should always flow freely. The fish can be a helper at times of movement and change in both financial and spiritual situations.
If you were born between Jul 22 - Aug 21, your Native American birth totem is the sturgeon.

More on fish.http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-meanings-of-fish.html

The 32nd Sketchcrawl

Honesdale, PA courtesy Family Man Studio

The closest I get to urban is the town of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, 18 miles as the turkey vulture flies from my very rural country road.  It is where I will be on Saturday, 23rd July to sketch crawl.

Bill renovated two adjoining building (see left blue house), named it Maude Alley and developed a snug, and inviting space for three shops, his own Milkweed, a  cafe and a quality outdoor garden with a bird feeder and comfortable wrought iron chairs.   The cafe has good coffee, always fresh and ranked on a scale 0-10 as a potential 9. 

Not only will I bring my sketchbook, and a kit of drawing media, I will bring my camera to capture a town I've never looked at with an artist's eye.  It is the cafe,  I'll head to first for that coffee and a drawing of the feeder--perhaps!

Stillman and Birn Sketchbooks

A few weeks ago I asked Mr. Kalman for some paper samples and he kindly included a small 4"" x 6 Gamma sketchbook.  I have been using it regularly to sketch some florals in and out of the house.

It is 100 lb/150 g/m vellum paper that appears to take pen, pencil, ink and watercolour washes without difficulty.  It is a strong ivory colour and pleasant on the eye after adding line.  The sketchbook contains 62 sheets/124 pages.  It appears both sides of the paper can be used without much bleed through or reveal.

 Orchid on dining room table,

Stillman and Birn Gamma 4x6 sketchbook

drawn with Safari (F) pen and J. Herbin Noire ink

I like the feel of the book, the paper and even the size, but this small version does not lay flat as you an see from the photo above.  I understand that the larger versions do.

The US based company has four other lines:  Alpha, Beta, Delta and Epsilon, each with different paper.

I hope to test drive my paper samples in the coming days and report back on their response to my usual media.

These sketchbooks are available at Utrecht and Wet Paint;  Stillman and Birn have a good looking web site describing their origin and their papers.