Drawn with my finger right on the iPhone screen using a free ap called Scribble.
Sent from me and my cool iPhone
Sketched on my iPhone
Thursday, July 31, 2008
at
2:50 PM
Drawn with my finger right on the iPhone screen using a free ap called Scribble.
Posted In
iphone art
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5
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Pigeons and the Chinese Man
at
8:47 AM
ink and watercolor in handbound sketchbook.
I asked this pigeon to pose for me but just when I thought he'd agreed, a small child came and shooed him away. An old Chinese man sitting near by had been watching (and I suspect saw me talking to the pigeon) and walked over to me; pointing and laughing with a big toothless grin saying "China, China......" I didn't understand the rest but thought he might be referring to the fact that there are pigeons in China. I smiled at him and said, "yes, China, America, Europe, all over the world!" He continued to laugh and point at the pigeons as he walked back to his bench to sit and watch the world go by.
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5
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Flash, the wolf-dog
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
at
6:38 PM
Flash is a wolf dog. I was told that Flash had free reign of the neighborhood of cabins in Tres Ritos, NM. On my first day at the New Mexico cabin Grace wanted to show me the creek and to try my hand at skipping stones with her. On our way there Flash saw us and barked as we came close. He soon ran over to us to check me out. We immediately became best friends and he decided to join us on our excursion.
While Grace and I sat and sketches the wildflowers, Flash roamed the area, ever our protector. Once he was sure the area was safe and free of BEARS, he came and plopped himself down right next to me (smashing the flowers I was sketching). He sat until we were finished and then walked us back to the cabin, ever a gentleman, seeing us safely home.
I sketched this in charcoal from a photo I took of Flash when he sat next to me. I am hoping to get it into a mat soon and send it to Flash's owner, Shirley.
Posted In
charcoal,
photo,
travel
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2
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My Fireman Rudy
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
at
6:18 PM
Rudy's fireboat station was featured in the local Long Beach Paper with a video and article. Click HERE to see the video of my cute old guy. He is at the beginning of the video holding a hat. I'm very proud of him and try not too worry too much when he goes off to work for a few days.
Posted In
photo,
video
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1 comments
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Really Loud and Rumbley
at
4:44 PM
lots of noise from rattling windows and shaking house, but no obvious damage that I can see. Aaron and I were in the kitchen and were surprised at how intense this earthquake was. But soon it was forgotten and enjoyed the afternoon in the pool with the kids!
Posted In
thoughts
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2
comments
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Rice Krispies Diva
at
7:51 AM
Hi, this is Grace's Nina mARTa guest posting. I think Grace makes the best Rice Krispies treats! I know I ate a lot of them while visiting with her. She is becoming a great baker and cook! I can't wait to try that sugar cookie recipe!
Go to her blog: Grace's Kitchen Adventures and check out all her great recipes and take her favorite dessert poll.
Posted In
guest post
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0
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Our Girly Weekend in Long Beach
Sunday, July 27, 2008
at
2:18 PM
You can go to Dianne's blog for a detailed description of our weekend trip to Long Beach, Ca. She is correct in that I got more sleep than she did but after joining her for lunch on Saturday I headed to the aquarium and while waiting in line I began to feel queasy. Unlike that hangover feeling, this was something I ate. I decided not to spend the money to sketch at the aquarium and instead headed for a restroom and then just tried to keep hydrated. I sat at the lighthouse and people watched and did a couple of sketches. Then I wandered to the bookstore and relaxed in the a/c till Dianne's class was over. We had a fun weekend and of course we didn't really get drunk, just happy! This is a photo of Dianne at the show; in case she's denying she was there:
Here is a view of the harbor from our hotel room:
and here is my sketch of the Queen Mary, as she sits docked for eternity it seems.
Posted In
fountain pen,
photo,
travel,
watercolor
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5
comments
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Just a bit hung over today.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
at
7:25 AM
Just a bit hung over today. Dianne aka Desiree invited me to tag
along on a quilt show weekend to Long Beach, ca. Last night we had a
wonderful dinner and polished off a pitcher of sangaritaa! No
worries, the car was safely stored in valet parking. We walked the
shoreline looking at all the boats and lights twinkling on the water.
Today she attends classes and I'm headed to the aquarium to sketch.
along on a quilt show weekend to Long Beach, ca. Last night we had a
wonderful dinner and polished off a pitcher of sangaritaa! No
worries, the car was safely stored in valet parking. We walked the
shoreline looking at all the boats and lights twinkling on the water.
Today she attends classes and I'm headed to the aquarium to sketch.
Sent from me and my cool iPhone
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2
comments
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This is the picture after the pitcher.......
Friday, July 25, 2008
at
8:02 PM
This is the picture after the pitcher....... I'm with Dianne in Long
Beach and we are drunk. Enough said, the night is young.
Beach and we are drunk. Enough said, the night is young.
Sent from me and my cool iPhone
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3
comments
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Vision update
Thursday, July 24, 2008
at
1:48 PM
That trip last week to Long Beach vis the train to LA for a connection, was for my appointment with my opthamologist for follow-up after my visit with the cornea specialist a couple of months ago. The news not so good and he agrees that surgery would be too risky and my vision is to the point of me not doing my job safely. So he has decided that I need to stop working so I guess I'll begin the process soon. This has been very hard to accept and the future doesn't look too bright either with the high possibility that I will not be allowed to drive either. As for my art.....well, I would be happy even if all I could do was finger paint!
This I did not finger paint. One night at the cabin my sister and niece Grace brought out their alcohol inks to decorate some card stock. I was fascinated by the process and thought I'd just try dripping some colors and alcohol onto some card stock. This reminded me of road kill splatter and thus called it 'Frog splatter on windshield"
Posted In
other media,
thoughts
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16
comments
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Man in Turban
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
at
8:28 PM
While riding the metrolink train into LA the other day I found this commuter interesting and did a sketch as we rode in to the city. I colored it later with wc pencils and a light swipe of the water brush.
Posted In
figure drawing,
fountain pen,
watercolor
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3
comments
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Skipping Stones
at
5:52 PM
On our first day at the cabin Grace and I went for a walk to the creek. She wanted to show me how she skipped stones in the water and I gave it a try also. Once we'd exhausted our supply of small flat stones I sat to do some sketching. Of course I had extra supplies along in case Grace wanted to sketch; which she did
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We sat in a clump of wild geraniums and choose those for our subject. We used the scrap wc paper I had brought along for her and my travel set of Neocolours. We quickly lost ourselves in conversation while we sketched. The wolf-dog that had accompanied us on our walk finally came and plopped himself down next to me. I had a new friend.
Posted In
other artist,
photo,
travel,
video,
watercolor
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3
comments
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The Squirrels
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
at
8:29 PM
ink wash with neocolor applied on top on hot pressed paper
My sister and brother-in-law's cabin in New Mexico is in the Sangre de Cristo mountains about 30 miles from Taos, NM. It is nestled among 20 or so other cabins, most of which are vacation homes. The week I went to spend up there was moving in furniture week.
On the night Terry arrived with the moving van it had been raining hard with roaring thunder and flashes of lightning (both of which I rarely experience). He'd traveled from Albuquerque passing several washed out roads to get to the cabin. After unloading the furniture he surprised us with a cord of wood in the van. They just threw it in a pile in front of the cabin to be stacked later.
The next morning a family of squirrels had taken up residence and the dog was all over the pile sniffing out the critters. We laughed thinking the squirrels were probably having a good old time teasing the dog! The kids ran for cameras and captured several good shots of them and from those I did the watercolor below and the ink wash and neocolor above. I approached the wc like I do a figure drawing and it seemed to work for me. It took about an hour to paint. The one above I did later quickly with a niji brush filled with diluted Noodler's ink and then laid some neocolor crayon over it and wiped with a damp brush. It took no more than 15 minutes to do and I wasn't as careful about proportions on it. But I liked the finished sketch.
Posted In
ink,
mixed media,
wash
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5
comments
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New Mexico 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
at
6:57 AM
click on sketch above to see all the New Mexico photos on Flickr
I am home and feeling much more relaxed and rejuvenated. It's amazing what a little r&r can do. I spent most of my time at my sister Marissas cabin in northern New Mexico. I had plenty of time to sketch/paint, hike, take lots of photos, knit and spend time with my Gracie, who at 11 years old still enjoys time with her nina mARTa.
I had no encounters with bears but the local dogs and squirrels came to welcome me to the woods. The flower fairies dressed for the occasion with their finest display of color and foliage. The birds all came out to sing and from the creek came a steady rhythm as it ebbed and flowed through the meadow.
Of course being a city girl, after a few days I was more than ready to come back to civilization: which for me is my iphone, city sites and the morning news!
Marissa, Terry, Elliott, Sara and Grace,
Thank you so very much for putting up with me. Now that I'm home I am realizing just how beneficial this break was for me. I love the cabin and the beauty that surrounds it. I know you will all enjoy it for many years to come. I loved spending time with all of you but my favorite time had to be the beautiful hike we did that last day up there. I am missing all of you. much love, nina
Posted In
photo,
thoughts,
travel,
watercolor
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9
comments
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Nina's Sweet Bread
Friday, July 18, 2008
at
7:20 PM
Hi, this is Grace's Nina mARTa and I am guest posting to Grace's new blog: Grace's Kitchen Adventures. Grace is my lovely niece who lives in New Mexico and loves to bake and cook. I spent the past week visiting with her and her family in their new cabin in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. While there we all had fun baking and sketching. I shared with Grace my artistic knowhow and my famous sweet bread recipe for the bread machine. We made minor adjustments for the elevation (8,000 ft) and it turned out wonderful! I promised Grace that I would post the recipe to her blog, so please go visit her there and welcome her to blogging!A New Mexico girl's adventures in cooking and baking.
ps: the bears didn't eat me!
Posted In
cooking,
guest post,
photo
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0
comments
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No one told me there would be bears!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
at
7:04 AM
Tomorrow morning I'm boarding a small jet and flying off to New Mexico. I love to fly so the smaller plane doesn't bother me. The plus is the price is right and it's nonstop to Albuquerque. My sister Marissa and her family live there but have recently bought a vacation cabin in the Tres Ritos area; about 30 miles from Taos, NM. So on Thursday we are driving to spend several days at the cabin. She tells me there is no cell phone service, no phone yet, no internet access and no propane yet. But there is water and electricity. What she didn't tell me is:
My art supplies are wisely chosen, I have my backpack to pack, cameras to get ready, now, if I only could remember where I put those bear bells!
There are bears!
photo credit: my niece Sara
My art supplies are wisely chosen, I have my backpack to pack, cameras to get ready, now, if I only could remember where I put those bear bells!
Will try to post if I find wifi but if not I'll share when I get back.....if the bears don't eat me!
Posted In
photo,
thoughts
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11
comments
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Happy Pool Day!
Friday, July 4, 2008
at
9:11 AM
I'm running into several photos of feet in the pool this holiday weekend. I thought I'd post a 10 year old watercolor I have hanging in my family room. I did this for a class assignment when taking a watercolor class. It has remained my favorite painting to date.
Hope you are all safe, enjoying family and friends and keeping cool! Happy Independence Day!
Last year's painted toes! And I spent it at work...not this year!!!! Yippi!!!!
Posted In
photo,
watercolor
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10
comments
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