Tuesday, June 30, 2009

It Was a Cloudy Day in Texas, So I Took Photographs

Anyone who has done much photography knows that overcast skies are better for shooting than bright, sunny skies...and lately in Texas, every day is a bright, sunny sky.
I was awakened by the sound of thunder, and hopped out of bed, ran outside, and did my best Cherokee rain dance...to no avail. Bummer.
Then, I decided I needed something "fresh" for the blog, and besides, I didn't want to do my exercise workout...anything to keep me from that! This rather saucy rooster was a prop I used in a photo shoot for which I was doing the styling for Graber Blinds...He didn't come with the flag in his beak...my husband came home from some sort of business meeting (Chamber?), with a flag, and I glued it in his beak...Perhaps I should have saved him for a Fourth of July post...oh well.

When I started to collect things to shoot, my first thought was of all my blue-and-white "stuff", including this painting I've never gotten around to finishing. Sadly, it looks a bit "dead", but it was the catalyst to continue gathering and shooting. I was having such a good time......

This is actually a rather sad photograph I took in Nova Scotia a hundred years ago...it is of a debtor's prison nursery...I cannot imagine...but, it is quite beautiful in it's own way. The bunny (big one) is Nora, and I am writing a book about her and Rupert, but the details are under wraps. The smaller bunny is my husband's "Peter Rabbit", and the little Scottie dog (I collect Scottie dogs) actually glows in the dark....

This photograph has great significance to me.....The shoes are "Oz" shoes...that I bought for my grandaughter, Hannah, the day she was born - in Kansas, of course...the little red pitcher was my mother's. The photograph of the boy in the tapestry frame (made the tapestry frame) is my son, Shawn, Hannah's father. The lovely lady in the marquitry frame is my mother, and the little frog on the pin cushion was hers (she collected frogs).....
Long ago, in a land called Wisconsin, I was a professional photographer, who did hand-painted black-and-white photography. I was shooting a portrait on my porch of a young girl, and noticed how lovely her dress and feet were (no, I do not have a foot fetish)...hence, "Porch Feet" was born. I keep the silver box with the rhino on top (I hate to polish silver, and actually prefer it a bit tarnished) next to my bed (it houses a container of Vaseline, which I use on my hands at night - now you know all my secrets - not)...

I think I am going to have to have a 4th of July bbq, just so I can do this tabletop again. I bought the fabric years ago, intending to make a jacket out of it, but it makes a wonderful tablecloth.

Porch feet again, along with sweet peas, and my Grandmother's music box and faux pearls.
"Grace" is another of my hand-painted black-and-white photographs....She was at a Civil War reinactment that I was photographing....
These are my in laws...on their wedding day; along with a portrait of my mother-in-law...a great beauty....I love the swans...they are sterling silver and crystal salt cellars. I put them in because swans mate for life....
You know, I welcome comments.... Sometimes, I feel like a tiny voice, calling out in the vast wilderness....and now, I have no excuse not to exercise...








Monday, June 29, 2009

Survival Mode

Spent a good deal of the day dealing with a fate worse than death in Texas...the airconditioner unit broke down (again)...The house is only two years old, but for some reason, we have airconditioning "gremlins"...When it is 102 degrees, one feels very fortunate to have air conditioning.... I spent alot of time, begging to get the fellow out here to take a look at it...
Finally, he showed up, fixed the problem, and all is well...I feel so sorry for those less fortunate, who don't even have a fan. As a child, living on an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma, I remember vividly my grandmother, soaking burlap sacks in water, and tacking them up over the open windows, seeking relief.. I will never take for granted how blessed I am.

This is Raisen, on the porch in his chair...what you don't see is the ceiling fan...he knew what to do.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Silly Me, wrong photo

I am not above frequenting Goodwill stores...thrift shops, flea markets; in fact, some of my greatest "treasures" have been found there...such as this pillow, still in it's package, $3.00...can't beat that. The chair was from a resale shop - $1,600 chair for $60.00. I covered the seat with black moire', and added the pillow...love it....
This was the photo of my dining room I intended to post...sheesh.


I am spending the day in my dressing gown...it's too hot to go out...I just go out long enough to give the deer and the birds more water...then, scurry back to the air conditioning...Texas has become one, big, Easy Bake Oven...



Friday, June 26, 2009

There's Something to be Said for Serene & Simple

I have been contemplating the wonders of how where we live geographically influences how we live.
When we left Wisconsin, which was after twelve, brutal, long, cold, winters, I was warned, "its, going to be hot." My retort was always, "you don't have to shovel hot". What you do have to do is learn to get up earlier to get outside before the killer heat sets in. You drink alot more water/ and there's nothing quite as good as a gin and tonic, after being out in the heat, whereas, Wisconsin has the highest consumption of brandy per capita in the Country.

I fell in love with Texas almost immediately; especially, where we live, which is "The Hill Country"....I imagined expanses of nothing...and there are parts of Texas that are like that, but were we are there are hills, trees, canyons, water...all quite lovely. When my husband picked me up at the airport, I got on my phone to my daughter-in-law, and crowed, "Mija, we have palm trees!!!" All very exotic for a girl, who grew up in Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma.

I love the muted colors, offset by my favorite color, turquoise. I have always taken my cue in decorating from inspirations from nature and the local cultures.
This is an enole...they are quite friendly, and I love it during their mating season, when they show off by expanding what looks like a crimson balloon on their throat. They live in my ferns, and I have caught them peeking in our windows on occasion....
We have two, giant Agave cacti, which flank our driveway...I love the color, and they've doubled in size since I planted them...they give off many "pips", which I am cultivating to eventually form a border along our white gravel driveway. Occasionally, my doorbell rings, and a fellow wants to know if we want our long driveway covered over with asphalt..."No thank you, I tell him".....
The smaller plant is thyme...deer don't eat herbs, so we grow herbs.

We have a Western-facing dining room, and I made our window treatments "blocked", using French seams, and piecing together various hues of the sunset, and textures to add interest.
It's like a stained-glass window in the evenings.I had a small gallery in Wisconsin, in a little town called Paoli. This tree was the most magnificent oak....I do miss the changing of the colors of the trees. You don't get that in Texas.This was our backyard in Wisconsin...fabulous...and these have been colors that I have been drawn to over-and-over...in my home, in my design work, and in my art. I especially savored them there, as for easily 8 months out of the year, it was grey, brown, white, and very cold. Which is why I used a riot of warm colors in my home.
I love the bark on these trees...they are Crepe Myrtle, and stand in a courtyard of a wonderful art gallery, "The Whistlepic Gallery" in Fredericksberg, Texas.....

I recently painted the "Foxes and Fireflies", and also, the carafes...Indigo, moss greens, and burnt seinna's show up in many of my paintings, and interiors.

For now, the foxes are propped up on my sideboard in my dining room, as they are very heavy, and I am not ready to hang them...In fact, they are slated to go into a gallery July first. The sideboard came as a kit, and my husband put it together. I finished it, and decopaged it....

The folding screen was my final project in a faux painting course I took while attending New England School of Art and Design in Boston. It fills in a corner of the dining room, and hides my sewing maching.
Our table was given to us by my husband's parents...it was covered with several coats of horrible, green paint, and he took it down to the bare wood, which turned out to be wonderful, Tiger Maple. I painted the white chairs black, and shades of siennas...I made faux leather seats, which I had to remake, as they sounded like "Whoopie cushions" when one sat down...always make one side of a leather cushion linen or cotton to avoid such disasters. Made a rather amusing dinner party.




The front of our house gets hit by the full blast heat of the western sun..."Mooley Grass", Cacti, rosemary, and our "Lily in Denial" (that's Lily of the Nile), do best. So much for my flower gardens of Wisconson, but somehow, it would be out-of-place even if the deer would leave them alone
I found this indigo, bamboo pot, and placed walking sticks, that my late brother-in-law had made for us in them. For a professional photographer, I cannot for the life of me get a shot of my dining room that isn't listing...just pretend it's on a ship...I give up..My former dining room was layered...heavy window treatments, dark woods, huge sideboard, antique dining table, heavy carpets and rugs..chandeliers, that I added as much trim and bling to as possible...Here, I like the serenity, and yet, it isn't bland...The stained concrete floors are cool, the lights are simple, as is the furniture. It has my paintings in it, along with my easel, for it is the best room in the house in which to paint...so, it serves as a part-time studio, as well.
I still love fun, funky, "bling"...and I felt this had an elegance that fit the space, but I've moved on...
Our home is evolving in design and decor, as homes are supposed to do....I am tiring of the beige walls everywhere, and have begun contemplating what to do next...













Sunday, June 21, 2009

Salute to Fathers

This is the only existing photograph of my family together....It was a black-and-white, and I reprinted it, and hand-painted it. It is such a "fifties" image.
This isn't about the photograph, it's about my father, for most of us in this Country are celebrating Father's Day in one form or another. That's me, sitting on his lap. I often look at that photograph and wonder about the dynamics when it was being taken; my mother and I are looking off in one direction, my sister is looking straight ahead, and my daddy is looking another...strange...but I digress.
I didn't get many years with my father, as not long after this, he was shot in the line of duty...in our front yard...my sister and I saw it (although, thank goodness, I was too young to remember). I don't want this to be depressing, as I have come to terms with all of this a long time ago. If one doesn't work though the tragedies in one's life, what is the point? We have to make our lives as meaningful, peaceful, useful, beautiful, loving, and happy as we can...
So, I have to believe that my father is in a better place...it's been forty (can that be) years since he left this Earth, but especially on this day, I think of him and embrace him in my heart. As to all the other fathers out there (my son included, who is the father of six), I salute you; enjoy your day.
As to the fathers who, for whatever reason, cannot be with their children, especially, those of you, who are serving our Country....be well, safe, and...Happy Father's Day.


Saturday, June 20, 2009

"Here a Chick" Greeting Cards is Born

Over the years, as a professional photographer, I have accumulated so many images, that I decided it was time to turn them into greeting cards. I am working on creating a sight on ETSY, and hope to have it up and running soon. My husband made sure that I had all the images under copyright, before releasing them into the world....He's the left-brained scientist, and a perfect foil for this right-brained artist!

For many years, I did hand-colored black-and-white portraits (mostly of children)...this was the precurser to photoshop, so all of it was done the old fashioned way...shoot, print in black-and-white, sepia-tone, and then, hand-painted with special oil paints. This little guy just happens to be my grandson (who is grown now, and is mortified everytime he sees this)!



These images are from my "Romantic America" series...all shot in my yard, or home.
"Gussie on the Porch"

I working on a children's book, and am using these images, but love them so much, decided not to wait, and to publish them as greeting cards.....


All of the cards are 5"X 7" fine cardstock, and they are all blank. I do think this makes a good
"Happy Independence Day" card.

Best topiary ever: "Happy Father's Day"

This colt was named "In Like Flynn" Another of my "Romatic America" Series.....Hand-colored black-and- white..........
"Here A Chick" hand-colored black-and-white"
Our beloved "Gizmo".............Hand-painted black & white......my sweetie................
"Something New is Afoot" Hand-painted black & white


Miss Gussie Plushbottem, making her debut as the next "Hang in There" kitten - Color "Some Day My Prince Will Come'




Cheery Shepherd, in Cherry Hat....dear Beau


"Brianna, Always Running"







"Life is just a bowl of cherries & Ginna Maes"...