When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

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More Postcards

Sunday, October 15th, 2023


 

Nimkish Lake Alder Shadows, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper

Alder Shadows, Nimkish Lake Sunset, Stellar’s Jay, Bigleaf Maple (Port Renfrew), Creyke Point, and Mount Douglas (Victoria), 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper

  Nimkish Lake Sunset, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper   Nimkish Lake Stellars Jay, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper  
  Port Renfrew Bigleaf Maple, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper   Creyke Point, Vancouver Island BC, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper  
         


Mount Douglas, Victoria BC, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper

More Postcards

Friday, October 13th, 2023


 

Rusty train car from logging, Nimkish Lake, BC - 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper
Rusty Train Car from logging in Nimkish Lake, Tree Silhouettes in Sidney, Seagulls on a Campbell River beach, and Thunderbird Park Totem in Victoria BC, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper

  Tree Silhouettes, Sidney BC, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper   Seagulls, Campbell River shore, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper  
         

 

Thunderbird Park Totem, Victoria BC, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper

More Postcards

Wednesday, October 11th, 2023


 

Dungeness Crab, Qualicum Beach, BC - 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper
Dungeness Crab, Qualicum Beach, Queen Anne’s Lace at Bexley Bay, New Growth, and Bumble Bee on Birds-foot Trefoil, today’s additions to the 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper series.

  Queen Anne's Lace at Bexley Bay, Vancouver Island, BC - 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper   New Growth, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper  
         

Bumble Bee on Birds-foot Trefoil, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper
 

Postcards From The Island

Tuesday, October 10th, 2023


 

Elk Falls Autumn Forest 06, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper

While on holiday here in Campbell River BC, I found a set of 24 watercolor pencils in a second-hand shop for only $2, and a pack of 4 x 6″ watercolor paper postcards for only 50 cents. During the next week (only while I’m here) I plan to paint small sketch-series of local sights.

  Elk Falls Provincial Park, BC - Autumn Forest 01   Elk Falls Provincial Park, BC - Autumn Forest 02  
  Elk Falls Provincial Park, BC - Autumn Forest 03, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper.   Beach Rocks, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper  
  Elk Falls Autumn Forest 09, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper   Autumn Forest 04, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper  
  Elk Falls Autumn Forest 07, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper   Elk Falls Autumn Forest 08, 4H x 6W inches watercolor pencils on paper  
         

Creative Minds 2023

Tuesday, August 15th, 2023


 

Cycad Leaf Fossil Chair, Homage to the history of Earth, 29 x 29 x 29 inches, refurbished vintage chair, woven canvas strips, plaster cured, sanded, carved, extinct Myalina fossils, acrylics, varnish, waxed. Functional, durable.

Cycad Leaf Fossil Chair, homage to the history of Earth, 29H x 29W x 29D inches up-cycled plastic vintage chair base, woven canvas strips, layers of plaster gradually cured, sanded and carved. Painted with acrylics, finished with varnish, and waxed to enhance colors. Functional art, very comfortable, durable.  Now being showcased at Creative Minds – 2023 exhibition, August 15 – Oct. 15, organized by Exhibizone and powered by @Biafarin platform.

       
  Starting to carve front right detail of Fossil Chair Cycad Fossil Chair, first paint application after first carved surface Fossil Chair, Homage to Earth and Trees, carved front left detail
  Fossil Chair, carved front right detail Fossilized Myalina shells and stones, back details of Fossil Chair Back details of Fossil Chair, fossilized shells and stones, painted patterns of Paleozoic Lepidodendron - first trees on Earth - bark with leaf scars
    Myalina Fossils I found in Dallas, Texas USA Encyclopedia Brittanica entry about the extinct Myalina fossil

Creative Minds 2023 Exhibizone - Biafarin certificateThe front of this chair is a rendition of the fossil of a Cycad leaf from the first species of palm-like trees that grew about 50 million years ago. The original Cycad leaf fossil was discovered in a Wyoming riverbed. The circumference on the back of this chair has an informal mosaic embedded with pebbles and authentic fossils of an extinct clam I found in a playground in the Dallas, Texas area.  The extinct genus of shells called Myalina are estimated to be 345 – 225 – million years old.
Completing the back of the chair, the surface is textured along with patterns of the bark and leaf scars of a fossilized Paleozoic Lepidodendron, a primitive species of the very first trees on earth, reaching heights of 130 feet (40 m) tall, with leaves that grew flat directly along the bark around 400 million years ago.

Portrait exhibition

Sunday, July 17th, 2022


 
Adam, 11H x 14W inches graphite on paper - 2007
Artist Space Portraits Exhibition 2022 certificate for Adam graphiteAdam, (my youngest son at 3 years old, drawn in 2007) 11H x 14W inches graphite on paper.

Showing online now in the Artist Space Gallery ‘Portraits’ exhibition.

Fins, Feathers and Fur 2020: Cockatiels

Friday, July 17th, 2020


 

Cockatiels, Jurong Bird Park, Singapore 12H x 9W inches graphite on paper, white double mat and white 18H x 15W inches frame with crackle finish

Cockatiels, Jurong Bird Park, Singapore 12H x 9W inches graphite on paper, white double mat and white 18H x 15W inches frame with crackle finish. Check out the Jurong Bird Park website.

Showcased in the J. Mane Gallery’s Fins, Feathers and Fur 2020 exhibition.

 

Brooke

Friday, July 12th, 2019


 
Brooke, 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper

Brooke, 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper

The Angel Oak, South Carolina

Saturday, April 14th, 2018


 

The Angel Oak, John's Island, South Carolina USA

 

This article and set of photos, initially written in 2008 and updated in 2018, honors the tireless efforts to halt construction on John’s Island, South Carolina that would have encroached on an area of land boasting the Oak tree estimated to be 400 to 500 years old. Thanks to conservation and other local groups like schools and churches, individual donors, pro-bono work from lawyers, a sizable grant, and numerous petitions, we are reassured that persistence does make a difference on this planet.  The land surrounding the Angel Oak is no longer in jeopardy. Read more about this amazing tree.


 

The Angel Oak, St. John Island, South CarolinaCharleston, SC is proud of its heritage and respected for its commitment to preserving history in the area, and after many years, residents were finally victorious over plans that would have cut down nearby trees and forest in favor of land development.
The Angel Oak, St. John Island, South CarolinaIn one 2008 online petition there were hundreds of pages of interesting comments and pleas from residents who have fond memories of climbing the branches as children, plus exclamations written by tourists – national and international – who have visited the area specifically to see the Angel Oak. The tree is so significant to locals, a nearby elementary school carries its name. Picnics, weddings and reunions are held in the Angel Oak Park, including an annual summer Arts event, “Evening under Angel Oak” featuring live music, drama and other activities.
The Angel Oak, St. John Island, South CarolinaDuring August, 2008 my husband and I drove through South Carolina and took a short detour to John’s Island. We drove through wicked rains at the edge of  Tropical storm Faye, so when we arrived at Angel Oak Park no one else was there. Although the light was not ideal, fortunately rain subsided long enough to take photos.
This is one impressive tree! The trunk and lower branches are so immense, they have been propped up with stakes and heavy cables here and there, which is a little intrusive when taking photos, but obviously necessary. Growth is spread outward more than upward. No wonder it is considered sacred by the locals… there is an appreciable presence felt while standing silently under its canopy, which apparently occupies 2,000 yards of space above.


The Angel Oak, St. John Island, South Carolina


The Angel Oak, St. John Island, South CarolinaIt occurred to me that this tree has lived through one serious chunk of history, and I wondered what was happening on our planet when it was knee-high to an acorn? The Angel Oak’s parent-tree and surrounding forest flourishes for eons before one special acorn falls from one of the magnificent Oaks on the southeastern shores of a land only known to the indigenous peoples then. The acorn sprouts along with many others, but this one will outlive the rest, seasoning hurricanes, climate changes, human encroachment and wars.
The Angel Oak, St. John Island, South CarolinaMuch of what we are familiar with; our collective modern identity has been shaped by the events and people who lived and died since the Angel Oak established its first roots in the earth. If trees could talk…!
The Angel Oak does not exist on its own. It depends on the surrounding forest, so any deliberate disturbance in the immediate soil or neighboring properties would disrupt its far-reaching and delicate root system. Thankfully, now the tree will remain host to a myriad of life forms, supporting an abundant, specialized ecosystem of mosses, fungi and fern varieties, insects and amphibians – hopefully for five hundred more years. The Angel oak lives on as one of the true jewels on this planet.


The Angel Oak, St. John Island, South Carolina



While older, poorer quality photos are still gradually being replaced, the Majesty of Trees / Dancing with Trees exhibition website is now updated. Check it out!

Branches, bookmark

Monday, February 5th, 2018


 
Branches, 6 x 3 inches watercolors bookmark

Branches, 6 x 3 inches watercolors bookmark

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