Keep on Truckin' (how old is that saying!)

Since it's so HOT here I've had to resort to watercolor painting instead of metal work. I've also decided that cleaning house, walking dogs, doing laundry, getting the mail and every other chore that requires me to get up is also something I'm not doing.   Every time I start painting again I feel nervous, so inept ~ I know I don't do it right, I go to fast, my paintings get muddy, I need to take classes!  At any rate that being said here's one of my favorite pictures I took recently of an old old truck in Villenuva, NM.  Mine of course is the "Cartoon Version".  Sadly I didn't start out with that intention ~ perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that.  Oh well what the Hell.

Georgia O'Keefe & The Genizaro

A recent road trip back to NM, Mom and I took a day trip on the high road to Abique, New Mexico.  The scenery there is stunning.  I see why Georgia O'Keefe was so inspired.  

We spent a long time talking with Napoleon Garcia who was O'Keefe's long time friend since he was a boy.  He had so many stories to tell us about his life with this unique artist.  He is an Abiqui native and Genizaro (a person who claims both Colonial Spanish and Native American heritage).  He also just published his first book about his life with O'Keefe.

 The Genizaro & The Artist.

 

I have never tried Plein Air painting, but I have a new found admiration for those that can capture the beauty the way O'Keefe did.  We stopped at the Chama River which is one of her very famous paintings.  You can obviously see what O'Keefe saw.

We headed up to Ghost Ranch, which is where she lived for many years,

but she actually lived for 40 years in the small village of Abique.

They filmed City Slicker's at Ghost Ranch.  The little cabin is still there.  Of course without all the other buildings around it that were actually in the film.

Passion Vine Inspiration

I find it hard these days in this oppressive heat to create the way I want to. I find my inspiration has only been in my thinking and not in my actions. I think more of doing then the act itself. So I'm having to revert to a small project I did a few months ago. I've had a passion vine outside my front door for almost two years and as I was leaving for a vacation it presented me with the most beautiful bloom. Only one bloom, once in two years! So my scrap glass left overs from another project became my permanent passion vine bloom. There's an old crystal plate as the center, small flat marbles and lots of pieced together scraps.

ONE DAY!!!

sometimes I lay
under the moon
and thank God I'm breathing
then I pray
don't take me soon
cause I am here for a reason
sometimes in my tears I drown
but I never let it get me down
so when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around
because
all my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
for the people to say
that we don't wanna fight no more
they'll be no more wars
and our children will play
one day x6
it's not about
win or lose
we all lose
when they feed on the souls of the innocent
blood drenched pavement
keep on moving though the waters stay raging
in this maze you can lose your way (your way)
it might drive you crazy but don't let it faze you no way (no way)
sometimes in my tears I drown
but I never let it get me down
so when negativity surrounds
I know some day it'll all turn around
because
all my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
for the people to say
that we don't wanna fight no more
they'll be no more wars
and our children will play
one day x6
one day this all will change
treat people the same
stop with the violence
down with the hate
one day we'll all be free
and proud to be
under the same sun
singing songs of freedom like
one day x4
all my life I've been waiting for
I've been praying for
for the people to say
that we don't wanna fight no more
they'll be no more wars
and our children will play
one day x6
ooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Inspirational Artists

Sometimes I get stuck in my artistic endeavors, I feel bored, stagnet (maybe because it was 114 today and working with heat/metal/sun is just too overwhelming) so, today I needed some inspiration of other fellow artists. The videos below (if you have some time & they are worth it) were so awesome. I admire an artist who creates something and walks away and it all disappears, but then it really didn't disappear it actually became virtually recorded forever! I love that. Grab your coffee, sit back for 15 mins and enjoy!  TURN MY MUSIC OFF NOW......


Acclaimed composer and conductor Eric Whitacre offered the sheet music of his original composition, "Lux Aurumque", as a free download and invited singers to submit a video of themselves performing one part (soprano, alto, tenor, or bass). These rather ordinary videos of solo performances were then pieced together to form a choir of singers who have never met each other...but have unwittingly created music in perfect harmony together.




As the morning tide recedes at a beach near Christchurch, New Zealand, Peter Donnelly arrives to go to work. Peter the Sand Dancer, with a simple stick and a rake (and a not-so-simple gift of vision), paints elaborate works of art in the sand while hundreds watch in awe and appreciation.



Scott Wade is the Da Vinci of dirt. The artist from Wimberly, Texas loves nothing better than a dirty car. With brushes and other tools, he creates amazingly detailed images in the window dust of his car. The range of tones and detail create the look of charcoal on paper. That is, until it rains. But for Wade, the short life span of his work just adds to its power.